Showing posts with label kathmandu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kathmandu. Show all posts

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Learn Chinese in Nepal

As I mentioned in my last post, I've noticed a proliferation of Chinese signs in Nepal since my last visit here 2 years ago.

I've also noticed a number of Nepalis speaking Chinese. And there are a number of options to learn Chinese here - though from what I've been told it's usually taught by Nepalis who've worked and lived in China. Just look at this photo below:

  Learn Chinese in Nepal

While I do believe it's necessary to develop an identity in another language that you're learning (especially if you're trying to join a language community), I find it odd for a language school to say they'll give you an identity (assuming "Get your Identity by being touch with Us." means just that).

The Chinese could be translated as such:
"Hurry up!
Chinese classes have started.
Don't miss out on this chance.
Hurry up and join us."

Looking at the Chinese writing, one thing that suggests to me that it wasn't written by a native Chinese speaker is that the first character in the third line should be 别 ('don't), but the person has written the left hand side part of the character as 男, not 另.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Literacy And Livelihoods For 445 Women In Nepal

I'm coming out of hiatus to blog about something that involves the Language Development Centre in Kathmandu. As some of you know, I visited the centre last year to find out more about their work and to also get ideas about developing minority language education / literacy programmes in Nepal and NE India. Lauren and I are also hoping to work with them in the near future to assist in running workshops to develop literacy materials for a minority language spoken in Nepal.

They have had great success with the adult literacy programmes and multilingual education in schools. (For those of you who think that children should just learn in the majority language of the country / English, imagine if you only spoke English at home and had to go a school where Mandarin was the language of instruction for everything, and you didn't have much exposure to Mandarin outside school.) Through such education programmes, they've also helped to liberate girls who would've otherwise been sold into slavery, taught mothers what to do when their babies get sick and have diarrhoea and given people the necessary literacy skills to do tasks that most of us take for granted.

The following is an email from a friend who's doing work for the centre:

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Dear Aussie linguist friends,


I want to let you know about a fundraising initiative that Language Development Center Nepal is doing. I hope you'll take a look, since this can make a big difference for helping LDC become self-sufficient without SIL or other religious support. And let your friends who are interested in supporting language diversity know - often it's hard to know what to do to support endangered languages, other than doing linguistic work yourself, but this is one such way.


Language Development Center Nepal, is working to get a permanent spot on Global Giving, a website where people (like you!) can donate to support LDC's work in literacy and improved livelihoods: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/literacy-and-livelihoods-for-445-women-in-nepal/


We have been selected by the GlobalGiving Foundation to participate in its Open Challenge, a fundraising opportunity for nonprofit organizations working around the world. In order to succeed in GlobalGiving’s Open Challenge, LDC must raise $4,000 from 50 donors by April 30th. If we meet this threshold, we will be given a permanent spot on GlobalGiving’s website, where we have the potential to benefit from corporate relationships, exposure to a new donor network, and access to dozens of online fundraising tools. In addition, we could earn as much as $3,000 in financial prizes for raising the most money.


Not only will I personally be thrilled if we raise money and get a permanent spot on GlobalGiving, it will make a big difference in the lives of people who really could use some help - but in a way that respects their dignity and allows them to create lasting change in their own lives. I know money is tight, but since we need to get donations from at least 50 individuals to get a permanent spot on the website, just $10 makes a big difference. Please take a moment to check it out at: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/literacy-and-livelihoods-for-445-women-in-nepal/.


Also, we need your help spreading the word. Please share this with your friends and family, including through facebook - there's a prize from Global Giving for the project that gets the most facebook shares.


Thanks for thinking about this! I know everyone wants your money, but I will personally vouch for this being an awesome organization doing great work!


Best,


Miranda

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So please visit the site.
Share it on Facebook.
Tweet about it.
And donate what you can.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

भाई टिका (Bhai Tika)

Yesterday was Bhai Tika day, the last day of Tihar,when each bhai 'younger brother' receives tika from their sister(s). I was given the honour of being S.'s adopted little brother, so I got to receive tika, among other things.

