30 day anniversary

Namaste Home!

I hope you are doing just great! First of all, I would like to say that we are all shocked here by what happened in Japan. One really cannot hear much by television or radio, but I can use the Internet in the office to check on updates. It is horrible what people have to go through there, and yet I am convinced that people are resilient. The moment the shaking stopped, was the moment they had already started adapting. And with our compassion and help, also Japan will be back soon!

But because today is also my 30 day anniversary here, I wanted to give you an entertaining update on my life here. The first four weeks are over and I have really made it through – more even, I have adapted to a lot and already collected tons of experiences. Let’s split my being into two categories: the physical and the psychological.

Let's start with the recap process

Let’s start with the physical:

1.      My clothes are not getting clean anymore, so I am walking around like everyone else: dirty; the dust and dirt is everywhere

Lovely used-to-be white socks :)

2.  It is also in my lungs, although I have learned to breathe strictly through my nose, because there the air is filtered

3.  Without jogging or boxing, my muscle mass is greatly declining. I think my frame was last so small when in kindergarten

4.  But even without sports, I strained my groin in the crammed bus, and my foot is hurting every seventh step

5.  Still I feel fat and roundly because all food is always fried or super super sweet

6.  My hair is even more like straw because of the weird water Meine

7.  By now I have gained a good eye for what foods are enjoyable and which ones I should better not eat. For example the tasty looking cakes, who turn out to have chili taste

8.  But still I am getting sick every time the weekend comes around (also last weekend), seems to be my own personal rhythm

9.  I am also doing the freaky Nepali headshake more often now. I hope that I can get rid of that as soon as I am back in Europe

and I never forget to use my smile :)

And now about the psychological aspects:

Interestingly I have also adapted to a lot of things

1.  Cold showers are not annoying anymore, but the norm, I am positively surprised every time it is warm

2.  I am also happy every time I have electricity and then I am using it right away to charge my camera, play silly computer games, or cook a tea

3.  I manage to take the bus every morning to work and back and I have not yet took a wrong one (yesterday a child puked when it exited)

4.  The pushing and pulling and jostling are almost normal to me now. I try to be cool and accept that I am bigger and stronger than everyone else and that they all need to grab me and hold on to me.

5.  Even the staring I can take now, I simply smile back and am happy about how privileged I am to have seen so much of the world.

6.  With the help of a well chosen song on my MP3 player I can even take the honking, spitting, and screaming. To a Disney Soundtrack I dance through the streets.

7.  Now when I walk by the butcheries, I do NOT EVERYTIME feel like puking. Every morning they slaughter cows there, cut off their skin, half them with axes in front of my eyes. But the sight of it and the freshly running blood are almost normality now.

I may look like this however

8.  I also do not feel the need to disinfect my hands every time I touch something. That means I even touch the stinky money, shake hands, and hold the seats in the buses without bathing my hands in Sakrotan afterwards.

9.  I learned not to rely on anything a Nepali says. Sure that sounds mean, but it is true that no one here can or wants to estimate. This means I have to be burnt before I can shy away from the fire

10.I do not need an alarm clock to wake up at 5.25 o‘clock

11.I learned to close the window at nights

Yes those are flies... many many flies

12.  Every morning I now enjoy the sight of the beautifully colored Nepal. The landscape is beautiful, the birds sing melodically, and the clothes are after my taste. Red and orange? Who cares?

I think I might paint my house nepali-style later

13.  I admire the women, they are so humble and respectful and they carry their burdens with respect. And still they are so proud and gracious and strong, and on top just beautiful! The Nepali Men… mmm not really my taste ;)

14.  Up till now it has been going very slowly in the office. When I again have nothing to do, I kill time by reading, playing silly computer games, watching movies, reading news, etc. I did not even know I had Mahjong on my computer, and it is SO addicting J Just today I had to translate a six page Spiegel article.

All in all you can see, I have adapted, evolved. One cannot always fight the things, sometimes one has to accept it (unless they are so wrong that one HAS to change them). I feel like a wimp every day because it seems Nepalis never take a break, but I do love to watch movies or simply sleep in. Also I know I can handle it here because one day I can go back to Europe. They on the other hand have nothing to look forward to.

I think I could live with a lot of things, even long-term: the electricity, the dirt, the water. One thing, however, is causing me real trouble. That I cannot belong here. Either I am a goodness or I am an outcast. In either case people stare at me, do not want to touch me, sit next to me. One realizes, one is different, one does not belong here, and sometimes one is not even welcome.

The more I am looking forward to home, where the best family ever is waiting for me. Where there my friends who welcome me back with open arms, no matter how long I have been away. I miss hanging out with the people I love, to eat with them, to chat with them, to play with them, to back with them, to make music with them… But I do know that I will make up for all this hundredfold when I return this summer J

If you open your eyes, there is beauty everywhere

 With that being said, I hope this was update enough. You are welcome to comment on which points are most entertaining, surprising, stunning to you.

Stay tuned in,
Annika