Happy Teej!

Teej is a fasting festival for women. It's a 3-day long celebration to pray for marital bliss, the well-being of one's husband and children, and for purification of their own bodies. Traditionally on Day 1, women (married and single) gather and have a huge feast. They eat until midnight. Day 2 starts with rigid fasting of Hindu women. Women wear their finest attire and dance and sing en route to Shiva Temple, where they make offerings of flowers, sweets, and coins. Their oil lamps stay lit all night. Day 3 is the completion of puja, and women pay homage to various deities and bathe in red mud, which supposedlycleanses them from all sins. Just like Christmas for us, the holiday has many modern traditions and adaptation, but the meaning is still there. Our didi said last night she stayed up very late to cook food for everyone, and they woke up and ate before going to bed again. Today they are fasting. 

Red and green are the colors to wear, and I had a khorta made by the tailor down the street. I bought some beautiful material ($20) but then he measured me and made the perfect fit of top and bottom, all for about $2.75. Have I mentioned how much I love this tailor? 

The embassy had a large celebration and it was neat to watch their Nepali dance and to see women in flowing red celebrating their traditions and culture.

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 A huge highlight for me was again celebrating Teej with my kids. I'll refer to them often, as if they're mine, but we just met last night. Already I feel such a strong connection with them. They are part of the youth I will be teaching soon through the Access scholarship program, and they put on their own festival last night. It was mesmerizing, especially considering their backgrounds. More on that another time. These youth have blossomed in this program in just a few short months. They sang, danced, performed, recited poetry they had written, and cheered each other on. I felt such hope and optimism among them, and I can't wait to go back.

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Momos

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Momos are standard Nepali fare. You can't beat them. Lucky for me, especially since I hate eating out here so far, our cook made some for us this week, complete with yummy sauce and rice. They were fabulous and it was a real home cookin ' real treat.

Cashmere Anyone?

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We toured a couple of factories today that make cashmere, pashmina, and wool scarves, sweaters, and all manner of textiles. They get their yarn from Tibet or Mongolia, but everything else is done in-house. We saw them design by hand the fabric patterns and colors. They used large looms strung with hundreds of little strands of yarn, which they gathered 5 at a time. It takes 15 days for one scarf from start to finish. We saw large vats where they tie dye, hundreds of silkscreen patterns, and watched women sew on company labels for all over the world. Some were headed to London, Chicago, or Germany. The colors were gorgeous, the fabrics soft. We then went back to their store and were able to purchase anything we wanted. I was very tempted, but the cheapest scarf I could find was $75 and it went way up from there for sweaters and vests. But they were gorgeous.

I thought it was a good reminder to the kids that clothes, especially nice ones, don't grow on trees...

Or money

500 Hygiene Kits

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I've performed service before, many times. But it was pretty cool to assemble 500 hygiene kits in the same country that they will be used in. LDS Charities, as well as some local NGOs, contributed to the kits. All materials were bought locally, and some women even made the towels. They will be distributed to a school in a remote area so that the children will each have towels, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and combs. We all walked over after church, and after sharing some snacks, the beehive of activity came alive. One of the coolest parts, in my opinion, was seeing the children and youth get so into it, eager to help and working together.

These are my Primary kids coloring. Did I mention how much they LOVE coloring? I can't get them to stop. We made a simple colored cut out today with a brass fastener and you would have thought we produced a serious work of art. I'm told they don't really get arts & crafts in schools, so they really like it. My kids were bored, but they were enthralled. Plus it's one more way to teach and reinforce concepts visually, which is helpful with the communication issues we face. Oh, and I have enough art and craft supplies to last a good long while. Another win-win. Such good kids!

This sweet sister made these hats. I couldn't help but buy one! I wanted to buy one for everyone I know -- I paid $2 for it and it was a huge help to her. Sorry to spoil your Christmas present...

The Help

In honor of Kathryn Stockett's book I love, and the new movie that I can't see right now (why do only the macho action movies make it here?), I offer my musings on my own household help.
There's no rule that says we need to hire help. Many people choose not to, depending on where they live or the circumstances. But we do and probably always will,  and I'll paint a brief picture why. It's not because I'm lazy, or because I live a life of luxury. I'd rather not spend the money or deal with occasional frustrations. It's complicated, but mostly good. The real reason we do it is for them. OK, and for us. I admit there are many things about my life that are easier than they would otherwise be. But it's for them, really. And for us. Win-win.
We have a fabulous didi who cooks and cleans. She has spent her entire life washing dishes by hand, so she doesn't miss having a dishwasher. She cleans all seven of my bathrooms. She mops, dusts, and vaccuums. She finds, buys, carries home, washes, bleaches, and uses our produce. We are her 11th American family she's cared for in 20 years. She irons our clothes and folds my laundry. We swap recipe ideas. As an interesting aside, I have more desire to cook and bake, since it's not out of necessity. And I really like not having the mess afterwards.

     

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Her husband and son are our guards and gardners. They answer the constant influx of people at the door: the water truck, the generator fuel, various deliveries and servicemen. They open the gate for us, carry in my groceries, run errands. The other day they sharpened a boatload of pencils I needed for Primary. But the best part is that they play with my children. I mean PLAY with them. They kick around balls, play hide and seek, jump rope, pull weeds, plant flowers, twirl around. I can send the kids out and they drop everything to come play.
I still play with my children, too. That's just it. It takes a village. And around this village of mine, I'm happy to have others love my children too. And I love that I have more quality time with my children. I love that on the first day of school, she cleaned out their backpacks and repacked their lunches while I sat on the couch with my children and listened intently to reports of their day. I get to to play games with the kids while she makes us dinner. Then I get to sit down with them, have a nice conversation, and let her do the dishes. Our helpers are also my constant source of information for all things Nepali. They provide my children with an inside connection they would not have otherwise.

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Yes, we give up our privacy. My kitchen is not my own, my yard is not my own, my car is not my own. We are always listened to and watched. Constant people in and out, all around. It took some getting used to but I barely notice the shared space any more. Instead, I know that they all have a clean, safe, happy place to work all day. They have clean water to drink and shelter from the rain and cold. Their son is attending college.
Do they talk about us behind our backs like in the book? Do they laugh at how much stuff we have, how much we take for granted? Probably. But I trust them, and I know they respect us in return. It's the kind of relationship that is hard to put into words, to explain. I would not understand if I were not living it.
Like I say, it's complicated, but in the end it's a real blessing.

Bodhnath Stupa

Yet another stupa but amazing. Close to home + iconic + photo opps = a great outing. We went with one of the humanitarian service couples here.This site is an important one, and has been sacred to Buddhism since AD 600. Mughal invaders wrecked the first stupa in the 14th century, so the one we saw today is of more recent construction. Still. It is colorful, graceful, and easy to walk around and admire. We entered next to a small shrine dedicated to the goddess of smallpox. Bless her. We took a lot of photos of the entirebecause, well, how could we not?

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The gompas surrounding the stupa have been constructed by Tibetan refugees, who are plentiful. The place supposedly goes into 'spiritual overdrive' during the Tibetan New Year in February or March, but I thought it was pretty alive today.

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My favorite was #5. I ought to print the same at home.

Oh, and the people are beautiful, don't you think?

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