Quite a bit of preparation is required to give this tika, which is not like the red dots that the mad saddhus (holy men / crazy ascetics) dish out to tourists on the streets.

Bhai Tika set-up

The set-up requires a carpet (for the brother to sit on), along with a whole lot of other stuff in front of it. To the best of my knowledge, starting at the back on the left, there's white powder on the floor making a half-face, a guava, a pomelo, a butter candle, a small jar of water, a bowl of curd, a small plant (not sure if it's barley) stuck in a bit of cow dung, a bell, and a pot with some water and marigolds (with stalks). In front of these from the left are a plate of grain, a large plate of marigold petals, more white powder making another face (and a sun I suppose), and a plate of oil. (I'm not sure what the significance of most of these items are - something to do a bit of research on later.)

The sister starts off the ceremony by walking around the brother three times, sprinkling water on the floor and door. She then repeats this with oil. She then rubs some of the oil in his hair, around his ears, and in his ear. I was reminded of this oil afterwards when I used my mobile. She then places red-stained grain on his head, shoulders, elbows, palms, knees and feet - basically the joints and extremities. This is then repeated using marigold petals.

Bhai Tika

After this, a multi-coloured tika is applied to the forehead.

Bhai Tika

A purple malla is placed around the neck, followed by a topi (Nepali hat) on the head. The sister then feeds the brother some curd (not putting that picture up) and presents him with a huge plate of food - I had a mountain of fruit and deep-fried shel roti (see Lauren's post on this) with nuts, dried fruit and sweets, which I'm still working through today.

The brother then places tika on the sister's forehead and gives her a present (like a little envelope containing some money). He then gets to finish the curd he was given previously, and food is served! (I was quite hungry by that point because I'd thought that we'd be having breakfast first. Apparently, no food is to be consumed prior to receiving tika so all we got was a cup of milk coffee to tide us over till lunch.)

Bhai Tika

Lauren, Sara and me - after Lauren and Sara got to give L. tika.
(Thanks go to Lauren and Sara for most of the photos. Many thanks to L. and S. for the priviledge of getting tika on Bhai Tika day,)
Bhai Tika

More Rangoli

Here are some pretty examples of rangoli spotted outside shops here in Kathmandu.

Tihar rangoli

Tihar rangoli

Tihar rangoli

Note the trail of toilet paper inside the shop. Much more sensible than getting clay paint all over the carpet.

I would've put up a few more pictures, but I've somehow managed to almost hit my monthly Flickr upload limit in one week.

Rangoli and Lakshmi Puja

So two days ago, right after Kukur Puja (where the dogs were dressed with mallas around their necks and had tika placed on their foreheads), it was Lakshmi Puja, where households welcome the Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth into their homes.

Part of the preparation for this was by painting a rangoli, a kind of floor painting, just outside the threshold to one's house or shop. Using a kind of clay mixed with water, a path was then painted from that first rangoli into the building, usually to the puja room (the room reserved for worship). It just so happened that our friends L. and S. live on the 4th floor of their building, so there were a few more obstacles to overcome, in addition to all the little kids clamouring to see what we foreigners were up to.

Although women are traditionally in charge of rangoli painting, S. allowed me to help out. Lauren, Sara and I then took turns to do the painting.
Lakshmi Puja painting

Sara painting up the stairs - large circles were also painted at certain points along the path, especially when the path turned or when it branched out to another family's apartment.
Lakshmi Puja painting

And as if the path wasn't enough to entice Lakshmi to enter the house, footprints were also painted onto the path - the white prints were made from some mixture of flour and water, while the red 'toe prints' were made by applying red powder using one's five fingers. After taking over from S., Sara had the more difficult task of applying the white flour mixture, while I followed from behind adding the little toe prints.

Lakshmi Puja rangoli

Once the footprints had been applied, an offering was placed at the entrance to the building.

