So for those of you who have been checking out my blog.. just wanted to say thank you. Im sad to say my adventures in Nepal have come to an end.... I guess the adventures will just have to continue over here in the US. That is the trick.. finding that sense of excitement in your homeland. That balance. Its challenging but I have to continue to keep that sense of spontaneity.

As I landed in NY, I thought... "I dont really get culture shock" but soon enough, I was proven wrong, after a day of walking around the city and then by 9 at night in times square dealing with a slight anxiety attack. The lights, people, claustrophobia and exhaustion had hit me hard. I love that city, but I was being far too aggressive! I heard that one night of the electricity used in NYC could provide Nepal energy for 5 years. That is pretty gross~

Happily, days later, Im sitting on the deck in Vermont.. just made a cherry crisp, enjoying fresh fresh food and clean air... Now time to make some choices as I have been literally plopped back into this other land. Time to figure out where to live, work and everything else... but...Nepal was worth it.

If interested, continue to stay posted with my business... thats now my focus... http://annieoupdates.blogspot.com

xo

annie

Mt. Manaslu Nepal

Art/ Photography Workshop Nepal

Here are some images of the art workshop which I co hosted this past month with founder, Ilsa Brittain. She focused on the painting and I offered tips and helped with in the field photography. We had a great group of creative art teachers who were patient throughout all the traffic jams and other chaos as we spent 16 days exploring the artistan work and traditions throughout the valley.

more lokta paper

loved the colors

colors and patterns of felt

Lokta Paper

Local lokta paper factory.

The grueling work of carrying slate, bricks, and stones is a common scene throughout Nepal.

Annapurna

a bit more info....

Photos to come but before, I just wanted to give a little more info, now that i just looked into the history of this ritual.

The festival sees the local yak herders making money by selling the blood of live yaks to people who queue up in hundreds to drink it, in the belief their illnesses will be cured.While lactating female yaks are spared, other yaks above the age of two are chosen for the ritual. Pinned down by people who hold their tails and horns and their legs tied, the yaks are then bled by a professional bleeder, known as the aamji.The aamji pierces the jugular vein of the hapless animal and the streaming blood is collected in cups that are then passed among the crowd, who drink the warm, frothy liquid unwaveringly.

Each yak is bled to collect between 20 to 40 cups of blood.

The ritual is believed to be an old Tibetan one that originated in Mustang in northern Nepal, once part of an ancient Tibetan kingdom.

The participants are mostly people suffering from chronic diseases who have given up hope of being cured by modern medicine.

A researcher correlates the ritual to the belief in witchcraft and the superstition that blood is effective as medicine as well as an aphrodisiac.

sacred yaks~

just got back from a short trek in the annapurna mountains...
as i was walking past a small garung village, i spotted a herd of yak in the distance. i thought that was odd, seeing yak normally roam at higher altitudes. my guide soon informed me that they were performing an annual ceremony where they drink the blood of the yak, close to 30, and slaughter one. a few villagers made a two day pilgrimage to this area with the entire herd. being the only tourist, i tried to be an inconspicuous as possible with my camera in hand. as i approach the scene, there were about 50 villagers in line for the precious and potent blood from the yes, still alive, yak. they cut open the jugular veins which acted like a tap. this blood is believed to be sacred and protects one from cancer. they drained the blood from the one yak and continued to cut off the head and eventually killed it entirely. the meat would soon be dispersed throughout the villagers. everyone in the village was in line to drink a full glass of the blood. thinking that that was the end, i was wrong. i soon noticed another man corralling another yak. this yak was soon drained of its blood and then let free. the process continued. by yak #4 i had enough. by the end of the day, they would have drank blood from all of the yak and then let them free to roam. with little energy, they then walk back to their high altitude home, days away. i had to bit my tongue and keep my judgments to myself.

below i have included some images from the sacred burning grounds. you see it all in kathmandu... nothing is guarded.

day 16- completed the workshop and it was tiring but really amazing. we had such a good group. sorry of the lack of posts more photos are coming soon!

so it is day 4 of the photo/painting workshop which i have been co hosting. for those who i havent told, im co leading a 16 day art workshop which you should check out. www.internationalartworkshops.com

I serendipitously met this woman from England who currently lives in Kathmandu. She and I clicked and she just happened to be looking for someone to teach photography. Its working well so far! We've been cruising around the city with camera and sketch book in hand.

so as i was walking home today i saw a disturbing sight... a young teenage boy was just sitting in a pile of trash, eating raw meat straight off the bone. another boy was beside him in an oversized coat, ragged pants and what looked like a pitch fork in hand. they were both completly crazy. the guy with his pitch fork was running around trying to gain control over this other boy, just knawing at raw meat and eating anything he could gets his hands on. it was awful to see. dogs were barking which caused them to eventually run away down the dusty streets. minutes later they were gone and then a cow came along to take its seat in the pile of trash.
this is the sad reality of kathmandu at times.

Wild Earth~

love this artist~