Storm - by Pia

There was a storm last night, woke up to sounds of things been thrashed around, thunder echoing shattering windows, and purple lighting eliminated the sky, then some glass crashed somewhere down stairs and I got a bit scared ha... I was going to pop under the bed, but ended up sitting in the bathroom door-way. The storm got me thinking about all the people in all other natural disasters, it would be horrible, the storm just getting worse and worse not better... this storm just slowly died down. After the initial mind race scare-dom I started thinking about some really important stuff like Pirates, and if the world turns into total chaos from climate change, over population and just general human annihilation I would become a pirate. I also thought about us identifying ourselves more as a we, instead of I alone. And if we were to think in a more inclusive us term, then maybe we'd be able to address global issues a better. Those who live a lot more privileged lives, might be less possessive of what they have, and feel a more positive sense in openly sharing. Similarly, if we are to tackle climate change it would help if we all thought on an, us (all people) basis. Poverty, climate change and resource depletion seem to be treated like fads, and particularly by those who aren't yet severely effect by them, they don't just go away because we stop thinking about them, these issues need to be thought about and included into how we live our lives’ in a positive and empowering way, it is only a hassle if we choose to look at it that way. Imagine if we all worked together on these issues, what an amazing empowering thing that could be!

Any way after the storm died I feel asleep and woke up in the morning expecting there to be something on the it, I checked the weather report but nooope, it just said 'thunder' everyone was just normal, carrying on with their usual work haha... it was the worst storm I had witnessed but clearly it mustn’t have been that big ha...

I met Sangita at EPSA, and got to meet some of the women working there, they are so lovely and sweet and I wish I knew more Nepalese! (I am working on it) I felt so embarrassed not knowing any Nepalese and not being able to communicate or understand, but they were so lovely and made a joke of it :p. I sat in for a bit as they sowed, although I must admit feeling pretty awkward as they were all working and I was sitting there watching/drawing... Sangita left, and Suresh (one of the women’s sons) took me to get some lunch. The place was pretty run down, it was like out of one of those movies, where there’s a bar way out in the middle of no-where with flies and dusty floors hehe. But the food was really good! Potato curry on one-side of the rice flakes and a peanut curry on the other side :)! However I only had a thousand-NRs note to pay with, I felt again really embarrassed, they clearly didn't get that many customers and then they get this tourist showing up with a big note, he had to go out the back and get more notes and then the waiter put in some, oh dear! (Sorry!)

We walked back and Suresh talked about his school, the students all have to study very hard, they’re only allowed to speak English in school, (he also knows Nepalese of course and Hindi). We talked about drawing and art, and I had a look at his drawing book which are full of cartoon characters. He drew me a picture of Kastamandap temple, it's amazing. He also took lots of brilliant pictures on my camera, his so smart, I think his about eleven and he talks about the world and how people are, how they treat each other. His sister Subekshya, is very cute, oh my goodness! She is so sweet, and so cheeky. She does the scrunching of the nose smile which I thought only my mum and I did hehe, and she (not very sneakily) cheats at cards. Their Mum Devi lives as well as works at EPSA, she is also very sweet, but I couldn't communicate with her much because of my lack of Nepalese, (soon though).

I got to go on a Katmandu tour with Mangal after EPSA today; it was so nice to go with someone who knew where they were going! I could just follow him and be in amazement of the buildings, homes, smells, markets, and people without having to worry about getting lost! The temples and buildings are so old and beautiful. There are so many different kinds of smells; fruits, fried goods, spices, people, smoke, petrol, incense, rotting rubbish, flowers, bamboo, tea's, mustiness, wet wood... and the pigeons, which all sat on electric wires and temple tops. People are living in the smallest little spaces, they are so small and dark; I ignorantly did not realize people were living like this... wonderful smells wafted out of the homes though, it was about 6pm. After the amazing tour Mangal short cut us back to the Hotel, and I ran off to met Susil as his office.

There Susil helped plan a trip to Annapurna to do a 12 day hike!! On Thursday :D! Oh the excitement!!! How WONDERFUL!! And I’ll be able to practice Nepalese. I am then planed to go to Pokhhra for two days; I've heard it's a beautiful city. Then go to Susil’s home village for a night, where I'll hopefully get to do some English teaching later -provided I've learnt enough Nepalese. And then I shall come back to Kathmandu and start working at EPSA for awhile.

Once I get back from trekking I'll be able to write more up on EPSA and the women there, as I'll have spent more time with them and hopefully be able to speak to them.

I’m very happy but have to admit am also feeling pretty miserable. There are so many people I've talked to who work so hard, and can't get jobs where they've got their degree's or skills, who would love to travel but don't have the money, and here I am, not having worked very hard for this trip. I appreciate what I have so much but I feel so deeply sad and guilty that I have all these un-worked for privileges while everyone here works so hard and yet still don’t get the choices I get to have, it is beyond the word unfair...  work for justice really seems like the only work to ever be interested in. (Padam keeps calling to make sure i've had dinner :p, so lovely and silly, both Padam and Susil are looking after me like a little sister, it is very lovely and I appriciate them very much :)