Baaf re baaf!

What a whirlwind the past few days have been! On Friday we drove to Chautara, leaving early because of a potential bandh in the late morning. Bandhs (a distinctly Nepali word and practice) typically consist of crowds halting traffic at large intersections, and may happen spontaneously or may be scheduled far ahead of time. People may bandh over a political disagreement, over high fuel prices, even over a dead chicken. When the police intervene, things may become violent. Some of the staff joke that Nepalis’ favorite sport is bandh.

We made it out of the city without issue. Soon we were cutting through the mountains uncomfortably close to the edge of narrow roads. Fortunately, we had the scenery to distract us, as picturesque view after picturesque view passed us by.

A man changes a tire in the middle of the mountain pass.

Three hours later, we arrived in Chautara, the site of our community-based training (CBT) pre-service training (PST) hub. There, we met our language and cultural facilitators (LCFs), who will be living with us and teaching us in our community. After lunch, we took our seats to await host-family introductions. Again, nerves ran high as the Peace Corps staff oriented the Nepalis to the expectations of being a host family. Finally, the pairing began. I was thrilled to meet my mother (aamaa), a smiling elder women who had been cracking jokes during the orientation. Having hosted a PST (Peace Corps Trainee) the previous year, she told the room that she'd cried a great deal when he left for his permanent site, and that she would cry as much for me. Very touched, I told her I was so happy to meet her (in Nepali), and we headed downstairs for a snack. Here was the first sign of the barriers to come, as I knew how to discuss only names, family, and food, while she tried to talk about all sorts of other things. This continued throughout hour-long trek through the hills (read: mountains), although here the schoolchildren who accompanied us provided some simple translation.

Hiking to our new homes

Arriving at my new home, I met my (bubaa) and older brother (dai). The evening and following days were full of smiling, head shaking, and “I don’t understand” (bujina). Despite my inaptitude, they are very kind people and are understanding of my current difficulty with the language

Our two-story house is nestled in the mountainside at a bend in the road. The kitchen is just in front of and below the house. Further down are a variety of fields containing rice, tomatoes, grass, and more, as well as one barn containing corn and another containing the animals. My host family, who are farmers, work very hard all day in the fields. We own 3 water buffalo, 9 goats, 5 chickens, and 5 rabbits (kept as pets, although aamaa seems to think that picking them up by the ears isn’t unkind). Next door lives another PCT and her family, who I believe are my uncle, aunt, and cousins. Almost everyone in the village seems to be related; even if they are not, Nepalis commonly refer to one another as kin (uncle, son, sister, etc.).

My home

The view from the front porch

My room has just about everything I could ask for: a light, a power outlet, a bed with a mosquito net, a bench, a chair, a desk, and two windows. Upstairs we have a TV (which never seems to work). Cell phone service is inconsistent and internet nonexistent.

My room

I awoke the next morning to find a mouse sleeping in my clothes (he remained sleeping as I put him in a box and was just beginning to awaken when my aamaa through him off a cliff). I'll keep my bag closed from now on.

Saturday is the weekend in Nepal (they work on Sundays), so we had the day off too. The previous day, we had decided to go to a temple and river with the cluster from the adjoining village, but we didn’t realize that we were in for a five-hour hike. As is typical here, our local guide (my auntie) wore flip-flops and moved with ease through the steep, narrow, and often slippery pass, while we skidded and stumbled. We soon reached the temple (which was nothing special) and later the river. A few hours in, we were thoroughly relieved to find a small shop that sold juice boxes of mango juice, and many of us bought two or three for about $0.20 each. When we returned, my aamaa made tea and let us hold our rabbits.

Classes began the next day, and we quickly fell into a routine. Here’s my typical schedule:

6AM: wake up. Everyone else has been up for hours, so I feel lazy. Shower, dress, and have morning tea (always scalding hot, and with plenty of buffalo milk)

6:45: walk up the hill to language class. Greet everyone along the way, and ask if they have eaten their morning snack (this is the standard, polite greeting in Nepal).

7-9: language class with LCF

9:15-10:30: eat morning meal (rice and lentils, often with cooked vegetables, and buffalo milk)

10:45-12:45: walk back up to language class, now asking if everyone has had their morning meal

1:45-3:15: meet up with two other clusters for a group lesson on culture, safety, or training

4-5:30: hang out with other PCTs, have tea and/or snack

5:30-7: play soccer with local youth

7: more rice and lentils, cooked vegetables, and buffalo milk

7:30-8: do homework

8:30: go to sleep


Occasionally mixed in are: fetching water; cutting grass; feeding animals; helping with cooking; doing laundry; and long conversations I understand almost nothing.

Our classroom

The soccer field

My apologies for the long post. In the future, I’ll get more into the idiosyncrasies of Nepali life.