Great Expectations

I got out of the shower and came up to my room. When I went to turn on the light and nothing happened, I remembered it was Tuesday. The power goes out for 2 hours every Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s almost seven. I’m usually downstairs with Sandesh about to watch Friends, but since there’s no power, I’ll just write a blog post. It’s getting dark and it’s a little bit chilly, which is nice, because it’s been so hot most of my time here. There are people walking and kids darting in and out of them on their bicycles. A couple of pink kites are stuck, blowing in the breeze, in the power lines below my window. A boy a few roofs down in flying what looks like a shiny new pink kite, and I wonder how long it will be before it too meets it’s demise. Frogs are loudly croaking and a woman down the street is on her hands and knees pulling vegetables out of the black soil of her garden. There are also several dogs within hearing distance that always seem to be barking in a domino effect. I catch the smell of dal simmering somewhere and my stomach growls. No matter how I try I can’t get used to the eating schedule here. I eat breakfast at 8am, eat a snack at 2pm and eat dinner at 8. I’m usually so tired I go straight to bed after the news, which is okay b/c all of the hustle and bustle of a Kathmandu morning wakes me up at 5. The mountains are beautiful as always, a striking contrast to the dirty streets and faces below them. I’m hungry. I’m going to sneak downstairs and see if Krishna Didi will give me a piece of bread or something.

Chandle, this is your dignity, step away from the Charles Dickens book you found at Shanti’s. It’s influencing your blog posting and I don’t like it.

P.S. Anyone from Siloam Springs, remember how Mrs. Morris used to dress up like Ms. Havisham in her creepy, old wedding dress and come to school?