Namaste!

Namaste!

Today it’s been exactly one week ago since we all had more or less tearful goodbyes to our families and loved ones, exactly one week ago since we all went on our different airplanes to face a looong trip, and exactly one week ago that the butterflies in our stomachs escalated to a level where one would consider if they would pop out from the navel.
I believe that every one of us have now started to become acclimatized. This acclimatization has been possible due to many different experiences so far. The first thing that made many of us realize that this was nothing like the small northern country we all come from was the experience of the Nepali traffic. Never have I heard so much tooting from car horns ever before. The traffic is so crowded and it seems like the principal of “survival of the fittest” applies here.
Nevertheless I already got more relaxed and used to it the second day. Yesterday I even went bicycling in the insane traffic on a too small mountain bike with questionable brakes. I have to mention that I did wear a helmet, just in case my mother reads this.
The food is another thing that I’ve now learned to love more than the food I usually prefer. There’s not much meat here, in fact we’ve only had meat once, but I really don’t feel like I’m missing anything. I will not speak on behalf of the rest of the volunteers on this topic though, since I believe that more than one of the boys is craving steak.
Today I just learned to make the most wonderful thing on Earth – momo. Goku our kitchenlady is a wonderful cook, and she taught Signe, Astrid and I how to make them. Momo is something like Chinese dumplings – just a whole lot better. As I’m writing this blog we’re waiting for dinner – I hope we made enough! When I return back to Denmark I have to make them again for sure.
The last thing that definitely changed within me since coming to Kathmandu is my hygienic standard. Normally I wash my hair everyday just to make an example. This first week I’ve already used up half of my dry-shampoo which speaks for itself. Yes, my hair is beyond greasy. The thing is, usually I would feel disgusting, but it doesn’t bother me anymore. I’m not sure if that’s a good sign or not, but it is convenient though since the water in the showers is freezing cold! It takes a lot of determination to take a shower. And I’m thinking that it’s not at all as bad as it’s going to be when I get to India. This Western-style platform have flush-toilets for example. A few days ago we went to a Hindu temple and here the “toilet” was a FULL hole in the ground full of….. with flies all around it. Since the hole was packed with you-know-what there was also a lot of you-still-know-what around the hole. Signe was certain that a cow had been passing this “toilet”-place since the amount around the hole was enormous.
Despite the cold showers, the expectation of horrible toilets, the lack of hygiene for all of us and the monsoon-like rain today it is amazing to finally be here. It’s amazing to cook with Goku and not suffer tourist-dishes every night, it’s wonderful to walk around the streets and alleys of Kathmandu while being able to say a few words in Nepali and receive grinning smiles in return and it’s terrific to have so many to share everything with. Even the smallest things become special and precious if you look closely enough.
Goodbye for now and Namaste – I greet the divine within you.