My mom wrote this letter in Kathmandu, Nepal September 11, 1973
"Dearest Nelly and Francis,
Received your letter (with money $100) safely. I'm going to try to buy everything here in Nepal. Here's what's good here -shirts Nepalese style-very cheaply made and cheesy material but colorful-Bags and belts made from heavy woven cotton thread also colorful. Bags from scraps of Chinese silk- Its expensive up here compared to South India and fairly touristy (only in Kathmandu Valley) Everything as you know is slow here- especially with the bargaining- I'm beginning to find out some prices but they don't move down easily. So before I send anything I also want to price stuff in Pakera and some other places than Kathmandu. Also might have problems getting back into India so I think it best to try out the Nepalese shit first, I'll look for some pants and shirts- a few matching the shirts probably. I'm a bit worried about whether you can make a profit after the cost of air-mail. I'm going now to find out about that- Closed big festival for the living Goddess today. I'm going to get some Nepalese shirts made up in velvet with puff shoulders- first a few cost $35 Rupees $3.50) I feel we could easily make profit on these alone but I'll send lots of other stuff for trial. I'm really excited. Like a new adventure even though I have doubts about my bargaining power. I practice everyday! About the money and sending it as you did. Registered letters get ripped off on general principal here so its better to send money order through post office (However cash dollars are invaluable on this end. I need at least a week to get this all off O.K./ I'm ecstatic excited happy that we'll keep in touch. It was good to hear from you! I've read and re-read your letters. If this deal works out we should try more from other places- Bombay is good and cheap and we could then get together somewhere. Another thing stones (for shirts I hear) (smoky topaz here in Nepal is only 75cents per karet) Find out the price in France. - maybe good- lots of other cheap stones here but the shit is lousy. I miss Afghanistan and the Afghan people- Mongolians in the north are beautiful. The Nepalese, but especially the Tibetan people are another fantastic sight. Northern Punjabi Indians have been real heavy on me, but still I'll have to go back there. (New Delhi) after Nepal. Reassure Mom that I'm OK. One can handle any people after the Turks and Persians not to slight the Arabs. /New ideas are popping into my head every time I go through the Bazzar. This week is bad though because of the festival. A lot is closed down. Silk or cotton. Cheaper than velvet. (Chinese silk too) in brighter colors. Must buy some material and make contact with a tailor- have prospects just from walking around today and rapping with merchants, drinking i.e. od-ing on tea and shit. Hope you realize that the long drawn out rituals of doing business is a tradition that you can not hope to skip if you really expect to do any bargaining- otherwise you pay higher price for having rushed it- western style- and not having respected the eastern preliminaries, which by the way ALWAYS entails the most indirect and round about route in conversation- business and/or friendship. Only in the most incidental maneuver does the easterner ultimately almost absent-mindedly come to the point.....The big difference is I think that for the westerner - what's on his mind is very soon on his lips. That's it-that's all cause the easterner NEVER will commit such an obvious and direct type of naive behavior. See what I mean? Like if I should dare to call into a shop just from the entrance to inquire about the price of an item hanging outside. You can be sure that that price will not only be higher than usual touristic ones, but also that my bargaining power is far, far less than if I had first walked right into the shop and proceeded only with curtesies, greetings and inquire about the festival and only passively noticing items to be sold when the shopkeeper himself begins to show them and then always only asking about the craftwork, traditions behind its use etc.. within a few visits the price and the bargaining can begin./ I'll move itas fast as I can and still hope to have everything sent off within a week. Also, I'll write soon if anything turns up and of course inform you about the details of you receiving. Really just wanted to confirm getting your letters and fill you in on what's available here, write to me immediately about any suggestions ideas dos don'ts; anything that might help. Suppose I have to continue on another areogram cause I would like to draw you some pictures pf the shirts and pants and especially the dresses- really nice ones. Nelly, about your Pakistani shirt- this can easily be made anywhere in the east and also in quanity, if you think it's a particularly good market item. See next areogram #2"
That's it. I had to Wikipedia what a aerogram was. Okay now I have to get going and do family stuff.
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