Tag Archives: apartment

New Digs

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So, finally, a moment when the power schedule and my waking hours collide which allows the upload of some photos.  After much deliberation I decided to showcase where we live, as the last few weeks have been mostly filled with moving and setting up house.  So without further ado…our apartment.

Our front door leads to the kitchen on the right and living room on the left.
door to bedroom
Through that door is the bedroom, balcony, and bathroom. Living room is rather bare still…no point in showing photos of that.
bedroom
The bedroom – our favourite place because of the beautiful sunlight that washes through the windows.
The blue bathroom – lots of blue everywhere! The shower is the open space next to the toilet which means that is it really a whole bathroom shower because everything gets wet.
The view from the balcony off our bedroom – a lovely neighbourhood!

Honouring Fridays: January 30th, 2009

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Again a moment of gratitude for Friday!  This weekend we are moving into our new apartment and eagerly anticipating the first night in our new place…internet has already been installed and mattress and bed will be waiting when we arrive…what more does one need!

  • Networks.  These are a foundation of Nepali society, emphasizing the importance of relationships as a means to just about anything – employment, favours, good deals, food, friendship, love…everything is based on the relationship that the individuals share.  Nowhere has this been more apparent than in our quest to find and furnish our apartment.  Any Nepali we know has been burning up the phone lines trying to find us the best deals on furniture, source some hand-me-downs, or get a recommendation from a friend who absolutely knows how to find the best mattress.  I am amazed and awed by the outpouring of support – we are very well taken care of by all our Nepali friends and acquaintances.
  • Fair trade shops. There are so many brightly coloured stalls and shops flogging a wide array of Nepali crafts.  But the reality is that most are not actually Nepali made, nor are those who make them receiving a fair wage that would cover basic living costs.  Enter Mahaguthi and Dhukuti, two fabulous shops that are dedicated to supporting marginalized populations, particularly women, and local artisans.  My kitchen has already requested a set of plates and mugs in bright Nepali colours…how can I refuse my kitchen!
  • Buff. It sounds dirty, but isn’t.  Buff is the common short form for buffalo meat which is very common in Nepal.  Since cows are sacred in Hindu religion there is very little consumption of beef (some of the ethnic groups do eat beef and traditionally some of the lower castes also ate beef, mainly because they were the only castes permitted to kill cows and work with leather, but it was considered very wrong by the Hindu religion resulting in marginalization by the upper castes).  Buff tastes a lot like beef but is much leaner and is a delicious in fried rice, as a stuffing for paratha (kind of like a quesadilla but filled with various curried meats or veggies), or as a filling for momos (almost exactly like a gyoza or dumpling but again filled with curry flavours).
  • Diversity.  This weekend we have been invited to attend a performance by the LGBTI community in Kathmandu – a group of transgender Nepalis singing with a Dutch trio called Posie & the Fags”.  I am so looking forward to it 🙂  I only wish I had brought with me my “Yay for Gay” t-shirt which is packed into a box somewhere at home!  One of the volunteers who works with VSO works with the Blue Diamond Society which supports the development and advocacy of the LGBTI community in Nepal.  A fantastic organization which works right next door to our new apartment.

Apartment Hunting

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The final week of training is upon us and although there is some relief that we will soon be engaged in what one hopes will be meaningful and soul-satisfying work it is hard not to be continually distracted by the search for an apartment.  I would be the first to admit that finding a place to call home is my least favourite activity…the agony of choosing the right location, the pressure of negotiating, the competition, the moving in…  It is exhausting in a context with which I am familiar (a city and language that I know) and here we simply don’t have the context at all.

I will also admit that having a home that feels cozy and comfortable is important to me.  It was important in Canada and will be equally as important here.  Somewhere that can wrap it’s arm around me and give me a hug – when I wake up in the morning and when I return again in the evening. 

The quest will not proceed un-aided, however, as we will have help from R’s NGO in the search.  But the urgency I feel to be settled is hard to communicate to others.  Perhaps I am over stating the value that I will gain from being settled…but I do think it will make me a much better volunteer when I start work next Monday.  The distractions of living out of a suitcase will only cling like cobwebs in the brain while I attempt to read through years worth of files, making some sense of what exactly my job is and where I should endeavour to begin.