Last night I was sitting at the kitchen table while my amma made dinner, and reflecting on everything I love about Nepal. In the spirit of Thanksgiving and appreciating these things, both big and small, I think it is appropriate to share the list I made.
I love my snuggly Kathmandu bed
I love dahl baat: the variety, the saag, the alou, the yogurt, the little metal bowls they serve it all in
I love eating with my hands
I love walking through traffic
I love the beauty of prayer flags against any and all backgrounds (mountains, city, etc.)
I love how bringing apples or soap or sweets home is so very appreciated
I love how people don’t rush (usually)
I love the metal cups and plates that seemingly every home and restaurant has
I love the thousands of tiny shops selling bags of puffed snacks and shampoo packets and Ncell cards
I love tuktuks, I love vans, I love buses
I love the organized chaos that is Kathmandu
I love how saying “Namaste dai” or “Namaste didi” completely lights up a shopowners face
I love milk tea. In small cups. In big pots. Always. Forever.
I love random bus conversations with strangers in broken Nepali
I love hopping on and off moving buses
I love entering the whirl of people flowing around the Boudha stupa through the various back alleys (sorry ticket offices)
I love Seto Goumpa, the beautiful wisdom Rinpoche gives us, and his contagious laugh
I love how Rutna, my pottery mentor, pronounces “thick” and “thin”
I love my wool shawl, my kurtas, and my baggy drawstring pants I bought on the side of the road for 250 rupees
I love the stovetop pressure cookers everyone uses to make rice and dahl (although I will never love the aggressive hiss of steam that rockets out of them at random intervals)
I love how one is always greeted with an offer of chiyaa, even if only stopping by to say hello
I love Nepali food. Period.
Although I do feel that Nepali biscuits deserve their own special bullet point
I love how Nepali porters are constantly smoking pipes in between carrying massive loads of weight
I love how family and community is so important
I love how every Nepali amma will drop everything to make sure you’re okay
I love the plastic slippers designated for indoor wear in Kathmandu homes (but only for specific sections of the house, of course)
I love how bathrooms have their own specific pair of slippers, shared by the whole family
I love the luxury of a hot shower, whenever it comes around
I love washing my hair under cold, outdoor taps with the Himalaya behind me
I love how Nepali women pierce their left nostril
I love how people appreciate the little things
I love the blocks of mint green soap and dark green sponges everyone uses to wash dishes
I love how they call phones “mobiles”
I love the little head wiggle Nepali people do when they speak (and the fact that I subconsciously do it now as well!)
…
The list goes on and on and on. I have such a deep love for this country, these people, this experience. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from Nepal 🙂