hiiiii

So, two days ago my friend and I were walking home from the program house and were hit with count it, four, water balloons. One attack involved an 8 year old-ish boy chasing us down for like five minutes before nailing us in the back with multiple balloons as we tried to flee pathetically. I returned to my house to find both of my brothers toting squirt guns and happily hosing everyone who passed beneath our balcony. This sparked some questions, as you might imagine, and I was informed that this is the beginning of the Color Festival and that for the next two weeks I can expect to be pelted with water balloons on the way to and from school. The actual festival only lasts one or two days, and during that time the water balloons are full of paint, until then kids get really excited and just use water. They lurk on rooftops, in alleys, or in the case of the eight year old they are just persistent. Being white and really tall apparently makes me a perfect target.

In other news, I got hit by a bike for the second time, on my way to school. I have developed a knack for making eye contact with someone on a bike, and walking one way and then the bike swerves the same way, and then I go the other way and the bike swerves that way and hits me. However, as I’ve said before, I still think of all things to get hit by in the street, a bike is probably my top choice.

I have also recently stopped listening to all the warnings about eating street food and have fulfilled my appetite by gorging on delicious samosas. It is so amazing I can no longer resist. I found a nice little place that sells the most amazingly wonderful samosas for 7 rupees. It’s like they are free.

Yesterday we watched Slumdog Millionaire after class. I had seen it before I left but watching it while in Nepal was such a different, and intense experience. Everything in the movie now seems so familiar – the crazy bus and car horns, the language and the garbage, the clogged streets, people’s mannerisms, the street dogs. I felt like I could smell it all.

Last night we went to the ambassador’s house who is actually a very close friend of the Daniels family. I delivered a gift that Roz had sent with me and got to see a beautiful quilt that Roz had made hanging above her piano. Her house is absolutely gorgeous, in a quiet and beautiful area. Being in such a nice house made me miss home, but was also quite overwhelming. We had delicious pizza and brownies and even ice cream, for the first time since being in Nepal!

I have also recently learned that the sentence for hitting a cow with your car is more severe than killing your wife. It’s unclear if this is actually true, but at this point I could believe it. Additionally, there is a law here that says that if you hit someone with a vehicle you have to pay for the person’s medical bills, and thus recently there have been instances where people have been hit and injured and then run over and killed so that the driver wouldn’t have to pay the bills. This has been a recent issue, and it’s shocking to me that the law has not been revised.

This weekend I am going with some friends to Dhulikel, a village about 30km outside the city. It is a traditional Newari village that is supposed to have amazing views of the Himalayas. It will be nice to escape the smog and spend some time hiking and relaxing. There are supposed to be some beautiful Buddhist monasteries around the village and some nice day hikes. When I return my sister is going to teach me how to cook some delicious Nepali food and being a student at a beauty salon, I may even let her cut my hair.