Cheap and Best

We headed out to Bhaktipur on Tuesday to do some work at the Woman's Center. I spent the entire day with Prakash, the manager/clerk of the Center. He is a smart guy who is really into his job. Actually he is a nerd, so we got along great. I showed him how to better use outlook and better keep his records in a western style. I also tried to institute the new communication system that Michael had me develop for Citta. So far so good.

After Bhaktipur we went to Roadhouse (again) but I didn't have the pizza this time. Had a few glasses of red wine and talked about The meaning of life, the universe, and everything. It was David's last night in Kathmandu so we decided to celebrate by going out to Reggae Bar and have a few drinks. Weeeeeeeellllll a few drinks turned into a few more drinks and a fun time was had by all. The music was really good, the staff was really friendly, and the drinks were cheap enough. On this momentous occasion, David officially Dubbed Kathmandu the city of Then, Now, and Tomorrow.

The reason we came up with this name was because Nepal is experiencing a political revolution, agricultural revolution, industrial revolution, sexual revolution, woman's liberation, Bad hair of the 80's, AIDS epidemic, rise of cellphones, and the Age of the Internet all at once. Kathmandu is like looking at NYC develop in stop-motion. Skyscrapers are being built next to goat farms. Marijuana is being smoked openly in bars that are forced to close at 11pm due to strict public policing. Cellphones are being used by people who don't know what a radio is.

Because of all this development, Nepal has some serious growing pains. Things in the west happened slowly, over time. In Nepal, everything seems to be happening all at once. Because of the rapid development here, the population does not have the (very little) wisdom of the proper use of technology we have in the west. Seeing some of the social policies and unspoken rules of Nepal has given me insight into the impact of technology on society. I am not passing judgment on the advances of civilization, I just realize that left unchecked, and without wisdom to accompany knowledge, the modern world can be a pretty intimidating place.