A Home Massage and a Beer!

So Wednesday we went to the doctor (the same one that Evie had three years ago). She was given an antibiotic but her BP was fine and no fever. In the afternoon Pastor Dutt came to visit. We talked about the theology program here - students about 50 % female and 50% male. It is a Bachelor's degree and they are thinking about adding a DMin. Pastor Dutt has a PHD in Education and is actually from India.
After our tea together he gave me a lift on his motorcycle to the market so that I could get chicken soup for dinner. It seems that the traffic is about 1/3 petro cars and the rest motorcycles or battery powered busses.
Thursday I treated myself to an in home massage. The masseuse goes to people's home and gives an hour massage for $10. It was a wonderful treat.
After that Evie and I took a cab to the market that Evie had gone to before. It had changed somewhat so we weren't sure at first that it was the right place, but as we walked to the restaurant Nina recognized Evie immediately and ushered us into the restaurant. We had a very American meal of burger, french-fries and beer. The beer was mine - not Evie's!
Haven't heard from the trekkers but hopefully no news is good news.


Sister LaDonna Olson, M.A.
Deaconess Community of the ELCA

Hurricane Forecast

As of Wednesday morning, EDT, Tropical Cyclone Nilofar is located approximately about 540 miles southwest of Karachi, Pakistan. Nilofar is moving at 8 mph. Maximum sustained winds are 120 mph with gusts to 150 mph.
Nilofar is forecast to turn more to the northeast over the next 24 hours and begin to weaken due to an increase vertical wind shear along with an intrusion of dry air.
Nilofar is expected to make landfall later on Friday night near the border of far-western India and Pakistan. Although Nilofar is forecast to weaken significantly, heavy rain and gusty winds are still expected to impact the region where the center makes landfall.
This is well west of Nepal and should only be a rain event once Cyclone Nilofar comes ashore.
In the image below to the left is Oman on the Arabian Peninsula and at the top is Pakistan. To the upper right is India. Nepal is 1,000 miles east of the storm.

The soccer stadium behind our apartment is busy all day!

Embassy Visit, Photography Exhibit and More

Tuesday afternoon and evening were wonderful! There is the picture everyone wants to see from Nepal - the cow walking undisturbed down a busy road. We actually haven't see that many cows in Kathmandu. We were welcomed to the Embassador's residence by Tonya Bodde, the Embassador's wife. All of the staff that Evie knew from her time there were given time off to visit with her. They were delighted to see her. Evie and I and Tonya are pictured together.
I thought Noel would enjoy the photo of the electrical system near the Embassador's house. I don't know how they can figure out which wire goes to which location!ed note: yes electrical systems in other countries are amazing! Thanks
The Embassador driver took us to Baber Mahal Revisited a restaurant and shopping complex. We sat and rested while waiting for the art show to begin. I did pick up 2 singing bowls to bring back. I would like to say that I hobnobbed with the US and Italian Embassadors but I'm afraid they didn't notice me. The new President of the EU was there also. It was a show of a world famous photographer, Luigi Fieni, with photos of the Mustang area of Nepal. The photos were incredible but out of my price range. However much of the money from their sales will go to the preservation of the Tibetan and Nepali cultural heritage.
Unfortunately, many young men from Nepal are having to take jobs elsewhere in order to support their families. I think I read that 8% of citizens here have gone. This huge number of men leaving will have a great impact on Nepali culture when they return. I feel sad that the world seems to be becoming more and more the same and distinct cultures are being watered down.
Today, Wednesday we took Evie to the doctor. Her cold has really worn her down. The doctor was the same one that she saw when she was her in 2010-11 and they still had her medical record. She got some antibiotics and hopefully will feel better soon!!! Please continue to pray for her good health! I haven't heard from the trekkers except for one sms from Matt saying that he felt great and the trekking was challenging. There is a typhoon coming to Pakistan (I think) that will have some consequences for Matt and Sr. Becky. Hopefully just some rain and not any sleet. It all depends on their location at the time.

Sister LaDonna Olson, M.A.
Deaconess Community of the ELCA

What time is it here?

