The expatriot community of Kathmandu

Since my last entry, I have been introduced to the expatriot community of Kathmandu. Not just Americans - but people from all over Europe, such as Germany and Denmark, as well as English-speaking countries like Australia and New Zealand. I knew before coming that there were 22,000 NGO's registered in Nepal - about 2,000 of which are active. In addition to that, there are many foreign-government organizations aimed at providing aid to the Nepali people. A population from these groups has decided to stay and make Nepal their home - some marrying Nepalis and some founding their own organizations. Among these foreigners, there exists a very - tight knit isn't the right word - interconnected group. My bosses, as foreigners formerly associated aid organizations and now founders of an appropriate-technology company, are part of this group.

Saturday night, we went to an art opening where there were a lot of expatriots. A Nepali artist's paintings were on display - really emotional work that was about the political unrest's effect on the people. Sunday night, it was a going-away party at Ghojan Griha for a member of the expatriot community who'd been here for over twenty years.

I didn't expect there to be such a community of people like my bosses - I thought they would be out in Nepal, very much on their own, maybe knowing a few people at the embassy. That's not at all the case, there are a lot of foreigners, and both events included these expatriots and important Nepalis that are part of economic and civil change-for-the-better.