11/23/13 saneebaar

I speak Nepali. 

Holy balls I speak Nepali!!

Language proficiency interview is over. Everyone passed. PST is over. Language classes are over. Leaving for our resort for swearing in tomorrow morning. Gotta find cute shoes to wear. Gotta build an improved cook stove today in one of our friend's houses.

FREEDOM!!!!!!!!  Kavre Jilla here we come, and we are ready... For FREEDOM! At least a little taste of it. Please.

Additionally, just had a flash back to The Oasis. I'm pretty sure no one who took part of the Oasis will read this, except for maybe Jody haha, but those were awesome times. So, here's a shout out to those chill, high school nights and my boys I'm reminded of: Jason P, Brian N, and Bob S!

On a more dica laageko note,

The world would be a better place if women were thought of as capable right off the bat rather than having to continuously be proving their self capacity. And truly, the perpetrators are not singular people, but a looming, abstract, and undefined ideal that cages the ability for people to think with actual open minds. 

Pour one shot out for the light overlooked.

Love,

Bora

PS- Miss you and Thank you omma. Got your package yesterday.

11/22/13 Friday Friday gotta get down on Friday

Time continues to trudge along but fly by at the same time. How?

The other night while I sat down to eat dinner with my family, across from me was my sister's plate. We both watched a worm/centipede type bug crawl out of her saag (spinach like stuff) across her plate. She picks it off and continues eating. Then I keep eating my saag too. Hoping for the best! 

Yesterday I sat down at a pasal where the girls working there feed me a junaar (basically an orange). After she cut it up, I ate a few pieces then noticed a similar worm/centipede thing crawling out of one of the pieces. I put that piece off to the side, but I think I forgot and ate it later. Again... Hoping for the best!

Today is my Language Proficiency Interview. Lets get this baby over with. I'm tired of talking about my pariwaar and my mukya.. something something I already forget fml. Haami garna sakchha holaa! 

Additionally, Best wishes for their speedy recovery and sending my condolences to the Philippines, my pseudo motherland. 

Happy 26th birthday Jewels! You don't have Internet so you won't see this but hopefully we can celebrate somehow even though we're probably not allowed in Chautara still. 

-da sack

11/20/13 budha frickin baar mang

Gettin' in the way of what I'm feeling

So I've thought of this funny story I'd like to share.

Imagine, your at home having dinner with your family, lets say you have about 5-6 people altogether. Everyone's sat down and eating and talking. You're all talking about what you did that day, the latest happenings in the news, sports, politics, what you had for lunch, etc etc. Conversation is flowing, there's laughter here and there, but in the middle of the conversation some dodo at the table interrupts and says, "Food is tasty!". 

Well I'm that dodo. My new life...

The other day I was sitting in front of a pasal (shop) with two Nepali boys that I like. The younger one kept asking me to sing an American song for him. I told him to sing, which he did, so then I felt obligated to fulfill his prior request. I sang, "Quickie" by Miguel. 

;)

He thoroughly enjoyed it. So I sang it again, then one more time.

Bear, this next shout out is for you.

I don't know what it is out here that reminds me of Corebio, but I'm constantly reminded of our times driving around listening to Ke$ha, Katy Perry, and Rihanna on repeat on the radio, the 3:00pm traffic jam mix on 90.3/93.3 (I don't remember which one), being fatasses and eating all the free food we could get from vendors, then feeling bad about ourselves and switching to trader joes salads (and free samples). That job was the best and I miss it. I miss rich scientists, PIs, and researchers! And going to the beach after tag teaming a delivery, that was our life. Oh the good, comfortable life.

Someone tell Bear to read that cuz I feel he won't go out of his way to read my blog. Ha.

 

teehee,

Bora

11/19/13 mangalbaar

I will find my way; I can go the distance!

Said Hercules.

