Kathmandu Quirks & Internal Conflicts (AKA Lamentations of an RPCV)

Now for the filler post- all the little things that make up the big picture and are part of the ride.

Nepal definitely qualifies as a Peace Corps country. Between the abject squalor, load shedding of electricity (there isn't enough power for the whole country, so electricity gets shut off by region for certain hours of the day) and generally poor infrastructure (the streets were flooded yesterday after a monsoon-like downpour, and to get home, I literally waded through rainwater mixed with what was certain to be a component of raw sewage), one shouldn't be fooled by the fact that WiFi is nearly ubiquitous. Priorities lean towards boosting the economy, and that means feeding the tourism beast. Which I guess is better than Turkmen priorities of driving a BMW to promote a façade while still squatting in a pit toilet and having no phone. 

The tourism draw to Nepal is obvious for anyone who loves mountains. But combine this with the aforementioned economic and development problems made worse by Maoist insurgency during the People's War, and the Returned Peace Corps Volunteer in me is riddled with guilt for dropping in for a month to one of the 10 poorest countries in the world and not truly rolling up my sleeves & getting my hands dirty. Not quite sure how to reconcile that, especially given that the other part of me will always have an element of visceral exhaustion and compassion fatigue after what seems like a decade taken off my total lifespan from serving in the "worst place to live" in the world as ranked by the Economist. I suspect this internal conflict is something with which I will always continue to struggle. This stray Nepali dog looks how I feel:

Another aspect of the tourism industry I find difficult to digest here is that it seems to have referenced items straight off the "Stuff White People Like" website. Paragliding, zip-lining, white water rafting, mountain biking (separate post to follow on trekking/climbing)- doing all these things in Nepal sounds like something that would get me giddy if I saw them during a screening of the Banff Mountain Film Festival. But being here and walking by homeless kids in the street on one's way to go on an ultralight flight of the Annapurnas just doesn't feel right. And I wonder if this degree of tourism is compromising Nepal's ability to fully develop in other ways.

I've come to some other realizations this week:

a) I don't think I will ever truly, deeply know a place as a second home, love it and hate it, and actually be homesick for it like I did Turkmenistan. Things are almost too easy here for travelers. And everyone speaks English, which frustrates me in trying to learn Nepali. I'm reminded of a host country friend's comment that summarizes this sentiment: you can't really start to understand a culture until you can joke in their language. 

b) When I travel alone, I need to have a meaningful purpose to my days, like working in this clinic, otherwise I get a little nuts, and almost bored. Conversely, the fun stuff is more fun with buddies. Wait, did I just have a Chris McCandless/Leo Tolstoy moment? "Happiness is only real when shared"? Maybe.

The rest are less profound and thus qualify for the next edition of ROL (Random Observations List). I leave you with what's been brewing up in my dome:

1) I can still use a pit toilet, hand wash my clothes, & use a hand towel as a bath towel with the best of 'em...though I need a haircut to tame down my current lioness mane.

2) The Kathmandu airport has Tensa barriers. Despite my above comments, Nepal is a civilization that's going to make it. We considered introducing these to Turkmenistan as a secondary Peace Corps project because their infrastructure, even on a micro-level, was so chaotic. I wish someone still would. You can't make it in this world if you don't even know how to form a line like a mature adult.

3) Traveling without contacts after LASIK surgery? PRICELESS.

4)  Say what you might about Chacos, but my 10-yr old pair still stand up like beasts to unpaved roads that devour other shoes like no tomorrow.

5) I will never understand why business men in developing countries are over-cologned and have impossibly pointy dress shoes.

6) Plastic has corrupted the developing world.