Settling in

Greetings from Kathmandu! After a four-day group orientation in a small town 22km outside of the capital called Pharping, we arrived in Kathmandu yesterday morning. While Pharping was beautiful, quiet, and free of tons of traffic and other Westerners, it was really nice to drive into Kathmandu and know that we were settling into the city where we're living for the next two and a half months. Our program center is located in an area of the city called Naxal, just east of the Royal Palace (once the home of the royal family but since they were ousted within the last five years, it now functions as a museum). We were given a tour of the neighborhood and then were almost immediately picked up by our families. After only three days of Nepali classes, our communication skills were quite limited. All of the other students in my group live in clusters near one another but for some reason, I found out I was placed with a family all alone and about an hour walk from Naxal - or a 30 minute bus ride - the farthest away of all of the group.

It turned out to be just fine. My cousin-uncle (a Nepali term for male cousin) Bikresh (who lives with my family) and my two siblings, Gaurab (15 year old boy) and Gamina (13 year old girl) came to the program center to pick me up. We took a taxi to our neighborhood, Samakhushi. The streets are extremely narrow and cars are constantly playing games of chicken - waiting until the last minute for one to pull off and allow the other to pass. We finally made it to the house in which I'll be living until November. It is very nice, by both Nepali and American standards. My host mother, Padma, and aunt, Sarita, were home to greet us. My father, Gopi, is away in Bangladesh on business. He apparently owns a company called Mega Medicals and travels a lot. We have a yellow lab named Ricky. My bahini (Nepali for "little sister") is very talkative and speaks English very well. My bhaai (younger brother) and uncle-cousin also speak English but are more shy. We spent the afternoon sitting in the living room, looking through photographs and exchanging English and Nepali words and expressions. Our dinner consisted of daal bhat (a staple of the Nepali diet), vegetables, and curd. It was delicious. I can't wait to improve my Nepali and be able to communicate more effectively. I will try to upload photos soon.

That's all for now. Hope this finds you all well.
-Leti.