A foggy morning
frosted dome descends over
the early risers
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Momos, and Fried Momos!
Since Nepal is pinched between China and India, lots of the food here is very India/China influenced.
Momos are one of the foods that have been successfully imported from China. They're super delicious, whether boiled or fried, and can be filled with Chicken, Water Buffalo, Vegetables....all kinds of stuff really. And the sauce that comes with them is usually approximately the right amount of spicy, with a good bit of sweet tang to it.
One of my favorite foods that I've encountered here. Above are some momos that I ate at Kathmandu International Study Centre, where I've been studying Nepali for the past month.
(They also have real drip coffee, a rarity in Nepali households. So good!)
Due to this reporters error, a previous version of this post stated that Nepal shares a small border with Bhutan, which is inaccurate. Nepal is bordered only by China, to the north, and India to the south, east and west.
What a Teej that was
This past weekend was Teej, the Nepali women's festival, where many Hindu women wear all red and party like its 1999.
We went here...
and hung out for a while watching people dance and sing... and drum on the double ended drum depicted below, a traditional Nepali instrument called a maddar, or maddat...or something like that.
Then we went back home, and danced for a while, and the next day a priest came over and presided over a large, intense ceremony in the dining room/kitchen.
The ceremony involved a lot of red dye powder, fruits and vegetables and rice, candles, incense, bowls made out of dried leaves, reddish water, milk and fried "roti" bread. It lasted most of 3 hours, and there was much singing and praying in Nepali, which I didn't understand. But it was fun to watch, and no problem with picture taking :)
Before seeing it, I thought this would be a solemn affair, but there was tons of talking and laughing throughout. It was really more like a large social event with a religious aspect as well. People would occasionally bust out their cell phones, or burst out laughing when they didn't really know what to do (in the ceremony). Everyone was very chatty the whole time. A jovial atmosphere to be sure.
The remaining edible food (much rice, bananas, apples and other such things) went to the priest. I do not know if that was religiously motivated, or simply as payment for his priestly services. The inedible food was cleared away quickly and efficiently.
Teej Siddhiyo! (teej is over!)
We went here...
The ceremony involved a lot of red dye powder, fruits and vegetables and rice, candles, incense, bowls made out of dried leaves, reddish water, milk and fried "roti" bread. It lasted most of 3 hours, and there was much singing and praying in Nepali, which I didn't understand. But it was fun to watch, and no problem with picture taking :)
Before seeing it, I thought this would be a solemn affair, but there was tons of talking and laughing throughout. It was really more like a large social event with a religious aspect as well. People would occasionally bust out their cell phones, or burst out laughing when they didn't really know what to do (in the ceremony). Everyone was very chatty the whole time. A jovial atmosphere to be sure.
The remaining edible food (much rice, bananas, apples and other such things) went to the priest. I do not know if that was religiously motivated, or simply as payment for his priestly services. The inedible food was cleared away quickly and efficiently.
Teej Siddhiyo! (teej is over!)
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Moi je joue
And now what you've all been waiting for.
ME!
Maxin' out by the river underneath that bridge from the last post!
Cheers to the Himalayan Watershed!
I have two weeks left of language lessons at Kathmandu International Study Centre (KISC) and then I'll start work in earnest at the Rural Institution for Community Development (RICOD).
Acronyms....
Last night I went for the second time to Astrek Climbing Wall, which is an outdoor (though protected from rain) climbing gym that is frequented by some of the expats here. It's a nice wall. Tall, with a good variety of problems, and it feels great to finally be back on a climbing wall after my foot injury last year!
"what?" you say? www.lisfrancinjury.wordpress.com
My host family here are great, and they love helping me with my Nepali, which is a double boost for actually learning to speak it in a timely fashion. There are also some very cute little children in the family, and an aquarium with some excellent fish in it, and some GREAT views off the verandah, which I am still planning to upload pictures of later.
My typical daily schedule:
Wake up at 7:30, drink some tea.
Read for a while (Just finished Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, it was mind blowing).
Eat Daal Bhat around 9:30.
Read for awhile or do some Nepali Homework (The word for 'read' can also mean 'study' in Nepalese: paDhnu)
Cycle downhill across crazy roads and in crazy motorcycle/bus/ bike trailer/semi traffic while blasting a good pump-up soundtrack in my 'phones, into Kathmandu.
Language lessons from 1-4.
Cycle back (uphill....so...far...6ish miles) to my host household.
Read for awhile.
Eat Daal Bhat at around 8.
Chill out, watch TV, play snake on my phone....whatever, until bedtime.
Usually watch a 30 Rock rerun on my computer before bed.
Wake up and do it again.
My life is good. I have lots of time to play.
Moi je joue is a song by Brigitte Bardot that Catie Gliwa put on a mix CD for me before I left.
Other common songs on my daily playlists:
Electric Feel -Justice Remix
Be Here Now- Mason Jennings
The Gentlest Hammer-Mason Jennings
Hammerstrike-Lotus
Drops of Jupiter-Train
Chunk of Change (full album)-Passion Pit
ME!
Cheers to the Himalayan Watershed!
I have two weeks left of language lessons at Kathmandu International Study Centre (KISC) and then I'll start work in earnest at the Rural Institution for Community Development (RICOD).
Acronyms....
Last night I went for the second time to Astrek Climbing Wall, which is an outdoor (though protected from rain) climbing gym that is frequented by some of the expats here. It's a nice wall. Tall, with a good variety of problems, and it feels great to finally be back on a climbing wall after my foot injury last year!
"what?" you say? www.lisfrancinjury.wordpress.com
My host family here are great, and they love helping me with my Nepali, which is a double boost for actually learning to speak it in a timely fashion. There are also some very cute little children in the family, and an aquarium with some excellent fish in it, and some GREAT views off the verandah, which I am still planning to upload pictures of later.
My typical daily schedule:
Wake up at 7:30, drink some tea.
Read for a while (Just finished Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, it was mind blowing).
Eat Daal Bhat around 9:30.
Read for awhile or do some Nepali Homework (The word for 'read' can also mean 'study' in Nepalese: paDhnu)
Cycle downhill across crazy roads and in crazy motorcycle/bus/ bike trailer/semi traffic while blasting a good pump-up soundtrack in my 'phones, into Kathmandu.
Language lessons from 1-4.
Cycle back (uphill....so...far...6ish miles) to my host household.
Read for awhile.
Eat Daal Bhat at around 8.
Chill out, watch TV, play snake on my phone....whatever, until bedtime.
Usually watch a 30 Rock rerun on my computer before bed.
Wake up and do it again.
My life is good. I have lots of time to play.
Moi je joue is a song by Brigitte Bardot that Catie Gliwa put on a mix CD for me before I left.
Other common songs on my daily playlists:
Electric Feel -Justice Remix
Be Here Now- Mason Jennings
The Gentlest Hammer-Mason Jennings
Hammerstrike-Lotus
Drops of Jupiter-Train
Chunk of Change (full album)-Passion Pit
Bridge, Host Bros, Adventure
Shudder.
Food Related Comedy
These first two are in Nepal, and are self explanatory.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)