Cotton Candy Without the Circus

Getting ready to move to Chapagaon tomorrow.










Tibetan handicrafts, Bodhnath.














Bodhnath Buddhist Stupa













The largest Buddhist stupa and monastery in the world.

My fantastic language teacher, Pramila, at Pashupatinath Hindu Temple.

A Hindu holy man wearing orange to symbolize sacrifice.

Cremation Ceremony along the Bagmati River at the Pashupatinath Temple

I saw pink cotton candy being sold for the first time in Nepal along the holy Bagmati River at the Pashupatinath Hindu Temple. Except it wasn't being sold for a fair or a circus, but rather right across the river bank from a cremation ceremony. "Am I really seeing this?" I kept thinking to myself. The corpse was wrapped in white and marigold orange linens symbolizing purity and clarity as well as sacrifice. There was a lei of marigold blossoms strung around his neck and his sons were stacking branches on the cremation pillar, starting a crackling fire. I couldn't believe that people were just hanging out along the river, buying cotton candy, and taking in the sight as if it were just a normal day as the fire billowed up around the deceased elderly man. One man was even washing his dishes in the river that was flowing with human ashes and marigold blossoms. Unbelievable. The brilliant colors of white and orange, the sacred ceremony presented to the Pashupati god, the flickering fires of the burning Arya Ghats, and the eerie lapping of the holy Bagmati river winding through the ancient temple. I walked away simply speechless. I couldn't make it fit into any of my former paradigms of relating to death.

I also visited what it said to be the largest Buddhist monastery in the world, Bodhnath, yesterday afternoon. That was another wildly eye-opening experience. The piercing white stupa of overwhelming proportions is beyond impressive. I couldn't believe how many burgundy-clad Tibetan monks were in one place. The entire village surrounding the stupa is one of the most peaceful and endearing places I've ever visited. The monastery is full of gleaming temples honoring the five Dyani Buddhas, incense wafting from Tibetan tea and bead shops, and golden prayer wheels holding the mantra of "Om Mani Padme Hum" that Buddhists spin as they walk clockwise around the stupa in meditation. I wish I could have stayed into the evening to hear the monks' evening chants after the rest of the tourists slowly dissipated. Nonetheless, I had a blast snapping lots and lots of pictures yesterday.

Everyday, I feel more and more like I belong in Kathmandu. The city no longer feels so foreign and unnerving to me, but rather like an old friend with many quirks and idiosyncracies. And every time I walk the street from my hotel to Central Thamel, I feel like I'm seeing it differently everytime. There is so much to take in sense-wise. However, I already feel like I've become a boring foreigner, since I've already settled on one cafe' that I absolutely adore for breakfast every morning and refuse to go anywhere else. It's amazing to me how much time I can spend enjoying breakfast there. This morning I got there around 8:30, my normal time, and got lost in time studying my Nepali language notes over banana oatmeal and "milk coffee" in a chipped china cup. I'm not exactly sure why I love that cafe' so much. Maybe it's the warmly painted orange walls or the hanging basket lights, the perfectly frothed milk coffee (I'm a huge critic of foam on coffee), or the friendly waitstaff who always greet me with friendly recognition and bring me the morning's Kathmandu Post or Himalayan Times. Or maybe it's thatt I can linger at my spacy wooden table for as long as I would like. It seems like there's a little group of us expats who have become quite the regulars: a Canadian, several Americans, and several Australian girls.

Something about Kathmandu charms the heck out of you, despite your initial reactions and the very visible poverty of the city. (Note of observation: There are more people wearing North Face jackets in Thamel than even in Seattle.) Thamel is literally teeming with the scent of ripe oranges, incense shops, and teahouses. I've seriously found the balance and simplicity that I came looking for here. I'm eating less and sleeping more. I'm reading more and stressing less. I wake up early and head to my cafe' to have my devotional and write in my journal over breakfast and study Nepali for an hour or two. I find plenty of time to take photos and to read leisurely. I love getting my news from foreign newspapers and not the television. I was actually irritated when the tv in the coffee shop was tuned into the South Carolina primaries and John McCain's voice was dominating my peaceful morning's breakfast. I also found the greatest bookstore yesterday called Pilgrim Book House where I was able to buy several paintbrushes and now I'm all set to check out the Garden of Dreams for an afternoon of painting.

Tomorrow, I move out to Chapagaon to begin working at the health clinic. I was so excited to hear that another new volunteer, a pre-med student named Aly from San Diego. will also be working at the clinic with me. It will be awesome to have someone to come into Kathmandu with on Friday afternoons for our short weekends off.