Contents:
- Building
- "Barrows and Gilts - Nineteen and a Quarter" 9
- Houses 12
- A House in the Village 17
- Waiting for the Millet Harvest 25
- Traditional Houses in Pokhara 29
- The Planning 33
- Building Green 48
- Building the House 57
- Earthquakes 81
- Social Change 84
- Mani Rimdu 86
- Tale of Calcutta 94
- The Letters
- Introduction 99
- Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, 1962–63 101
- Dhankuta, 1963–64 153
- Khatare, 1964–66 187
- Return Visit to Khatare, 2004 243
- Glossary 253
“ I can only say that the overpaid overseer overlooked my plans except that his plans had some of the same basic dimensions as mine. The building permit came out in due time. The overseer’s plan was somehow lost and so we just followed the original plan (almost). ”
pg 15
“ The plumber will listen to the householder’s requirements, then figure out the longest way to run water from point A to point B. He will then make a list of fittings that will be needed, adding in twenty percent extra of each, because some of them will be sub-standard (but don’t worry; he can get rid of the junk later). Then he’ll go to whichever store gives him the best commission (but we’re not supposed to know about that). ”
pg 67
“ As far as I can remember, the last time a Minnesota boy went over the trail between Dharan and Dhankuta, he fell seventy feet and landed in a hospital in Duluth but don’t worry, Mom, people are also eaten by tigers. ”
pg 149
“ We had a good time in Dhankuta when the Ambassador and his wife came to see us (she walked; he came by helicopter.) We had our servant cow-dung all the floors, and I baked brown bread and a couple of sour cream pies for the occasion which is about as royal a welcome as we give anyone. ”
pg 180