which way is the street with no name that looks like every other street, but is different?

I SAFELY arrived in Kathmandu, after possibly making the black list in the Dehli airport for not understanding Hindi, and when finally understanding that they were asking me if I had a lighter in my checked luggage I responded no because since I don't smoke I didn't remember that I bought some to light candles. They put my name on the naughty travelers list and confiscated the evidence. The flight from Dehli to Kathmandu was breath-taking, as I watched the clouds slowly reveal mountains and the greenest rice paddies I could have ever imagined. I always found architecture models funny because of the way that foam board creates topography and skips several feet to the next level, but the paddies look exactly this way from the plane.

As a disclaimer to the next part I would just like to state that I love it here and am very happy. However, the drive from the airport to the training guest house almost made me turn around and fly home. I thought that drivers in Rome were bad. Even though they drive on the left side of the road here, you would never know it. If someone has an exit on the right coming up in an hour, they will drive into on-coming traffic for that entire hour. "Merging" is a nightmare. Not to mention the goats, cows and roosters that roam freely and feed off the grass on the side of the highway. I had a ten minuet delay because two cows were sitting in the middle of the road, and since it is a life sentence if you hurt a cow, someone had to nicely ask them to move.

Once I got to the hotel, within minutes I saw my first monkey swinging from the handrails of my neighbor's roof terrace. That night I met two people that will be with me the entire time, and we have been discovering Thamel together over the past few days. The streets are so unbelievably colorful, with Nepali clothing, store signs, incense, and loud noises. The streets are pretty densely packed together, and with all the winding roads I can't figure out if cars and tuk-tuks are constantly honking (honks by the way are made from old shampoo containers) as a courtesy to let you know they are coming around the bend, or take make sure you get out of their way.

So far I have seen Durbar Square, with about 13 temples and pagodas, and went about a 30 min drive out of the city to the river where they cremate bodies and then pour the ashes into the water. It is interesting to learn about all of these Hindu customs by seeing them in action. Though it ruined my appetite when I saw some feet on a burning block, it was nice to see the family waiting for the whole 2.5 hours it takes wearing all white and praying. This contrasted with the bright reds, purples and turquoise of the other Hindus visiting the nearby temple really made an impact on how close families are with each other and how customs are still strictly followed to this day. (Mourners are supposed to wear all white for one year.) Next to this area are also the hermit caves, where devotees locked themselves in rock caves by the water to pray and hope that others will bring them food and water. Also next to the cremation platforms is a house for the dying, so that you won't make your house impure and can easily be transported to the river.

My friend Adrienne and I also took a yoga class together. It was not in the best style for us, but I really felt like I was in the right place. The room was filled with sitting pillows and Hindu statues. The yoga instructor's voice was also completely soothing and I felt more relaxed than I think I ever have felt from yoga in the past.

Thamel really is a Westernized city. So far, in preparation for eating Nepali food for the next 6 months, I have been to great Italian and Thai restaurants. You can also buy anything imaginable when it comes to trekking gear, books, and Nepali-style skirts and shirts. The supermarkets have American cereal, chocolates and toiletries, if you don't mind having your shampoo's expiration dated for 2007. And most meals have cost me about $2 and I couldn't finish my plate.

Today was my first day of training. We had some language lessons (I think I might actually understand!!!) and our first dhal baat (lentils and rice). You get a huge mound of rice, a small cup of lentil soup and some curried vegetables and spinach, and with your hand you mix it together and there you go! I had to sit on my left hand to make sure I didn't use my "dirty hand" to feed myself. This is the meal I will be eating for breakfast and dinner every day for the next six months. Yummm. Adrienne and I are keeping a tally of how many times we can eat it before we get tired of it. She thinks 15, I'm shooting for 30. It's actually pretty tasty right now though.

I'm going to the training village on Thursday and find out which family I am living with sometime next week. In my training group there are 10 people mostly from the States, the UK and Australia. Only 4 of us will be here the whole time I am, but this includes one guy from New Zeland who will be on the construction site with me. (Others are working in orphanages or teaching English.) I believe there are 4 others already on the construction site. Several festivals are coming up that I look forward to experiencing, hopefully I will know enough Nepali to have someone explain to me why they are sacrificing goats that particular day, and chickens the other.

I should stop for today before the power goes out and I lose all of this. Hope all is well with everyone! Love and miss you all