Trapped in Kathmandu, and while on the subject, making nachos

So, trying to get to my placement yesterday was short circuited...my plan was to go to leave Kathmandu to go to Bhaktapur yesterday (by motorcycle, how terrifying and fun!), however there were protests all over the city; fires burning, police, tear gas, rock throwing, and even more smoke in the air than usual here.  I heard that they had something to do with the increase in propane and fuel costs, which is a big deal.   Most people don't have electricity, so we all have one or two burner propane stoves to cook food (no ovens here).  No propane, or an increase in the cost, tremendously affects life.  

On an tangent, now, while on the subject of propane stoves.  I made nachos here the other night for our dinner, thanks mostly to a late night craving.  Ever try that without a microwave or oven?  It is not as easy as you'd think.  Never mind the fact that you can't buy nachos.  You make them.  Starting with the dough, you roll it flat, cut it into triangles, deep fry....then you make the salsa, then grate the yak cheese - it is quite the process!  Then trying to melt the cheese over top was interesting.  The trick is to insert a plate into the frypan (loaded with the nachos and cheese) and place the frypan cover overtop.  Eventually, eventually, the cheese does melt. It turned out amazingly well, I'll say, mostly due to some excellent direction in the kitchen, mind you, and very little to do with any ability on my part.  Thank goodness for DC, our most excellent chef!

So, as a result of the strife yesterday, all the volunteer plans got cancelled, as no one could get around, so all six of us ended up at the local pool hall playing snooker and drinking tea for the afternoon!  It was really funny, too, as life grinds to a halt, you just dream up other things to do in the interim.  Playing pool here is different, too, as each pool table has their own "didi" or Nepali sister who manages the table, keeps the score, gets your tea, and whose job it is to hand you the pool cue.  How funny!  It probably helps with employment - good thing, too as the unemployment rate is about 37-40%.  Never mind, underemployment, and that is a whole other thing. So we played pool for about 4 hours for the grand total of 250 rupees (4$).  My pool playing skills are still abysmal.  A few more protests, and I'm sure they'll pick up.