As I mentioned before, former fellow Birganj-wallah Rob departed Nepal. On his last day in country, he hired an elephant to take him from his hotel to the Peace Corps office to hand-in his final paperwork.
It’s lovely living in a place where the elephant is just as much of a zoo attraction as a mode [...]
Holi came and Holi went. I’ll be honest by saying I have no idea why this festival is celebrated or what greater significance the throwing and smearing of colored tikka powder is.
I don’t even understand why Holi is called Falgun Purnima on my calendar. I can say, though, that it was a lot of fun.
Basically, [...]
I remember how my host family explained Maha Shivaratri to me a year ago when I was living in Gaidankot.
I asked how they would celebrate and they just shook her hand, grimaced, and non-verbally said, We don’t.
It’s a gesture that might mean alcoholic or tipsy in America. Basically, the hand is extended vertically and shaken, [...]
After two weeks in the Kathmandu Valley, I arrived in Birganj on a foggy, damp Thursday morning. I stepped off a bus that I had taken from Hetauda, about an hour and a half north of Birganj and as far as the Peace Corps jeep had taken me the day before.
I had spent the night [...]
We were supposed to have a turkey. By we, I mean everyone congregating in Biratnagar for Thanksgiving. The celebrations had been planned ahead of time and your invitation merely required bringing something Thanksgiving related, where it was food or an accordion-style turkey for décor.
I hadn’t thought of what I was going to bring for Thanksgiving [...]
