Busy

Being busy is something we always say:

I’m so busy that I don’t have time to eat.

I’m busy- please don’t bother me.

My days are so long and busy.

Etc.

While I wouldn’t classify being busy as something I truly desire, it usually is the way my days are back at school in Boulder. I wake up at 7:30, bike to class at 9 or 10, go to work, go to practice, stop to buy groceries, make dinner, do homework, and go to bed around 12. My days are full and I’m so used to moving from place to place.

Here, in Kathmandu, it’s another story:

To me, busy was defined as always moving around, never having enough time, or having a full schedule. In Nepal, busy has become a term that I use, yet it isn’t a feeling that I have. I come home from school exhausted from my day, yet I wonder what I did. I’m learning so much and thoroughly enjoying Nepali, but I somehow come home and want nothing more than a catnap (yeah, I’m thinking of you, Merritt). I don’t have too much homework- a few workbook pages for Nepali and the occasional article on development- yet I’m in bed around 9!

Needless to say, I’ve been quite busy. Doing what? Certainly not working out (I HAVE NEVER WANTED TO GO FOR A RUN MORE IN MY LIFE).

So what have you been up to Megan?

Well, all sorts of things really! I don’t even know where to start.

My host family lives in an area called Bishal Nagar, which is a 20 minute walk through unpaved, dusty streets, past shopkeepers, Bhag Bateni shopping center, the Police Headquarters, and temples of Ganesh and Vishnu.  I’ve got an aamaa (mom), baa (dad), bahini (little sister, 19) and bhaai (little brother, 17) and they’re all so sweet, funny, and friendly. Even though my aamaa and I can’t communicate well (the others all speak perfect English) we still have a good time together and give the polite smile and nod when she can tell I’m trying to speak Nepali.

Two of the highlights of my day are when I come home from school and my family asks about my day and then when I leave the family room for bed. They’re so excited to find out what I learned and see if my Nepali is any better (I swear I’m trying, but my short term memory fails me every time). At night, everyone wishes me a shubaa raatri (goodnight) and shines the flashlight up the stairs for me (my room is outside the house, on the top floor). Tonight, my bhaai, Prabin, was so sweet and said “shubaa raatri didi” (goodnight big sister) and it made me feel like part of the family.

Load shedding. A concept no one in the U.S. is likely familiar with because, well, we are just spoiled. Load shedding has become a common word wherever you go and is simply the times when electricity is out. Two weeks ago they were at 16 hours of load shedding. Now we’re down to 14! The schedule changes each day, but it’s basically a hassle to keep track of and it’s easier to just cross your fingers you have electricity when you need it. While it means there are flashlights all around the house, solar-powered generators on rooftops, and a general inconvenience when you just want to charge your laptop, overall, it’s an adjustment that I’m getting used to. Technology shmechnology.

I brought peanut butter filled pretzels, See’s chocolates, and fortune cookies as little gifts to my host family and they all said meeto chha! (I like the taste!) so yay me for having a sweet tooth and an unhealthy desire to snack!

It’s already 9:30pm and I’m fading, so here’s some quick Nepali 101:

Mero Nepali naam Mala ho. My Nepali name is Mala.

(Mala means blessing and also happens to be the name of this necklace made of marigolds they give to guests/gods)

thik chha. Good.

(use this for basically everything: food, how I’m feeling, etc.)

yo ke ho? What is this?

dudh chiyaa. Milk tea.

(YUM- think of chai tea, but less spicy and more creamy sweet)

Ma sadhai dhal baat khaachhu. I always eat dhal baat.

 (dhal- lentils and baat- rice. Staple meal of Nepali households)

koshis garnus! Try to do it!

Ma tapaailaai maayaa garchhu. I love you. 

Here are some pictures from our orientation weekend in Dhulikhel, a village outside of Kathmandu. I'll post pictures of my house, host family, and friends soon!

Mayos (Dhulikhel, Nepal)

Quiet (Dhulikhel, Nepal)

Jeff and the Terraces (Dhulikhel, Nepal)

Sky (Dhulikhel, Nepal)