Namaste from Nepal

A gateway into Lalitpur

Namaste from the land of the Himalayas! It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been here and wow how different from Laos this is J Upon arriving I was met with traffic-piled, smog-filled, and people-packed. I remember thinking “is this how it was 13 years ago?”. This question will not cease to crossed my mind for the next few months of my stay here. I arrived during the Nepali festival of Dasain. This festival is where family gatherings are important, and “puja” worship to the goddess Durga- is conducted decorating cars, buses, windows, and foreheads with red paint and rice.

One childhood memory was the Ping a swing made from bamboo, resurrected at every corner of streets, towns and villages. Children, young men and women flocked to these swings taking turns to dangle and swing from these precarious structures! Having never been on one, I decided that it was now or never. Praying that the swing would stay in tact, I rode on a Ping- enjoying it very much.

A local Ping

Me on a Ping

Playing flute at church has also been a part of my activities. Going to a Nepali church where the service is all in Nepali,where shoes are left outside, and seats are on the floor was quite a different from my church back home, but the small-community and hospitality is the same.

I can catch a few words in Nepali, but other than playing my flute, and singing a few of the familiar songs, I am an observer. I never will forget the night that the church held a BBQ. I was told that only the chicken meat was “safe” to eat; pork being iffy on how clean it had been cooked. After being dished up rice, chicken, a broth, and some Achar (spicy!) I sat with a group of girls my age. Half-way through the meal- I bit through the most piro (super spicy) pepper. I thought red fire ants were boring into my gums. Unfortunately I only had a small Dixie cup of water which by no means cooled the volcano of fire billowing from my mouth. I quickly ate the rest of my rice and meat hoping to staunch the sting of the pepper. I lived through that meal, and somehow I think I am on the path to eating spicier things!

Me playing flute for special music

My piro pepper experience

It was also a special time to have Dale and Bethsaba’s oldest daughter Shova come home on holiday. She goes to a school in India and from the minute I met her, we hit it off. She was a great translator and introduced me to her friends, her favorite snacks, and her favorite TV shows. I accompanied her with my flute when she sang a solo in church- she has a lovely voice. I am looking forward to when she comes again at Christmas. She was the perfect blessing to help me adjust into Nepal life.

Shove and I 

A girls outing with lunch at the Himalaya