Fall in Carbondale

The Garden of Rocks, IL is a colossal pinnacle of rock that tranquilizes the thought far beyond the horizon. As we watched the Shawnee National Forest, we can feel ourselves in the foothill of Himalayas in front of us, mesmerizing the wonderful high cliffs and rocks with aesthetic beauty of the nature. The multi-color of leaves with the leaves falling apart and the changes in the weather symbolizes the analogy of life cycle of all the living things in this beautiful nature. We realized that the first fall in America has already started to emancipate vividly in our gray matter and it would be resided forever in the spatio-temporal facet.  As we climb the rock and see the spectacular colorful forest, we were struggling hard to capture the images, inherently trying to be more natural than we are, thanks to the development in digital photography that helped to portray it endlessly and seamlessly in our electronic memory sticks. We were tired of capturing those endless images and we were being inherently insatiable and demanding to feel the nature.

The Trip to garden of gods was not only memorable in terms of peculiar natural beauty and aesthetic rocks but was also a phenomenal in the sense that we were able to dance and sing Nepali folk songs with delicious Nepali food. It was analogy to the picnic organized and barbecued dozens of times in the foothills of Nagarkot, Nepal, one of the most popular tourist destinations of Nepal, the reminiscent of my past! That has become the milestone of my life

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Watching movie Hanger 2 was one of the fantastic moment in the auditorium of student center and the movie was not more than a typical Hollywood settings dominated by Bollywood story. It was fun to wash the residue of the long and hectic week with so much of laughter’s- the best medicine. Going to Pk’s bar is a typical Friday night schedule, intrigued with the rock bands and crowded environment has become the normal schedule.

The school looked inherently busy in the month of August. Students seem ubiquitously occupied with the books in their hand and the academic environment entices the learning and knowledge sharing environment in diverse society.  I was so surprised and curious to see so many people in the school at this time of year that I never felt before watching the dynamics of peoples in front of the library and fanner hall simulating it with movie Matrix in the grids.

Riding the motorbike for the first time in US with Eric was not only fun but a subtle change that I was looking for even though I spend all my life riding a motorbike in Nepal. The fall was the most beautiful time of the year and the nature was giving a good company to enjoy the perennial beauty, both in vibes of physical beauty and spiritual feelings.

Nepalese Student Society (NSS) organized the barbecue and it was fun to feel the culinary skills of some of the Himalayan chef, the delicious food lasted inside us forever. The football game participation was not only fun but it was a co-incidence that we played a first game with India, our neighbor.

I was more confused, surprised, and amazed when I was unanimously nominated for the secretary of Nepalese Student Society that was something I never thought of.  Ice-cream at Dairy queen in mid night was not a noble requirement to live a decent life in Carbondale but it was more memorable and something that we always enjoyed in the Carbondale main street. Dr. Schoof promotion party was not merely a formal place to talk much about our professional goals but it was a juxtaposition to share culture, ideas, perceptions all the way from east to west, north to south, and the 360 degrees of Geography and all through the spatial space. The Geog500 was typically a demanding course but it helped us to understand the diverse research paradigm that exists in the Geography Department and helped to know each other’s.

September eleven passed away leaving behind a decade long tragedy that reminded me how I was curiously watching the BBC in Nepal, one of the worst attack for the humanity and civilization that changed the political and economic dimension of the world. 

Also, it was more interesting when I was proposed for the vice-president of GIS club.  We visited the geospatial services department in the Morris library and get acquainted with activities over there. We were so surprised to see the different kinds of maps and satellite imagery that were backed up for so many decades. However, we were also bit disappointed as SIU’s GIS service has not been much emphasized and the need of digital maps and cartography infrastructure is the need of an hour. The other Saturday morning, we went to Marion for volunteering for the Crab Orchard, it was wonderful time cleaning the trash around the lake area and making the place beautiful and clean.  The two antique beers we excavated were much more interesting and got surprised what peoples do when they got drunk!

It was so much fun in Cali’s, the Friday night passed in no-time leaving back the long weeks.  Dashain Festival Celebration in Evergreen Terrace, and spending time with two boys of Chris was incredible experience to understand children’s psychology and temperament, taking me further away twenty years back in Katunje, Bhaktapur.

The change of the leaf is clear notion of the change that is inevitable, that we can feel and perceive and it’s the nature that will be driving us seamlessly, all we do is we follow the rut and trace it for our destiny. Good luck for the journey!  And embrace the natural beauty of the fall in Carbondale.

The Summer of 2011

As the sun gets more hotter and the days become muggy and humid, the life in carbondale conspicuously  irks  in the mid-day of August. However, the greenish environment and the schools dynamics with new students keeps the city cunningly vibrant and beautiful, leaving back the spatio-temporal memories of climate in the horizon.

I was quite surprised and scared  to see the hives of mosquitoes that were chasing me in the garden in pleasant-hills, have never seen the mosquitoes chasing the humans like this before - was a kind of scary like a bio-mutant fiction. The passion of learning how to swim and some of the cultural shocks were common phenomena that i came acquainted in the beginning.The other day I went to hiking with Jay in Giant City, the eastern part of carbondale and see how early inhabitants of carbondale -Nomads lived in the cave hundred of years back.

The commencement ceremony drives me  to remember the time when i graduated from Kathmandu University. Although the environment looks pretty much different, nevertheless the goals remain unchanged. The new graduates were excited after the achievement they made and were flanked and in vanguard of their friends, classmates and educators. Couple of Nepali friends were graduated and we share the happiness, success and prosperity for the days ahead. Good luck and Congratulation Salukis!!

