Mt. Everest - Mandala to Miscommunication (day 4)

Mt. Everest – Mandala to Miscommunication

Namche Bazzar to Tengboche

(day 4)

We work up early in Namche Bazaar.  It was clear as a bell. You could see the ice tip of the mountain, a layer of cloud, and the entire town filled with colorful roof tops of blue, red, and green.  It was magnificent. 

However, by the time we left we were shrouded in the dense fog – no big surprise. 

That didn’t impede our progress. We stopped at local store for more water – a critical part of staying alive up here.  

Not long into the journey we learned that this Nepalese man had dedicated a part of his life to improving the trails – widening, shoring them up, and making them much safer.  David made a donation of 10 rupees to the cause.

The trek was clear on the path, shrouded with clouds just above our heads.  We ran into Hemant from Mumbai playing his guitar (the Indian computer science engineer who played for the kids when we had to make an emergency helicopter landing in Tamahani). 

This trail was in contrast to everything we had seen so far.  Dirt and gravel roads, pine and spruce trees lined the path.  We had to step aside each time the group of Yak came by – strong animals carrying supplies up the hill, from canisters of gas to water.  

Before we knew it, we were climbing up those familiar steps of stone.  We rang the singing prayer wheels as we passed them.  There was a steady stream of Sherpas and porters passing us or coming toward us as they made their routine deliveries.  One of them was literally carrying the kitchen sink on his back.

We met Andree again on the path to Tengboche.  We started up from where we left off in our last conversation.  Our conversation was flowing and then we ran into an abrupt series of miscommunications.  He asked me what time it was.  I told him it was 1:24 pm. in Hebrew.  He looked stunned and responded “impossible.” I repeated it and then showed him my watch.  He immediately figured out the basis for our communication. I was referring to American time terminlogy - 12 hours am and 12 hours pm.  He was accustomed to the 24-hour military and Europe time.  It was a useful reminder that miscommunication is not only a result of language differences but context, norms, and reference points as well.

This miscommunication was immediately followed by another one.  I exclaimed we had reached a new altitude goal of 11,000 in Hebrew.  Once again, his face said it all.  He was completely perplexed.  It took a minute of back and forth to realize I was speaking in terms of feet which I was familiar with and he was thinking in terms of meters, like most of the world.

We got a kick out of our misunderstandings in part because they were not language related.  It was time to continue to journey so we said “la hetra oat” again – see you later.

Our journey brought us to Tengboche where you first enter the village through a gate with scenes of Buddha painted on the walls.  

We looked up and saw a beautiful mandala (in this case an ornate picture of the stages of life) on the ceiling.  [The word mandala is a Sanskrit term that means “circle”. A mandala can be defined in two ways: externally as a schematic visual representation of the universe and internally as a guide for meditation.]

Shortly after passing through the gate to the village, your eyes feast on the famous Buddhist Monastery Ama-Dablam.  It is guarded by two lion statues.  

The entry gate has beautifully carved incarnations of Buddha.  You are required to remove your shoes before entering the Temple.  The paints are intricate drawings of the stages of life, the chain of rebirth, and so much more.  The monks’ robes are placed on the praying stations.  Listening to them begin to chant the next morning, along with the Yak, was a glorious and deeply spiritual way to awaken.

However, it was time to eat and prepare for the next part of the journey.  We had fried mo mo (like a fried dumpling or a breaded pot sticker), dal bhat, Masala tea (like chai).  Our guide recommended we avoid their dessert and instead brought us fresh pomegranate and apples for dessert.  (He knew when there were fresh eggs, bread, and other bakery related ingredients, and when it was in short supply.)

We knew it would be the last time we could bathe for a few days, because it was going to be too darn cold.  In addition, there were no showers where we were going next.

So, each of us had a hot shower.  It was nothing fancy.  It had a tankless water heater connected to a handheld shower head. It was a pretty good size room, with a cold cement floor. There was a plastic chair to put your clothes on inside the shower room.  It cost about $8.00 and well worth every penny. It cleaned the soul, as well as the body. 

After our showers David and I played Ono. Summer was busy completing her paper, which was due the next morning.  We used my phone as a hot spot to send it out and it worked.  Good thing because in addition to no more showers there was going to be no more Internet for the next 4 days.

They shut the lights out in the communal dining room and it sent the clear message to all: bedtime.  We all wrapped up in our mummy liners and mummy sleeping bags for the night.  I told David the Yak story I made up for him again, but this time he fell asleep half way through. I liked it, because it meant he was healthy.  It also gave me a little time to think about the day.  I gathered my things to prepare for the next day and I gathered my thoughts and descriptions of the places we had been before they began to fade or disappear completely.