Lakshmi Puja rangoli

Going back up to the apartment, Sara had the job of scattering marigold petals on the path, while I followed behind with incense and candles which needed to be lit as offerings at every large circle along the path between the entrance and the puja room.

Lakshmi Puja rangoli

The whole affair took about 2 hours to complete, after which the clay we used to paint the floor was mixed with the white flour mixture (?) and some grains, and applied to our foreheads as tika.

I am so glad I decided to stay in Nepal for Tihar and not fly out early to India for Diwali (which was one possible option). Not so sure my stomach agrees right now, given the amount of shel roti I've consumed, but that's for another post.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Dog's Day

Before I keep posting about my recent trip to Solukhumbu to see Mt Everest, I should say that we're into the 3rd / 4th day of Tihar here in Nepal. I say 3rd / 4th because the days of Tihar don't necessarily equate with solar days - yesterday afternoon it was Lakshmi Puja, which falls on the 3rd day when people pray to Lakshmi the goddess of wealth to come visit their homes and people smash sweet things on pictures of her face and paint their floors (but more on this later).

Yesterday morning however, it was Kukur Puja, the day when dogs are worshipped and given cute little mallas (garlands, usually marigold) to wear around their cute little necks. They also get red tika on their cute little foreheads.

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Dogs seem to be worshipped on this day for a number of reasons, mostly related to their role in people's afterlifes. Some say they are messengers of the god of death, some say they guard the entrance to the underworld (think Cerberus), some say they guide the souls of the dead.

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Whatever the reason, it's a great day to take photos of the otherwise confused little canines who get treated like dirt the other 364 years of the year!

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That's it for now. I'm off to eat more shel roti!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Sacrifice

I suppose it was partly to satisfy my morbid curiosity that I decided to venture out early this morning (or as early as I could) to Kathmandu's Durbar Square. Along the way, I saw people carrying their roosters and ducks (usually held by the leg and hanging upside down) with them - a common sight over the past few days. I also saw a few headless goat carcasses being skinned close to a little roadside shrine to Durga that had been erected some days ago.

I quietly slipped into Durbar Square, playing with my mobile as I walked past the ticket office for foreigners and looking suitably disinterested in the festivities. Women were lining up outside a few smaller temples with puja plates in their hands. Families were lining up to worship / touch / rub their hands on other temples. But by far the longest line was to enter the Taleju Temple, which is only open once a year to the public.

Durbar Square during Dashain

Of course, the main reason I'd come was to watch the goats being sacrificed. I had expected a lot more temples to be covered in blood, and the thought even crossed my mind that the red brick used to construct many of them was appropriate.

Contrary to expectation, the sacrifices seemed limited to one area at Basantapur Chowk. When I first entered the square, I mistook the sound of the executioner's blade striking the ground for the firing of a bullet. There was already a crowd of people and while I didn't get a front row viewing spot, I was still able to use my camera and outstretched arm to record what was happening and to watch it again later.

The first animal I saw sacrificed was a buffalo, followed by a goat. After that I didn't stay much longer around the square. It wasn't that I was disturbed by the actual killing - in these better organised sacrifices, the method of execution was quick and clean (unlike home sacrifices that can be badly executed and extend the suffering of the animal). The stress of waiting to be killed while the priests do the blessings, could equally be likened to the stress of waiting while the animal in front of you is getting slaughtered at an abattoir (though never having been to an operational abattoir or having had the experience of being livestock, I really can't speak for the goats and buffaloes here). Anyway, while it wasn't enough to convert me to a life of vegetarianism, it was a good reminder of what happens before I select my meat at the butcher's or supermarket.

*WARNING*
Some readers may find the following image and videos disturbing.

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Animal sacrifice at Durbar Square



Thursday, October 14, 2010

On castrated and uncastrated goats

The story goes something like this:

Years ago, my professor's partner flew into Kathmandu to visit her. It was around the 9th day of Dashain. As he got off the plane, his first image was of a group of men furiously masturbating a goat, which they then proceeded to kill by slicing its head off, splattering its blood all over the plane.

