Yesterday I ended up having quite a
good day here in Manang. After my shower I got the chance to wash some of my
dirty clothes. By American standards all of my clothes would be worthy of
double washings, but by Nepali standards, I only had a few things that were in
need of a scrubbing. The water was freezing, but after a minute my hands went
numb and it was fine. Later on I met a very nice French couple from Paris that
invited me to come with them to a lecture at the local “Himalayan Rescue
Association” clinic that is staffed by western doctor volunteers. The hour
lecture taught us about acclimatization and what elevation change does to us as
we trek to new altitudes each day. It was very informative and I really learned
a lot from it, figuring that’s why I’ve been having a headache at the base of
neck since coming to such a high altitude. It also explained why it feels like
such a struggle to breath up here and why I feel so tired after walking for not
that long.
After the lecture I joined up with
a group of other trekkers from the lodge I am staying at, and was led to this
tiny basement cinema called “The Projector Room.” It was a medium sized room
with rows of yak fur covered benches all facing a large projection screen that
hung at one end where they had movie viewings for passing trekkers. The regular
films were Into the Wild, Slumdog Millionaire, Into Thin Air, and what we
watched, Seven Years in Tibet. It was pretty good and fairly relatable, and
during the movie they brought us hot tea and bags of popcorn, all for only 250
rupees.
After the movie we all walked down
the cold streets of Manang, back to our lodge, starving for dinner and eagerly
anticipating the warm fire in the dining room. I am still amazed by the
mountains at night, even though its already been a week of their beauty, I will
never get over how the moonlight looks glancing off the peaks, and how the cold
seems to only make the stars shine brighter. The restaurant in our lodge has
the most delicious food, all cataloged in a multi-page menu, which I am trying
to live up while its still there, or I’m still here anyway. This morning I woke
up later than usual, burning hot because I slept in my sleeping bag with the
blankets from both of the beds in my room in fear of being cold. I had breakfast
at a local bakery where their apple crumble was magnificent. After that I found
Chandra and we went for an acclimatization hike up a nearby cliff draped in
prayer flags. The path was narrow and winding and I found myself unable to
catch my breath easily for most of the hike. The view was beautiful and I took
lots of pictures, and enjoyed a cup of hot tea, then make the trek back down.
I just finished my lunch of a
delicious veggie burger with fries and my own peanut butter, a baby apple, and
some cookies. I can’t seem to get enough sugar here!
My thoughts so far…
- There was a woman last night in the lecture that made me quite angry. She complained about Nepalis’ being dirty and not feeling safe with them cooking her food, and asked if anyone is trying to teach them about hygiene. To that the doctor (from Boston!) replied that this is a third world country and she should just suck it up and take her chances. I just wanted to turn around and give her a piece of my mind. I feel like this is how it’s going to be from now on, I’m going to have to stop myself from yelling at ignorant people.
- I miss Jake so much. I miss my family so much. It kills me that I can’t call them. I can’t stop thinking about all of the trips I want to take with them. All of the things I want to do. I am getting homesick, and this downtime isn’t helping that :P
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