good news- the bandha (strike/protest) in the far west is over.
bad news- there is a call for a bandha in kathmandu tomorrow which may effectively shut down travel routes TO the airport- and then continued bandha in the terai, which includes the area between the airport in danghadi and the road up to dadeldhura, means that even if i can get to the airport tomorrow, and can fly from kathmandu to danghadi, i may not be able to get to the road that will take me to dadeldhura.
so again, i pray and wait. i wonder what kind of lessons i'm learning here? hmmmmm.... such a mystery! haha. gotta' laugh. at this point, there isn't much use in doing anything else. i have always preached to my mission teams that flexibility is the single most important characteristic they can have. now it's time for me to put my money where my mouth is.
it was a good day here in kathmandu. flora, a really sweet nepali, took me on a sightseeing and shopping mission. we rode in a micro (the name of the minivans that can comfortably seat 8 but transport as many as 24 people at a time to destinations around the city), toured temples and royal courts, bought souveniers in small shops, ate veggie samosas (oh yum) and something that was suspiciously like fried donut holes soaked in syrup, and searched high and low for a traditional nepali outfit that would fit me. let me say here that the average nepali man is 5'4" and the women on average are 5'2". fitting me was a challenge. i started by hitting my head on the doorway of every room i entered. then, after much giggling and searching for the biggest get-up they could find, they would hand it to me and point me to a room the size of 1/2 a phone booth. inside, the ceilings were so low that i couldn't get my arms high enough over my head to put on the top, so i'd have to crouch down. then, i usually get stuck inside the top AND the room and flora would have to extricate me while the shop laughed. this was great on my ego- but did double my determination to lose some weight- and maybe 6 inches of height if i can figure that one out! haha. i did finally find a beautiful kourtas (not sure how it's spelled but that is the name of the bright embroidered top over the flowy, puffy circus pants that make up this regalia and it was in my size. we found it in the back of a darkened shop pretending to be closec because of the bandha (if you are found open, they will break your windows and trash your shop). we then took back alleys and up tiny crooked staircases to the tailor- 3 men sewing on foot operated machines and 3 ladies with children sewing by hand in a 3rd floor room in a broken down building.
one of the men made me sleeves for my kourtas so my shoulders will be covered when i wear it in the village.
they measured my arms and then commented in nepali, while looking at me with odd appreciation, that i had the biggest most muscular arms of any woman they'd ever measured. great distinction.lol. one sewed and one interrogated me. was i married? why not? didn't i have children? how old am i? what do i do for a job? again, why wasn't i married? was i looking for a nepali boyfriend? man, they sew slowly.........haha. i felt like a bond girl. very "spy sexy".
i had dinner at the home of ...okay- i have been writing this for two day and have lost internet connection and/or power 4 times since i started- so am going to send, though it is incomplete. i'd rather get SOME info out than none. i'll keep you informed when i hear the news i'm most interested in. will i or will i not get to dadeldhura today??!!??
bad news- there is a call for a bandha in kathmandu tomorrow which may effectively shut down travel routes TO the airport- and then continued bandha in the terai, which includes the area between the airport in danghadi and the road up to dadeldhura, means that even if i can get to the airport tomorrow, and can fly from kathmandu to danghadi, i may not be able to get to the road that will take me to dadeldhura.
so again, i pray and wait. i wonder what kind of lessons i'm learning here? hmmmmm.... such a mystery! haha. gotta' laugh. at this point, there isn't much use in doing anything else. i have always preached to my mission teams that flexibility is the single most important characteristic they can have. now it's time for me to put my money where my mouth is.
one of the men made me sleeves for my kourtas so my shoulders will be covered when i wear it in the village.
they measured my arms and then commented in nepali, while looking at me with odd appreciation, that i had the biggest most muscular arms of any woman they'd ever measured. great distinction.lol. one sewed and one interrogated me. was i married? why not? didn't i have children? how old am i? what do i do for a job? again, why wasn't i married? was i looking for a nepali boyfriend? man, they sew slowly.........haha. i felt like a bond girl. very "spy sexy". 
i had dinner at the home of ...okay- i have been writing this for two day and have lost internet connection and/or power 4 times since i started- so am going to send, though it is incomplete. i'd rather get SOME info out than none. i'll keep you informed when i hear the news i'm most interested in. will i or will i not get to dadeldhura today??!!??
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