Nepal is not an easy place to live. The electricity is down much of the time due
to ‘load shedding’, which basically means there is more demand then there is
electrical power, so it is simply shut down. Internet can be a problem too as the
connection is often weak and it seems just when you are ready to push the ‘send’
button, the connection is lost! Having both the electricity and Internet working well
simultaneously is always a boon!
Noise, poverty, chaos, pollution and dirt are never ending. As I sit here writing
this I hear sounds collide making a discordant chorus. A gang of dogs is lustily
barking, free-range roosters are crowing intermittently. There are voices of mass
humanity; the incessant pounding of construction and the whine of an electric saw.
A jet is thundering overhead, and the staccato din of car horns is overwhelming; the
bells from the nearby temple clang. Like an oozing crack in the noise, is a raucous
political broadcast from a loud speaker mounted on a vehicle. Minutes later a large
group of police and zealots march down the center of the street shouting their
political sentiments. A large yellow backhoe is tearing down cement pillars from
a broken bridge in the fetid river stirring up the stench outside of the St. Devi’s
compound. The riverbank is lined with curious onlookers observing the machine
bash the solid pillars in preparation to rebuild a bigger, better bridge. Throbbing
music is ever present – thump, thump, thump, and then like a spot of sunshine is the
pleasant tinkle of children’s laughter! Dozens and dozens of motorcycles rumble
past, and suddenly overpowering all the other noises is the loud clanging of the
school bell at St. Devi’s marking the end of classes. Hoards of children dash from the
classrooms as if catapulted. Today is a half-day and all the students are eager. The
school week is over.
To me, a Westerner, there are many challenges to visiting Nepal, yet to my students
at St. Devi’s, this is every day life. It’s their reality and the people here have
tolerance and patience in spades. Controlling life is impossible. The noise outside
our walls is constant but inside everything is clean and orderly. Happiness and
laughter is pervasive. In spite of the ruckus beyond the walls, I feel calm, content.