Namaste!
This week has been very intense, fun, and just crazy. On Monday the whole group met in the Thamel and walked to Swayambu where our house is. Swayambu is a Buddhist neighborhood that is a bit more upscale then the rest of Kathmandu. The main attraction of the town is the Buddhist Temple that everyone just calls "The Monkey Temple". There are monkeys everywhere its nuts. So far they haven't really bothered us but I've heard stories of them stealing cameras, food, and even breaking into houses....they are cute though.
The house we are living in is really beautiful- big rooms, running hot water, and a lot of space- not really what I expected but it is a nice way to transition. most of our time is spent sitting on the floor in classes or sitting on the floor during meals (its a lot of sitting). Mostly we have been talking about the evolution of human rights which I have already heard a lot about in my classes at Bing but we are also learning Nepali culture and the language. (Tapaailaii kasto chha? Malaai sanchai chha- How are you? I am good). I think the language is so funny- just imagine a mix of Israelis and Americans trying to speak a language that has completely different sounds than English, its great. We have heard from a lot of great speakers- a Buddhist monk, a Jewish person who works for the UN who is currently working on the new Nepali constitution, a Nepali woman (who happens to be married to the UN guy) who works as an advocate for women's rights, and the Israeli Ambassador to Nepal.
Today was probably the most intense and exciting day so far. After meeting the Israeli Ambassador at his home, we were instructed to go off on our own, purposefully get lost, and make our way back to our house in 4 hours. I was pretty nervous when I learned what we were doing because I've never really wandered around on my own before except in Israel. The thought of getting on a bus or talking to random people kind of scared me. However, once I started walking, I felt extremely comfortable and confident. I got on a bus and got off at a random stop. It so happened to be a market- it wasn't a typical market though. There were tin roofs covering a bunch of shops that all sold the same cheap items. I took out my stalker camera and started walking around. All of the sudden I was surrounded by little kids asking me to take their picture. Of course I was in heaven. The little kids (even the 4 year olds) had better English then their parents but they insisted that I sit down, have some tea,chat a little. In broken English and Nepali (I know about 4 complete sentances) we managed to have a very nice conversation about how they never meet foreigners and they were so happy I was talking to them and taking their pictures.
I made my way into a little tea shop where I met a family with decent English who gave me free Fanta. After taking some pictures with them, I wandered into what seemed to be a wealthy community. I met two little boys and their Didi (literally older sister but also a nanny) who spoke no English. They insisted that I walk with them so for about 45 minutes we had a conversation that neither of us understood at all. The little boy kept saying "I love America!". At one point the woman said "Hindu? Buddah?" and I realized she was asking me my religion. I tried different variations of Jew (Jewish, Israel, Yehud) before finally settling on "Christian, Jesus" to which she responded "Ah Jesus!! Ramro (good!). That was very amusing.
I decided it was time to make my way back to the house and somehow ended up in a very deserted and dark road- the sun had already gone down. I was kind of nervous but then ran into a Buddhist Monk. After confirming that I was walking in the right direction, the two of us smiled at each other and walked in silence the whole way back.
The whole experience was just incredible. On the walk back I was thinking about how I would react if the situation were the opposite- if a random stranger showed up at my house and said "Namaste". The people here live in such poor conditions but the ones I met were so welcoming and nice. I never once felt like I was intruding. If you just smile at them, say namaste, or danyabaad (thank you) they will open up their homes and hearts to you.
ps- i'm uploading some of my pics in the link at the top of the page (under neparielle) if you want to check them out!
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| view from our porch |
The house we are living in is really beautiful- big rooms, running hot water, and a lot of space- not really what I expected but it is a nice way to transition. most of our time is spent sitting on the floor in classes or sitting on the floor during meals (its a lot of sitting). Mostly we have been talking about the evolution of human rights which I have already heard a lot about in my classes at Bing but we are also learning Nepali culture and the language. (Tapaailaii kasto chha? Malaai sanchai chha- How are you? I am good). I think the language is so funny- just imagine a mix of Israelis and Americans trying to speak a language that has completely different sounds than English, its great. We have heard from a lot of great speakers- a Buddhist monk, a Jewish person who works for the UN who is currently working on the new Nepali constitution, a Nepali woman (who happens to be married to the UN guy) who works as an advocate for women's rights, and the Israeli Ambassador to Nepal.
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| getting 'tika' on our first day |
I made my way into a little tea shop where I met a family with decent English who gave me free Fanta. After taking some pictures with them, I wandered into what seemed to be a wealthy community. I met two little boys and their Didi (literally older sister but also a nanny) who spoke no English. They insisted that I walk with them so for about 45 minutes we had a conversation that neither of us understood at all. The little boy kept saying "I love America!". At one point the woman said "Hindu? Buddah?" and I realized she was asking me my religion. I tried different variations of Jew (Jewish, Israel, Yehud) before finally settling on "Christian, Jesus" to which she responded "Ah Jesus!! Ramro (good!). That was very amusing.
I decided it was time to make my way back to the house and somehow ended up in a very deserted and dark road- the sun had already gone down. I was kind of nervous but then ran into a Buddhist Monk. After confirming that I was walking in the right direction, the two of us smiled at each other and walked in silence the whole way back.
The whole experience was just incredible. On the walk back I was thinking about how I would react if the situation were the opposite- if a random stranger showed up at my house and said "Namaste". The people here live in such poor conditions but the ones I met were so welcoming and nice. I never once felt like I was intruding. If you just smile at them, say namaste, or danyabaad (thank you) they will open up their homes and hearts to you.
ps- i'm uploading some of my pics in the link at the top of the page (under neparielle) if you want to check them out!
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