Settling in in Kathmandu

A view over Kathmandu city

Today was a travel recovery day.  Rick and I got some extra rest and went out walking from our hotel to some local stores and to the BSF headquarters.  Kathmandu is much more crowded than what I remember from 2011. The traffic is chaotic, and the only rules seem to be: try to drive on the left side of the street, don’t hit anyone, and try not to let anyone hit you.  We took BSF’s accountant and Aleesh, one of BSF’s program coordinators, out for coffee.  I showed him a picture of Sushmita, the girl that I sponsor, and he said “Oh, you’re The Jim.” (Sushmita refers to me as “my Jim”.)

Coffee with BSF staff

We met with BSF Executive Director Leena and Board Director Yogesh at the hotel this afternoon.  We talked about bit about BSF’s board and how it is structured and discussed recent changes and additions to Mitrata’s Board. We discussed Nepal’s response to the coronavirus.  They are moving up the children’s exams so that they can end the school year a week early.  The government considers an outbreak there to be inevitable because of the infection rates in neighboring China and India; however, there has only been one case so far in Nepal. 

Left to right: Rick, JIm, Leena, and Yogesh

Rick and I went out to dinner with Leena and Yogesh at a restaurant called Jimbu which features Thakali Nepali food.  We all had dal bhat and I sampled some dido (dhindo?), which is a buckwheat dish used in place of rice at higher elevations in Nepal where rice does not grow well. It had the consistency of uncooked dough, but it sure was delicious! I also tried some spicy pumpkin curry that was served hot. Yum!

— Jim Craig, Board President

A dish called dal-bhat