When I last spoke to Mom on the phone, she asked me, “Have
you seen any cool wildlife in Gorkha?”
Unfortunately the routine spotting of goats, cows, buffalo,
pigs, chicken, spiders, lizards, dogs, and cats isn’t much to write home about.
Even the occasional monkey sighting around school has become my new norm.
But there’s a rumor that a big, scary dumsi can be found wandering around the neighborhood. It’s a
terrifying monster that has sharp claws, big eyes, and prickly “fur.” And it
seems to make an appearance whenever Stutat starts acting up.
It’s English name: porcupine.
It took me about a month to understand that the dumsi that conveniently “lives” in the
house behind ours is the fictional threat used the minute Stutat begins one of
his temper tantrums. “Oh, you better stop, Stutat –the dumsi will hear you! Oh,
Dumsi! Please come take Stutat away!” my Dai will call. Essentially it’s the
Nepali boogyman for children.
Although the dumsi
might be a fictional threat to keep Stutat in check, the tigers that have been
spotted roaming in the neighborhood where Jeanie and I go for our morning walks
are real! Lions and tigers and bears –oh my! Now I know we’re not in Kansas
anymore, but I hadn’t exactly made a plan if I should happen upon a tiger in
Gorkha. My knowledge of how to manage a wild tiger is pretty much limited to The Life of Pi and The Hangover, neither of which will be very helpful if a Nepalese
tiger decides we would make a good morning meal. Needless to say, we’ve since
altered our route for the time being…
However, tigers aren’t the only thing that have altered
travel plans in Gorkha. Now that Dashain is over, election season is well underway.
On November 19th, citizens will vote for members of Congress to form
the first Nepali Constitutional Assembly. After a history of political unrest
and national conflict that ended a decade ago, there has been movement to make
Nepal a democratic state and forming this Constitutional Assembly would be a
big step in that direction. It is the second attempt at a national constitution
after the first assembly four years ago failed to bring about a formal
document.
With over 100 political parties (my teachers are amazed when
I explain the bi-partisan politics of the U.S.), Nepali politicians have their
own methods of campaigning. Last week Gorkha had a traffic bhund, where all
traffic was stopped from leaving or entering Gorkha as one of the parties held
a demonstration just up the street from my house. Posters were pasted to every
available flat surface and houses and shops were decorated with flags.
Although it has been interesting to observe the campaign season
of another country, it has made teaching challenging. There are two more weeks
to go until election day, but already teachers have been warned that there will
be school closures for political bhunds and election official trainings leading
up to the big day. Fingers crossed we’ll be able to keep a regular schedule
long enough to get through the lesson in passive voice for grade 6…
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