Little Experiences

Here are some random little stories of events from the past week:

1. A group of us volunteers were on a morning walk with Lok, our host father, through the countryside of Banepa. On our return home, we saw a man chasing a dog across a field to a bunch of knee-high shrubs where he finally caught up with the cornered pup. Wielding a brick, he proceeded to stone the dog to death. The most awful sounds came from the dying dog with each strike of the brick before the man was able to entirely kill it. Appalled, we all turned away as Lok asked the man why he did it. Apparently the dog was killing his chickens. I know we punish misbehaving dogs sometimes with violence, or in severe cases, put them down, but I think I will always remember this scene just because it was such a primitive, abrupt way to end a life.

2. One day last week I stayed home from work to take care of my sick roommate. While she was taking a nap in the middle of the day, I decided to head out on the familiar hike to the tower on top of the mountain behind our house. This is a hike we normally do as a group 2 to 3 times a week in the morning hours. With everyone at work, I was on my own this time, but it was the middle of the day, so I didn't think much of going solo.

I got to the top and noticed four boys, probably 15 years in age, monkeying around the top of the tower. I decided to take my rest on the top of the hill instead of up in the tower with them, and stood looking out at the hazy valley. Seeing me, they immediately descended the tower and came up to me. The "leader" of the group started talking to me. He asked me if I was single. I was unsure if he was asking if I had a boyfriend or if I was alone on this walk; either way, I responded No. He turned to his friends and said something in Nepali and they all chatted and laughed. Then he asked me if I had a camera and pointed out to the valley I was looking at. I told him that I had been up here many times before and didn't need a camera. I pulled out my cheap Nepali mobile phone from my pocket, also to show him I had some sort of contact with people at that point in time, and said I didn't have a camera on it either. He and his friends talked more in Nepali and laughed more. I thought they were going to leave me alone then, but then the leader boy approached me again and held out his hand and said, "Give me your mobile." I told him no. He repeated the statement and I asked him why. He kept getting closer and closer each time and he and his friends were laughing. I decided to turn and head back down the hill. Behind me, I heard more chatter in Nepali and then he started yelling, "I will kill you!" Some of the other boys were yelling it too. "I will kill you!" "Give me your mobile!" "I will kill you!" I just kept walking. Then, there was a whoosh by my head as a liter sized water bottle filled three quarters of the way with water sailed narrowly past my ear. I turned around in disbelief and now the boy who threw it was acting like he had an invisible gun in his hand and was smiling and yelling, "I will kill you!" He then leaned over and picked up a jagged CD on the ground and chucked it at me. I continued walking down the hill, now with a little more pace. He followed me to retrieve his water bottle and threw it at me again. This time, I was expecting it and was able to easily avoid it. He followed me again and threw it again. Luckily his aim was shit and I figured if it was his only weapon, I wasn't in any danger. Still, it pissed me off that he thought he could steal some white person's phone just for shits and giggles. I wanted to turn around and run up the hill and snap his tiny frame in two, but I also didn't know if he or his friends had any other weapons that they might pull out if provoked. So I just played the boring, unfazed prey, and I guess it worked since I'm still alive now and he lost interest in me quickly. Either way, I'm not doing that hike alone again. The next set of boys could be a little more ballsy.

3. We went mountain biking this weekend with Project Abroad around the Kathmandu Valley. It took us most of the day to do a 45 km route up to several villages in the hillsides and by lots of temples. We stopped at random tea houses for Mango Juice boxes, biscuits and tea, and had lunch on a hillside in the shade. The going was rough, literally no pavement, all rocky, dusty, sandy, silty earth. At one point, we had to take off our shoes and pick up our bikes and wade across a miniature river that had flooded the path we were on. We felt pretty badass until a man in flip flops with an 8x5 foot wooden cabinet on his back (supported by fabric and rope wrapped around his forehead in true Nepali load carrying style) made the crossing with absolutely no hesitation.

It was great to see a softer, greener side of the Kathmandu area. The quiet villages in the hills and simple farming life the people lead up there seems so pleasant. Children happily run around in the fields and play in the mud while adults move about slowly but purposefully as they tend to their crops and chores. Smiles and hellos and namastes were constantly thrown in our direction. We must have been an entertaining parade of white people with ridiculously rainbow colored helmets and cameras, covered in sweat and dust with our fair skin already burning under the scorching sun. Overall though, it was a great but tiring day.