Well guys, I am here. In Kathmandu. And there are no emoticons or words or smily faces that can accurately depict how I feel!!!!! For starters, though the flights here were long, I made it safely with very little hassle (both me AND my luggage - quite the accomplisment) and though it was raining, here is a list of my first impressions.
-The people are so kind. Really. Between my Nepali friends that I met on the flight from Abu Dhabi to KTM (though they are somehow convinced I am from Bangkok??? oops) and the very kind and hilarious immigration officials (since when are those guys friendly and funny?) I am even more excited to get out of the guest house and try interacting with others (especially when language training starts!)
-It's very colorful. And also extremely dirty! Funny how those two things always end up together in third world countries. At first glance I thought KTM looked very similar to many of the Latin American cities I had visited - when I discussed this with my hosts, they said that everyone says KTM looks/sounds/smells like some other third world city they have visited, but after a week everyone concludes: DEFINITELY NO SIMILARITY. Hmmmm.....
-The women's clothing is beautiful. I can't wait to have the language skills and the guts to walk into a tailor's shop and get some real Nepali clothing made for me. It will be a great day.
-They have multiplel Kohler stores here! Bizarre....I'm sure I will encounter more bizarre things of this nature as I get out into the city and explore.
-In the mornings (such as 6am) all the neighborhood children are out running around and screaming before school. If I had done that during my school years I probably would never have graduated thanks to all the classes I would have slept through.
-The men like to sit on the rooftops and shout nonsensical things to one another throughout the day. Even fleunt Nepali speakers such as my hosts say they can't understand a word. :)
-The city is surrounded by mountains, but apparently everyone calls them "the hills" (For a girl from MN, this is EXTREMELY challenging to understand. We would never refer to the Rockies or the Appalachians as the ''hills''). The actual Himalayas are at the moment hidden by clouds.
-Today Jonathon, the son of the family I am staying with, came running into the kitchen with ham and cheese that he had just bought at the market, saying "Mommy, we must have toasties (ham and cheese toasted sandwiches) today because the electricity is on!" Looks like my life is about to revolve around the availability of electricity.
There will be many more to come....thanks for all your prayers and support!
Namaskar/Subha ratri (depending on your time zone, good night or good day!)
Meg
-The people are so kind. Really. Between my Nepali friends that I met on the flight from Abu Dhabi to KTM (though they are somehow convinced I am from Bangkok??? oops) and the very kind and hilarious immigration officials (since when are those guys friendly and funny?) I am even more excited to get out of the guest house and try interacting with others (especially when language training starts!)
-It's very colorful. And also extremely dirty! Funny how those two things always end up together in third world countries. At first glance I thought KTM looked very similar to many of the Latin American cities I had visited - when I discussed this with my hosts, they said that everyone says KTM looks/sounds/smells like some other third world city they have visited, but after a week everyone concludes: DEFINITELY NO SIMILARITY. Hmmmm.....
-The women's clothing is beautiful. I can't wait to have the language skills and the guts to walk into a tailor's shop and get some real Nepali clothing made for me. It will be a great day.
-They have multiplel Kohler stores here! Bizarre....I'm sure I will encounter more bizarre things of this nature as I get out into the city and explore.
-In the mornings (such as 6am) all the neighborhood children are out running around and screaming before school. If I had done that during my school years I probably would never have graduated thanks to all the classes I would have slept through.
-The men like to sit on the rooftops and shout nonsensical things to one another throughout the day. Even fleunt Nepali speakers such as my hosts say they can't understand a word. :)
-The city is surrounded by mountains, but apparently everyone calls them "the hills" (For a girl from MN, this is EXTREMELY challenging to understand. We would never refer to the Rockies or the Appalachians as the ''hills''). The actual Himalayas are at the moment hidden by clouds.
-Today Jonathon, the son of the family I am staying with, came running into the kitchen with ham and cheese that he had just bought at the market, saying "Mommy, we must have toasties (ham and cheese toasted sandwiches) today because the electricity is on!" Looks like my life is about to revolve around the availability of electricity.
There will be many more to come....thanks for all your prayers and support!
Namaskar/Subha ratri (depending on your time zone, good night or good day!)
Meg
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