So I have discovered that the odd time difference for Nepal (and India too I guess) is simply a desire to be unique. From a guide book: "Nepalese time is 5 hours 40 minutes ahead of GMT, noon in London is 5:40 pm in Kathmandu. The odd 10 minutes is intended to differentiate Nepal from India which is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of GMT."
The photo with the Cross on the building is the headquarters of Lutheran World Federation in Nepal. The other is a photo from our balcony looking down at the neighbors planting their garden. Any space available is usually used for planting vegetables although there are a lot of flowers planted as part of the landscaping around houses.



Esther is our landlord's daughter

Sister LaDonna Olson, M.A. Deaconess Community of the ELCA

Encounters

Saturday evening we saw this man dancing for the family next door. When he saw us watching him from our window he came to our front door and dance and blessed our foreheads. I had hurriedly brought down a cup of rice to put into his container (that is how he gets his food). After I poured the rice into the container he looked at Becky and said "money". So we gave him a few dollars. That is how he makes a living - by going door to door and blessing people. It sounds like an interesting calling but I have no idea where he sleeps at night or how he cooks his rice.
Last night Evie and I had dinner with the trekking group at a wonderful ethnic restaurant Nepali Chulio. We had rice with different kinds of stew - chicken, vegetable and boar. Also had rice wine, and lentil soup. About every 15 minutes a couple of dancers in traditional costumes would come to our table and perform a traditional dance. I was happy to see that there were several trekkers who are around Matt's age. It think there are 14 trekkers in all from the countries of Australia, Germany, USA, and Switzerland. Matt and Becky stayed at the hotel with the trekkers as they were all on a bus this morning at 5:45 headed to Pokhara and the first leg of their trekking.
Today Evie and I are on our own. We took a cab to Bhat Bhatani - a shopping center and picked up a few groceries and supplies. We had lunch at a bakery/café where the employees were all hearing impaired. It reminded me of the restaurant at Neema Crafts in Tanzania.
It is amazing how many "American" products are on the shelves of the grocery store - Pringles, Oreos, Corn Flakes, etc.
Tomorrow it will be tea at the US Embassador's house so Evie can see many of her friends from when she lived there. Then to an art show opening at a prestigious art gallery for:Restoring the Murals of Mustang: A Journey through Body, Soul and Heart ‏

Until then: Nameste

Sr. Becky's Tumblr Account

Here is a link to Sr Becky's tumblr account. There will be some pictures there too. http://srbeckys.tumblr.com/

Holy Man

Just one photo for today. This is me getting a blessing from the holy man at a Shiva temple. It is hard to keep all of the names of the gods straight!
Amazing day of going to church. Our friend Betty picked us all up at 8am to drop Becky and Matt off at their trekking gathering place. Then to take us to church. We had a flat tire on the road and everything is closed because of the holiday so we ended up leaving the car on the side of a major road and taking a taxi to church. Becky and Matt took at taxi to their location. At the Kathmandu International Christian Community Church there were people for every continent! So many CHristians from all over the world! South Africa, Pakistan, India, USA, Russia. It was so amazing to worship all together. Well an older gentleman introduced himself as being a theology professor who was in Nepal for a big conference tomorrow. He said that he had been in India for many years.
OK....side story. One of Eric Gustafson's employees married a girl from India who's father is a theology professor in Nepal. His name is Pastor Dutt. I spoke with Pastor Dutt when he was in North Branch for his daughter's wedding. He said that he would be happy to spend a day showing me where he teaches, etc when I am in Nepal. ]Now...after church today I approach the older gentleman and ask him if he knows a Pastor Dutt. His eyes widen and he says, "Yes, he was one of my pupils when I taught in India!". So I get the older gentleman's phone number and when I'm back at our apartment I call Pastor Dutt to tell him I have arrived in Kathmandu. Then I get to share the news that his old professor is in Nepal and I have been the link between them going all the way back to Eric Gustafsons sharing the information with me in the first place.
God certainly works in mysterious ways!!
FYI we were able to spend all day Saturday in the apartment getting organized and relaxing. Nothing very exciting happened except that our landlord took us up on the roof to see her organic herb garden, etc. It was beautiful and we could just barely see the tip of Everest through the fog. Actually it was probably thru the pollution because it is terribly polluted here. It reminds me of the haze you see over LosAngeles. I am pointing toward the US Embassy flag which you cant see in the picture. But our apartment has solar hot water and solar electricity.
Love you all, Talk to you later!