Lauren recently told me this story about one of our professors - I assume it was just the wheels of the plane they splattered with blood.

Today, my Nepali teacher informed me, Hindus would start sacrificing animals as part of the Dashain festivities. This BBC article from 3 years ago talks about the cruelty of the practice. While goats are the most common offerings, other animals such as ducks, chickens, pigs and water buffaloes are also sacrificed. The most important thing is that all sacrificed animals be male and uncastrated (so hooray if you're an animal eunuch).

Male castrated goats are called खसी khasi in Nepali, while their uncastrated counterparts are called बोका boka. For a while, I assumed that castrated goats were the ones that were sacrificed, since young castrated male livestock grow to be bigger and yield more meat. However, I just learned today that khasi are the ones used for meat (which makes sense), while boka are reserved for sacrifice (although their meat is usually still eaten afterwards). Wikipedia tells me that castrated animals were excluded from sacrifice in ancient Judaism, as they were seen as being unwhole. I'm not sure if this is the same reason why Hindus here don't sacrifice castrated animals.

So what does this have to do with the men masturbating the poor goat? Nothing I assume, since even castrated goats can reach orgasm. But since appeasing Durga during Dashain is about maximum bloodletting, an excited goat is going to be pumping a lot more blood through its arteries than a calm relaxed one.

Oh, and here's the goat that was in the garden the other day. Haven't seen it since Tuesday...
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Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Sundarijal

4 boys. 2 motorbikes. An afternoon at Sundarijal. What better way to spend a Sunday in the Kathmandu Valley (bearing in mind that Sunday isn't exactly a day off here, but Dashain holidays have started).

Sundarijal, Shivapuri National Park

Sundarijal, meaning 'beautiful water' is about 15km northeast of Kathmandu and is one of the entry points for the Shivapuri National Park. It's meant to be incredibly rich in biodiversity, but I'm not going to talk about that, since my short visit late in the afternoon didn't allow me to see any first hand. Most travellers enter further to the west from Budhanilkantha, but my guides wanted to see the waterfalls and have a picnic at the reservoir further upstream (there's a reason why it's called 'beautiful water').

Sundarijal, Shivapuri National Park

Sundarijal, Shivapuri National Park

The area is also important because it provides water for people in the Kathmandu metropolitan area. Along the main hiking route is a large water pipe which carries water down to the valley. The sentry warned us not to swim in the river and reservoir, though the main reason for this wasn't to prevent water pollution but rather because most Nepalis (my friends included) can't swim.

Sundarijal, Kathmandu Valley

Sundarijal, Shivapuri National Park
Me with the guys, whom I dubbed the '3 Musketeers' (though they didn't mind the term '3 Idiots' after last year's smash Bollywood hit starring Aamir Khan.)

Walking uphill for 30 minutes was a good (if completely insufficient) warm-up for all the hiking I'll be doing once I land in Lukla this coming Sunday. The problem is, I've been in Kathmandu for two and a half weeks, leading a rather sedentary existence. I suppose I'll have 2 weeks up in the Khumbu region to get fit. And if not, I'll just hide out in Namche eating apple pie.

Sundarijal, Kathmandu Valley

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Kathmandu on a motorbike (II)

Yesterday, P. took me on a motorbike ride with two of his friends to Sundarijal, about 15km north-east of Kathmandu, but more on that later. Here're some pictures from the road.



Kathmandu Ring Road
Because there's not much else to do when you're waiting in traffic.

Kathmandu Ring Road, on the way to Boudhanath
Kathmandu Ring Road, turning onto the road that leads to Boudhanath and Sundarijal beyond.

On the road to Boudhanath, Kathmandu
Note the old lady on the motorbike right in front of us. It's very common to see sari-wearing ladies sitting like this. Also, if you look closely at the truck on the right, you can see a man, legs stretched out, having a nap.


Our route

Dashain!

