My host family.

 It has indeed been a while since my last post... though mostly I have been at the hospital and only went for a trip outside Kathmandu for a few days. Will make a separate post about that shortly. 
I just have to say that my host family is really lovely and they deserve much more than a lousy blog post and the bars of Melkesjokolade I brought them from Norway! So do read on....!

So my family lives in an area of Kathmandu called Mhepi, which is also the name of the temple which is closeby on top of a hill surrounded by woods..! It is a nice neighbourhood, lots of small shops, butchers, a supermarket, tailors etc just a short walk away. It is nice to get back from a busy day in the tourist area Thamel, to a place that is slightly calmer with only the children, dogs and roosters next door making most of the noise!

I live with my host mother Sarita, father Krishna and their son Satish. They also have another son who studies in the US who they Skype with every now and then.  Krishna is a retired government officer and Sarita is a housewife- who takes especially good care of everyone, including me! Satish is currently studying for some university entrance exams and is busy revising physics and solving papers most of the day.

Satish speaks excellent English which was my biggest relief when the driver dropped me off at the house on my first day. He translates everything that his mum and dad say when I am around which is not only nice of him to do but it has also made it possible for me to have indirect conversations with his parents in a surprisingly natural way.

These people seem to be quite content with life. They always manage to lurk out a smile in me and I have never seen either of them being particularly upset about anything. Ever! There was only one time when Sarita was telling off Satish for spilling some seeds on the floor, but obviously that does not mean anything in the greater context...

My own mum was obviously a little hesitant at the idea of me going away to the other side of the world, but we Skyped a few times at the beginning and when she saw my host family and how genuinely sweet they are I think she also felt just as relieved as I was when I arrived at their house. Having a new Nepali family is super awesome!

My host mum has a strictly food-related english vocabulary, but I have to say that it has even improved a little while I have been here :) it consists of:
.thirsty
.hungry
.sugar
.eating
.food
.little bit
.too much
.spicy
.porridge
.tea
.biscuit
.banana
.dinner
.rice
.potato
.mosquito
.hospital
.tomorrow
.going
.leaving
Well, at least these are essential words we use to communicate, in addition to a looooot of body language. Most of the time she just laughs and I laugh back when I have no idea what she is saying... to be fair, she knows much more english than I know nepali! All I can say is namaste (hello/goodbye) and dhanyabad (thank you).

I did not know whether it would be rude to decline food around here, but my family seems to be okay with me eating half of the rice that they have per meal nowadays. At first they were like "do you not like our food? You are going to get thin" and I kept saying that I did not want to waste the food that would be left on my plate. But now they seem to have accepted that I simply cannot eat the size of my dinner plate back home full of rice with the additional curries, pickles, veg, mutton, paneer cheese, lentils or potatoes and whatnot that they also have on the side. And I still quite enjoy the food, which I'm really hoping they have realised by now!

The other day was Satish' 20th birthday, so I got him some cake from a pastry shop aafter looking around for half an eternity among all the cashmere shops and wholesalers in Thamel. I have never seen somebody be so happy, thankful and humble about a piece of cake before- it really was the least I could do...!

So I feel that it really is true what they say about Nepali people being good in every way. Satish especially has helped me out with everything from finding my bearings, telling me what not to do, what acceptable prices for random things are, even driving me around on his motorcycle and staying up to let me in through the gate to the house when I come back late in the evening when everyone else has gone to sleep (they sure go to bed early around here!)

And while I think my host family is some of the nicest people I have met here I have to say that people on the street are also very helpful and genuine. So far I do not feel like anyone has tricked me or screwed me over in any way. The taxi drivers always try, but my bargaining skills seem to have improved so I usually find them to be quite nice in the end as well.

I guess I will have to pay my new family another visit some day. Asian backpacking trip in a couple of years, anyone?!