The first thing we realized upon arriving in Thailand is that we were officially among the nicest people in the world. 7eleven customers were eager to give us directions, shop owners offered us discounts because we're volunteers, and a taxi driver offered his services to take us around the city all day for a whopping total of...50 cents! In each country we visited after that, we renounced our previous statement, and decided that place actually had the nicest people. In short, we spent our time surrounded by some of the kindest and most friendly people I have ever met.
Four countries and just as many languages made us nervous to travel at first, but I found that communicating wasn't as much of an issue as I'd expected. Fortunately, Starbucks barista's everywhere understand grande, non-fat, and frappuccino! Generally, shop owners understand 'how much?' and people tend to get 'yes' and 'no'. Other than that, we were pretty much on our own, but we still managed to communicate with the Indonesian soccer players and get equally enthusiastic about the game as they were. We could joke around with our taxi driver in Bangkok, become fast friends with the hotel concierge in Singapore, and become girlfriends with a sales clerk in Malaysia. When I think about it, I realize this was all possible in the same way that we've been bonding with people in Nepal. It's cold outside tonight, and the guard at the gate of our complex is bundled up in anticipation of the long and lonely night he has ahead of him. I brought a piping hot bowl of noodles out to him, and neither of us needed to say a word to understand each other. No matter where you are in the world and no matter what language you speak, everyone understands a smile.
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Today is October 6th, which means my plane left Canadian soil exactly one month ago. The experiences I've had so far make it seem like I've been in this country for much longer than a month already. I think about a month and it sounds like such a long time. Then I think about 7 more months, and the single month I've spent so far seems like nothing at all. The worst part is that I can't decide if time seems to pass quickly or slowly, and I can't figure out if I'm happy about it or not. Instead of endlessly pondering the speed of time and sifting through my emotions, I've realized my energy is much more needed elsewhere, and so, I've decided to simply be here. Whether for a long or short time, whether happy or sad, I am here for exactly 200 more days.
Although I've been in the country for 4 weeks now, today was only my 12th day of work, and already I'm planning for some major time off. Dasain is the biggest festival of the year in Nepal and is celebrated by both the Hindu and the Buddhist population in the country. When locals try to explain it, they always say it's like our Christmas at home (they also all pronounce the holiday differently so I'm still not exactly sure how to say it!). The festival officially started yesterday and lasts for 15 days. My perception of it so far is not nearly as large scale as Christmas, although they do hang lights across a few streets. Most people in the country work for the first week of the festival, with offices and stores closing this coming Friday until the following Friday. This means that, counting my weekends, I have 10 days off. With limited vacation time, and so many things to do before we go back home, Rasha, Kelsey and I decided to take advantage of the days off. We have officially finished booking our 9 day Asian Adventure! 3 flights, 4 hotels, 1 train ride and 2 ferry trips. That's what it takes for the three of us to see Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. We are unbelievably excited! I probably won't be taking my laptop with me, so you'll have to wait until I'm safely back in Kathmandu to read our epic tales, but I will be sure to post about the trip as soon as possible! I'll return to work on October 21st, but only for 2 weeks, because the first weekend in November marks the beginning of Tihar. This festival is the equivalent of Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, but it is slightly different in Nepal, as it is celebrated for 5 days by the entire country, regardless of religious background. Each of the five days is devoted to the worship of something different, but I'll explain this in November after I've experienced the festival firsthand. As for that time off, I have no major plans other than to stay in the country and enjoy the festivities. Three working days later, a national strike has been called in protest of the elections on November 19th, a topic that, to my understanding, has deeply divided the country. If the strike is carried out as planned, the election will not take place, as the bandh (literally meaning 'closed' but used to describe strikes) will shut down the entire country from the 11th to the 20th. That's right, including weekends, I'll have another 12 days off work. Exactly one month later, I'm flying home for Christmas! I'll be in Toronto from December 18th, until January 1st, beginning work again on the 4th. With so much time off, and more bandh days surely to come after the election regardless of the outcome, it's a wonder anything gets done around here! Sorry no pictures with this one. Hopefully I'll get around to posting some from our version of Thanksgiving, celebrated early because we'll all be galavanting around the continent on the day itself. |