My Nepal

 

Big cities and small villages 

The greenness of rice fields 

Bus boys shouting

Mountains 

  

 

Smells and tastes 

  

 

The village of Khokana in the morning

 

Street dogs

 

Moments at work 

 

Rubbish at the side of the roads 

 

Stupas

 

Sounds  

Traditions 

 

Animals 

 

Loo Niva 

 

Symbols 

 

People you meet

and who become your friends 

  

 

Life without electricity   

 

Guns around you all the time 

Specific colors   

Old and modern side by side 

 

Countless new experiences and precious memories. 

Fragments of experiences and thoughts

When simplified, new experiences are things that happen in a way that we are not used to. In a new country, new experiences are things that are usually culturally different - the experience can deepen because our socialization doesn’t work, and we’re very aware of the new situation.

In a Nepali restaurant, you might get a spoon and a fork to eat with, but no knife. And when you look around, you notice that you are supposed to put the fork in your right hand and the spoon in your left one. Or if you visit a Nepali home, you might be expected to use only your hands for eating, which is actually quite a nice experience.

Sometimes I’ve triggered a new experience in the local people. When I hear music, it’s somewhat hard for me to stay still. I just have to dance, at least a bit, by nodding my head, or tapping my fingers or leg. This is funny for the locals; they stare and laugh. I suppose it is because girls are not encouraged to dance and perform, at least not in the public. Spread the joy, I say.

My love for dogs is also bit unfamiliar here. Most people don’t understand why I would want to scratch a fleabag, let alone share my food with them. I’m sure it is hard to understand, as for me it seems odd why a cow is the most sacred animal, and not a goat, for example.

I also usually decline the offered hot water and prefer cold. For Nepalese I probably seem very tough or foolish to be drinking cold during the cold winter months!

Sometimes you are faced with very different ideas than you are used to. For example, people think that you are rich, because of your skin color or the laptop you have. In a way this is true - In Finland, I probably do have more money per month than they do. However, the idea of being rich is almost funny, because as a student I’m part of the poorer population in Finland. And to be honest, I don’t even own my laptop.

Many times some locals seem to think that people in the west are happier because of money and possessions. Poor people have even said to me, that it’s better to be a dog in Finland than a child in Nepal. This kind of ideas lead poor people to give their children to adoption to the west - they hope that they’ll get better opportunities there. The parents here are usually ill- educated, they don’t know the proper channels, and children can end up in black markets.

The difference I’m faced often with is in the relationship between men and women. When I tell, that my parents would encourage me to date and live with someone before I consider marriage - if I even want to marry – Nepalese are amused. I wish I could have been amused, when I heard that a mother convinced her daughter to get married at the age of 16, because she was dating a boy. Huge contrast to the west, though it seems this kind of situations are not as common as before. 

Maybe the biggest difference, that can be seen in this text as well, is the wealth of my country. Other differences are just habitual - differences in practicing religion, forming a family and so on. It makes me wonder, if wealth is the reason why I am here, assisting in development co-operation. Because of history, situations and so many other factors, my home country has been given the chance to develop it’s current political, economical and material situation. Does this make us responsible for others? Without going any deeper into economics, I do believe that we in the west are at least partly responsible for the economical structures that keep poor countries from developing and channels the biggest profits to the west. I do also believe that my ancestors didn’t do all the work and struggling just for me, so I could have education and freedom of choice. I don’t believe that they were so short-sighted that they would only wish people with same gene pool to profit. I think they were working for a better tomorrow for all, and I think we should carry on where they left off.  

On volunteering

Is volunteering helping, new form of tourism, a needed mark in your CV or something else?  

For the local salesmen it is a form of tourism. For them anyone with pale skin is a tourist, with pockets full of money wanting to shop shop and shop. And while in the foreign country, sure I want to try to see some of the country, including some touristic places and perhaps buy few of those lovely pashminas. But at least for me, the travelling and what I want to see comes second, first comes my work. If I have the free time to travel and see things, great! But most of the days I’m working full workdays, and after the day you are too tired and it is too dark to play a tourist.   

