Days at home

I'm back in Nepal for the summer, trying to do some research but mainly helping out/hanging out with family. It's been raining a lot and most of my travel plans to villages and areas where I'd planned to do fieldwork have been on hold. I am now trying to follow up some leads for interviews and hopefully will have enough for the book manuscript by the end of my time here. Let's see.

One of the best bits of being back here is the shift between how I think of time when in the US of A and how it is here. Doing one thing here--calling a plumber to get the pump that pumps water to the underground tank fixed (we've not had running water for decades!)--takes a day. Going somewhere takes a day. This is how a day in Kathmandu looks like...

Wake up, drink tea*

Meander about and help Mum with breakfast for her, dad, uncle, etc (whoever's popped in)

Run errands: go to the shop, buy veggies, wash clothes and hang them, go in search of the 'net, etc

Lunchtime (rice, daal, veggies--always :-))

Try figure out one thing per day (e.g. how to clean out the study/how to pay for 6 months of Internet or if we still have a post box at the post office. Calling a plumber is something that takes all day)

Drink tea

Evening: check out the fruit trees around the house--mangoes, guava, persimmon, pomelo, pears or go for a (short) wander outside

Watch TV if lights are on

Dinner (usually roti and veggies or momo)

Hang out with the folks, sleep

* I never drink tea when I'm not here or with my other family back in the US. It's like "tea=family" and can't be had anywhere else...