Here’s a chance for you to get to know some of the people
I’m living and learning with!
Our program really has some of the kindest, most patient,
and funniest staff and I feel so lucky to be with them.
Dondaai– cook and entertainer (not a real title but he
deserves it), living proof that being funny is directly proportional to your
age aka he always makes us laugh and he’s like a loving uncle
Dorjedaai- head cook and a man of few words, yet so cool he
can get away with not speaking and you always know what he’s thinking (most
likely “be patient, you’ll get to eat it soon”)
Hemdaai- guard and mail keeper, always has a smile on his
face and lives in the guard house with Singe
Pramiladidi- housekeeper and giver of compliments, she’s
your favorite big sister and I love seeing her smile through the curtain
blocking off our classroom from the kitchen
Gyandaai- finance and technology go-to guy, it’s a running
joke between us that the only thing I know how to ask him is tapaailaai _____ manparchha? “do you like
_____?”. All the language teachers make fun of me for it, but I bet they don’t
know that he doesn’t like cats and that his favorite fruits are mangos.
Gopaldaai- gardener, Singe Whisperer, and cool glasses
wearer, I promise these glasses are the smallest things you’ve ever seen (in
his case, the size of his glasses is inversely proportional to his wisdom).
Singe is in love with him and will Namaste with him (the dog gets on his hind
legs and puts his front paws together like palms- so cute).
Singe- guard dog and companion, we’re typically jealous of
his standard behavior of lying on the porch showing his belly until someone
rubs him. He’s figured out that I’m allergic to him, so every morning when he
runs to greet me, rather than putting his paws on me, we walk along side each
other. When I’m sitting on the ground, he’ll come up and put his face close to
mine without touching it while holding eye contact and then he’ll bob his head
once and sit as if to say “hi friend! Nice to see you” I like to think I’ve
trained him well, but I think he’s just a smart doggie.
Each* can be found in their respective places around the
house/grounds but all of them (at least once a day) like to go outside to sit
and read the daily paper. During lecture, I often prefer a seat with my back to
the window as the sun keeps me warm and alert. However, I sometimes trade that
warm Nepali sun in favor of the opportunity to look out the window and observe
everyone flipping through the paper- some wearing reading glasses, others drinking
chiyaa (tea) and of course, everyone petting Singe- because that very act
reveals each of their mannerisms so well. Essentially, they’re all so sweet,
quite patient, and so funny. They hear us butchering their language horribly,
yet they smile and laugh and encourage us still.
*Singe doesn’t read the paper. Though that’d be a pretty
entertaining distraction from class.
Our language instructors and lead lecturer are just as
amazing (yet I worship them slightly more because they have to put up with us as
students). Mina, Chandra, and Sanjib. They each have a great sense of humor and
it’s obvious they really care about us and want us to learn and retain as much
as we can in such little time. It’s so encouraging and refreshing because they
give us so much time and freedom to discover things on our own and to ask the
questions that might seem a little funky (but hey, we’re Americans).
Minaji- language teacher, cool big sister, and trickster,
she manages to pull off pigtails, pink clips, skinny jeans, a leather jacket,
and a nose ring without looking like a mom that tries too hard to be hip or
young. I swear she’s actually 25…
Chandraji- language teacher and coolest dresser, he always
looks stylish and rolls in on his motorcycle. AND his son (4) has crazy hair
just like him (which makes him a cool dad)
Sanjibji- language teacher and jokester, while all of the
teachers make jokes, it’s possible Sanjib’s are the best delivered and most
accurate, thus, create the most laughter. Plus, he’s got orange hair and a
giant grin on his face all the time and is always so sweet.
BASICALLY, never question the coolness of our language
teachers. They are all so patient (I can’t emphasize that enough) and we each
desire to be them when we “grow up”.
Anilji is our lead lecturer and reminds me of an all-knowing
Lawrence Fishburne a’la Matrix (only Nepali). He has such an effective way of
lecturing that every lesson becomes a story. He’s so full of facts, quotes, and
meaningful anecdotes that I’m not so sure how he doesn’t explode from being so
knowledgeable. AND he’s a Jack of all Trades: he’s involved in numerous
non-profits, lectures with us, with Tribhuvan University, is a board member on
virtually every committee there is in Nepal, and is in charge of the
development of the Great Himalayan Trail. Not to mention, he travels to the
U.S. and other Western countries to lecture and learn when he can squeeze that
in. Unfortunately, since he’s so highly esteemed and in such high demand, we
are only graced with his presence about once or twice a week. If only I knew
half as much as he does.
**No one’s name actually ends in daai, didi, or ji, those
are ways of identifying people (daai- big brother) (didi- big sister) (ji-
respect)
