Kathmandu Round 3

I'm back in Kathmandu! Again! Nepal is very different than India, it's small, and everything revolves around the capital. I'm back in Kathmandu to get an Indian visa for another border hop. Like all governmental agencies around the world, the Indian embassy has minimal hours for when one can apply for a visa. 9:30-12:00 AM. I've missed the opportunity today so I'll have to make the scramble tomorrow morning. The Nepali tradition of eating two meals a day, one mid-morning and then in the evening is perfectly suited for life in the villages, when things need to be prepared fresh each meal cooking twice saves time. The morning time is also perfectly suited for cutting grass for the animals and milking them, and getting work done before the heat sets in. At least now in the hot season. In the city though, where Nepali life has taken a fast paced 21st century twist, this model of dining seems to bump up against the needs of busy workers. Anyhow, I was cutting veggies for the morning meal rather than dashing across the city to wait in line for a visa.
I'm staying with a friend Bijay, who I met last time in Kathmandu. He's the secretary of USSHA foundation and also works for another NGO Association of Youth Organization Nepal. As I was walking out the door last time his wife told me to stay with them when I returned to Kathmandu, so yesterday I gave him a ring to ask him if I could stay. He said of course but didn't inform his wife, I was a surprise guest arriving at their door last evening. Both Bijay's wife and younger sister were happy to see me nonetheless.
I've spent the last week and a half incognito. I ventured out to another village, Dawa, in Gorkha district. My friend Laura, who I met in India told me of an NGO that is doing some great work. I had to see it before I left. Laura, from Australia, has spent lots of time in Nepal and told me that this project just had to be seen. I played a game of internet tag with Justin, from England, who is building a school in Balantar near Dawa. He's in England at the moment gathering funds so he can return and put some walls on the school. He's completed the foundations and will be back in some months to finish the job. Staying in Dawa was wonderful, although I had no work to do and was basically just bumming there. Giri, the headmaster of Dawa's school is the local contact with whom Justin is working. They've done some great work. Like installing Solar panels on the school to give it electricity even when the town doesn't have electricity due to Nepal's short supply. Walking around the village everyone asked me when Justin was going to be returning, or if he was there with me, people were always disappointed with my answers. The community is very responsive to the work being done and everyone I talked to spoke highly of Justin and his work. When he's back in the country I'm going to have to join him on this project. My memory of building a school in Ecuador still stands out as one of the best moments of my life. I commend Justin for his work, it's the first NGO I've encountered that's really walking the talk. If anyone is curious to learn more the website is: http://www.learningplanet.org.uk/
More to come, stay tuned since I've got free computer access!