Didi

Being an only child for 20 years of my life, I’ve never had the pleasure of having my pigtails pulled, my favorite snack stolen from me, or my side bruised from elbow jabs.

In the last few months, I’ve been living with a younger brother and sister, and I can say emphatically that there is something so special about being a sister. No matter how many times people with siblings complain about all the stuff they have to put up with, there is something about having companions your same age within your home to laugh with, disagree with, entertain yourself with, and most importantly, gang up against your parents with. Just kidding.

Hear No Evil (Pragya), See No Evil (Prabin), Speak No Evil (Me) (Kathmandu, Nepal)

In all seriousness, it’s one of my favorite parts of the day coming home and unlatching the gate to hear Prabin or Pragya from above saying Namaste Didi! (big sister) A smile immediately spreads across my face and I can’t help but be just as excited to see them as well.

In the U.S. we tend to ask how are you? out of politeness, but in Nepal, the two questions: kasto chha? and sanchai chha? always feel genuine. My siblings always want to know how I am, how my day was, and want to know what I learned at school. It makes me eager to ask the same questions back because they’re so honest. Sometimes they reply thik chha! (I’m good), other times it’s thikai chaa (I’m alright), and there’s an occasional malaai alchhi laagyo (I’m feeling lazy). While we haven’t gotten into any fights because we’re all too nice to each other, it’s fun being sarcastic and joking around with them.

Pragya is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met and because we’re so close in age (she’s 19) it makes relating to each other so easy. With Pragya we talk about simple things like our walk to school or a test, but other times it’s so fun talking about deep issues in politics, education, or what we want to do in life.

Towering over me at just over 6 feet, Prabin is the sweetest and most sincere little brother (he’s 17). He always asks me little questions like what my favorite movie is, if I like a certain band, or if I’m going to return to Nepal. When he plays soccer with friends in the street, I always try my hardest to not embarrass him. I think that’s what older siblings are supposed to do at least…

Beyond all the horror stories I’ve heard from friends with siblings where their brother went through their diary, their sister told their parents about a secret crush, or their parents had to miss their 3^rd grade band performance because they were taking the little one to a doctor’s appointment, I’ve learned that there’s so much more to having siblings.

When I leave Nepal five weeks from now I’m going to miss hearing didi every day.