A Day Off Thanks To Communism

So, in case you didn't know anything about the political climate here, let me clue you in with what little I know. Now, you do have to understand that most of my news resources are Nepali people who speak to me in what little broken English they have, but the stories always usually seem to line up pretty consistently so I trust that there is some amount of truth to what I'm passing on to you.

2 days before I flew out here, they declared Nepal a democratic republic, dissolved the monarchy, and told the king that he had like a week to get out of the royal palace. The people here have hated this king. . . in 2001, there was a bloody massacre of the previous beloved king and most of his family (10 members in all) that was pinned on the prince, who conveniently committed suicide after he supposedly killed his family. The entire investigation was extremely suspicious and practically non-existent. For starters, the entire royal family was creamated (as done according to Hindu tradition) before autopsies could be performed.

I've never seen a group of people so united on a conspiracy theory but everyone here thinks the king now (well, the one who was actually just overthrown) was the one behind it so he could gain the throne. It sounds like a story from the Book of Mormon, huh? I guess this king has been a really bad king anyway and the people were ticked that he dissolved the democracy a few years back so they kicked him out.

The main political party behind the revolution is the Maoist party, aka the Communist Party. Nepal is one of the only places to ever had actually voted a communist party into power in the past. Right now, the majority of the people here back the Maoist rebels---especially in the rural areas---even though they often resort to disruptive protests, violence and extortion. They don't target tourists, so I really don't have anything to worry about. They have been known to "hijack" (and I say this in the in the least harmful sense of the word) tourists trekking on the mountain circuits and make them pay 1000 rupees (about $6.50) each, only then to pose with the trekkers for pictures!

Well, the king left the palace a few days ago and really everything has been remarkably chill here, taking into consideration the gravity of what has actually happened. Then last night, I guess one of the Maoist leaders decided to lock one of the foreign ministers (or somebody like that) in the bathroom for an hour to send the message that reform in the government wasn't happening fast enough! And this, somehow (I've been trying to figure out the connection why this should naturally follow), meant that today was a holiday and that all of the schools were closed (I would assume buses weren't running, etc.)

What a country. Just last week, the kids didn't have school for 2 days because there was a bus strike (in protest of a taxi driver that had been stabbed). I didn't have those days off because my school is so close and no students are bused in. (The kids in my family I think go to higher profile schools in Kathmandu and have to take the bus.) No wonder everyone has to go to school year round---they're always cancelling it! I have to admit, and it's stupid I know because I actually came here to teach, but I was excited to have school cancelled. I think more than anything it was because of the fact that they would actually cancel it because they never cancel school in America! Never! This really must happen all of the time though because it really doesn't seem to phase anyone, not even the kids.

I guess further into town, the father (baa) of my host family couldn't even get into work on his motorbike because there were demonstrations in the streets (Funny, it has been as peaceful and as boring a day as possibly could be up by my house.) and the Maoists were letting out the air of tires of anyone who wanted to get into Kathmandu. Again, the dad was like, yeah, that's the way it is, no biggie.

I promise you all that I am very safe and there is absolutely nothing even resembling danger right where I am at. The thing you should probably worry about the most is the mosquitoes that are eating me alive, and maybe getting fleas from the innumberable homeless dogs that line the streets, picking through garbage in hopes of finding food. (I'm just kidding about the dogs: they are so very docile. They don't even try to come up to you. But I have wanted to mention the plight of the little doggies; I'm no animal lover anyone will readily tell you, and it even tugs on my little heart strings to see so many starving, obviously ill animals everywhere.)