So, as an English Language Fellow, fondly known as an “ELF”  ( I see myself dressed in a tight-fitting leprechaun-like green outfit, complete with red and white striped socks and green shoes with toes that have curly tips, all topped of with a soft felt pointed hat, also green, that has a bright shiny bell…Read more »

Today began like any other day.  Lakshmi and I headed out for her morning constitutional early, at 6:30 AM because the trainer was due to pick her up to take her to be spayed at 7 AM.   It was a Saturday and already the neighborhood was bustling with activity.  Every piece of athletic equipment that…Read more »

What comes to mind when I risk my life careening through the narrow streets and congested through ways of Kathmandu, is children’s building blocks scattered in wild abandon across the valley, as if the deities that we worship here, lead of course by Brahma, god of creation,  had, during a moment of lila (divine play) in…Read more »

Turns out that there is a scruffy little park across from my apartment building.  I thought it was just an empty lot but, when I left my house this morning wondering where a dog could do his business near here, I realized that I needn’t look any further than my own front yard.    Funny…Read more »

So far, my attempt to create a regular teaching schedule has been a quintessential example of a “low context” culture person encountering a “high context” culture and losing the fight.   My first challenge was that, of the two semesters of students, second and third, the second would not actually start until the halfway through the…Read more »

Ani, Abhi’s voice spoke reassuringly after having answered almost immediately when I called.  Apparently my name must flash across his phone when I call. Yes, Abhi, the dog is here again today. And the words I had been praying to hear from someone ever since I first fed her filled my heart with hope.  Of…Read more »

Hands down, I am a card-carrying cat lover.  Everyone who knows me will attest to this.  When it comes to dogs, however, my feelings are mixed.  It is certainly nice to be loved by a dog, but they also require a lot more attention than a cat.  Being the independent sort of gal that I…Read more »

I truly love a country that takes four weeks off to hold festivals to celebrate goddesses (no gods here, the feminine is Supreme) and light.   First comes Dashain, the longest and most auspicious festival in the Nepalese calendar.  Then comes Tihar, celebration of light. Dashain, celebrated during the bright lunar fortnight until the day of…Read more »

You are a Rwandan resident?   The Rwandan customs agent said to me just one month ago after reviewing the visa in my passport. Yes, I equivocated, rather than tell him that, although my passport said I was a resident, I was actually only back in town in transit, that I was leaving Rwanda tomorrow, possibly…Read more »

I moved into my new apartment in Kathmandu today.   Given the level of pollution when one is near street level, I am happy to say that I am on the third floor of a very nice apartment building.  The view on my rooftop, where I will hang my laundry to dry, is spectacular in all…Read more »