Just like a hobo in a suit...

Well don’t I feel quite elegant this afternoon, sitting with my Cafetiere on the rooftop balcony in 25°C weather writing my blog.  Let us ignore the fact I am currently unshaven and unshowered sitting on chipped and old garden.  In my defence, I am trying to conserve water and gas a bit, hence why I am unshowered.

However, after my less than wonderful week last week, things are, in fact, picking up.  First of all, The British College is finally fully Ministry of Education (MOE) approved.  We have been waiting for this to happen since I arrived and it means that we can now full enroll students and start yours courses!  It also means that I won’t be unceremoniously thrown out of the country and should have a job for the foreseeable future!  Yay!  Less importantly, but still important for me, is that I will also be able to send my money home and start saving!  Those who know me well, will be pleased to know that I am now quite sensible with my money.  That said, it does help significantly that it costs less than the price of a blank cd to buy a film here.

Moving past my economic growth (see what I did there?), the next thing is that I haven rebooked my cancelled holidays.  I shall be returning home (if all goes to plan…they have been approved…then again, they had been last time.  Oh well) on Saturday the 28^th of April and will be leaving on the 5^th of May.  It isn’t a huge amount of time but it does mean that I can get home for Christmas as well.  It should also be enough time for me to see my family and friends as well as stock up on various supplies e.g. tea, coffee, bacon, Smallville.  You know, the important stuff.

This change in holidays, whilst generally troublesome to my plans, has one silver lining.  Due to the numerous public holidays we have here (the same holidays I had been utilising for my trip home), it means I now have two long weekends in April, so if anyone has any suggestions for what I could do, let me know.  My current plan is to go to either Pokhara or Chitwan…perhaps even both!

In Nepalese news, I have continued my sightseeing with a guided tour of the 2^nd Durbar Square (in Patan) which was pretty interesting.  Thank god I enjoy seeing Temples and churches etc otherwise I would be in trouble!  My guide took me around the square, telling me about the various temples and religions and actually took my into a Hindu Shrine and a Buddhist temple which I would never have seen without the guide.  Furthermore, my visit coincided with a special festival that is held once every five years which I would have never found.  Sadly, the place was mobbed (which is saying something in Kathmandu) but he took me up to a school roof so I could see the statues.  All in all, a good touristy day.

So, enough from me.  Everyone is caught up with nail bitingly exciting life (hah!  That said, I never promised it would be exciting).  So internet picks…

Internet Pick of the Week

Trip Advisor - Yes, I realise that there has been some controversy about this website but I still find it a useful site for planning travel.  Covering hotels, restaurants and things to do, it is a great site to get a general idea of where to go and what to do on your trips.  It has a lot of information and generally detailed descriptions/reviews.  Obviously, the main problem is that everyone will have a different idea of what is good and bad but it does give a good indicator.  That said, I tend to use this in conjuction with other sites to plan any trips (as well as books) especially the various '24 hours in' which give a really good overview in each city and often highlight both the common and uncommon things to do in various places.

Sunday Song

Hmm, sort of stuck again...who to choose this week?  Sorted. both a great musician and a food.  Meatloaf!  Enjoy!

Hmm this week was basically just a quick update on my life again, so hopefully it will be a bit more interesting a read.  Until then, internet rules are in control.

Leave whilst you still can!

Another Sunday, another blog post.  To be honest, I am currently not very sure what I am going write for the post, so chances are it won’t be very good this week.  Normally when I post, I at least have a general idea of what I am going to talk about, usually based on something I have done or have had happen to me or have seen.  However, the past seven days have to not been very good at all, arguably the worst week I have had since arriving.  That said, I am not sure if it is as bad as I think it is or if I have entered the ‘homesick’ period of being an expat and as such, things are affecting me more than normal.  Either way, I complain enough in real life and it is the general opinion that I need to ‘man up’ so I won’t go into my week in any more detail.    

Hence my predicament, because I need some idea or topic to write badly about and this week, my mind is completely blanking.  Ok, I suppose there is one thing I can briefly talk about…though it does involve returning to the quagmire of my week.  Ready?  Ok, hold your breath, jump in and for the love of Odin, hope for the best…
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I GOT BEAT AT POOL BY AN 8 YEAR OLD…

 

TWICE

Yes, I am ashamed to admit that this is 100% true.  I was invited by my friend Bob who, on Friday night, was looking after Dave’s (my boss) son.  As such, I met them in Thamel and we headed to a place with a pool table, as Bob had planned to teach David some pool techniques.  Things were going fine until that dreaded moment when David decided he wanted to put what he had learnt to the test…and I lost.  That said, because I was playing so badly, Bob decided to show me how to play properly and so hopefully will get better!  Desperately managed to find some form of silver lining from that situation…  In all honesty though, it was an enjoyable night, if not my finest moment, and did help to improve my week slightly!

