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Patan is a nice city, smaller than Kathmandu but cleaner and quieter because of it. When I first moved in I could only notice things that stuck out: the trash here and there, the people that would grow a full garden in their front yard, and the occasional glimpse of intense poverty or suffering. But since then I've realized that, for Nepal, I actually live a nice kind of suburban neighborhood where people walk their dogs, kids go to school every morning, and old men sitting on their doorstep shake their heads and chuckle when you jog by. Nepal is a poor country and you can tell, but it's people are easygoing and hardy, and are usually cheerful answering your questions, especially in Nepali. Soccer, dogs, children naked only from the waist down, chatting on cell phones, badminton, and uber-carpooling and are all popular, whereas beer, big SUVs, and expensive tastes seem to be reserved for tourists and the UN. 

Nepal is stuck, figuratively and literally, in between India and Tibet, and that seems to be reflected by a lot here. Most Nepali that I've met are either Hindu or Buddhist but everyone is tolerant of everyone else, though some Buddhists complain that the mass sacrifices during the Dashain holiday (now) are cruel and unnecessary and some Hindus insist that it was the Buddhist regions near Tibet that bred the Maoists, a militia during the civil war who just had their leader popularly elected as Prime Minister. Actually, I've heard that Nepal is the only place where Hindus and Buddhists will worship in the same place, though you see both stupas and temples everywhere. The political situation is stable while the whole country waits to see if the Maoist communist party comes through with promises of industry, education, and wider democratization. Today while eating lunch with Brendan and Mana (the newest intern, he got here a couple weeks ago) we met a man named who called himself B. S. Ram, and spoke fluent english with an Indian-British accent. He was talkative and almost giddy getting the chance to talk to someone about American economics and politics, and then we talked about the Nepal government. He rued that Nepali academics can only recite things and aren't able to look at the country and solve problems, and that the world should have been more suspicious of the Maoist success in the popular vote. It was a funny meeting, especially since he was with his family and dressed up for the festival, and Brendan later recognized that his last name suggested that he was of the ruling family before the last monarchy ended. 

When we're not fixing rural bridges or tinkering on the circuitry for the company's new solar PV and pedal-powerd electricity system, we'll head into Kathmandu where the happening Thamel district has posh cafes, bars, and trekking shops full of fake North Face gear. Thamel is fun and we've found some really great hookah bars and lunch spots, but its where you feel the wealth gap the most. It's more authentic than a lot of tourist districts, but after a day in Thamel you're pretty burnt out and just want to see trees and grass. But I guess its also the place that runs the tourism industry, which is definitely the country's only source of foreign income. I've been running almost every day here because its harder to get together a game of soccer and there isn't any good rock climbing nearby. Patan is just small enough that you can run through areas with less traffic and still get to stretch your legs out, but what I really like doing is getting out to the fields and flood plains around the Bhagmati river. We sometimes go by the start of a 300 stone-step hike to the top of a hill, where a temple overlooks the entire city. Our boss Nandu wakes up at 5 every morning and walks to the top for his daily "puja." Some morning I want to get up and run to the top to catch the sunrise, I can only imagine it would be epic.

On Saturday afternoons Mana, Brendan, a few of our other friend, and I go to something called "the hash." Actually, first, I should tell you about the NGO subculture here. The US, UN and various countries pour aid money into Nepal - 40% of its operating budget is aid. So because of that there's so many NGOs, there's plenty of expats (expatriates, westerners) living and working in Kathmandu and Nepal. There's a place called the American Club (no Nepali allowed, can you believe the world hates us?) and a few spa's ect, but no weekend soccer games or tupperware parties to partake in. So "the hash" must have been the result of a group of expats looking for something to do on the weekend that involved getting outside the city, exercise, and middle-aged ridiculousness. The hash is a 2-3 hr run or walk that takes place in the hills around the Kathmandu valley every Saturday at a slightly new spot. Two "hares" are chosen the week before and mark the trail with small piles of cut up paper, the "grandmaster" emcee's the beginning and ending rituals of songs and belittling, and leeches, knee high mud, river crossings, and short shorts are commonplace. Really, its pretty ridiculous. Our first week Mana nearly had to drink a beer out of his shoe because it was brand new and clean, and after changing a hasher's motorcycle spark plug I was knighted "sparky" with half a liter of lager poured over my head. The hash is great for the exercise, but its also neat meeting other people from all around the world living in the area.

I've learned that there's always room on a Nepal bus, the UN doesn't do much besides ride around in big white SUVs, and that the only two things in excess in Kathmandu are dogs and speed bumps, so one must be made out of the other.