travel prep

I haven't been writing much lately as I have just under a week left before I'm off and away for a few months. Looking forward to the trip, and even don't mind the first leg of travels which looks like it will take nearly two full days, but boy I will be tired by the end of it.

Hopefully, if I get the transit visa, I get to spend a day touring Guangzhou, China, and can add another country to my list of places I've visited. (I don't count them unless I actually leave the airport). Today I went in to apply for the visa and I just have to say that it always surprises me how people think getting upset at the officials will help push their application through. I've been in some pretty frustrating situations and have been guilty of that a couple of times, so I understand how it happens, but from what I've seen it always has the opposite effect. Today a man was insisting that he didn't need a paper that they wanted and could go there "any time he liked". Needless to say, this did not go over well.

I just got my camera back from the repair shop and have been taking pictures and small video clips of Kathmandu to show to my mom who has never been here.

Here's a couple of photos:

Ooh, and in other news, all the extra power is awesome. Now our cuts are only about ten hours a day instead of the previous fourteen.

Now excuse me while I go and find something else to get distracted with instead of actually packing and doing other prep. I think something must be wrong with me, because try as I might to do travel prep ahead of time, I find it impossible to pack until the day before I'm actually leaving. It just doesn't really work before then.

So long and goodnight.

Little Kindnesses

Here are a few little things I've noticed people doing in the last couple days that made my day a bit brighter:

* The teller at the bank sorted through all the bills he was handing me to make sure he only gave me crisp new ones.

* At the ice cream stand the cheerful fellow behind the counter pulled out one of those nice tasting waffle cones without me having to ask for it. It didn't cost any more either.

* The vehicle I was taking home today stopped ten minutes down the road and pointed out that they weren't going all the way to the last stop where I needed to go. "That's okay," I said. "I can get something else from there." "But then you will have to pay a double fare," the driver said. That was when I realized they weren't going to charge me for the distance already covered, and happily changed vehicles.

Yesterday I was reading some posts on a great blog about Swedish language and culture www.transparent.com/swedish and read one from a Swede living in Japan. She says that Japanese people have been very concerned asking her if she is okay as there aren't any earthquakes in Sweden. I think that shows a remarkable concern for others in the midst of personal suffering.

All these little things have gotten me thinking about what I can do to brighten someone else's day and show a bit of extra concern.

Stories from Japan

One of my Japanese friends complied this from her friends and family. It's really heart touching to read of the selflessness of others in such a time of need. And the people there still need a lot of help and prayers.

• Lots of stories coming out about people risking their lives/giving their lives to save others. What I find most touching is the little things, like the homeless people bringing cardboard to the people sleeping in the cold in stations where they are stranded. The homeless, often ignored by all of us, may not have much to give, but they are doing what they can.

• My sister wrote: During the earthquake, I thought I was going to die. The trains were stopped, so I walked towards my friend's house. There were no taxi's running, the restaurants and shops were all full of people who couldn't get home. After I'd walked 4 1/2 hours, hope was fading, the temperature dropped and I was so so cold. The masses of people crawled along like little ants dragging their feet. At that time I had just crossed this bridge, as I came down there was an old man with the trunk of his car full of "hokkairo". He passed them out to the weary people walking, encouraging each passer by. I immediately felt warmed inside through the kindness that was shown.

• Heard a story last night of a woman and her baby who were caught up in the tsunami. A man on a second floor balcony climbed down to help her, passed the baby up, and helped the woman up, only to be washed away by the tsunami himself. Selflessness like that is amazing.

• In the middle of the night, I was walking home from college.  A lady at a bakery was giving out bread.  She kept her bakery open till late hours and was doing what she could do to help others.  I was so touched.  Tokyo is still not a bad place to live!  Such a heart-warming scene.

• Seems the Yakuza up north were out in force after the quake... HELPING DIRECT TRAFFIC.

• Just read about the citizens of Osaka showing up in droves to donate blood.

• I was so moved by the statement issued by the UN Secretary General, saying, "Japan is one of the most generous and strongest benefactors, coming to the assistance of those in need the world over.  In that spirit, the United Nations stands by the people of Japan and we will do anything and everything we can at this very difficult time."  This is a perfect example of doing good to others.  They will do the same to you, when you most need their help.