I don't know how I missed it, or rather the first day of it. I had it in my diary as starting this Thursday, and didn't think to question it. Not even when the BBC was reporting the start of Dashain as they covered the fact that Nepal still has no government. Or when S. said she didn't have school because of Dashain. Or when my Nepali teacher had to cut our class on Thursday short to rush off to the tax office to get her taxes done before the government offices closed for the holiday.

I just thought it was all part of the lead-up to the actual holiday. D'oh!

So Dashain (as usual, 'sh' is more often pronounced like 's') started on Friday (8 October) this year. It's a 15 day Hindu festival that celebrates Durga's defeat of the asura / demon Mahishasur who had made a deal with Brahma that no man or (male) god could defeat him. The battle raged for 10 days, during which Durga and the Mahishasur transformed themselves into various forms to defeat the other. Finally, on the last day, Durga lopped the head of Mahishasur who had transformed himself into a demon buffalo.

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Me and Aung Si at the statue of Mahishasura at Chamundi Hill, Mysore (Jan 2009)

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Statue of Mahishasura as the demon buffalo at Chamundi Hill, Mysore (Jan 2009)

The 10th day of Dashain is the considered the 'big day', where families gather together and elders give tika (coloured powder placed on one's forehead) to their juniors. Married women also go back to their home villages to take tika from their parents.

The days leading up to the 10th day are filled with animal (particularly goat, but also water buffalo) sacrifice. I'm watching a news report on TV right now with footage of a man leading a herd of goats, presumably towards Kathmandu for the big slaughter. Lauren and I might do what she and Sara did last year and just sacrifice a watermelon.

Since I had the dates wrong, I was under the assumption that I would be away during the big sacrifice / massacre. As it turns out, the sacrifices will be held mostly this Friday and Saturday, while I only fly off to Lukla on my way to visit Sara in the Everest region on Sunday morning.

One of the perks of Dashain (unless you count widespread bloodshed a perk) is that Kathmandu slowly empties itself as people go back to their home villages, especially for the 10th day. So as the week draws on, I'm expecting to see less traffic on the road and fewer people on the streets.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Nepali film देश (Desh)

Adding to my list of cultural activities here was a trip to the local cinema to watch a Nepali film. Of course, being in Kathmandu, 8am on a Saturday morning is a perfectly reasonable time to go to the cinema.

The film was called देश (desh) pronounced 'des' here and meaning 'country' - think of Bangladesh as being the 'land of the Banglas'. As expected, it was quite nationalistic in orientation. Lauren gives a much more detailed review of the film, although neither of us really managed to follow the film completely owing to our less than native Nepali language skills.

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The film stars Rajesh Hamal, who I gather is to Nepali cinema what Shah Rukh Khan is to Bollywood (especially with regards to playing characters half their real ages). He plays a journalism student at a local university who ends up forming a political party and eventually dies (because of his beliefs?). Well I must admit I understood a tiny fraction of the dialogue, though the on-screen action made the plot somewhat easy to follow.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the cultural experience of being able to cheer with the audience when the hero does something great or jeer when the bad guy does something heinous. (Note: the bad guy in the film actually throws a grenade at a defenceless woman and her daughter while her brother (the protagonist) and son are walking off.) My mum talks about a time in Singapore when such banter / making comments during movies was the norm in cinemas - something she still continues to do even today, and one of the main reasons I don't watch movies with her.

The film ended on a rather sad note, with the protagonist getting shot, while the political party he's formed keeps moving on (literally, the procession keeps going while he lags behind and collapses). Still, at least his little nephew seems to take over the mantle by accepting the highly symbolic pen that was given to the protagonist when he was a boy. (Note: this same boy is earlier shown setting fire to and killing the man who had thrown the grenade at his mother and sister, with no apparent repercussions.)

It was also interesting to see the flow of people in and out of the cinema. People were arriving as later as an hour into the film, and whenever the cinema doors opened in the middle of the film, a flood of people would take the opportunity to walk out. I suppose it wasn't the plot that most people were interested in, but like myself, just the experience of being at the cinema.

