Crunch time!

It's supposedly the most beautiful time of year in Kathmandu: October. However, I think it's rained just about every day this month, and the views of the mountains have been...well...non-existent. In talking to my coworkers, it sounds like the weather pattern this year has simply shifted. The monsoon was late in arrival, so it's likely late in its departure as well. The rain can be nice, but I'm ready for cooler temperatures and clear mountain views!

Work has gotten busy (if not overwhelming) in the past week. We are finishing up the first draft of the end-of-project evaluation this week. We plan to send off that draft to HQ for review tomorrow. Tomorrow is also Piush's last day in the office. Since he is the M&E manager, it looks like I will be assuming his responsibilities during his 5 month leave of absence. Luckily, the bulk of the work is happening now, so it will be pretty slow after I get back from my Africa trip in November. So, once the project report is complete, we have to prepare for the big dissemination meeting where we present the findings to the NGO and donor community in Kathmandu. This is where we formally share our findings and is scheduled for October 22nd. In the midst of this, I will be planning for my trip to Nigeria (depart October 26th) where I will meet with the CEDPA office staff and interview former CEDPA Trainees in Lagos and Calabar. And, in the mean time, finish up my poster for the International Conference on Family Planning in Kampala Uganda in November. Whew! I think I can make it happen.

Even though work has kept me in the office until 6pm or 6:30pm most nights, I am still making time to enjoy Kathmandu. Kathmandu's annual jazz festival begins this weekend: Jazzmandu. I plan to try to see some shows; I have tickets for a concert Thursday night, and hopefully I will be able to see a few more before the festival ends on October 13th. I hope to explore another neighborhood on Saturday, so I should be able to post some new pictures soon.

Currency crisis update: I was able to take out money last week (yay!), but only half the amount I wanted (boo). Yesterday's paper reported on the repercussions of the shortage and the way it was handled by bank officials. The supreme court is opening an investigation into the crisis to determine why the heads of the national bank waited so long to take action to avoid the money shortage. The article also mentioned the unethical solutions implemented by the bank: releasing flawed money, and circulating Indian currency. As of now, there has been no further discussion of where the money was, but for now the question is who is responsible.

My next area of interest in Nepal's political economy: armed guards at the India and China borders... Nepal agreed to put troops at the Chinese border to help "reduce anti-Chinese" activities by local Tibetan refugees. Many say that China pressured Nepal into this deployment, but Nepal says its in their national interest to keep troops along the border. China might want troops there because Tibetans often come through Nepal to get to India where the Dalai Lama has some Tibetan zone (or something), which China does not want. I'm still trying to figure out China's and India's separate interests in Nepal, and how these play out in Nepal's politics as they continue to "draft" their constitution. In any case, it looks like the US may have an interest in Nepal after all...