Dr. Carver’s  Linux system Administration course was not only a tech-savvy lecture but was a kind of philosophical in the sense that people knew very little about  open source , open thoughts, and freedom they can enjoy in the computing environment.  It was a humorous , interesting and mind-blogging class i ever had in my life.

The other day  as I reached the department, Jennie was showing mom’s picture in Daily Egyptian, I was a kind of surprised and shocked when mom’s picture is in front page with caption “ Gardner’s from Root of Himalayas’, We shared the happiness all the way from Carbondale to a half-way of world, Nepal. Gardening is something that's always what mom wants and she is fond of!, Finally she got her appreciation from DE. Congratulation mom! for being celebrity.

The other day we went to golf-training school in the eastern side of Carbondale. I  had realized that golf used to be the game of elites back in Nepal and its not the same in US. Tried to make the few shots and missed hitting the ball several times until Eric taught me some entry level gizmos to catch up with. It helped me to wash-up my frustration and praise Tiger wood( although i suppose he is in pain!). It was fun and excitement, and have never imagined the internal mechanics and ingenuity needed to succeed.

The summer concert in the school was one of the most exciting part of the carbondale. From bands Space Capone to Fools of Rowan, there were no words for excitement and fun, enjoying the music and dancing in the dusk. It was one of the most beautiful experience in the school in the humid  days. The 2011 Sunset Concert series comes to  an end with performance by alternative rock/pop group Fools for Rowan. “Burnt around the edges”, “Dead” Mullin’s vocal, Aron's bass and Jordan’s drum was still vibrating in the ear-drums and the vibe will be echoed inside the tributaries forever. As the bass get inside the ear-drum, it travels all the way through heart and soul, the physical body keeps on moving seamlessly, revamping and reincarnating spirit with triumph of happiness, excitement and enjoyment. Thank you guys! It was wonderful time. I loose couple of pounds!

Eric and I spend endless hours in Irish bar , taking about our dry ideologies and thoughts. Sometimes i used to drink coke, Eric likes Beer. It used to be all the way from social science to politics, from cartoons to science fiction, from celebrities to Nature, and from quantum technology to radio-active substances. As we see the world in mulch-facet and multidimensional way, it was really a tough job for us to come with some solid ideas to pacify our boiling thoughts.. It is  seamlessly interdisciplinary that has a discrete yet interrelated ideas and needs strong empirical justification , far more than quantification. We were trying to mess up sociology, economics, politics, international relations, nature, science and more importantly philosophy. Our ideas are reinforced by the susceptible and sustainable pillars of human, environmental and scientific values.

Common grounds has been the place for us to discuss the issues in free-time as we end up in playing with chess and drinking smoothies. Sometimes we play ping-pong in recreation center. Oh i learned how to swim! Yet I have to testify my null hypothesis.

The other day Eric taught me how to play poker!  I love it, he made me the gambler!..lol ;) No, that was my destiny..Oops..i should have been in Las Vegas.  And one day we end up in one of the so different house in carbondale, it was so scary and different.  I have never imagine life could be like this and people can be insanely crazy! I was so scared , finally we made out of the place at 4 in the morning and went to Eric house to sleep. Those were creepy yet scary  Friday nights in carbondale in the hot summer days.

The trip to Madison was fantastic. Oh.. i drove in the high-way for the first time. It was fun but a kind of scary-fun, a juxtapose. I have no idea how people can concentrate on driving like that. But i was more comfortable when we were coming back. 

We were lucky to attend reception ceremony of Nepali couples and was more suprised to meet one of my friend from Nepal. It was so amazing and suprising. World has been global place, you are going to meet someone whom you know wherever you go. In fact, Kathmandu is small and  has the strong social and cultural foundations that links Nepali society  perennially .  We went to see House on The Rock , it was fantastic place to see especially the infinite room, the kitchens and the lavish house itself built on the top of the rock. Then we went to see University of Wisconsin, Madison. Wow, the school looks great but i feel carbondale is better in terms of natural environment. We walked around the downtown madison, ate a pizza and took a bus to the university apartment. The previous day, i was more suprised when one of the guy acquainted with us and he asked about peace process in Nepal I  felt like world is keeping eyes wide open locally and globally.

The scuba diving was one of the most exciting adventure i ever had in carbondale and perhaps in my life. It was so much fun and interesting. At first i was scared as i even dont know how to swim properly but when we submerged inside and get assimiliated with artificial respiration system and appliances. It was so much to see the fish underneath the water, it was completely a different and exotic experiences. My instructor was awesome. I love it. Finally i have been in the surface of the earth for a long time, have fly entire world ! 360's, from East and West,  and down to the earth couple of meters in Scuba! awesome experience...

As we go to PK almost every friday night, we just get crazy and listen to local band. The clock goes to 2 in no-time and the summer was running out!.  The RSO  fair was so much fun as many people get signed  up in our RSO.

Finally, the first meeting of graduate students kicked off in Brian’s house. Thanks Brian for “Thesis-Mhessis”  It was lot of fun and the fall semester starts. Its going to be busy days again, intrinsically busy this time!! 

Enjoy the Fall and welcome back home Salukis.

P.S. ( As i am writing this blog, NYC is evacuated because of IRENE, please be cautious entire-east coaster's  we are with you ;)