Welcome to Kathmandu

Thanks to Sacha Baron Cohen, my time in Kazakhstan was peppered with Borat jokes, some hilarious and some altogether inappropriate and confusing. Just when I thought the Borat jokes were thankfully getting old, someone would mention a cockroach, or baseball, or Pam Andersen, and the can of worms would be re-opened.

Luckily, my experience in Nepal thus far has been very different, thanks to the one popular reference to Nepal that appears to have stuck in public memory - a nice, repetitive little ditty by Bob Seger titled "Kathmandu." The closest this song comes to enlightening the listener on the mystery of Nepal's allure is to clarify the first letter of the spelling of its capitol city: "K-k-k-k-k-Kathmandu." Fine by me. No wildly false stereotypes about Nepalese culture, no hidden criticism of Americans (indeed, Bob uses the rest of the lyrics to make sure the various regions of the U.S. are not offended by his desire to relocate) - just a nice, wholesome song about wanting to go to Kathmandu. Leaving you, dear friend or loved one above the age of, say, 35, but one option: You heard that Steffen and I were moving to Nepal, and after a moment the memory of that one song surfaced and you sang, "You're goin to k-k-k-k-k-Kathmandu..."

...and that was it. Unless you're one of the people who asked if we were going to try guinea pig here (I'm not going to name names, but come on people- that's South America, not South Asia). Because other than Mt. Everest, Sherpas, and possibly Maoists if you really keep up with the news, Nepal doesn't make too many headlines where I come from.

So I'll try to keep you updated as I learn things here- and I have a feeling there's going to be a lot to learn. I've only been in this small country sandwiched between India and China for almost two weeks, and I'm already confused about Buddhism and Hinduism, why we can eat water buffalo but not beef, and how so many NGOs can function and so much foreign aid can be distributed in such a tiny place. If the heavy stuff is not your cup of tea, though, don't fret- the abundance of tourism opportunities will probably outweigh the political stuff more often than not.

So sit back, relax, and re-subscribe to this blog for all the news and latest updates from Nepal. Stef and I took a two-day whitewater rafting trip this weekend and we should get the photos back from our guides soon.

Who is the crazy Frenchman smoking on the raft?
How is the Sgaz man adjusting to daily visits from the local housekeepers?
How will Steffen and I fare as the honorary Santa and Mrs. Clause at this year's expat holiday celebration?

Answers to these burning questions and more in blogs to come.