Music lessons for our host's children

Lacmi Punja Festival

Preparing the door step for lacmi puja part of the festival occurring here.
We spent the first evening driving around Kathmandu and seeing the beautiful light displays - it is a major Nepali festival as important as our Christmas. All the houses turn on their lights and put candles on all the stairways. Downtown all the businesses had vertical stands of lights from roof to ground.
We walked around Durban Square - a huge gathering site for the festivities. We climbed the steps to one of the large temples and sat looking out over the gathering.
Doors had garlands of marigolds hanging from them and inside buildings would have pathways of marigold flowers.
Outside people's homes they put a pathway of stick on feet decals leading to the front door. That is so the God of wealth can find their homes. There were parades and lots of merriment. The children go door to door singing (like our carolers) and get treats or money. What an awesome evening!

Arrival

I don't even know where to begin. We were picked up by Evie's friend Betty. Betty is 83, came to Nepal in 1967 for the state department and is now retired and loves Nepal. She just returned from a 10 day trek just missing the avalanche in the mountain pass that was in the news.
Anyway she took us back to Durban Square for major celebrating. There were parades and truck loads of young people singing and playing drums. Many were dressed in the traditional Newar garments.
Evie got a front seat at a program featuring the Prime Minister of Nepal and he even waved at her!
While she dazzled the Prime Minister we visited the Palace of the former kings of Nepal. Outside is a statue of the Monkey God (Matt and Becky standing in front).
Everywhere you turn there are temples and people lighting candles.
Then Betty took us to lunch and we met the wife of the current US Embassador. She said she would give us a call next week to invite us to their home. (I'm not holding my breath).
Now to the outer area of Kathmandu to see the stunning views of the Kathmandu Valley. Much of the valley is full of cement houses packed together, but there are parts that are still beautiful farm land against the backdrop of the stunning mountain ranges. We drove out to the gorge that was cut to drain the valley which was once a lake. There we were all blessed by a holy man who spends his days in meditation. It was a very spiritual experience! Then we drove to Pharping which is a temple that has pools of fish around it. There we lit prayer candles in memory of loved ones.
It was a most amazing day and we were blessed to have Betty be our guide. We will meet up with her again.!

The Flight

Had an amazingly comfortable flight from LA To Guangzhou, China on China Southern Airline. There seemed to be a couple inches more of legroom and the recline feature moved the whole seat. Anyway 14 hours in the air.
We have all determined that Evie Yates rocks and she is one tough cookie. She handled the flight as well as we did.
For those new to our blog : our travel group consists of Evie who is in her eighties, Sr. Becky Swanson, Sr. LaDonna and her son Matt.
We will take a four hour flight to Kathmandu. We will be about 11.25 hours ahead of Mn while in Nepal. Noel, do you know why the .25 difference?
Anyway we will check in later.

Kathmandu -- slightly out of order

We are safe and sound in Kathmandu. We saw My Everest from the plane. It is incredibly beautiful. The woman who we are renting from is marvelous! She has six daughters and her family lives on the second floor.Her husband is a member of parliament.
We are renting the first floor and it is lovely. We have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a nice kitchen and living room. We are only a 15 minute walk from the US Embassy and lots of shops and restaurants.
Evie realized that she had met our landlady at an event when she was here before. They know many of the same people!
I will send some pictures later.

Last Minute Nervousness!

Last minute nervousness about the trip. Discovered that the leg of the flight from LA to China is not 13 hours, it is 14.5! That's a long time on a plane!
Please keep all of us in your prayers and keep my son Chris in your prayers as he will be pretty much on his own while I'm gone. The is probably my biggest worry, but I keep reminding myself "let go and let God". We are all in God's care!
Now I go pick up Evie my traveling companion and then Matt my son, and then on to the airport to meet up with Sister Becky. Our flight leaves for LA at 5:20 PM Tuesday the 21st.