The everyday

As I write (2100 on Tuesday), thunder is rolling over Boudha, though it’s not supposed to. It is months from monsoon season, and yet rain! Good for the hydroelectric plants, good for farmers, good for the flower trees trying their best to give a good show… Not good for the homeless who are getting wet in the chilly evenings. Not good for the sidewalk shop proprietors who literally sit on the sidewalk with their wares; they are losing income due to rain sooner than expected. Not good for Elizabeth’s laundry left on the roof to dry.

Not good for the public works crews that seem to be out in full force now. This weekend, there were two areas of sidewalk in Thamel, which made better gulleys than sidewalks. Yesterday (Monday) half the street from the stupa to the butcher was dug up, with the crew working well into the night. Today (Tuesday) there’s a mound where the hole was, but the diggers have moved on to challenge the faith of the Tibetan Buddhists. Coming ‘round the stupa at 11 o’clock, adjacent to the bricks and rebar from a nearby construction side, sidewalk shops selling Buddist prayer beads, and two women selling baked goods, the diggers have narrowed a four-person path to a two-person path. Question is: what are they digging for? The power lines run (much too close) overhead. The sewage drains are ditches at the side of the road. We can only hope buried treasure is a possibility…

In the not-so-good-news department, we share a border with Tibet, and there’s doin’s there, as I think I mentioned in my blog two posts back. No rally of support in Nepal today, but who knows what tomorrow will bring. According to CNN, the Dali Lama has said he would step down as Tibet’s political leader if his people let things go to violence. Could a change in leadership be what needs to happen to get China to alter its strategy, or will that result in increased violence and threats? Difficult, very difficult.

On a personal note, I have recovered from my viral illness. I am slowly reintroducing foods to my palate, having followed the B-R-A-T diet for a few, bland days. I worked a very busy day in the hospice by myself and everything seemed to happen – an actual hospice patient was admitted, a current patient tried to overdose on medication, the semi-plegic woman wanted to walk to the toilet, one of the patients won’t speak at all… I felt purposeful and (mostly) competent, but it’s a good thing the job is only for one month!