One of the reasons I applied for Loo Niva was that I could use my education. I felt, that if I could use my education while working on interesting issues I surely would be motivated. And I was right! Of course the mark in the CV is a nice bonus, but I doubt you would go through the possible illnesses, power cuts and boredomness in the long evenings just because of the mark.  

I had my doubts about been able to help. This doubt was connected to my abilities, but also the abilities of the receiving organization willingness to use my abilities, and in the structure of the volunteering system: are volunteers just a link to the funding, and received solely for this purpose. I’m very glad my doubts were proven very wrong. Etvo chooses their partner organizations carefully, and top of it I got very lucky with my organization. I’ve been working with very interesting projects and Loo Niva has at least made me feel useful. In top of this, I feel I have learned a great deal about development co-operation and many other things. 

So volunteering is many things and it depends on the volunteer which aspects are stronger than others. But who should volunteer? Anyone I guess, but I do recommend that you have the willingness to help and work, so you find the motivation even when tired and irritated. And the stereotypical openmindness is important, by this I mean the willingness to face new challenges and experiences and not to care if and when the work, the living, the life is not as you imagined it to be. Of course it’s good to have some strength at the same time, so you know how far you can bend before you crack. Also a high tolerance of loneliness is needed, probably you’d be spending a lot of time on your own, because your local friends are busy with their own life, it is not safe to go out after dark and there is no internet or electricity. You can also feel alone, even if people surround you all the time; in many cultures the Finnish personal space is non-existent. Lucky for me I’ve always enjoyed those liminal spaces: the feeling that you have left but not yet arrived, and in the meantime I’ve been able do something useful and interesting! Though the inevitable feeling of leaving sucks, because you will arrive at some point, though you would understand it only when saying goodbye.  

I recommend opening your world a bit and learning about the world around you. Some boring nights, cold showers and few stomach bugs are a low price to pay for the wonderful experiences and life’s lessons!  

Small, smaller.. minority

I’ll write about something that stops me: the rights of minorities.

Nepal is a country where there are tens of ethnic groups, so we could ask who are the minorities? I would see minorities as groups that do not have as much power; political, economical or symbolical, and the group members are discriminated within the society. This still leaves as many groups. But based on my experience I would mention: low caste members, sexual minorities, women and children.

So what do I base my view of these groups as minorities that are discriminated?

Low caste members struggle with many issues. They are in a loop of poverty, they struggle to get their children educated, people in the society (themselves included) see them as plain stupid and this keeps them from getting many opportunities. Not only does the caste passes down also the poverty and place in the society passes on. It is quite unusual to see a low caste member in a high position in politics, in work market or in community. This means that high caste members have all the connections to high positions and others are left without.

Sexual minorities have a good status on paper, the court in Nepal has ruled, that non-heterosexuals including third gender persons should have the same rights as any other person. But in reality these issues are silenced and parents kick out and deny children that don’t behave in the “good-old-way”. Also this group faces a lot of violence and prejudice from the society. And because of the silence, there is no understanding; for example a former minister has stated, “Homosexuality is a product of capitalism. Under socialism this kind of problem does not exist!”

Nepal is a highly patriarchal society, and the position of the male is protected by traditions and religion. Nepal is also a very homosocial culture, by which I mean that males form tight inner groups, where there is no space for females. When trying to break these formations, one faces many problems. For example Loo Niva has tried to find more women for their board and other dimensions of their activities, but women with the needed experience usually have a family, which means that they are responsible all of the household works and with a job how could they manage the time for NGO work, even if they would be interested? Besides, the husband might oppose. 

The status of women is seen allover the society: less women with education, lower literacy rate for women, women are poorer, women face more violence, there are less women in high posts etc etc. This is also a very difficult area, because traditions support the low status of women. For example during periods Hindu women are not allowed inside the temple. When I asked a local woman does she see this as a problem or as discrimination, the answer was: no. The same answer was given, when I asked does she see it as a problem that she is responsible for more domestic work than the males in her family. Nepal is honor based society, and one should always behave honorable way, so s/he would not bring disgrace on themselves let alone their families. And the honorable way of life is defined by the traditions. And females loose their honor easier than males.

