Nepal!!

I found out yesterday that I received the grant I had applied for to travel to Nepal and do a short documentary this summer. They are fully funding it ($4800)!!

I will be working alongside a Wake Forest Anthropology professor and his research team. He's been studying the Dalits of Nepal for 30+ years and will be there to help every step of the way. We will start in the city capital Kathmandu.

Kathmandu, Nepal

Shortly after we will travel to a small city surrounded by villages in Besisahar. This is area is very near  Annapurna, where trekkers come from all over the world to hike the Himalayas. 

Besisahar

Besisahar

I will be in Besisahar for 4-5 weeks filming with the Dalits in the surrounding the villages. Nepal, like India, is still a country divided by a caste system. The Dalits are the lowest caste. The "untouchables". The film will explore how and why they are beginning to challenge the caste system through various methods, including converting to Christianity (after all, Christianity has no caste system). I will go to church with them, visit them in their homes, spend time with their children working in the rice fields, etc. Added bonus: at the end of the trip, I will be able to attend a traditional Buddhist wedding with Dr. Folmar in Kathmandu!

I'm nervous, excited, thrilled, and still in shock that I have been given such an amazing opportunity. 

Day 11: The Grand Bazaar & Couchsurfing with artists, Part 1

The day started on a sad note. We didn't want to leave Figen's. Together we prepare breakfast and coffee and eat together one last time on her plant-covered balcony overlooking the Bosphorus and what seems like all of Istanbul. There wasn't much talking - just a silent gratitude and appreciation for having walked into each other's lives. We hug and hold back tears, thanking her for being her wonderful self. With a heavy heart, we walk down the street one last time to catch the dolmus to Kadikoy. 

Once in Kadikoy we catch a taksi (Turkish spelling) and give the driver Hande & Arda's address. The driver begins the journey up the steep streets into Moda, but we soon realize that he doesn't actually know how to get to their specific address. He stops a few times and asks fellow cab drivers and such. Eventually we make it (though we later learn, I believe Arda informs us, that taksi drivers in Istanbul are notorious for not knowing how to get anywhere - even the LOCALS don't know how to get around, how the heck are we supposed to then? This makes me feel a lot better about naming Turkey as one of THE most difficult countries to travel. EVER.)

Moda is the "artsy" area of Istanbul, where all the creative folk live. Supposedly. It is also on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. It has a couple streets with adorable restaurants and cafes and then most of the rest of Moda is small streets lined with apartment buildings. It would be a lovely place to live. Arda buzzes us into their building and we walk down some winding stairs, which are daring me not to fall, and he opens their door at the bottom. He kindly welcomes us into their inviting home, its walls covered with art of their own and of their friends. We put our things down in the living room, where we will be staying, and then he shows us Hande's sculpture studio and his office along with some of their artwork. These are serious working artists, living, and thriving I might add, off their passions. Jealous.

Christine and I had planned on heading to the Grand Bazaar today, and eating a piece of chocolate cake we had gotten after dinner on our first night at Figen's and hadn't eaten yet. Big plans. Cake plans. So, we awkwardly left soon after arrival for the day's excursion. I had never couchsurfed and Christine had done it only once. It's much different than other lodging. People let you stay for free in their home because they love meeting and spending time with new people. It is probably very odd, perhaps rude, for us to arrive and leave soon after to explore on our own. We do promise, however, to return for dinner. 

We walk down along the Bosphorus, a beautiful view, and find a bench to eat our cake. It is delicious, obviously. It is all chocolate. Christine and I talk about how we will have to change our day-to-day plans to ensure that we couchsurf properly and balance our time spent sight-seeing with time spent with Hande & Arda. If for no other reason than as a thank you for a free place to stay. 

We continue our walk down to Kadikoy and catch a ferry over to Eminonu.  First thing we do is find the Spice Bazaar, by accident. It was one of those moments where you find yourself walking through something not knowing what it is until you are so entrenched in it that you realize you are in fact seeing something that was on your list of things to see. It smelled amazing. I can think of no way to describe it other than that it smells exactly like you think it would. Rich & sweet. Men and boys trying to get you to buy something each time you pass a new booth. Some people hate that experience. I find it fascinating. Perhaps because it is so foreign to me. They are so overtly throwing themselves, or their products, at you that it can't be anything but amusing. We continue through the winding streets toward the Grand Bazaar. We walk for what seems like miles and miles up steep hills with no such luck. The streets are lined with shops, but they're selling ordinary things like jeans and kitchen appliances. We get so tired that we begin to wonder if this is in fact the Grand Bazaar. We march on in denial and hopeful that these are just vendors that the locals buy from for everyday needs and/or are trying to catch those entering and exiting the Bazaar. 

Street near Eminonu as we begin are trek into Sultanhamet in search of the Grand Bazaar.

Teas in the Spice Bazaar

The good news is this is not the Grand Bazaar. The bad news is that the Grand Bazaar was a huge disappointment. I think the Medina in Morocco spoiled me. That was so earthy, raw, beautiful, & natural. Everything smelled like leather and the streets were made of dirt. There were no chain stores in the Medina. However, the Grand Bazaar seems to have succumb to commercialization. There are certainly some beautiful shops and works of craftsmanship, but it is also filled with local chains and the dealers are less friendly. The only cool part is that it is in an old building/mosque. Oh, and the prices are astronomical. Again, Morocco ruined it for me. I had been saving to buy all my gifts for people here because I was certain it was where the prices would be the lowest like in Rabat. Not even close. The only thing I purchase here are two lovely, ornate plates as wedding gifts to Sarah and Beth. 

