Christmas morning~

8 legged cow

this is considered to be the sacred 8 legged cow....although it only has 5 legs, and 8 hooves! hahaha because it is seen as sacred, it cant touch the ground, so its carried around in a carriage! what a sight....

walk to work....

during the week of the strikes, we were all told to walk to work.... it was surprisingly peaceful.. an hour and a half each way

Cold Mornings

In my neighborhood......

Bandhas

Yet again, the Maoists are putting Kathmandu to a halt with a 3 day strike. For kids it is a play day. For those with businesses its a burden and a financial stress. As I was walking home this morning, I ran into a Nepali friend, Babu, on the streets and he asked me to come and drink Chang, a Tibetan alcoholic drink...barley seeped in hot water. It was early, but it was Sunday, so I figured there was nothing else I really needed to do...hahaha
We ate, drank, and listened to Hindi music. Babu is like my Nepali brother who I met on my trek to Helambu. He kindness is incredible. During bhandas, there isnt that much to do but dodge the Moaists and walk the empty streets and relax. The city feels as though its in hiding. The Maoists patrol the roads, chasing down those who attempt to even ride their bicycles as a mode of transportation. Tomorrow, my boss is trying to convince me to "put my hiking shoes" on and walk to work. Somehow he thinks it will be worthwhile for me to walk the two hours each way just to make it to the office....

Yogis

I went to a yoga class yesterday and was glad that I had some previous experience seeing it was pretty intense. He told me to sit cross legged in front of him, leaving about 2 inches between us. He immediatly asked me, "What is yoga?" With as straight of a face as possible and as best as I could, I responded..grateful that I knew a bit about the philosophy. I suppose he has been pretty jaded by Westerners wanting to learn yoga, but only being interested in the physical part of it. We sat for about an hour and a half. He asked me about family, life, etc. and how I was really feeling after each breathing exercise. He told me to keep all I am feeling within me because its not to be shared...those are the fruits which we earn and need to enjoy within. So today I will go back am interested to see what it will entail.~ this will be experience in itself.