-the inescapable loneliness when you crave conversation with someone who speaks English as their first language, or who at least knows what Star Wars is
-pollution throat
-the mosquito swarm outside of my bathroom
-my dear friend and fellow ETA Caitlin being horrendously ill (although she is starting the slow road to recovery)
-having no toilet access between the hours of 9:30 pm and 6:30 am
-stepping in at least five different types of excrement on the way to school, all while trying not to wipe out on slick red bricks or trip on stray dogs
-realizing there's half a year between now and seeing my family and friends again
-making my aamaa cry when trying to explain what the "Pentagon Tower attacks" were (9/11)
But there are many more moments of fun and joy:
-anything involving my students (but more on that in a later post)
-receiving personal emails are often the highlight of my day
-trying to teach my Nepali family English, Spanish, and ancient Greek--and learning awkwardly that "padre" sounds a lot like padnu (to fart)
-this gem from my aamaa: "I'm going to bathe, and then dye." (say it out loud)
-also, hearing the story about how she hated the train food in India so much, she tossed it out the window. Haven't we all wanted to do that at one point or another?
-not fussing about appearance
-the fact my diet consists of veggies, rice, tea, and biscuits (cookies)
-forming an alliance with spiders
-having time to read books that have been on my list for a long time (currently on book 4 of 25 Tarzan books)
And for the first time in a long time, not worrying about much of anything: the future, what to wear, not "being productive" in my leisure time. Instead, I sit on the roof with a cup of tea and contemplate this:
The transition to living in Nepal was much less jarring than you'd expect.
It simply became my life.
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