A Missing American in Nepal (etc.)

I do hope it's Aubrey Sacco from Colorado (pictured here) who was seen at Nagarkot earlier today. It does kind of fit the M.O.: a girl alone, apparently getting on a bus, headed to the airport. Ingo has already included me with the K9 team if we need to deploy, but right now, we're on standby pending confirmation that the sighting was indeed Aubrey. We should know in about an hour.

Aubrey hasn't contacted her family since April 20, after a planned trek in the Himalayas. She began the trek at Syabrubesi and planned to follow the Lonely Planet hiking guide through the Langtang National Park.

News of the possible sighting came just as the dog team was about to leave their base at Shyauli Bazaar. It would be half a day getting here to Pokhara. Then, me included, we'd go to Kathmandu (unsure if by plane or bus). Then we'd go to the mountains where Aubrey was last seen or at least last believed to have been. Right now, there's a lot of correspondence going on between Ingo, the family, and parties here in Nepal and abroad.

But even if this search is called off, it's been really interesting to see and hear about how SAR is mobilized here.

So, I'm sitting here in my room, happy the power is on (for now). The breeze from the ceiling fan really makes a difference. Earlier today, I was sweating my way around Lakeside, doing my bit for the Nepali economy. Things are really cheap (for me) compared to the US, but this country has brought out the buyer in me—something I don't do a whole lot of back home, especially when it comes to clothing. Today, though, I had some fun and parted with quite a few rupees—and way too easily I might add.

Well, we'll see how much money I have left near the end of my trip, and then maybe I'll spend more on fun stuff. The clothes and fabrics are so cool.

Speaking of clothing, most foreigners I see—well, all I've seen so far actually—kind of have the hippie look. That is, anywhere from "kind of" to all-out hippie-dom, with dreadlocks, mismatched clothing in all sorts of patterns and prints, and sometimes dirty bare feet. So, I did stick out like a sore thumb, wearing your basic cotton tee and the upper half of my convertible pants, which show more leg (about two inches above the knee) than what anyone else was wearing. Oh, and I had on wool socks and trail runners, while all the other feet I saw were clad in sandals if anything at all. So, I made some purchases, and now I can go back to Lakeside and blend a little more.

"Hippie" has never been a word you could apply to this Deb (although, in this heat and humidity, my curly hair approaches dreadlock-ish on a daily basis, even though I shower and brush it out), but now you could say that I've gone Nepali casual. I had fun trying on my new duds back here at the HRDSN house, while awaiting futher news on the Aubrey Sacco search.

Anyhow, I wanted to answer several questions sent to me by Jayne. She suggested I answer them publically in case anyone else was wondering. So here goes...

Q: Where is Ingo from? He doesn't look Napalese.

A: Ingo is Dutch. His last name, Schnabel, is pronounced Shnah-bel, with the "a" sounding like "ah." And when he says it, he draws the "ah" out a bit. Shnahhhbel.

Q: Is most of the country Hindu?

A: Yep. Buddhism is apparently a distant second to Hindu, so I've read. There are also much smaller percentages of Muslims, Christians, and other religions here, not to mention something like 40 native languages. But I understand there are some similarities between Hinduism and Buddhism, and I've met people who say they're a combination of both. I believe (all? most?) Hindus don't eat meat. Buddhists do, which is clear here in the HRDSN house, where we've had pork or chicken with many meals.

Q: Is that [Hinduism] where the caste system in Nepal originates?

A: I don't think so because the caste system includes people of other religions. I honestly don't know how it began but will look into that. I'd like to know myself. This caste system really is pronounced here, the extent of which kind of surprised me even though I'd read about it beforehand. To see it in action is really something.

Q: I heard the kids talking in the background of your video and it sounded like they might be speaking English. Did I hear that correctly?

A: No, they were speaking Nepali; although the older children here in the HRDSN house do understand some English, and I think the younger kids know some words, too, because English is taught in the private schools from an early age. The children are very shy about trying to speak English with me, though. One of the older boys did translate for Phulmaya, Jith's wife (who speaks no English) when she asked me if I wanted more rice, but I wasn't looking at her and didn't realize she was talking to me. "More rice?" he said quietly, lifting only his eyes when he looked at me. Then, after dinner, when I said "thank you" to Phulmaya, that same boy told her to say "You are welcome." She giggled and said, "Welcome."

Ingo does speak some Nepali, having been here more than 20 years. But he has a little difficulty understanding sometimes and he says his Nepali isn't great. His native language is German, and I believe he used to speak some Russian—he recognised it at a restaurant in Lakeside, where there were Russians at another table—but said he's lost it. I think he has, at one time or another, spoken other languages as well. Ingo often speaks to Jith and other Nepalis in English. They seem to understand him, with his Dutch-German accent, much better than they understand me. I guess they're just used to it after all this time.