Picks of the Week

Hmmm what to highlight this week?  Not really sure again...

Bleach - Ok, as I can't think of anything, I will recommend another anime.  Bleach is the 3rd anime I really got into and I am still currently watching today.  The story is based around the main character Ichigo Kurosaki, who gains the power of a Soul Reaper, and slowly expands to cover the other soul reapers as well as various others groups of allies/enemies.  

Be warned though, should you decided to start watching it, be prepared for the long haul in two ways.  First of all, it currently has 15 seasons and well over 300 episodes.  Secondly, whilst it starts off good, the best episodes start of in season 2/3 then there are various quality episodes and story arcs throughout (Filler episodes I am looking at you!).  That said, should you make it through some of the fillers, the later episodes are brilliant and really get you involved both with the story and the characters.  The characters are well written and all have their own (mostly) well written personalities (though some are somewhat 'colourful' and/or cliche) which is all the more impressive due to the fairly large ensemble of characters.  The storyline is quite often dark, with plenty of twists and turns that keep you wondering what will happen.  One in particular I just watched, still managed to surprise me even though I knew generally what would happen.  I would recommend!

Songs of the week

I came across these two after their cameo in Epic Rap Battles of History and found them to be quite amusing.  Enjoy!  Rhett and Link - The Break Up Song!

 

 Hmm I suppose I should actually add a proper song as well....

Backyard Babies - Nomadic.  These guys are just brilliant.

Ok, so this went on for longer than planned and I know it was exactly brilliant.  However, I will try to make it up to everyone some point this week. That said, hopefully you got a little laugh over my pool-playing exploits!  Anyways, enough for today!

Do Not Stick Your Hands Into The Exhibits

So, I went to an education fair for the first time…at least the first time being enclosed in one of the cubicles.  It was an interesting and zoo-like experience.  For those who aren’t aware of education fairs, a bunch of square stalls/enclosures are set up in a large hall, which are then filled up with the variety of species/universities.  Students/visitors then file in, usually with friends or families, to go see the enclosures/exhibits that interest them the most.  All in all, it is a fun-filled day out for them.  Whilst this happens, the various university peoples sit and watch the crowds walk by, occasionally interacting with them as they ask questions or sign up for a course.  Don’t worry though, they are well take care of.  They are fed and watered (with tea/coffee and water plus free lunch) and they are given plenty of toys to keep them entertained (well they get wireless…which these days is the adult equivalent of toys ‘r’ us).

Zoo analogy aside, I enjoyed it immensely for various reasons.  First of all, it was nice to interact with the students and families in a less formal environment than our college.  Chatting to them and their families revealed quite a lot about what they want from the courses, what courses they want and the main concerns that they have.  Secondly, it was nice to learn more about the University of the West of England and their associated colleges from people representing them as they are who we have partnered with.  

However, the main thing that really caught my attention was the event itself and the people who travel to these various events around the world.  Just talking to the two people I was working with, it became clear that this was just one of many places they would be visiting within the next month.  Between them, they would be visiting Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Thailand…just to name a few.  One of the ladies (a lovely lady named Kath, who I shared a stall with.  The other was a just as lovely lady Sadhana) actually informed me that she only had one day off in a month due to the various bookings.  

For me it was easy, I just got a taxi from my flat to the hall…these agents flew from around the world to represent the various colleges and will continue to fly around the world to other countries, long after I have curled up on my couch.  Despite this, they have to maintain a friendly and energetic demeanour towards all the students.  However, that is what draws everyone together.  Everyone there (with the exception of me) has flown in from somewhere and will be suffering from the same jet-lag as everyone else.  This created a group of people who can then share the joys of visiting a new country together, going and trying the local food and entertainment in the evening and, if they have time, seeing some of the sights.

 

Whilst I am unsure if I could do this as a full-time job, I think I would love to be able to this a few times a year for TBC as it would allow me to visit various different countries and get to meet new people and potential students.

Ok, so this wasn’t really the post I was planning but I genuinely enjoyed the experience so figured this would do!  So onto my picks of the week!

Philip Blenkinsop  - Ok, I will be the first to admit that I am not the biggest fan of photography, I like some stuff and I don't like other stuff.  However, I 'accidently' went to an exhibit of Philip Blenkinsop (and 14 photography students) work and I really enjoyed it.  I say accidently as I was meeting my friend Robyn there and we were going to go straight for some food but she suggested we stay and watch the exhibit as she had seen some of it earlier and thought it was great.  She was right.  His exhibit featured various guerilla groups that he had spent time with, all across Asia and I found it interesting (although fairly depressing).  If you are a fan of photography or even if you're not, it is worth checking out!

