Life in Boharatar (spelling probably awefully wrong)
about 80% of the shops in my neighborhood do not accept 1000 rupee bills (about 12.5 us dollars) because they do not carry that much change
The kids in the orphanage have zero concept of going to hang out with a friend after school . . . it just doesn't exist for them
Laundry is done in a bucket
Teeth are brushed using water from a faucet in the shower . . . toothpaste is spat onto the shower floor, along with extra rice/curry when lots of people are washing plates and the outside faucet is occupied
Butchers kill their meat on the side of the road . . . i watched a goat get beheaded, de-haired, and chopped up . . .
it is FREEZING in the morning, i am warm under my blankets, but it must be close to 35 degrees in the morning . . . once the sun comes out it warms up
Power outages cause there to be times where there is no light in the toilet late at night . . .there is a bucket in the boys room for night peeing
Now about the Shiva festival:
meh, it was pretty cool, a lot more secular than i had imagined. Since we were tourists we shot past all of the lines of locals waiting to enter the main area, and it was just a huge mosh of people smoking a lot of weed and hanging out with sadhu men (holy men). These are men who have given up all of their possessions and basically everything in their lives to live a life of . . . im not really sure what, that includes wearing a sheet, smoking a lot of pot, and sharing the secrets of life with people. They are pretty awesome, but kind of pathetic at the same time. Three of the six volunteers "hung out" with a sadhu for a little and attracted a huge Nepali crowd. Other than that we just walked around, got smashed by a literal human mob of people, and ate lunch . . . with some deliciously "special" desserts. All in all it was alright . . . the Tibetan new year is coming up tomorrow so we are heading back to a Tibetan part of town to see what that's all about
thanks again for all the comments! more updates soon, going to plan some fun activities like rafting/hiking
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Hi Ben,
ReplyDeleteCNN reports that 49 States have snow, and there is more to come. You probably know, but school for Steven has been "shut down" for the past week, and so has the Federal government. Baltimore and DC have been hit hard by the storms. So much for global warming?
Benji, I'm legit dying reading your hilarious stories. Most Sadhus are pretty pathetic, they oggle at women too...their dreadlocks are pretty sweet though, you've got to admit. Hopkins is a shit show right now..we've been snowed in for a whole week. wish I could join you and pee in a bucket :)
ReplyDeleteWatching goats get beheaded... at least you know where your food is coming from :)
ReplyDeleteIf you meet any tibetan monks ask if they can sing in a dual-tone voice please!
"Special" deserts eh! ?!?!? As good as the NY stuff lol
ReplyDeleteadding things to bring to India: headlamp, shower shoes, vegetarianism..... ;)
ReplyDelete<3 !!
The Shiva Festival sounds to me like a typical summer afternoon in NYC's Washington Square Park.
ReplyDeleteDo you think any of those kids miss the bucket a little bit in the middle of the night? I can't even hit the toilet all the time at 3am and I've had a lot more years to practice. Ika is looking for some extra work, we'll send her over.