Advances in Nepali

I’m not sure if it was the time off from the class, or being surrounded by people who were constantly speaking Nepali, but something clicked over the weekend and my language class was much easier. I had somehow absorbed most of the verbs and did a pretty good job answering my teacher’s questions.

Before going to RHEST I stopped by the tailor to get my kurta made. The first place I went to when I stepped inside the two women totally ignored me. I said ‘namaste’ and tried to catch their eyes, but they didn’t even look over. Whatever, it was there loss of business.

The second tailor I went to went well. They didn’t seem to speak any English but I was able to communicate pretty well with a mix of Nepali and hand gestures. There were these two adorable little girls were there with their mother, who was also buying a kurta. The older one spoke English surprisingly well, and I practiced my Nepali with her, pointing to colors and naming them and talking about the kind of fruit I like(by the way my language teacher keeps asking me what fruit Kristin and Mom like, for Kristin I say all fruit and for Mom I say none)

I felt very accomplished when I finished my purchase and the day was made even better when I saw two bunnies in a restaurant courtyard. One was a very tiny baby bunny, and I kicked myself for not taking my camera with me. The other was big and white, but I couldn’t catch either of them to pet.

I had made plans to meet Hayley in Thamel so she could get her hair straightened and I could get my hair henna’d. I felt accomplished with my Nepali for the second time when I asked for the price in Nepali to the cab driver and he answered in Nepali. I also got 25 rupees less than what I usually pay. Success!

When I got to the Korean hair place I ended up getting a facial instead, I’d never had one and was curious as to what it was like. It was quite relaxing, but she put a lot of moisturizer on my face. I wanted to be like, um that’s not what I need, but whatever. Hayley got her hair straightened which looked amazing, and next time she goes I think I’ll get the so called ‘face cleaning’.

The day had been awesome, but the night seemed to be less inclined to be kind to me. After Hayley got into a cab I was almost immediately accosted by street children. One of them was blatantly huffing glue, and I was reminded about how even though Thamel is the tourist area, it still is very poor. I told them to go away in Nepali, and many of them did, but there were two boys who began grabbing at me. I escaped into a nearby store, and the girls who worked there luckily got them to leave me alone.

I was not in the best place to get a cab I guess, because guy didn’t stop for very long and wouldn’t negotiate prices until I got inside. Because I was rushing I hadn’t been looking down, so I stepped in ankle deep mud and trash. That was awesome, my feet smelled great in the taxi cab. I actually felt sort of guilty for the driver, although he looked even younger than me.

The night luckily got better when I got to the Attic, this bar that is actually located in the attic of a house. I was able to wash off my feet, and got some A.F.C which is like KFC but much better. I stayed there for awhile before meeting up with my Aamaa at Shisha, which had live music. In total, I’d say it was a good day.