I Have A Dream: Fresh Veggies For Every Child

Now that I've finally adopted a comfortable routine, the full moon tells me it's time to go...

The last weeks I've been getting up at 6. I have my tea and do a bit of reading or writing. I take my breakfast around 7:30 (muesli and curd or eggs and toast), followed by a quick perusal of the Himalayan Times. Finally, a nice long swim in my beloved lake...

When the Himalayan Times is delivered, it's brought directly to me. This is what I appreciate about spending some time in one place. The people around get to know you, your habits and preferences and idiosyncrasies. A few months in one place and the locals are sure to notice. Before you know it, you're part of the community gossip!

Headlines in the local papers are peppered with the Maoists' latest antics. They seem always to be "manhandling" someone. At the moment they're planning protests in September. The rest of the headlines usually deal with those killed in landslides and/or overturned busses. (This is one of the reasons I felt inclined to stay here in Pokhara, as each time I thought to go, another bus accident headline changed my mind!) One article I read noted that Nepali jails are known for having some of the worst conditions in Asia. I repeat, some of the worst conditions in Asia.

This prompted me to visit the local jail, both to have a look for myself and also to cheer up any forlorn western prisoners with a chat and perhaps an apple muffin. Seems there was only one westerner, an Aussie, who had served a two-year sentence for forgery and was recently released. I was told his only visitor was the occasional enbassy official. Of the 61 prisoners in the Pokhara jail, 16 of them are women. Most of the women were involved in smuggling young girls (a.k.a. slave trade), while most of the men went down on drug-related charges. Each inmate gets 30 rupees (about 50 cents US) and 700 grams of rice daily. Now, I'm no expert, but as far as jails go, I thought it looked pretty humane. Though I admit that no one was smiling.

I had a bit of a revelation the other day; vegetables are "expensive," but you can buy a small package of Parle G (TM) biscuit for THREE RUPEES. I do believe there is nothing cheaper than a 3-rupee package of nutritionally worthless biscuit. I suddenly understood with great clarity the problem of malnutrition in Nepali children. They live on biscuit, and biscuit is not food. This is a huge problem happening all around the world, including my very own country. A bigger problem than I can articulate now..needless to say I am deeply disturbed and will not be able to claim ignorance on this point in the future...

Alas, the time has come to head south, destination: Madras, Tamil Nadu. I will, of course, take my time getting there, with my first stop at the birthplace of Lord Buddha in Lumbini (about 6-7 hours south of here) near the border of India.

love and light to my loved ones,
LMA

PS: I finally swam across the lake! It was slightly less than an hour, during which I had the marvellous idea to make a pilgrimage to holy bodies of water!


Five Tips for Effective International Communication:

1) Avoid conjugating verbs whenever possible.
ex:
He go swimming.
She like to dance.

2) Avoid using prepositions whenever possible.
ex:
Can you explain me please?
I go Mahendrapool.

3) Use fewer words and speak them SLOWLY. In general, two words is good.
ex:
bus....coming?
toilet...possible?
buffalo....danger?

4) Give up using "do" and "doesn't," especially in question forms.
ex:
You like coffee?
He want to go Panchassee?

4) If you are American, just don't speak. Nobody can understand Americans except other Americans.