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.