Recap of Experiences in Nepal and India

By Jakin

After coming to Nepal, I found that there are some different sounds that you hear. In Kathmandu, as well as other cities in Nepal and India, there is garbage pickup, but there is not a set day for the pickup. Instead, a person walks around the city blowing a shrill whistle. This whistle indicates that a garbage truck is going to be passing by soon. People will also walk around making some interesting noises as a way of getting people’s attention. One of the noises is a twanging sound that comes from a string wrapped taught around a wooden instrument. The people who make this noise are trying to advertise for mattresses. Another of the noises is a clanging sound which comes from a person shaking a string with metal pots and other metal items on it. These people are people who fix gas stoves. Doorbells are also very different in Nepal. After we arrived at the team house, we kept on hearing what most of us thought was an exotic bird. Finally, we figured out that the sound was actually the doorbell for the team house. There are no American sounding doorbells that I have heard. Lastly, there are many stray dogs in Nepal in India. These dogs will sleep most of the day and will be up most of the night barking. Of all these sounds, I was most surprised to hear the whistle for garbage pickup because when you don’t know what it is, it can easily be mistaken for somebody screaming.

By Grace

From my experience birthdays in Nepal are quite different than in America. For example, on my birthday I suddenly got woken up at 12:00 in the middle of the night as my blankets were yanked off me, the lights turned on and there was a shout of HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACE!  Jakin, Jude Bekah and Ashish woke me up that night.  Ashish told a story and then turned off the lights, but I didn’t sleep well after that. After dinner that day I walked into a meeting room where there was a cake with two big sparklers on it. The members of the team and my family sang Happy Birthday. Spraying soap everywhere one of the team members sprayed soap confetti on everyone.  Since it was soap, it disappeared quickly. I had to feed everyone a piece of cake with my hands into their mouths, and everyone had to do that back to me. When you ate the cake there were no plates or forks.  I got more cake than everyone else that way!  The people of Nepal have fun traditions.

By Bekah

The Dogs of Kathmandu
In Kathmandu there are a lot of dogs.  Some are black, brown, white adn other colors.  Grace and I named the dogs.  I named one Wilbur and Grace named one Curly and Waffle.  Sometimes we call them and they look up at us on the balcony.  Mom says she hears the dogs howl all night long, but I only see them sleeping during the day.

In Nepal there are fuzzy pants all over.  Girls wear them all the time.  Sleepily people stand around wearing their fuzzy pants.  Cuddling in a blanket, people have more fun with fuzzy pants.  Because fuzzy pants are so soft, you can fall asleep.

In Nepal there are a lot of salt and oil.  The Nepalis have it all the time.  They use it for everything.  Tasting salt in your mouth, people can cringe.  Eagerly people use salt and oil to cook their food.  While people dump salt and oil in their food, it gets quite messy.

In Nepal there is cement walls.  The cement walls are very hard.  There are also cement floors.  By the stairs and on the stairs, there is tile.  Easily, tile floor is cleaned of its messes.  Pouring water on the bathroom people don’t ruin it.  While singing in the hallway the sounds echo through the house.

In Nepal clotheslines are very big.  The clothes blow in the wind.  Being blown by the wind on the roof, the clothes show all of their beautiful colors.  As the wind blows sometimes the clothes fall off the lines.  Quickly the wind and the sun make the clothes dry. 

By Josh

Well, one day Dad and I decided to go find a second pair of jeans, as my other pair fell apart. We found a shop in town and quickly found a pair of jeans with the help of Rajat, a salesman. As we were going to pay for the jeans, Rajat quickly pulled Dad aside to ask him a question. Next thing I knew, I was being pulled to the rear of the store and was asked to put on a shirt and jacket. Long story short, they wanted to take photos of me as a model for their facebook page. I have never had quite an experience like that nor would have I in the US. 

By Jude

 There are many differences with stores in Nepal versus in the U.S. First, stores are small, family owned shops, with dirt or concrete floors. Since there are no addresses on buildings, deliveries are almost impossible. Getting them delivered, most stores must get their produce shipped by motorcycle. Also, nobody can get mail in Nepal because of the lack of addresses. Fortunately, the way people can get deliveries is by telling about a nearby popular place. Stores do get what they need though, so their system works for them.
          Having mostly small stores, there are not a lot of large stores in Kathmandu. Most stores are within walking distance of each other. Deliveries are getting better by the months. Being either an actual store building or just a street side vendor, most stores have a small selection of specific wares. In Kathmandu, there are separate milk stores electronic stores, and food stores. There are no prices on the wares, so people just ask the prices. This system saves time and money allowing these small stores to make money.
          Each small store sells specific items. For example, one store will sell just meat and fish.  Fish stores have a large tank they put live fish in. They have a couple varieties between fish. When you pick out your fish, they whack them on the head to kill them, then they cut up the fish in pieces including the bones. They cut up any animal the same way. Then they cut the fish head in half and put them in blue bags. Most shops use the same blue bags. Often you can buy all types of meat at the fish shops.  These are some differences with stores in Nepal.