This and That

Here are a few random things I have noticed in the last month or so, or just random sightings of recent:

-Many of the children and babies wear eyeliner. A very thick black coal lined around their eyes. I'm not exactly sure why, I am pretty sure it's not to make them look more attractive. I think it might just be something like the tikka that many people wear. The tikka is the red dot that is placed on the forehead. You can always tell when a baby has been crying because their eyeliner will be streaked down their face.

-I have noticed a few garbage trucks recently! So there actually is a bit of organization regarding sanitation. Some of the garbage trucks are just carts pulled by street kids, some a much larger. But as far as I can tell, everyone throws their garbage into huge mounds on the street, and then a garbage truck might come by and the garbage men shovel it in the truck with trowels.

-Dead dogs. I have been noticing a fair amount recently. Alot of the time though I think I see a dead dog on the street. Sometimes you need to stop for a minute and stare at it's body to see if it moves. The dogs are absolutely not afraid or bothered by people. They sleep in the middle of the sidewalks, streets, and really anywhere where there is an inch of space. So it is hard to tell if they are dead or alive. The other day I saw a definite dead one. As I was walking to work in the morning I think it was still alive but maybe had another minute or two to live. It was basically a sack of bones with fur on it. Then on the way back from work it was completely dead.

-YCL: The Young Communist League. I saw about 40 young kids with YCL jackets carrying around communist flags the other day. They were all sitting in the middle of a field having a nice lunch picnic. I was quite interested in them and the Nepalis seemed to be as well, as they all stopped and were starring with interest.

-Rodeo Drive of Kathmandu. I have found what I call the Rodeo Drive of Kathmandu. It is a street of very nice shopping stores that I don't think are knock off stores but I'm not sure. There is an Adidas, Samsonite, and a Baskin Robbins. The stores are unusually nice and clean for the city as well as the street it is on. Also the people who walk up and down this street seem to be the young and old professionals of the city.