Living in a foreign country makes me feel like a clueless child at times. From the native perspective, until recently, I've lacked many basic life skills like knowing how to wash my clothes by hand, how to fold my blanket correctly, how to cook tea Nepali style, and how to pronounce basic Nepali words...etc. Instead of feeling frustrated with my apparent "challenges," I think it is important to laugh at them lightheartedly.
5. Winning the "Best Dancer Prize" at Teej
Never in a million years did I think I would end up dancing on stage in front of a crowd of over 500 people in Nepal; but, that's what happened to me during Teej, a big festival that celebrates women every September. My ten minutes of fame brought my face to local newspapers and TV programs across Gorkha. I have no idea how to dance Nepali style. I'm pretty sure people across the country were laughing at my moves.
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| Dancing with students at our school Teej program |
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| My English Co-Teacher Miss Sabitra |
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| The Nepali dance group that adopted me and forced me to dance on stage My Nepali Aamaa is standing on my left above the girl in the purple dress |
4. The Exploding White-Board Marker
One day, my school had a holiday, so my host father invited me to visit his school and teach 10th grade English. Everything was going well until my white-board marker died. When I tried to refill it with ink, of course I did not do it correctly. The entire bottle of refill ink slipped through my hands and spilled on the floor. The students laughed hysterically. But, at least they probably won't forget me anytime soon. All they'll need to do is look at the gaping black ink stain that will forever remain on their classroom floor.
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| The marker that I am holding in this picture was the one that exploded |
3. "Do you like Roxy?"
The day before my horrible language flub, my host family and I ate a delicious fruit called boxi. It is a fruit in the citrus family, similar to a grapefruit. I was talking with my Nepali Fulbright focal person, and some of my student's parents when they asked me "do you like roxy? (in Nepali of course). Thinking that they were talking about the delicious citrus fruit, I went on and on about how much I loved roxy, how I had it the day before, and how I wished I could have it everyday. Everyone started laughing and I did not understand why. Then the Nepali focal person said in English, "I guess it is true about American girls liking lots of alcohol. I then had to explain to everyone that I in fact, did not love roxy nor did I wish that I could drink it every day. I thought they were talking about the citrus fruit boxi not roxy, which is the Nepali word for alcohol. It is now a running joke in my village, and when I walk to school many of the people I pass ask me "roxy kane?" (do you want to drink alcohol?). I can't help but laugh when I forcefully reply "HOINA!" which means "no." #languagelearningproblems
2. Wearing my Kurta Backwards on my First Day of School
In Nepal, women wear a type of clothing called kurta surwal. A kurta is like a frock, and surwal are loose fitting pants, On my first day of school, I was so excited, that I put my kurta on backwards and did not notice it. I was surprised no one in my family did either. In my defense the back and the front of that specific kurta look very similar. After meeting my co-teacher she politely said, "Emily miss, I think your kurta is on backwards." Yes, it was. I had to go into a dark shed to turn it around. Not my idea of a good first impression.
On my second day of school, I was so determined to get the kurta right, that I accidentally put on my surwal backwards. Shortly after arriving at school my co-teacher politely said, "Emily miss, I think your surwal are backwards." Yes, they were. Let's just say during my first few days of school I spent a lot of time turning my clothes around in the shed.
1. Knocking Over a Motorcycle in Broad Daylight
My Nepali host father has many friends in the community. One day I was walking to school, and one of his friends offered me a ride on his motorcycle. It was a very hot day, so I was grateful to receive the offer. My father's friend told me to please get on the motorcycle and that he would be back in one minute. He was buying himself a bottle of water. The motorcycle was parked next to a bus stop where about ten people were sitting. I tried getting on the motorcycle, and it felt a bit wobbly. "I should wait," I thought. Of course I didn't wait though. Ambitiously, I mounted the motorcycle only to fall down one second later. The entire motorcycle fell on it's side, crushing my book bag of school materials. "Oops" I said. Suddenly, people started running to see what had made such a loud noise. A circle of Nepali people soon surrounded me. Some were laughing, some were concerned. My father's friend ran over to see what had happened. He picked his motorcycle up, dusted off the dirt, turned to me and said "it's okay, you can walk to school today. You better go now, you don't want to be late."
Note: There is a high probability that this post will be revised with additional unbelievable and embarrassing moments.
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