the food. i never get tired of daal bhat, tarkadi, and achar. (Almost) every day, twice a day and always so tasty! mitho chha!! that's lentils (almost like soup that we pour over the rice), rice, a type of vegetable (i have eaten many new kinds, like jackfriut, every kind of green vegetable, and this one called lady fingers (?), beans, cauliflower, potatoes, etc.) and pickle. the pickles are all different types. some are like salsa, some are made from ground sesame seeds, some actually taste like our pickles. usually they are spicy or bitter or a little salty to add flavour to the meal. I enjoy them very much. i always eat with my hands when possible. there is a specific way to eat and you make a sort of shovel with your hand and push the food into your mouth. it took me a while to master the technique and i still have difficulty at times. the children at ama ghar laughed at me and kept telling me how to do it until i figured it out. in nepal, everyone eats the same thing, morning and night, every day. they drink tea early in the morning, then daal bhat around 9 or 10, more tea and khaaja (snacks) around 3 or so, and then daal bhat again later in the night. i am never hungry. it is nice, but also difficult because i usually do not choose when or what or how much i eat. i am starting to ask for less rice, but less rice doesn't always mean less and even when i say i've eaten snacks, i often am served more anyway. i always eat what is put in front of me. i have to. i cannot waste the food and i do not want to be rude and refuse tea or food when it is offered to me. i enjoy it all, but now i think i am getting fat. yes, it is true. i try not to care so much, but i feel full and bloated. i don't actually thing i'm getting that fat, but maybe i am. it's hard to tell. i have started to do exercises in my room but i am also lazy. fat and lazy. where i stay now is a one minute walk to the school, so i don't get exercise walking to work. i've thought about going for walks, but again, i am lazy. when i wake up in the morning i lay in bed until manju or elija (the wife and niece of gautam, the principal) come in with my tea. so lazy. and they won't let me help clean the dishes or wash even though i try. all this is to say my gratitude for the wonderful hospitality. really wonderful. i always feel well taken care of in the food and drink department. the other things (like having running water) are outside of my hosts' control and i think it is important to recognize (and experience the truth) that so many places in the world do not have all the things i've grown up with.
so if you miss you, just think...at the end of the day i am bloated, lazy, and stinking, so you really aren't missing much!
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