The Kathmandu Blues

The last week in Kathmandu has been ho-hum. Living in a completely different culture and having limited communication skills is proving to be extremely exhausting. My brain seems to be always spinning, with little information coming from anywhere but my own intuition. Homesickness and loneliness are common emotions, punctuated by moments of pride and glory when my feeble mind actually understands what another human is saying to me.

 I have fallen into a routine based around learning Nepali. A typical day consists of waking up around 8 AM, having tea, studying or reading for an hour, eating breakfast around 9:30 or 10, heading to one or two language classes, having lunch in Kathmandu and returning home the 10 kilometers on my bicycle to Jharuwasi where I again study and read. Dinner is served around nine after which everyone promptly retreats to their rooms and goes to bed. 

My language skills are improving quickly and I think that my teachers are impressed with me, although neither knows that I am also taking classes from someone else. There are looks, from both teachers, when I say something that we have not gone over together, but I don't think either is suspicious. I have not told them because Nepalis seem to be jealous people. When I mentioned to one that I may take lessons from two people at once (while setting out terms) she became very defensive tried to convince me that it would be confusing and would not let it go. I just told her I probably wouldn't do that and never brought it up again. 

 I think Nepali family structure may be interesting to those of you back home. The house I am living in seems to be typical of most Nepali  homes. It consists of a mother and father, their adult son and daughter (currently working with Kristen in Lamjung, I am staying in her room,) the eldest sons daughter (Nisham pictured in an older post,) and the eldest son's wife. He is currently in Haiti on a UN mission. The wife is referred to as Baoju and does all the cooking and cleaning. When I first arrived, I felt very sorry for her because she seemed to be a servant, however after a day when I remained home because I was sick I realized that most of the day is her own. When everyone else is working she has little to do, but when others are home she is very busy. 

I am headed to join Kristen in Lamjung on Saturday. I think my Nepali is nearly up to snuff and I plan to continue studying hard. I think that Kristen's Nepali isc proficient and I am trying hard to catch up. The next step for me is to practice all of the academic knowledge that I have acquired in real world situations. Wish me luck in the Nepali "real world." 

Sorry no pictures this time.