Children have very little power over their own life. A child should do what the parent tells: go to school, work, do domestic work etc. And children should always respect their elders, otherwise (or with no clear reason at all) a teacher, a parent, an employer has the right to beat a child. Also children face a lot of sexual abuse, especially the child workers. It would seem that a child is seen as a less of a human than an adult. Therefore a child doesn’t seem to have the same human rights. Because some of the parents and schooling system treats children very badly, I don’t wonder why some choose rather to work than go to school: at work children can experience empowerment and get power through money. Then again many children would choose education if they could, but they can’t because of poverty (parents don’t have money to send them to school), gender (some think that there is no reason to educate girls, because all they have to learn is to be a good wife) or caste (they are not seen to have the capability to learn).

Sometimes faced with these problems I would like to scream. There seems to be so much to do, but the question what can you do stops you. And what is in your right to do, because you are not a part of this society and therefore can’t understand the meaning of traditions and the structures that run the society. In a way, I’m in good position. I can help by doing work, which is asked by the locals. There are many NGOs in Nepal, that work on children’s rights, women’s rights and human rights. Their work is important in this country, which is still in turmoil with its political past and current situation. Sometimes I fear that all the efforts for change will be stumbled by the political problems. Also people don’t trust the politicians and don’t believe in the change by politics; in current situation politicians don’t seem to be able to change things, policies don’t move directly to the grass root level and furthermore some people think that politicians are only after their own benefits and many of the politicians are from a high caste. Still I see a lot of potential in this country, people that want a change and believe in a change. It’s up to all of the Nepalese people including all the castes, men and women, children and old people to decide in what kind of society they want to live in and we can help them in their efforts.     

Dogs, they run

It’s hard to believe how many dogs there are around the Kathmandu valley. They sleep rolled up in the side of the roads, they howl at the moon at nights and they go around minding their own business, sometimes stopping to see if you would have some treat for them.

I find it sad, that most of them are scared of humans, always eying are you going to kick and keeping out of the way. Then there are the ones who get so happy, when you greet them or play with them a bit. One time this one dog saw me waiting for a bus across the road. He stopped, looked left and right, crossed the road, licked my hand and happily went on his way – I guess he thought I deserved a kiss.

Mostly the dogs have a life of their own. They have their routes and their lives. I meet many of the same dogs daily at certain times in certain places: the one, in the mornings who has hurt his leg, but still he runs with three legs happily alongside the bus going somewhere, the ones that come and check our yard at work, sometimes getting a nap in the sun, or the dogs who live on my street, always checking who is coming and going.

Most of the dogs are very clever; they look right and left before crossing the road. They know the best places to find lunch or dinner. But sometimes these Tramps get into accidents, like the one I saw lying bleeding beside the road- there was nothing to be done anymore. There are also the Ladys – the ones who have owners. Some of them live only inside the human homes, others get food and perhaps shelter from the people, but may come and go as they please. I’m not sure how lucky are the ones living inside of peoples homes, it seems that there is not a lot of awareness about dog treatment here, and the home-dogs don’t get out for exercise that often.

In Buddhism is believed, that someone who hurts animals in his or her human life, like a butcher, will be reborn as an animal. After several reborns as animals, they will be born as dogs and after the dog life there is opportunity to be humans again. Also in Hinduism there is space for the dog.: Kukur (dogs) are believed to guard the underworld. And during the festival Tihar also dogs get their blessings; they will get a tika on their head and flowers on their neck.  

Though there is space in the religion for dogs, they are not respected animals in the Nepalese culture. I’m sure there are dog lovers, but for most the dog is a useless animal, because it doesn’t produce anything important: milk, eggs, meat. This also means that there are quite a lot of dogs in bad shape, with bruises, diseases, malnourishment… But nevertheless it makes me happy to see these creatures run around in their own lives, and I don’t mind the random kiss every now and then.  

How's life

I’ve started thinking how has my life changed from the beginning of my time in Nepal. And in a way not much. The chores and the life rhythm are pretty much the same as in beginning. I still go to work with the same buses, I still wash my laundry in the balcony, I still watch series or movies from my computer in the evening etc.

