December 7th: A Day That Will Live In Infamy!

Today for breakfast, the proprietor, Primm, suggested I try scrambled eggs and potatoes. Notice the small size of the potatoes. This is the size I have seen at the market stands too. This seems to be the normal size here in Nepal. There are no giant Idaho russets here.

This is the view from my breakfast seat. Later 3 other guests appeared.

Look at the blackened bananas. If these were US bananas, the fruit inside would be spoiled mush -- but these are perfectly fresh inside!

Today was primarily about taking a 5K roundtrip walk to the Fulbright Nepal office to complete my orientation.

Along my walk, I passed this dental office.

I saw the bad traffic on the Ring Road.

I saw this street market from both directions. I wish I could better relate to you the smorgasbord of smells/odors encountered on my walk.

I even saw a traffic light. Can you find it in this photo? Despite the traffic light, there is a policeman directing traffic in the intersection.

At the Fulbright Nepal HQ, I met the Executive Director, Nick. He has a really cool job.

I was given my orientation briefing by the Senior Program Officer, Rakchhya.

Keshar, the operations chief, gave me my banking information. I now have a checkbook and an ATM card. On my walk home, I stopped at a Nabil Bank ATM and activated my card. Then I withdrew 10,000 rupees -- which amounts to $76.19 US.

On my return walk, I also stopped  off at the Bhat Bhateni store. I bought 2 pairs of longjohns (that actually fit) and two more sweatshirts. This is a photo of the men's public restroom at the Bhat Bhateni.

Back at the Kumari Inn, I noticed the family's shrine room. I have a lot to learn about the Hindu and Hindu-Buddhist practices.

One final observation for today. This is a nearly paperless society. No one has printers! I did walk by a copy shop today, but it seems almost everything here is in everyones' phones.

Tomorrow morning I will return to Dhulikhel for 1 night, before returning to KTM.