Research and Revolutions

And we're back... research was called off early on account of the now indefinite national strike declared by the Maoist party. They are demanding the PM to step down to form a new government, even though they hold the majority in the current Congressional Assembly and, for the sake of their "people's movement," have forced thousands from their homes in the villages to demonstrate in the capital where many have now gotten diarrhea or worse, business owners are forced to close shop indefinitely (or pay the Maoists and lose more than from closure alone) and farmers from the poorest regions are forced to abandon their produce because nothing is moving in the capital. As the current government provides free medical care and transportation to those worst affected, the Maoists blindly carry on, demanding a new democratic leader through entirely undemocratic and hypocritical means. So you see where my allegiances lie.

On our end, the strike means nothing more than a strict confinement to Kirtipur, fewer fruits and vegetables available, and a more careful rationing of water. Best of all, with no cars, trucks or motorbikes about, Kirtipur is quite beautiful. I can smell the flowers that have bloomed with the recent rains and my boogers might just stay their natural color.

Now about research... with it being called off early, I didn't accomplish nearly as much as I would have liked. We traveled along the major Annapurna trek, staying in two villages along the way before clambering over the Thorung La Pass which stands a little over 17,000 ft above sea level. Let me just clarify - there is NO oxygen up there, but it sure is perdy. In the end, I learned far more about my own capabilities than anything about domestic water usage in Manang. My research assistant and I took some getting used to one another, considering he was far more taken with trekking than actually performing research for an extended period of time. And yet it was this extended stay, relatively alone in a foreign country with a foreign language, that got to me most. My 2.5 weeks in Manang were more emotionally (and ultimately physically) demanding than anything I've ever done before. The more time passes, the more I can put aside the discomforts and disappointments I experienced, and appreciate what I actually learned in the process. The best way I can describe it is from something I wrote in my journal a few nights after I got back:

"As the days go by, I'm able to look back at my research as a valuable lesson - a short stint that took me away from my security blankets (while still leaving many intact) for the first time, challenging my own maturity and self-value. I have some regrets (though I promised myself I never would,) and yet it is this very philosophy - a strict adherence to moral and active excellence - that for the first time was sharply called into question. I cannot possibly expect perfection - I see now perfection is painfully impossible - but in fact those chance imperfections, the unexpected and fortuitous, may be the most beautiful, particularly if I am open and flexible enough to consider what lies in the delayed, tabooed or simply simple and unremarkable. Achievement is not success alone - happiness likewise is not measured in achievement. Not even measured but experienced, relished and enjoyed. Those (sometimes hellish) weeks became so valuable in all the ways I would have never imagined - not in 1,000 years or more."