I’ve learned a lot though. I know my way around in Patan and in some extent in Kathmandu. I know where to find different kinds of shops, which bakery has the best croissants or where to find the right buses (most of the time). I understand how to behave in different kind of situations: how to greet, how to signal I want out of a bus, how to interpret peoples facial expressions and body language.  Of course I don’t always get it right, but enough times to make my life easier.

In some ways life has gotten more demanding. The power cuts- or loadshedding as they are called here- are getting longer, now 9 hours a day. This means evenings in torch and candle light, without a computer because the battery doesn’t last long enough. This is a country in electricity crisis; not enough power plants and they run on water anyway and now is the dry season, a lot of people, and no money to buy electricity from abroad. The temperature drops near to zero in the nights, so without central heating the houses get very cold. I sleep with quite a lot of clothes on. Showers are no picnic either in the cold air, and my boiler can’t always decide wheatear to give me hot or cold water. And at times also the water runs out. The unstable political atmosphere also causes it’s own problems; maioists decide to have a strike which closes everything and stops all traffic, there is a demonstration, or there is a banda, which means that there is no traffic in or out of the valley. 

It is one month to go, and then I have to be on a plane on my way to Finland. The things described above tell of things that makes returning easier; electricity all the time, working internet connections and phone lines, safe water on the taps and the water is cold or warm just as I wish, and warmth! Of course it’s also wonderful to see friends and family again. But  there are more things that I’ll surely miss than what I wont. The people, the mountains, the colours, the laughter, the religious music from the streets, the positive attitude towards life, downstairs neighbor always wanting to chat, the dogs and other animals that are around you all the time, the beautiful architecture, coworkers shaking hands each morning they meet, momos…

Though it’s nice to go back to Finland, to the things you know and to a working infrastructure, there are so many things I wish I could take with me. But I’ll try to concentrate on the present, so life doesn’t feel too much of a countdown. And if my mind starts to travel I’ll concentrate on the idea of a evening with electricity and my friends in Finland (maybe with a bottle of cider also), so the rest of my time here doesn’t feel so bitter sweet.   

Rice Feeding Ceremony

When a Nepalese baby turns seven months it is time to start tasting solid foods. This is also a time for celebration, because now the child is ready to have rice! I was honored to take part in my co-workers child’s rice feeding celebration.

The center of the village of Khokana was separated for the party with colorful cloths. The celebration boy was receiving guests with his parents in the down stairs of the village’s temple. He was dressed in red and in a typical Nepalese way his eyes were lined with black. People gave presents and made a red tika on his forehead as a blessing.

It is very usual that all the small children have eyes lined with black, this is seen to make their eyes more beautiful. All the small children also wear jewelry, they have long hair and their clothing is not gendered – in Newar community at least. It is hard to tell weather a child is a boy or a girl, but I think they are on the right track with this one: does it actually matter which sex the child is and to whom does it matter? Though when the children are five years old, the boys' hair is cut and after this time they will not wear the jewelry anymore and the clothing starts to be gendered.    

After greeting the child and parents quests continued for the feast. First starters, with some crab crackers, nuts and other dishes- and meat for the meat eaters, this was a Newar feast after all. Then the main course sitting outside. This contained naturally beaten rice and different kinds of bean dishes- and buffalo and other meats for the meat eaters in different forms. We were also served rice beer, and a traditional very bitter soup that is good for ones health and curd (yoghurt) for dessert.    

For a Finn the celebration reminded a Christian christening in a way: the child is dressed in ceremonial clothes, people bring presents and bless the child. And then people eat together. But the rice feeding ceremony has more guests, because the idea of friends and family is wider, and so he also gets more presents. But as in Finland there are some traditional gifts given, in Nepal they are jewelry, clothes and the child is usually blessed with yoghurt and the child as well as the parents get duck eggs.

As the name tells us, this is the time the child tastes rice for the first time. This ceremony is a good example how important rice is in Nepal. 

Being a tourist

I have done few touristic trips during the last month, so I thought I could explain something about those trips, in case someone needs travel tips.  

Last Resort

A resort near the border of Tibet. There are two resorts very close together, the Borderlands and Last Resort. They both offer very similar packages with rafting, benji jumping, trekking etc etc. I have no good reason why we chose The Last Resort, I guess someone recommended it and I don’t have a bad thing to say either.

