Dal Bhat in Bhaktapur
NEPAL | Saturday, 21 April 2007 | Views [3070] | Comments [2]
Namaste from Bhakdapur. Mero nam Michael ho, Taippeko nam, ke oh? Mero
ghar Anglor ho. Malai ice cream manpoor chhr. Aijo me Durbar Squar ra
Pattan gaeko.
So they gave us 3 hours of sun-rising, cock crowing, and chai-boling,
Nepali lessons. 6 o’clock wake up call and a walk to school.
TseekChrr!! Its all good though- I mean, its better than sleeping until
noon right? Right? Oh… (I jest, of course)
The placement has officially started, and in my 4 days without internet
access, I have satiated my fix with what can only be decribed as a
methadone version of the WWW. A sub standard 128kps connection, which
as regular nets junkies will know, is like stabbing yourself very
slowly with a very sharp banana. Oh yes, we, the slaves of
unsustainable modern technology.
Myself, 23, UK, and my fellow volunteer, Jane 50-something, Florida,
have been staying with our respective families in the past few days. I
have been lucky in the two families so far (I think the local
organisers have taken the the Nepalese looking kid who speaks perfect
London). It has been a genuine pleasure to stay and live with real
Nepali people. I was involved in family ceremonies, and I even played
cricket with the first families son, Babbin, and his pre-teen pals.
This was a highly rewarding and endeering experience for us both. He
looked up to me like I was Kevin Peiterson. And me, smacking a 10 year olds weak
off-centre spinners for six into the distant ganga bushes, thinking I
was actually Kevin Peiterson.
I have been told that we won’t actually be staying with a family in
Pokhara or Trusili, where I will be based. This is shame in a multitude
of ways, but also makes me glad that I also won’t be eating Daal Bhat
(Lentil Soup) and Rice all the time, which we have been doing so twice
a day since Monday. Its funny how someone can say “I hate doing the
same thing every day” and “God, routine is the worst thing ever”. But
you also have to marvel at the tolerance level of people who actually
say this in putting up with the same shit over and over again. In my
case, I gotta say, Daal Bhat twice a day on paper isn’t that bad in
practice. I have found myself saying “Torai, torai/ Mito Mito” which
translates to [yes, I’ll have] a LITTLE MORE [of your delightfully]
TASTY [Daal Bhat, because I am bloody famished].
That’s all,
Michael
Tags: Family
