Did you know that not only am I living 9 hours and 45 minutes ahead of most of you, but I am also living 57 years in the future? Yes, in Nepal, it is currently the year 2071. So here is my report from the future.
It makes me very happy how quickly my host family became comfortable around me, and vice versa. I've already fallen into their schedule and habits. I crave milk tea at 5 every day (but only one cup--it's fresh, unpasteurized, whole milk from our neighbor's cow). I eat more veggies in a day than I used to in a week. I can read the breeze and humidity to predict storms perfectly (okay, maybe some of that skill comes from my pilot father). We laugh together at Nepali serials, even though I have no idea what is being said. We laugh a lot--at potty humor, school tales, and our own language issues.
Many habits of Western culture have gone out the window. Trash gets tossed in the garden to be burned. Teeth are brushed under the stars, and we spit on the ground. My aim is improving. Eating and drinking tea in bed are encouraged. Every morning, I wake to the melody of my neighbor hacking up a bucketful of phlegm, and every night I fall asleep to the harmony of fighting dogs.
School is no exception. Men and women belch and pick their nose, and no one bats an eye (I don't succumb to that particular peer pressure, though). They sneeze, and no one says or expects a "God bless you!" And don't get me started on when they have to blow their noses. Just don't linger under any balconies or windows.
And never have I felt more healthy or more filthy.
I promise I shower at least twice a week.
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