An Album
Kathmandu
Dasain 4: It’s Not All Blood and Guts
While Nepal is infamous for its archaic rituals in the modern day, not everyone engages in such slaughter. Fortunately for animals and for society, many people now consider the excessive bloodshed of Dasain unnecessary. Instead of killing an animal, they will crack a...
Dasain 3: Keep Your Taxi Running Well
The 9th day of Dasain is a time to bless machines or tools.This keeps them in good working order, helps avoid accidents and mishaps, and brings you success. Items commonly blessed include: Tools Knives Guns Drums Musical instruments Computers Books...
Dasain 2: Animal Sacrifice
The 10-day festival of Dasain begins with the planting of barley seeds in a clay pot and ends with a blessing from elders. In between, hundreds of thousands of animals are ritually slaughtered across the country. To curry favor with Kali, to complete ancient Tantric...
Dasain 1: The Triumph of Good Requires Bloodshed
The goddess Kali Durga, consort to Shiva, wears a garland of severed heads, wields an array of weapons, and stands with Shiva beneath her feet. Kali is a visage of wrath, but also a universal mother and powerful protectress. She symbolizes the triumph of good over...
Mornings At Bouddhanath
All week I've been living in the center of Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal. I don't often stay at a hotel around Bouddhanath Stupa because the traffic is terrible, but it's certainly magical here. At 5:30am a long, low gong sounds to wake the monks at the monastery next...
Kathmandu Adaptation
In Kathmandu, my world is quickly reshaped. My personal space allotment has been sliced in half, proven by the woman who partially sits on my lap as 17 of us are packed into an 8-person vehicle this morning. Conversely, my patience has doubled (but this may still not...
Landed In Kathmandu
How many Nepalis does it take to pick me up at the airport? Four. Seriously. This is Asia. Relationships and personal connections are paramount. When someone arrives at an airport, you go to greet them. When I started Peace Corps, my soon-to-be friends hiked two hours...
Maoist Menace
Nepal's nationwide shutdown, begun by the Maoists on May 1, aims to force the Prime Minister to resign and hand power back to the Maoists. With human rights observers and TV crews walking the streets, it feels more like a street festival than an angry protest. Groups...
EBC: Kathmandu Return
We all relish the comforts of civilization, but everyone does R&R in their own way. A final day in Kathmandu...for shopping the dazzling array of wares in absurdly small stores packed with all they can hold...for gazing up at 17th century pagoda temples stretching...
EBC: The Beginning (Buddhist Version)
Bouddhanath Stupa is the center of Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal--and one of my favorite places in the city. As soon as you enter the gate, the chaos of the streets recedes. Prayer wheels spinning, monks chanting, and prayer flags fluttering...a quiet peace infuses...
EBC: The Beginning (Hindu Version)
How do you start a journey to Everest Base Camp? With a blessing, of course. Whether Hindu or Buddhist, no one leaves their home and embarks on a long journey without a blessing first. At the Hindu holy temple of Pashupatinath, where monkeys scamper, ascetics...