Moving day

13 June 2010          10:20pm          Kathmandu- Old Baneshwor

Almost caught up!  Yesterday was a good day, it was our first completely free day since coming to Kathmandu.  So, how do we spend our day off?  Shopping.  Kashish came by the hotel around noon (late start!) and took us to one of the new shopping malls close to the hotel.  One thing I noticed- mall walking is a universal phenomenon.  Ridiculous.

Along the way to the mall we stopped at some stall so that people could try pan if they wanted.  What pan is- I have no idea.  What pan looks like- jello cubes, nuts, sprinkles and some sort of syrup wrapped in a leaf and skewered on a toothpick with something that looks like a cherry.  How pan tastes- like eating Vicks vapo-rub, according to Aya (one of the brave souls that actually tried it).

Apart from the supermarket on the ground floor, nobody actually bought anything at the mall in a move that some [me] may classify as a ‘fail.’  We stopped at one store along the way to get towels, and then hit another shopping complex.  At this point I was already frustrated and tired by going out and getting nothing that I needed.  We did find one store that sold kurtis, though, and I ended up getting a nice top there (ok, so that may have been more a want than a need).

Soon after we went back to the hotel, but only to quickly drop things off so the remaining group of five could go in search of pants, which we had failed at earlier.  We stopped in one store by the hotel and spent ridiculous amounts of time there, both trying on clothes and haggling for them.  I tried on the MC Hammer-style pants, mostly because I’ve seen them everywhere.  I now understand why I’ve been avoiding them- Aya said it looked like I had a loaded diaper back there when I walked.  No thank you!

Funnily enough, the balloon pants (elastic at the ankles) looked pretty good, so 4 out of 5 of us got a pair.  We’re totally going to be pimpin’ in these.  After spending at least 20 minutes haggling for everything, we continued on our way.  At one shop we met a pretty cool guy and had a thorough World Cup conversation.  As shops were closing we returned home, stopping for a bite to eat.

My goals upon returning were to get everything packed up and stay up to watch the USA/England match.  Technically, I was successful on both ends, but I did end up falling asleep soon after England’s first goal (so like 4 minutes into the game).

Today we moved into our host families, which was quite an interesting experience.  I wasn’t leaving until 2pm, so I had a lot of time to prepare and do last things around Thamel.  Mostly I spent time packing, and then went to lunch with everyone else who was waiting around to leave.

Kalpana and I left the hotel sometime after two and went to Old Baneswor, which is where I now live.  When we got there, only the son was at home.  He had just finished his exams (he’s somewhere around high school age) and the parents were both out.  We stayed there for a little bit, which was when I first started to feel so overwhelmed with everything.  I hadn’t really met my family, I had no idea what was going on with my internship, and everyone around me was speaking only Nepali.  Kalpana eventually took me to Gurukul, which is where I’m supposed to be interning, so that I could find my way and meet people.  Unfortunately, they were getting ready for a performance so everyone was busy, but I got a brief tour of the place.

We ended up staying for the performance, which was A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen.  I was somewhat familiar with the play but had never actually read it, which made it hard to follow.  Of course, it was all in Nepali.  The play was very well done, and I enjoyed how they made use of their space- it appeared to be an old warehouse building.  I also enjoyed the costume design- I was at least able to see Nora’s transformation through her costumes.

After the performance Kalpana and I walked back to the house where I finally got to meet my host family (after they were done with prayers).  The husband and wife were introduced as Kaka and Kaki (uncle and aunt), which helps with the worrying about what to call them.  The husband speaks English, and the wife a very little bit.  She spoke to me mostly in Nepali, which didn’t help with me feeling overwhelmed.  We sat in the living room for awhile where the World Cup was on tv, so I had something familiar to watch.

We had a traditional Nepali dinner (dal bhat, chicken, potatoes).  It was just me, Kaka, and Kaki- Prashant, the son, was out with friends, celebrating.  It was quiet, as I don’t understand most Nepali and Kaki doesn’t understand much English.  After dinner we went back to the living room and watched some more tv.  I answered some questions about myself and my family using as much Nepali as I could, which mostly consisted of ‘bais’ and ‘dui-jana dai.’  I eventually excused myself for bed as I was tired, overwhelmed, and not feeling well.