Well, I guess I'll go see if there's anything new on the Aubrey Sacco case. And I'll upload some more photos and video too. I'm just snappin' and shootin' away! Everywhere I look, there's something I want to capture. Each one is taking me at least two hours to upload.

A little later: I learned that Aubrey Sacco has missed her plane, and there has been no confirmation that it was her who was seen in Nargarkot. Ingo says that if that had been Aubrey who boarded a bus to Kathmandu from that location, she should have had time to make the plane.

Wandering in Pokhara

I can't just sit around. I need to move and explore, no matter how steamy hot it is. If I don't get a good walk in every day, I'll go bonkers. Besides, I'm in Nepal; I have to get out and see what I can see.

So, I left the house without a plan and started wandering. It was around noon, time for resting during the hottest part of the day. But I was fidgety. Phulmaya, Jith's wife, offered me an umbrella for the sun, but foolishly perhaps, I declined. I rubbed some sunscreen on my sweaty face and arms and went on my way.

Maybe my lack of an umbrella was one reason I was giggled at on the street—a silly foreign girl wandering aimlessly without sun protection. Occasionally, someone would call to me in English from a shaded porch and ask, "Where are you going?" I would shrug, point, and say, "I don't know, that way," and people watching would laugh some more. I felt like a dork.

I saw a group of children and adults gathered around, watching something. I went over to look, too. A man and woman were seated (squatting more like) under an umbrella at the side of the road, casting small metal sculptures. I enjoyed watching the process, and as I watched, all eyes turned to watch me. I smiled, but no one smiled back. I said hello, but no one answered. I tried "namaste," but nope. Nothin'. So I watched for a while longer then slipped away. I could feel eyes on my back as I left. Well, that was kind of awkward.

I passed small corn fields and rice paddies and hillocks of dried rice plants. I saw people sitting outside, bathing with water they ladled over themselves from barrels and buckets. Women washed dishes and clothing in the roadside ditches. Others walked with baskets on their backs. So, see, I wasn't the only one walking during the hottest part of the day... but I suppose they were actually going somewhere.

I passed some larger, gated homes—homes of the rich, Ingo later said—all taller than Pokhara’s two-story maximum, a law that’s apparently not being enforced, especially with all the political turmoil that’s been going on in Nepal for so long. Who has time to pay attention to such things as building height? Ingo says that higher than two stories is very dangerous because a 6.5 earthquake will surely bring them down. He says Nepal is due for a big one.

I stopped to photograph a pretty field and some simple and, in my view, quaint buildings with the foothills in the background. A woman called to me from the other side of the stone wall: “Namaste! Namaste!” Then she said something else in Nepali that of course I didn’t understand. So, silly me, I just nodded.

“Very pretty,” I said, gesturing at the scene I’d photographed. “This is yours?” A dumb question, I thought and figured she didn’t understand me anyway. But she continued talking. And I continued smiling and nodding. It was a funny, rather one-sided conversation.

Not knowing what else to do, I pointed to myself and said, “Deb.” Then I pointed to her. “Sada,” she said. Of course, she had to repeat it three times until my ear caught on. Amazing how difficult it is for me to understand even simple names. When I finally said it correctly, she smiled. Then she put two fingers to her lips, not like holding a cigarette but with the fingertips touching. Hmm. Several people had done that to me already. Sada then pointed at her house. “You want me to come in?” I asked, unsure of what I was supposed to do. Sada smiled some more, then turned around and went inside. Um... do I open the gate and follow her? I decided against it. Maybe she meant she was going in to eat.

Later, when I described the gesture, Ingo told me people were asking if I needed food or water. Wow... cool. How nice. He also told me that the word I'd heard some children add after "namaste" was actually an insult. Oh. Apparently some of the higher caste Nepalis, like the Brahmins, aren't too fond of foreigners, and they teach this to their children.

So, what else did I see on my walk? Well, I saw people napping on their porches and others gathered, talking, in the shade. I saw water buffalo, which pretty much have free reign unless they happen to be tethered. I saw two bulls doing the head-butting thing.

After two hours of wandering, I arrived back at the house, also the temporary office of the HRDSN, which, by the way, is rented. Ingo, Jith, Phulmaya and four boys—and currently me also—occupy the second and third floors. The owner and his wife are on the first floor.

Soaked to the skin with sweat, I took off my sneakers, peeled off my socks, and went up to the third floor for a much-needed cold shower. Sometimes lack of hot water isn't an issue at all.

Okay, time to go see if Ingo is awake after his midday nap. If so, I need to bug him to continue with the HRDSN story. When you get him started, though... boy, can he tell a story!

FYI: An American girl has recently been reported missing in Nepal. Her family has contacted Ingo, so I'll keep you posted. Read the story: CU-Boulder Graduate Aubrey Sacco Missing in Nepal