some mid-trip thoughts.....

So this morning I realized that today, July 6th, is my anniversary- I have officially been in Kathmandu for one month. And, being past the halfway point of the program, I figured that it was about time that I post to our very creatively named class blog. Plus, since I’ve finally been invited onto the page (shout out to Anthony) I really don’t have any excuse not to. So here goes a post, in honor of my and Nepal’s anniversary.

Not surprisingly, I’m going to start out with a reflection, and I really do mean a reflection….

Outside of the shop across the street from where I sit, idly bingeing on wireless, stands a cluster of full-length mirrors. Faced with the overwhelming blankness of an untitled word.doc, I’ve spent the better part of an hour watching as people pass by and encounter their own unexpected reflection, staring back at them in the wall of glass. For a second they pause, give a small, surprised smile, and then return to their commute, maneuvering through the chaos of the Kathmandu streets. And while presumably these mirrors have been arranged on the sidewalk in order to attract a buyer, I can’t help but think that somewhere in the dark, cool shadow of the shop, the creator of this little fun-house effect is enjoying the spectacle as much as I am.

I’m people-watching people watch themselves.

And in some way, I think that living in a foreign country, especially one like Nepal, is more than a bit like the effect of meeting oneself in those mirrors. Removed from our usual surroundings, the familiar context of New York and GPIA, stripped of the props and safety nets of home, we can be surprised by ourselves. (Well, at least I’m surprised.) Surprised by our ability to adapt and to tolerate the annoying and absurd, to learn a few words in Nepali, eat seemingly overwhelming quantities of rice, negotiate our neighborhoods, connect with our “families” and co-workers, stay in touch with home and the world at large, be bitten by bugs, watch Hindi TV, find things to do during load-shedding, and tolerate the heat, mud, political demonstrations, and truly indescribable smells. And in order to do all of that, in order to find some sense of accomplishment and enjoyment in the mundane details of daily survival, we have to let go of our own expectations and perceptions.

And this, I think, is the biggest challenge to myself, our group, and foreigners in any developing country: to suspend the automatic, superficial reaction to poverty and political dysfunction. To let go of our immediate reactions and repulsions and see that the people operating in this context are not trying to offend our foreign sensibilities, but are just trying to live. Yes, it is poor, and dirty, and it smells bad, but these are the lives that they live, and this is why we, or at least I, am here. We’ve come here not only to learn about water/politics/indigenous issues/microfinance/land/human rights/third gender/community organizing/what-have-you in Nepal, we’re also here to learn about ourselves. If nothing else, our time in Nepal should show us how lucky we are- to be able to hang out in Western style cafés, with pizza and diet coke on the menu, with Stafford funds to fall back on, that safety net only a cell phone call away, and a return ticket back to our every-day lives. We were never going to fix all of the problems here in 2 months, but hopefully we'll be able to see that these problems are worth fixing. While our time here is a mirror, forcing us to confront our own expectations and preconceptions, ultimately We decide what to focus on: either the great disparity between ourselves and those picking through the trash on the side of the road, or our common humanity.