KAKARBHITTA, Nepal - "Excuse me,. but do you mind if I take this seat?"
It was 11:30 p.m. on the deluxe bus from Kathmandu to the Indian border. The bus, I'm afraid, had few luxuries. The windows all opened and closed, and so did both doors. Most seats had padding, although a couple arm rests were missing. But the box in the front meant for a television had been locked, and posters of Jennifer Lopez and Avril Lavigne covered the hole. Shocks would have been beyond the pale.
I hadn't expected to keep the empty seat for long. At first, a big Nepali man with a ponytail sat beside me. He took up half my seat and kept falling asleep on my shoulder. Then a skinny Nepali man took over. I had more room, but he also kept falling asleep. This new potential seatmate looked wide awake and not terribly big. "Sit down," I said, and he did.
"Can I ask where you are coming from?" he said, but he said it with a Subcontinental accent that did not change pitch or stop between words so I heard, "Caniaskwhereyoucomingfrom." I had him repeat the question, twice.
"NewYork. IhaveasisterlivinginVirginia."
He was 23, working on a degree in arts and planning his escape from his war-torn, poor but very beautiful country. The number one choice was America, where he could earn $10 an hour in a big city. Perhaps he'd go to a smaller city to continue his education with less money. He thinks Colorado and Virginia would be good chocies.
"Canyouunderstandmywords?"
"Yes," I said, not knowing what else to say. "It's pretty good."
From there, he launched into a serious of statements on random topics, many of questionable fact:
"India is at a higher level of development than the China."
Ehhh.
"The universities of Australia are more prestigious than the universities of America."
Not really.
"New York is the second biggest city in the world."
That one hasn't been true for 30 years.
"Right now studying Nepalese language and culture is very popular in America."
Perhaps. I haven't met anybody engaged in any serious research, but I suppose there are academic professionals who are. This man claimed two weeks ago to have met an American who spoke fluent Nepali, which I imagine led to this not quite true extrapolation.
"America is a strong ally of the Nepal."
I'd had enough. This statement had to be challenged. I brought up the American ambassador, who in his farewell speech last month attacked both the Maoists and the king, the two major sources of political power in the country. The Bush Administration, whatever its faults, correctly condemned both the Maoist violence and heavy-handed response by the king. I think the general attitude in America about Nepal is a cautious hope that the country doesn't take a wrong turn that destabilizes the region.
The student nodded, and accepted my concerns. But he added that he still supports the Maoists, "because they will help the poor."
"But Communism hasn't worked in any other country, what makes you think it will work in Nepal?" I said.
"China is a Communist country. They have good economic development."
Sigh. If it weren't past midnight, I might launch into why China's not really a Communist country any more, and why the country's economic successes are not because of its command elements. But that would take hours, and I wanted some alone time. I doubted I could sleep on these rough roads, but for now, I'd had enough conversation. I was ready for a sleeping shoulder.
