"the strange"

For my job I had to take a psychological test. One of the questions on the test was “do strange things happen to you?” I answered “yes” and later had to explain my answer. The guy who evaluated my test was thinking “yes, I have voices in my head or I’ve seen aliens.” When he asked me about it I said, “well Mr.X, I work at a nursing home and I lived in South Asia. All kinds of strange things happen to me.” To my surprise I had to continue to explain “the strange”. Now that I am back in South Asia the strange continues to keep on coming.





In the middle of my language class today people started walking by as they went up the stairs of my language teacher’s house. “Nermala, why are all these people going upstairs into your house?” I asked. Nermala responds non-calantley “they are filming a movie on my roof top garden.”…”would you like to go and watch?” I replied with “yes.”



Sure enough we get up to the roof and there are three Nepali actors. The premise of the movie is that this guy is dating two women at the same time. The director was cracking me up when in his Nepali accent he would yell “action!” and then say “ you are angry…very very angry” (actress face is expressionless) “now you are jealous!...very very jealous” (girls face continues to remain expressionless)


This went on for a good 15 minutes. Needless to say those of you in the states will never see the results of the shooting but I’m sure it’s gonna be a big Nepali hit.

familiar

Being back in Nepal is often a mixture of foreign and familiar. The foreign part is frustrating. The language is foreign, the streets are foreign, and the lack of feeling at home is foreign.

There are however moments of sweet familiarity. I might actually understand what is being said to me or share friendly greetings with the storeowner on the corner. And every once in a while I happen upon a place that I use to frequent back during my first trip to Nepal.

The other day I was in a part of town called Thomel. As I was walking by shops my memory took a hold of me and led me down a street that I recognized. I then took a right at the “bong” store and kept walking. Before I knew it I was standing at BK fries.

My old roomie Andrea and I use to frequent this place all the time. It truly has the best fries in Nepal and possibly on this side of the world.

When you have that foreign feeling…like you don’t belong there is nothing like a hot plate of freshly cooked fries to make you feel at home…to make you feel familiar.

Happy Birthday Shawn

I can’t believe that it has already been two years since the day that you were born. I remember that summer vividly. My job had me working near your mom, my sister, and so I was blessed with the opportunity to watch you grow inside your mother

Early in the morning I received a call saying that you were on your way. I took my time getting ready, I then stopped at work to let them know I was not coming in, and of course I had to pick up some flowers. You see I was expecting you to be tightly rapped in a new blanket laying in bed the first time that I lay eyes on you BUT God had different plans.

As I drove up to the hospital my dad, your grandfather, was standing at the doors hollering at me to hurry up. I followed him running through the halls and next thing I know I’m walking in on my sister trying to push you out.

“He’s almost here…he was just waiting for his aunt” said the doctor. I walked over by your mothers head and minutes later there you appeared. At that very moment you took a piece of my heart and filled it with a love that I cannot explain. Yes, you are your mother and fathers son but you are also mine. You are my nephew, a part of my family, and you will always be mine.

I’m sorry that I could not be there for your birthday party but know that I’ve been thinking about you all day. My birthday wish for you today is and always will be that your life will be full of love and adventure. May our Lord bless you and keep you, May His face shine upon you.
Love your aunt Jess

The "river"

It was later in the afternoon when I decided to go to the store. As I left I noticed that the sky was gray and hoped that it would rain after I finished my shopping. I was not but a few feet from the store when the drops started to fall and I quickly stepped into the safety of the “western” store. I took my time shopping but knew that it was not possible to wait out the rain…I was going to have to journey home.

With my newly purchased umbrella in one hand and my groceries in the other I entered the down poor that is so common during monsoon season. The first 10 minutes were not so bad until I started down the road to my house. What had once been a road now looked more like a river.

At first the stores that lined the road provided steps allowing me to stay out of the "river". Not sure where to step I decided follow a local woman and her child…where she stepped I stepped that is until the steps ran out. The Woman looked at me, we both smiled through our grimace and headed out into the river.

My pant legs were rolled up but the further I walked the higher the water seemed. As I trudged through this river with the mornings garbage flowing underneath I passed others stuck in this predicament. Usually I am stared at as a foreigner or tourist but at this moment we seem to have some sense commonality. The looks that we gave eat other was that of “we are both stuck in this mess and are just trying to get home”. There was a distinct feeling of solidarity.

Although I hope to never have to dredge through this “river” again I do hope to have that feeling of commonality. This is my neighborhood and I so desperately want to have relationships and friendly greetings with the people in it.



I was not able to take a picture of the river because my hands were full but here is a picture of the path I take to get to the main road.

first thoughts on my new home

In my friend Andrea’s blog (http://andreainkc.blogspot.com) she encouraged me to take in the moment when I finally enter into Nepal. Heading her advice I tried to take it in…here are my thoughts

The first thing that hit me and penetrated my memory was the smell. In my mind I thought “yes, this is what it smelled like and nothing in the states ever rivaled it” I was not so much bad as it was distinct.

As one walks out of the gate it looks chaotic with Nepalies pushed up against the security gate waiting for their loved ones to walk out. Thankfully I could imediatly spot my friends face for he was about a foot taller and white.

As we speed along in the over priced cab it seemed so dark reminding me that there are no street lights.

I was also reminded that there are traffic jams, which I could not for the life of me make out why there is a jam and piles of garbage at the end of the street

Thanks to rainy season the streets are pure mud. This mud is thick and nasty.
After the taxi from the airport dropped me off he managed to become stuck. My new friends and I headed down to the taxi and spent 20 minutes rocking, pushing and finally lifting it out of the mud. I must say it was a great way to initate me back into Nepal.

Goodbyes

(I wrote this on 7/12/08 and am just now getting around to posting it)


“I’ve always said that you don’t have to be crazy to be apart of this family but it sure does help.” – Grandpa

I hate saying goobye…especially to my family. If you have not met them you’ve missed out. Like Grandpa said they are all a little bit crazy but truly amazing and I love them. I know I will see them all again it’s just that I’m a little bit selfish and I’m sad that I’m going to miss out on the day to day changes that time brings. Pregnancies, weddings, new jobs, new friends, new loves, and losses are just a few of the things that time viciously takes away BUT as sad as that all sounds…it’s life.

ALL of my friends and family are supportive of this new journey I’m on. They know that I can’t stay here and do the 9-5 in the burbs. I pray that they come and visit me but in the mean time we will have to stay in touch through e-mail, Skype, and…you guessed, bloggs.

i...

i am: natural blond

i think: most people have no idea what is going on inside my head
i know: how to change a tire
i want: to know God more intimately 

i have: a plethora of t-shirts
i wish: growing up did not mean so much would change

i despise: those who tell me I can’t do something

i miss: always having messages on my answering machine
i feel: that someday the rhythm is gonna get me
i hear: a Gate Called Beautiful playing on my i-tunes
i smell: coconut lime verbena 

i crave: Muchas Gracia’s Mexican food and rice crispy treats 

i search: for a bargain 

i wonder: what the future holds
i regret: not being bolder
i love: time spent with friends

i ache: for adventure
i care: about the small things that effect my friends in big ways
i usually: drive too fast

i am not: the girl you take home to momma
i believe: a good laugh can heal the soul
i dance: when no one is looking
i sing: loudest in the car 

i cry: when my guard is down
i don't always: understand what is going on 

i write: to sort out my thoughts
i win: when I try hard

i never: read lips
i listen: best when the TV is off
i can usually be found: eating
 or taking a nap
i am scared: of missing out because I was too guarded