Hmm music of the week... my mind has went a little blank.  Annoying.  

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Excellent, I remember now.  Two songs again this week, which may become common place.  First of all, Gogol Bordello -Wonderlust King.  A Gypsy Punk band (according to Wikipedia), these guys will put you into a good mood no matter what.  In fact, should the apocalypse happen and I am the last person left (alive), this song will be the first thing I listen to.

The second is a slight change in direction, Mastodon - Crack the Skye.  I have liked them since Leviathan but recently they have really become a firm favourite, especially Crack the Skye.  Check them out! 

Anyways, almost time for me to finish.  I think I will try to stick to using Sundays as my main blog update day.  However, I may start including other things under different days e.g. reviews or something.  Will need to decide, any feedback is welcome!  Enough from me!  As usual, tell your friends etc and the facebook link now leads to the One-way Ticket facebook page, so join up!  I will leave you with the link to my youtube page as it has a couple of videos I made years ago, so if you are reaaaaaalllyy bored, check them out.

http://www.youtube.com/user/deathinfire29/videos 

The Ex-pat Shuffle

Ok, I will get this out of the way quickly.  Last night, I was horrendously ill.  Not sure why, it suddenly came out of nowhere.  I was fine at 4pm then at 5pm onward, ILL.  Projectile vomiting ill.  Admittedly, when I first threw-up, I thought it was because I had drank too much liquid and I didn’t feel too bad just yet…so I continued with my plan of getting braised pork and Chinese bread.  Not my smartest idea.  Note to self: when sick, cancel all plans of eating for the foreseeable future.  Still not 100% but feeling much better i.e. no projectile vomiting.

That said, I am quite glad I went for that chinese food.  Obviously not because of me being sick but because it took about 20 minutes for the order to be cooked (in Nepal, most restaurants will allow you take their food home).  Despite being a 30 second walk away, I decided to just sit and wait.  This then resulted in me watching a Chinese version of ‘Take Me Out’ with two Chinese business men whilst drinking green tea.  It was glorious!  There was even a western woman in the group of ladies which suggests that I can get on the show.  As mentioned on my facebook, this now one of my many many goals!  Now where is my Chinese dictionary…

Moving onto the main topic today and perhaps the main topic for the next few posts.  Being an Ex-pat.  Whilst I have obviously been an ex-pat for a couple of months now, it only just hit me the many ways that this can affect me.  I had been visiting a department store as I had been told that there was a decent hairdresser next door plus I know that it had a good supermarket in it.  So, as I travelled to the top of the building, I noticed there was a furniture store at the top.  I went for a look and I was really impressed by the high quality furniture on the outside, so I decided to go in and see if I could get anything nice for my flat.  Wandering around, I found various pieces of furniture that I liked but came across a really nice storage unit that caught my eye immediately.  It did what I needed it do and looked great as well!  Perfect!

  

However, that is when it struck me.  There was no point in getting it.  Why?  Because of being an ex-pat, that’s why.  Whilst I enjoy living in Nepal, I don’t plan on settling down here.  I am hoping to work here for a few years then eventually head off to another country to live and work.  Due to this, I have to be careful with what I buy.  The cabinet display thingy would have been a nice purchase but I would have been forced to leave it behind, which I would be loathe to-do.  If I buy items, I have to ensure they are something I don’t mind leaving behind/selling or something that I can take with me or have transported easily.  I used the title ‘My life in 30KG or less’ in an earlier post and never has this been so true.

That said, all the benefits of working and living Nepal drastically outweigh the negatives.  Plus, the reason I plan on travelling and working around the world is so I can find the place I want to settle down and live.  Perhaps Scotland is it but at the moment, I am not sure and so I want to experience the world.  When I find it, I will make sure to inform everyone!

Anyways, enough of the semi-serious and deep chat!  Time for music and the internet!

Internations

In keeping with the ex-pat theme, Internations!  Should you be living in another country, Internations is a good way of meeting both locals and other ex-pats.  Meetings usually occur once a month but other activities are often organised.  A good starting point for a new adventure!

Hmm and for the music?  Two different bands, both of whom I have been listening to recently.

 The first is Blue October - Dirt Room.  I only discovered them last week (Cheers Drouin!) and they caught my attention!

Secondly, Alice Cooper - Poison.  An upbeat classic!

Finally, I would like to end with a thank you.  A massive thank you to the band Rabbit Junk for recording a happy birthday message and song for Michael.  It is amazing to see a band that loves their fans enough to do that!
Well then, enough from me.  See you next time!  Now then, to buy a mic...(Clue)