Darkness and Light

It has been a strange week. The load shedding schedule changed as expected and we're now up to 16 hours without electricity per day. The power is on for two four-hour blocks, one of which is usually in the middle of the night. It is increasingly difficult to get hot water for a shower and to warm up the apartment by a few degrees. There are protests about the power situation all the time; the streets are constantly congested and it's generally really hard to get around. On top of that, the garbage collectors aren't picking up the trash. I'm not sure what the deal is on that (I'm horrible about reading the papers) but I think they're also protesting the lack of electricity. Given that garbage just gets thrown onto the street daily without the benefit of bags, it's getting pretty nasty around here. Ah, the joys of Kathmandu.

I received some upsetting news from home this week, which has added to my frustrations. As the week progressed, the news got a bit better, but I'm still feeling quite uninformed and am struggling with being so far away. With the power outages as they are, it's difficult to communicate by email or Skype. I am hopefull that I'll have a good conversation with my mother later today and that it will ease my mind a bit. (I am writing this from an internet cafe as my power is off from 8AM - 4PM today. It's quite maddening to be paying for internet service at home and then having to go to an internet cafe and pay to use the internet there.)

Lest this all sound too depressing, let me reassure you that it's not all doom and gloom. I have made the acquaintance of a Scottish woman named Jackie who has been living here for some time. She has taken me under her wing and is getting me out and about in Kathmandu. I am meeting a lot of new people and attending some nice events. It's really good to have my social life pick up a bit, especially since there is so little to do on my own these days other than curl up under the covers with my headlamp and a book. I am spending a ridiculous amount of time in bed trying to stay warm. On Tuesday night we are attending the "Unofficial Inaugural Ball" in honour of Obama's swearing in. I am looking forward to it and hope to connect with more of the expat community. Last night we went to see "Slumdog Millionaire" - I recommend it for the not-too-faint-hearted among you.

Last Thursday and Friday, something went terribly wrong at the power company and I got an extra 3 hours of electricity both days. (It could be that they were making up for depriving me of three precious hours last Friday, but I can't imagine they're that organised.) I was at work on Thursday so it didn't affect me too much but I was home on Friday and had power from 9AM until 4PM. It was a miracle. I didn't get off my butt for 7 hours and had my heater, TV and the computer turned on the whole time. I refuse to apologize for this. At 4 I went and ran some errands and then had a couple of drinks in Thamel, barhopping so that I could visit Nepalese friends who work in various establishments. I'm not sure if the extended electricity boosted my mood or if there was some other factor at play, but I was just in a fabuous mood and I had a great time. I decided to walk home, which I don't normally do late at night. I put on my MP3 player and sang and danced my way home. Sadly, I learned that dancing your way home late at night in Kathmandu tends to attract unwanted attention (as it likely would anywhere), so in future I'll try to contain my nocturnal expressions of joy. I always feel safe here, but there's no sense tempting fate. I had to peel one amorous little man off me several times, and turned down an offer of $200 for sex from another guy on a motorcycle. The offer was presented in a particularly coarse way and my refusal was equally harsh. The guy was so surprised that I was rejecting him that I have to assume that his approach has been successful in the past. I guess $200 can be pretty tempting here - probably more than two month's rent to the average Nepali. Nothing like this has ever happened to me here before and I have to attribute it to my overt displays of happiness. Perhaps I looked stoned and like an easy mark?

Things have also sorted themselves out at work. I am now comfortable with what is expected of me and feel that I can make a useful contribution. Some issues turned out differently than expected, and while disappointed at first, I am now seeing that everything is happening for the best. I have asked not to be put in a teaching role anymore as being in the classroom was just a fate worse than death for me. I will still do some one-on-one tutoring, which I enjoy, but they'll have to find someone else to fill in when teachers call in sick. That has been a huge weight off my shoulders, and I wonder why it's so hard to admit that I am so uncomfortable teaching. It just seems so unacceptable, kind of like not wanting children.

We have put together a schedule for running the generator at the college, and I have worked my schedule around it. For the time being I will have power for about 6-7 hours of my work day, which means I can be really productive. While I don't want to do personal business at work, I can at least check emails and feel a bit more connected to home.