Let us pretend you’ve been ‘Taken’ into the middle of Kathmandu, and to survive you must pick from one of 5 occupations: Hindu priest, street beggar, mugger, shoemaker, or potential spouse.
August 21
The town of Pashupatinath contains a Hindu temple to the deity Shiva. Inside the temple grounds, a couple Hindu priests heckle me, repeatedly asking me if I want a ‘special pooja.’ Inside a shrine, a priest performs a ritual to bless my family and subsequently informs me that I must cough up a large monetary offering.
~ August 24
My friend and I are hurrying to class at the Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling monastery and we don’t have time to eat the second large banana pancake she accidentally ordered, so I ask the waiter for a plastic bag and stuff the warm pancake inside the black bag. We know of a couple street beggars that are always begging to make eye contact with Westerners.
~ September 04
My friend Stefan explains to me how some professional muggers operate in Kathmandu. They will see me walking alone at night on a deserted, poorly lighted street. A man will show up right in front of me, and within that moment of surprise, another will come up from behind and tightly wrap something around my neck/head (with a specific technique, placement, or scent) and I will lose consciousness. When I wake up soon after, I will find that all my money has disappeared.
~ September 06
I find some shoemakers sitting on the side of a street leading to the Boudha Stupa. One of them takes my ripped shoe and tells me that I can pay him whatever I want. After the shoe is fixed, I offer money but he won’t accept it. He wants me follow him into a store a little ways away, which he has obviously pre-designated, and then buy food for his family.
~ September 06
Walking alone on Boudha Main Road, I look around through the dust and crowd for a friend. Suddenly, a Nepali man asks me if I am looking for something, in a suspicious manner. I tell him I’m fine and walk on. A nearby Nepali woman holding a baby smiles a big smile and asks me, “Where are you from?” I tell her I’m busy and I keep walking. The man from earlier tails me for a minute or two and then begins to walk beside me, at which point he informs me, “That woman is looking for a husband.” I respond with, “No, thanks.”
Choices A-Plenty
It feels as if I am the protagonist in each little story, weaving through strange forces. It is stranger still, how during the actual events, I felt that their goal was centered on me. Could it be that I have mistaken the object of their actions? If I mistook the object as myself, instead of what it actually is, maybe they committed a similar error.
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very interesting keen, keep posting. also that was your one chance at marriage. way to go
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