• This afternoon at the convenience store there was a group of young punk looking guys buying drinks and beer. When they got to the register, one of them realized if he bought the beer as well, he wouldn't have any money left to make a donation for quake victims. He returned the beer.

• My husband walked for 4 hours to come back home.  He was feeling weak at Akabane and this man offered free coffee saying "It's pretty cold huh? Warm up with this hot coffee!"  Thanks to the him, my husband regained the strength to keep walking.  It must have really touched him because he's been repeating the story 5 times.  Thank you to the man passing out free coffee.

• This afternoon, I saw a young guy who has radical looks. He donated put several ten-thousand-yen bills to a donation box saying his friends “We can buy a game anytime”. I heard his words and that made me and the people around there what is important and we donated a bit too. I re-realized that it is not appropriate to judge people by their looks.

• When the earthquake struck Japan, I was working at the restaurant. The restaurant was almost full. After the earthquake, we guided the guest to go out from there because it could be dangerous. I thought great part of them would leave there without paying, but most of them came back and paid their bill. The rest of them, who didn’t pay yesterday, came back to the restaurant today to pay. What a beautiful country Japan is.

• Weep! I was so touched I cried super hard! That international call from a stranger just now, it was a phone call of worry and support from someone who called their own number, except with Japan's country code hoping to connect with someone in Japan! I didn't quite understand the English, but I understood what the person was trying to say! She said a lot of people over there are "praying for Japan"!

• It happened last night. A convenience store near a train station managed to open for business with a power generator. While I was waiting in a long line, the generator stopped, maybe because it ran out of fuel, and the cash register stopped. The entire store was pitch black. Everyone put the things they had in their hands back on the shelves and left, even though no one would've noticed if they walked out with them.

• An elderly man, probably over 80, who was rescued from the disaster area said "We will be OK, we are pretty sure we will. We have experienced Tsunami from Chile so why can't we do it this time?" he said with a smile. He again said with a smile, "It is useless to say something sad" to the news reporter trying to get some comments of sorrow. His wife standing next to him told the reporter sharply "Don't take photos of our disgraceful look". From this conversation, we can see how courageous the people who built Japan have dignity.

• A conversation I overheard on the train between two grandmas. "The police are telling us to turn the lights off because there's not enough electricity. We used to spend a lot of time without lights for the good of our country during the World War 2. This time, we don’t need to worry about the bombs falling over us. We’ll gladly turn off the light, won’t we?” The people around them got silent for a second. My eyes welled up with tears.

doing a happy dance!

Have you ever been in one of those situations where everything was up in the air, with so many things hinging on the decisions of others that there wasn't much you could do about it? For me that was my last two or three months.

Normally such uncertainty has me climbing up a wall with frustration, but this time I really did my best to be trusting and praiseful. And as I worked out the few things that I could while setting aside the rest, it all fell into place in a much better way than what I was expecting.

So now I am doing a happy dance, as I see how patience during the uncertainty really paid off, and I am very excited about the future.

Driving in Nepal

Things I’ve learned during driving practice


• It’s fun to weave the bike in and out of cars (this terrified me when I first started driving)

• Pedestrians think they own the road especially side roads and tend to ignore horns (though I can’t really blame them, most of the time people are honking for no reason)

• There is no line down the middle of the road, real or imaginary. Instead the space between the rows of cars moving in opposite directions is there for motorbikes to play games of chicken as they pass all the cars (don’t worry, I’m always the chicken in the end)

• Bicycles believe that they are cars and like to get in the way (or as my driving instructor told me “bicycle is zig zag”.

• Traffic is not really as scary as it looks. Just follow one simple rule: assume that all drivers, bicycles, and pedestrians are going to jump in front of you at any given moment and be prepared to stop or weave around them; then be pleasantly surprised when they don’t.

Now I’m working up the courage to try to get a licence. Here is what you have to do for the test in Nepal. You need to weave your bike in and out of a row of traffic cones. While doing this your feet should never touch the ground. Most people fail this test the first time around.