Rear Window...And Front...And Side

In the Caribbean we do a lot of outdoor living. I suppose that is one of the realities of living in the tropics. We have pretty consistent temperatures 12-months a year; and when the skies are not giving us liquid sunshine, we like to sit on our patios, relax on our porches and even lounge in our pools. It is nicer to sit outside in the shade in the tropics and way more comfortable to eat your meal outside where the breeze helps cool you than sit in your non air-conditioned house in the stifling heat. That’s right kids, most homes in the tropics are devoid of central air. Fact of life.

Here in Kathmandu I have also discovered, that much to my surprise, this city lives outside as well! Never in my wildest dreams did not expect to see entire families, families who have large seemingly expensive homes, spending most of the daylight hours outside in their yards or up on their roof decks conducting the day-to-day chores of everyday life—in the dead of winter at that. But after the first five minutes inside my refrigerator—oh I meant to say house—I understand completely why they do it…it is much warmer outside than it is inside. (Am I complaining too much about the cold?)

Plastic chairs are gathered in circles; granddad gets his face shaved; mom picks through lentils for the evening dhal; someone is washing their hair; someone else scrubs clothes in a basin; someone is knitting while someone else is sewing pants; boys and girls study their schoolwork while other kids play cricket…daily life goes on for all to see. I find it fascinating to watch people, as far as my eye can see, out and about with their home life…if you do it inside, well they are doing it outside here (well, not EVERYTHING). You see, it is just far too cold to conduct life inside during the winter (that was a strange sentence to type). You freeze inside because these houses are made of concrete (no good-old insulation in the walls here) and have no productive heating elements. The concrete structures pull the cold into itself and push it back out inside. And gaas space heaters, well they heat about a four-foot square directly in front of it. You would need a dozen heaters to provide any sort of comfort for these big rooms. And with gas being a sacred commodity here, well you have to have plenty of money to afford such luxury. So, outside you head…to the sun and the warmth.

The street corners are the same way. Corners here are gathering places for area residents. It is very common to see men huddled over hand-cranked sewing machines whipping up a pair of slacks or shirt. (My mother would have gotten a kick out of all the sidewalk tailors here.) Men gather around taxis with glasses of Masala Tea or fiddle with broken down motorcycles. Momos (more on these later) are steamed at one corner while soybeans are shelled nearby. Ladies tend to their grooming and kids play nearby. Dogs dot the sidewalks and shop fronts much like the dirt covers the ground. They are everywhere; either being stroked by a hand or just working on their tan in the sun. Someone is peddling fresh eggs as he walks down the street, while someone else is selling pillows from the “Sherpa” bundle on his back. If you need it, you can get it on the corner or from the peddlers in the streets. Be careful for the men who spit no matter your proximity to them and the shopkeepers who sweep or throw water on the dirt outside their shop—hit by either could send you back home promptly.

I’m not sure what goes on here in the summer. I won’t be fortunate enough to witness it firsthand. I know it rains a lot and that rain turns the dirt—dirt is everywhere here—into mud. I would assume that in the summer it is warmer inside your house so it isn’t as uncomfortable to live indoors. I would also think that in the summer months, with the monsoons, it is drier indoors than out. So I bet it is back inside for all these yard dwellers when the rain and the heat come.

In the summer, I would miss seeing my neighbors and being part of their everyday life…I wonder if they watch me as I watch them? Lest you think I am like Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window, well it’s not snooping if it is going on in public, is it? And we do bow at each other from time to time when we catch each others eyes. They must wonder what in the world this lady does, or doesn’t do, during the day, to spend most of her time indoors? I have to work indoors at home here (long wireless story) so I cannot take my work outside as they can.

People don’t hide in their homes here. People in Kathmandu are outside and insight and from what I can tell, terribly happy about it. So, whether it is January or June, find yourself a spot of sun, grab yourself a glass of tea and take a little time to live your life outside!

Next post I swear I will tell you all about some more Temples. They are as intimidating to write about as Be Haas is to edit. ;-)

Namaste