On the daily I complain about this prego dog, Popi, that I live with. But wastabma (actually), I like Popi. Popi doesn't like a lot of people, for some reason especially dudes, but Popi likes me. Today I was walking on the baato (road) and Popi was outside and followed me around. I walked down to the cheeya pasal (tea shop) down the road from my house and Popi followed. In front of the biscoot shop Popi got into a little brawl with a black street dog. Keep in mind Popi is much smaller than these street dogs and is currently carrying around 3-4 pups in her belly. She starts shrieking and the locals break up the fight. Popi comes to me where I'm sitting and dips her head under my legs. It was pretty adorable. I'm glad Popi doesn't act bipolar around me when I pet her. In reality, she probably likes me because I give her food every night since I never finish my mound of rice for dinner, but still, that loyalty and fondness feels nice.

Enough about stupid Popi...

If you asked me how I felt about the Nepalis in my current village, I would've given a very different answer than today. The past couple of days I've had to deal with a lot of encounters where I left feeling stupid, misunderstood, angry, or annoyed.  Today, however, I think I've made my first real Nepali friend. Like, for real! Wastabma (keep up homie) I don't know her name but I plan on going back to her house tomorrow to visit again. She's relatively my age, probably a bit younger since she's currently in college studying education (yup, I found all that out speaking Nepali suckaa!), and she's chill as ever. I hung out with her mom and grandma (both who are wild and made me dance with them in their kitchen) and her younger sister, who is also cool but just a little too hyphy and talks a lil too fast for me. But anyways... Yeah girl crush I suppose? Haha na just friendship, genuinely. 

If I find someone like her in my permanent village, I can definitely make it out here.

Lastly, Were down to 24 trainees. 

With love for my home, 

Bora

11/18/13 what day is it?

You gotta read this one.

Chilly season is here. I remember when I was living in San Jose during the winter season and I would never look forward to taking showers because for that split second when the water is turned off and you have to grab your towel, you're freezing cold. Well Bora, who would've known that one day,for two years, you'll be taking showers in the winter with water just as cold as the air outside. Suck on that San Jose!

That last part was inappropriate I apologize.

My amigos went into the bazaar area today and they were asked by a lady where I was (we had met her last week). I thought, "how thoughtful of her". That is until I found out she said something along the lines of, "where's your Chinese friend?".

I'm not Chinese dammit!!

And then... It's always funny that the follow up question after I explain I'm not Chinese is, "do you speak Chinese?"

No I don't speak Chinese... because I'm not Chinese!!!

We are currently in our last week of language class. Woohoo! Our poor LCF (aka teacher) looks exhausted. I think we've pooped her out. Our language interview/exam is this Friday. The next day is our day off and the following day we leave to Kavre District where we'll be swearing in as official Volunteers.

Then we head back to Chautara to do some more training.. oh the irony. Only for a week though, and then we really ship off into isolation.

Why yes I am very nervous.

Nepali elections are tomorrow.

By the time I have Internet again everything I've just written about will probably be over.

And last but not least, Happy birthday Trishy poo :) I love you mama and I hope your janma din was fookin awesome. 

With love and cold wet hair,

Bora <3

The sack.

Ps- I'm currently wearing:

My underarmor leggings: thank you Jonina!

My REI wool socks: thank you Bear and Rjay!

My North Face jacket: thank you Trish!

11/12/13 mangalbaar

Ain't nobody in the world but you and I.

I think I'm finally beginning to understand the meaning of humility.

Remember my dog who got raped by a street dog a couple of weeks ago? Well, she's preggers.

My sanbaa today told me I didn't know Nepali. Quite the discouragement after feeling like I've been slaving away trying to understand their language. 

Nov. 9th 2013

safe and sound

Somewhere between the illuminating stars in the sky and the unflushable poop sitting in the toilet, I exist. 

November 2, 2013

Saturday

I can't believe it's November. 

Yesterday we arrived back to our villages in Sindupalchowk from a 3 night, 4 day trip to the capital city, Kathmandu. There we got to finally see the Peace Corps Headquarters and do some shopping around the city. We ate lots of great food and got to see some of the life in a very different part of the country.  I ate pizza, cake, Mexican food, Nutella, boba, jambalaya, fancy mixed drinks, yeah it was pretty cool. I nearly died when crossing the street and failed to look the other direction. But I didn't die, so all is good. I did brush my arm against a moving motorcycle though. 

Now, back to the village to finish off the rest of Pre-service training. We will hopefully be swearing in as volunteers at the end of this month. Woo!