We went to the resort for one night. The bus leaves from Thamel very early in the morning, so we had to take a taxi before the sunrise from Patan. Then over four hours in the bus with very nice views.

The resort is situated on the other side of a river from the main road to Tibet. It is inside of a forest with mountains looking down on it, and very peaceful. It has a bar, a restaurant, showers, a sauna (!!) and tents to sleep in. The atmosphere of the place is nice, though a bit touristic – but you get what you order.

We didn’t want to jump from the bridge, as 90 % of the tourists there: a very nice jumping place though, a high bridge over a river that’s runs in a canyon. We wanted to cycle to see the Tibetan border, so with a guide on to a bike and 15 km uphill to go. I loved the exercise! The uphill is not very steep, but not having dhal bhat for breakfast and without any lunch it was hard enough – people, eat well before the cycle! The road was somewhat challenging, at times sand and rocks, but most of the time a bit dull asphalt road. The children beside the road shouting hello, give me a rupee, was a bit irritating.. But the scenery was nice, though the border itself is nothing grand. And coming down was soooo much fun!    

After the cycle we got a lunch and before the dinner we reserved the sauna, which was well built with a wooden stove. Though the temperature didn’t rise over 60 degrees – a proper sauna must be at least 80 degrees – it felt so good! And then dinner and drinks.

The next day before returning to Kathmandu, we went for a small hike in the surrounding hills. Very nice views with very little effort! All in all was a very relaxing and fun experience! The resort is beautiful, food was a bit dull, but I would say the trip was forth the about 40 €.

Chitwan- Tiger Camp

We wanted to have a different kind of Christmas, so towards the jungle it was!

Again a bus from the center, early in the morning and in the bus for 6 hours or so. We spent 2 nights in Chitwan riverside, our resorts name was Tiger Camp. There were not so many tourists around and many of them where local Nepalese tourist, which we were happy about.

On the first evening we were taken to a near by village of Tharus, which was actually very interesting, because it was very different from the Newari style villages I’ve used to. Tharus used to live deep in the jungle and some of their ways of life are still maintained. We also visited the Elephant Breeding Center. Where we naturally saw lots of elephants, elephant babies and elephant football was more interesting than the original thing!

The next day we took a canoe ride along the river, a walk in the jungle and an elephant ride in the jungle. The nature was beautiful and we saw many animals: crocodiles, monkeys, dears, birds, rhinos.. December starts to be a bit chilly especially in the evenings and mornings even in Chitwan, but on the other hand it meant, that not so many mosquitoes around.

The two day stay was very nice and eventful! We were treated very warmly at the resort. The jungle was a very different kind of Nepal we were used to and further showed how a complex and vivid country this is. And of course you are interested in the prize: 95 dollars.

Here are some other places I would recommend in Kathmandu valley:

The Buddhist monkey temple, Swayambhunath: A bit touristic, but beautiful, with monkeys.

Pashputinah, the big Hindu temple in Kathamndu: Interesting, beautiful, more monkeys, a bit expensive (500 rs) and irritating because of the guides and others after tourists’ money.

Patan, the city: nice atmosphere, beautiful city. (I live here)

Bhaktapur, the city, very beautiful, expensive to get in (750 rs). Similar architechture as in Patan but in bigger scale. Not so so many tourists around. 

Khokana, Newari village 20 minutes bus ride from Patan. Very very nice village, though wouldn’t like it to turn too touristic. (The village where most of my co-workers live)

Places I haven’t found so interesting: Kathamandu Durbar Square (beautiful, but touristic, and the guides are very irritating), Boudha (beautiful, but basically a big white temple), Thamel (touristic touristic touristic, but a good place to shop), Pokhara I'm not sure about- it is beautiful with the lake and the mountains, but Lakeside felt like Thamel to me.. 

So those are the places I have enjoyed the most. Of course there is more to see than this, but I would also recommend trying to enjoy Nepal with not so much hurry of things to see. And I would strongly recommend getting out of Kathmandu to the rest of the valley at least! There is a whole world outside of Thamel! And it is nice! If you have the time, go trekking.

A great western New Year to all!!!