Houston, we have contact

Whew! I just spent 15 minutes waiting for this page to load, so that I could send this precious blog entry to my precious friends and loved ones! You might think that doesn't sound like much, but I offer you this dare: sit in front of your computer screen, and I dare you to wait and do nothing for 15 minutes...time is after all, relative.

What's more, I spent over an hour early this afternoon writing a hilarious blog entry, with 4 photos, just for you---only to have a computer glitch and --BANG--the whole thing up in smoke. :)  As we have learned, you can just never be in a hurry, and this must surely be why the local Nepali and Indians just smile, shake their head from side to side and say "No problem! All good!" no matter what frustrations or problems actually come up. Why get angry? Indeed! :) Better to sit in the sunshine and have some tea and chat with a friend.

But that doesn't mean they just sit back and accept whatever either. The industrious restaurant owners and internet cafe people we saw have installed a separate electricity system with generators and batteries to deal with the 4 ! scheduled power outages per day with almost no disruption to customers, only sometimes a "sorry ma'am, can't make that dish, no battery power left."  This despite the fact that the country produces enough electricity to sell the extra to India: there are solar panels EVERYWHERE!  The question is, why is it too expensive for us in the west to want to equip our houses with solar, and yet even really poor looking Nepali houses can install a full set?  To add to the mystery, Jean Yves met a guy working for the French electricity company, who was here installing solar panels. When asked this question, why not in the West, the answer: "because they don't want us to"---'They' being, I presume, the MAN. The other question is, of course, why is the Nepali government selling electricity to India when they can't effectively power their own people? Hmmmmm..... Corruption is the real axis of evil, I think.

After email, we went to have lunch at our favorite place, Tibet Kitchen. The city has changed a bit because over 100 Russians have arrived for a special teaching at another monastery. You can easily spot the Russians: ordering huge glasses of brandy (because it's the only hard alcohol the restaurant has) neat, with ice cubes !, smoking and throwing it back at 2 in the afternoon. Ordering copious amounts of food. And with that certain air that those who know Russians will recognize: dominance and strength. They had our poor Nepali server running like crazy. The Germans are also easily spotted because, along with Americans, they are the only ones who wear shorts or tank tops or other types of 'revealing' clothing, totally oblivious to the impact on the locals. In this culture, this is something akin to a topless sunbather on a beach in Alabama. There are also many fewer young backpackers than I expected: the average western tourist seems to be 40-60 year olds in couples (like us!).

So, we've arrived at the monastery in Kopan and unpacked our bags. As I type this, I can hear the young class of baby-monks reciting new words they've learned at the top of their lungs--adorable!
I think we will have a good time here, slow down and really feel the vacation. There are 380 monks and 400 nuns! good vibes to say the least. 

So, signing off for the next month or so. We'd love, however, to come out after a month to all your emails keeping us up to date about your lives and the world....
Love Cyn and JY