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Cinema goers spilling onto the street after the film

Friday, October 8, 2010

Language Development Centre

A few days ago I arranged to meet Reg Naylor, a British expatriate who's been doing development work in Nepal for years (courtesy of a contact of my friend Sara's). I caught a taxi out to the Summit Hotel in Patan where Reg kindly picked me up in a blue jeep and drove us to the Language Development Centre office, also in Patan.

Language Development Centre, Kathmandu

As some of you may know, I'm looking at potential topics for a PhD in Linguistics. One of the main reasons I'm in Nepal is to look at ways of combining my linguistic training with development work. Of course, the aims of the two don't always overlap. Having finished the MA, I felt quite disillusioned that the work I had produced didn't seem to serve any other purpose apart from adding to a growing body of knowledge accessible only by a group of specialists. I don't think see anything wrong with people who aspire to do this sort of research, but I personally need to see my research produce something a little more concrete, and if I were to dive straight into a PhD in Linguistics, I think I would come out feeling the same lack of fulfillment as when I completed the Masters.

So I went to the LDC in the hopes of finding out more about the kind of projects they're involved in / have been involved in here in Nepal. It's been two days and I'm still processing some of what I've learnt. Reg had so many stories from projects he's been involved with, including dealing with the army, befriending Maoists, and most importantly empowering communities (and especially women) through mother tongue literacy programmes. He himself is not a linguist, and much of the work he's done does not necessarily require one to be a specialist. He is not sentimental about language death, believing that if speakers shift to another language they are generally able to create a new identity in that language. What he's interested in is development and improving lives. If developing a minority language helps in that process (and in most cases it does), then that's the strategy he'll take.

Language Development Centre, Kathmandu
Reg, looking a little like Ian McKellan in this photo.

Over the next few days I'll try and post some of the stories he shared with me about how developing minority language literacy has improved the living standards of the communities the organisation has worked with.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Kathmandu on a motorbike (I)

A week ago I got my first taste of being on a motorbike in Kathmandu. No helmet, no protective gear. Just blind faith in P. my driver, who thankfully never went above 40 km/h, and in the other road users (particularly big truck drivers) who could slam into us from behind any time. Since I'm helping  P. with a dictionary project, I suppose it was in his best interests to keep me alive too...

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It was pretty fun, if a little harrowing at the start. But it was a great relief to get out of the noise and dust of the city centre.

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P. took me to a place out of town he liked. It's still a district of Kathmandu, but it felt a world away.

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You might think me mad for sticking out my arm to take a video during the ride, but it had to be done.




On our way back I asked P. how many lessons he'd taken before getting his licence. (I also asked if many people just paid for their licences here.)

Monday, October 4, 2010

Music video in the park

So while there's a Nepali rock music video being filmed at the guest house this afternoon, I caught the filming of another more Bollywood-esque music video at the amusement park (aka 'fun park') near the Ratna Park bus station more than a week ago, on my second day in Kathmandu.






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Sunday, October 3, 2010

Cyber ID

According to this article from the Nepal-based blog 'Weird and Funny World', cybercafes here are supposed to now check clients' ID before allowing them to surf the net. This practice is something I'm quite familiar with from my time in China and India (at least in Kolkata).

None of the cybercafes I've visited over the past few days have asked for my ID, and it's pretty clear that the free wifi offered by most of the cafes in Thamel aren't too fussed about who uses their wifi, provided they can afford the prices - Or2K doesn't even have a password for its wifi network!

Considering that a compulsory helmet law for motorbike riders had to be withdrawn recently because it was too hard to enforce, I wonder if the 'ID requirement' at cybercafes will stick here. I'm also sure there are better ways to track 'cyber-criminals' on the web than to work out which cybercafes they frequent.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Street Art in Kathmandu (II)

Found a few of Invader's installations here in Kathmandu.

Here's one from the old town area.

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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Street Art in Kathmandu (I)

Just a few doors down from the guest house. When I first saw it, I thought it was some weird three-legged cow.

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