Grand Bazaar

Grand Bazaar

It is a maze in the Bazaar to say the least and we get split up once. After we find each other and tire of the disappointment, we exit the Bazaar to find food. What do you know, we find a restaurant with the most delicious lentil soup and bread and the friendliest, most entertaining waiter we could ask for. Well played, Istanbul, well played. You never let us stay down for long. Our sweet waiter is most likely flirting with us, but his intentions are good. He  cannot for the life of him figure out where we are from. This is the only place I have been where people don't immediately guess America or Canada. He was guessing Brazil, Austraila...(and many other places that I cannot remember). We also meet two old women who are on a cruise and they stopped in port today in Istanbul. They wish us luck in our travels, as we do them and we leave the restaurant. This is where the day gets good.

Things to remember...

Advice to My Kids

By Leo Babauta

I have six lovely children — one of them now an adult, and a couple more almost there — and I give a lot of thought to what I think they should know as they grow up and go out into the world.

What could I best teach them to equip them for life?

This is what I’d like them to know:

You are good enough. Most people are afraid to do things because they are afraid they’re not good enough, afraid they’ll fail. But you are good enough — learn that and you won’t be afraid of new things, won’t be afraid to fail, won’t need the approval of others. You’ll be pre-approved — by yourself.

All you need to be happy is within you. Many people seek happiness in food, drugs, alcohol, shopping, partying, sex … because they’re seeking external happiness. They don’t realize the tools for happiness aren’t outside them. They’re right inside you: mindfulness, gratitude, compassion, thoughtfulness, the ability to create and do something meaningful, even in a small way.

You can start your own business. As a young man, I thought I needed to go to college and then be employed, and that owning a business is for rich people. That was all wrong. It’s possible for almost anyone to start their own business, and while you’ll probably do badly at first, you’ll learn quickly. It’s a much better education than college.

Everything useful I’ve learned I didn’t learn from college … I learned from doing.

That said, I’ve had some amazing teachers. They’re not always in school, though: they’re everywhere. A friend I met at work. My peers online. My mom, dad, siblings, grandparents, uncles and aunts. My wife. My kids. Failure. Teachers are everywhere, if you’re willing to learn.

Spend less than you earn. Thirty percent less if you can manage. Most people get a job and immediately spend their income on a car loan, high rent or a large mortgage, buying possessions and eating out using credit cards. None of that is necessary. Don’t spend it if you don’t have it. Learn to go without, and be happy with less.

Put away some of your income to grow with the power of compound earnings. Your future self will thank you.

Learn to love healthy food. It’s all a matter of adjusting your tastebuds, slowly and gradually. Learn to cook for yourself. Try some healthy, delicious recipes.

Learn compassion. We start life with a very selfish outlook — we want what we want. But compassion is about realizing we are no more important than everyone else, and we aren’t at the center of the universe. Someone annoys you? Get outside of your little shell, and try to see how their day is going. How can you help them be less angry, less in pain?

Never stop learning. If you just learn something a little a day, it will add up over time immensely.

Have fun being active. Sure, there’s lots of fun to be had online, and in eating sweets and fried food, and in watching TV and movies and playing video games. But going outside and playing with friends, tossing a ball around, swimming, climbing something, challenging each other … that’s even more fun. And it leads to a healthy life, healthy heart, more focused and energetic mind.

Get good at discomfort. Avoiding discomfort is very common, but a big mistake. Learning to be OK with some discomfort will change your life.

The things that stress you out don’t matter. Take a larger perspective: will this matter in five years? Most likely the answer is no. If the answer is yes, attend to it.

Savor life. Not just the usual pleasures, but everything and everyone. The stranger you meet on the bus. The sunshine that hits your face as you walk. The quiet of the morning. Time with a loved one. Time alone. Your breath as you meditate.

Meditate.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. They are some of the best teachers. Instead, learn to be OK with mistakes, and learn to learn from them, and learn to shrug them off so they don’t affect your profound confidence in who you are.

You need no one else to make you happy or validate you. You don’t need a boss to tell you that you’re great at what you do. You don’t need a boyfriend/girlfriend to tell you that you’re lovable. You don’t need your friends’ approval. Having loved ones and friends in your life is amazing, but know who you are first.

Learn to be good at change. Change is the one constant in life. You will suffer by trying to hold onto things. Learn to let go (meditation helps with this skill), and learn to have a flexible mind. Don’t get stuck in what you’re comfortable with, don’t shut out what’s new and uncomfortable.

Open your heart. Life is amazing if you don’t shut it out. Other people are amazing. Open your heart, be willing to take the wounds that come with an open heart, and you will experience the best of life.

Let love be your rule. Success, selfishness, righteousness … these are not good rules to live by. Love family, friends, coworkers, strangers, your brothers and sisters in humanity. Love even those who think they’re your enemy. Love the animals we treat as food and objects. Most of all, love yourself.

And always know, no matter what: I love you with every particle of my being.