June 8, 2009 - Bacterial Dysentery

The other night we went to a little hole-in-the-wall Newari restaurant where I had Bhara (spelling phonetic) for the first time. Bhara is a traditional Newari dish, essentially an egg fried over a pancake. I should say too that this little restaurant is not what we’d expect of a lower-end joint in the states. Most of the restaurants in Patan that cater to locals are very simple: one small room (maybe 10x6’), a couple small tables with benches, a little desk. This one was no exception. In the heart of tarkari bazar (the market near our house) you could easily walk past it not even recognizing that it was a restaurant and thereby completely overlooking the unique cultural experience that awaits you inside. By which, of course, I mean bacterial dysentery. 

This is my second day spent in bed or the bathroom and trust me it’s a good sign that I have the strength to type. As a matter of fact I’m feeling much better today. I slept for about 12 hours and I had the most surreal and dreams, the joys of fever, but I won’t go into that. There’s a lot I haven’t had the chance to write about and I’m going to take this opportunity to do so.

Nick and I live in an apartment building in Patan, which is southern Kathmandu. You should know that Nepal used to be (prior to 1743) a constellation of mini states. The Kathmandu valley was three kingdoms: Kathmandu, Bhadgaun (Bhaktapur), and Patan (Lalitpur). Prithivi Narayan Shah consolidated the nation and set the capital in Kathmandu, thus beginning the centuries long autocratic rule of the monarch that ended only last year (I think that’s right at least, my heads no totally in the game today). 

Patan is also chief residence of the Newari, the largest ethnic group in the ktm valley. My first word, as you might remember, was actually a Newari word (gata!). Our landlords are Newari and most of the people I’ve been meeting here are as well. On the day of my arrival, the Bhand (general strike) was being carried out by the Maoists with the support of the Newari. The specifics of what they were agitating for are still somewhat unclear to me, but all of the educated Nepalis I’ve spoken to about it found the goals somewhat laughable. On the one hand, this group of Newar were requesting independence as a state (or the Nepali equivalent to a state), while the Maoists were protesting a law that they themselves had passed before walking out of parliament in protest. So that’s why the taxis and busses were shut down and why I had to pay 700 rupees for a rickshaw (which I’ve been told since was actually a pretty good deal, for Bhand). We read about one taxi that was set on fire for operating and a messenger bike that had its tires flattened. Since the Bhand on my first day there’s been at least one other and the Maoists are calling for general strikes through the 14th of June. 

Living in Patan affords me several opportunities. Most of them extending from the personality and popularity of Nick. Nick’s grasp of Nepali is highly impressive. Everyone we meet for the first time complements him on it. He’s a charming fellow to begin with, but a white man speaking Nepali to people in Kathmandu, I mean, people offer him their daughters on a daily basis. Ok, that’s an exaggeration, but it has happened!

I’ve started taking lessons in Nepali and am confident that I will be at least able to get around with some degree of comfort by the end of my time here. The best thing about living where I do is the family, our “landlords”, give me ample opportunity to practice and  learn the language. I’ve landed a pretty sweet deal here. I’ll try to post more pictures, check my facebook if you don’t see many here. 

Oh and we went to an awesome party (see pic of some cute kids).