Welcome to Pokhara

(Happy Gettysburg Address Anniversary!  Go read it again!)

Where was I?  Back before I went to a Chinese restaurant with many amazing English teachers, and before another dinner yesterday, and a massive headache…

Oh, of course.  Himalayas!

And we’d nearly reached Pokhara.

My comment the other day about moving to Pokhara may not have made much sense–surely the view from the plane couldn’t be matched by that from the city itself?  Well, first, unlike Kathmandu, Pokhara has a lake:

There are several in the area, but I believe this is Phewa Tol, Pokhara's main lake.

The city is much smaller and calmer, too.  Not such a crush of people and cars and buses and vans and chickens and tuk-tuks and trucks and dogs and bicycles and cows and motorcycles and…

In fact, as opposed to the thousands of houses in Kathmandu, right up to Pokhara itself there’s refreshing countryside:

The rice harvest was on while we were there, but I suspect the yellow-brown here actually indicates wheat.

Then, there’s their funky airport sign:

Um, I think their airport sign might be a ransom note. But that's ok--at least it's pretty.

Oh, yeah, and the fact that all over the city, you see this:

That's one darn striking mountain.

Puppy Update:

Alaska continues to feel much better.  She’s very determined when she pulls on her balls and refuses to give them up to play fetch–she’d rather tug than chase, though she’ll do the latter readily enough.  Right now, she’s asleep on my lap.  A moment ago, she started jerking and crying in what was likely a nightmare–I rubbed her gently and made soothing sounds.  She woke up and pinned me with scared eyes for one second, but then the terror drained away and she settled back into more comfortable sleep, trapping my hand beneath her head for a pillow.  I typed most of this with one hand; she only just released it now.  But she keeps sleeping, with my knee as her newest pillow.

She’s already learned “sit,” too.  I’ve been saying it to her, and making her do it, before meals–somewhat irregularly, I’m afraid–for about a week.  Then, yesterday, when I first ordered her to sit, she did it immediately.  When she did it again today, I decided it wasn’t just a fluke.  Yippee!

Nepali of the Day:

bhata: from

tira:  towards

parcha:  (is located)

uttar:  north

dakshin:  south

purba:  east

paschim:  west

(In giving directions, the structure basically works like this:  “A-from” “B-direction-towards” must be located… this basically leads to a rough literal translation of “From A, B must be located towards this direction.”)

Kathmandu bhata Pokhara paschim tira parcha. =  Pokhara is west of Kathmandu.

Pokhara bhata Kathmandu purba tira parcha.  = Kathmandu is east of Pokhara.

Nepal bhata India dakshin tira parcha.

Florida bhata New York uttar tira parcha.