I have officially been with with my host family for one week! My Baa has opened up to me since he's learned that I'm Jewish. He has become fascinated with us as a people and has taken to the age-old stereotype that we are all smart, beautiful, business people, and super rich. Oh boy... I happily dispel the generalizations and explain that we, like all other people, are a diverse set of individuals. He means so well and is just really curious and uneducated about Judaism. But he sure is adorable in his little beanie which he wears all of the time. My Aamaa will hopefully be coming home this week, but who knows for sure.
Yesterday I was sent on a cultural excursion to the Swayambunath Temple which is commonly called the 'Monkey Templs' for obvious reasons. It is this huge Buddhist holy site with many shrines and architectual wonders. I wish I could describe it (or figure out how to post pictures) in appropriate words. It is beautiful and filthy and crowded and super holy- which is basically the same description I would give to Nepal as a country!
I am going to write my Independent Study Proposal in a bit, and I have gotten some really great direction towards hospitals and people knowledgeable about childbirth and pregnancy. I will hopefully spend half of my time observing a maternity hospital (or 2 or fertility clinics, etc.) in Kathmandu and then spend the other half of my time in rural Nepal (probably Western Nepal due to my contact person's connections) hopefully following a midwife. I am really interested in looking at the religious influences on the entire process of pregnancy and then childbirth, and finally to draw some sort of conclusion relating auspiciousness and purity. But we shall see where that actually goes!
This coming Sunday we leave for a week in Chitwan National Park which is in the Terai in Southern Nepal. I am so excited to get out of the city and into some nature!
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