well where to start. this week has been a busy one. first we had a week of Nepali lessons in the mornings, afternoons were leading a relationship seminar for the local youth group (they are awesome btw), and nights it shuts down completely here. Nobody goes out past 8-9ish except the tourist drunks. Also went to church in Nepali, english and a youth service -- so cool! I loved it.
Met up with some frieds we met at the seminar and then they taught us how to make a traditional Nepali dish - momos :) They are like meat peroggies/ wereneki. The girls we met took us (Becky and I) to the markets at around 12:30 ish, we got onions (the main ingredient), coriander, hot peppers, tomatoes, some spice stuff, and meat....
The meat story - so we went down to the lower markets and got to this "beef market" and entering in I walked over some bones in the mud, entering in saw meat (some as big as me) on hooks, slabs on tables, organs everywhere hanging too, and so we go over to this one shop part and get a slab of beef - they got it for us, chopped it up -- ended up like ground beef, and wrapped it in news paper and gave it to us. well the girls also needed something else... pointed to a hoof/leg with their umbrellas and talked something in nepali and the butcher grabbed the leg on the table *it was from the knee down* and brought it to his block of wood / stump, and started hacking at it - bits of bone and blood flying/spraying... and put all the chunks in news paper and gave it to us... I was kinda grossed out since he took some of the fur and skin off it and the tip of the hoof... sick.
so we get to the apartment - where we are making the momos and start making stuff.
making the dough out of flour, water, baking powder, and salt and water.
the filling we were chopping like 14 onions and adding the coriander, meat, and salt.
they then made a paste and got out this block of rock, and another rock... put the peppers, tomatoes, salt and coriander on it and smushed it up into a paste.
so we then got the dough rolled it out and filled little dough flat things with it and viola! put them in this weird pot over top this other pot.... and cooked...
later on I found this other pot had the foot in it and that is the soup they served us. oi. so I drank stuff that came out of a foot/leg. oi. oh and one of the guys started knawing on a bone later too with soup...
cleaning up I found out that out, also it looked sooo gross! it looked like toes and skin and bones in the pot >_<
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ok well then, that is the momo experience.
I am heading out to the villiages tomorrow and I need to go prep some stuff for that. I will be there for 6 days and it's going to be a lot of trekking up hills and stuff.
Take care guys :)
Aria
Yay for Darjeeling!
Well we are in Darjeeling India now, and will be (and around this neck of the woods) for the next 5ish weeks.
We live at the top of the hill/mountain. That means to get anywhere we walk downhill, to get home it's alllll up hill. This is by no means a small hill. It is big. steep. hard to get up with a massive pack. Harsh would be one word to describe my frist trip up hill -- the one time we carry our entire pack to the palce we are staying. Sick -- the word I would to describe how I was at the time
Tired - another word describing our entire team
Cold - we got from 40 degree heat to 15 degree chills + rain.
so all in all first time up the hill = brutal
ah well it's not so bad now. I quite like it now. Lots of excercise. We go up this hill (like an incline 50-70 degrees at most points) every day twice a day I think.
The locals laugh at the top I think because we are usually huffing and puffing (well 3/4 are) But hey, I am getting more in shape and getting less huffy-puffy each time :)
so it's all good :)
Rain -- it is monsoon season. sick. when it does clear up though it is beautiful. we have a view out our back windows of the 3rd tallest mt. in the world, and if we get up tiger mountain when its clear we will be able to see everest. Wow :D
Squatty - Yep I used a squatty hahaha = hole in the ground with foot holds on either side. haha I think I would rather use a squatty sometimes than a tiolet in some of the places I have seen.
Damp = this word describes all of our belongings. I don't think that they will ever dry completely until we leave. Our bedding is always damp, clothes = damp, towels = damp, shoes, purse/bag, Everything is damp.
I entered our room and was like holy crap! I could barely breathe (I think I am allergic to some mold...) and ya everything is damp so possibly mouldy, and cold!
oh well I am getting used to it now. But still every time I enter our room my nose goes "ooook oh here we go again!" haha
ok well that I think will be all for now because I have to run.
Let me know whats up :)
I now have facebook too!
Mom emailed me and said I have 56 days until I am home. So 56 days guys!
Talk to you later :)
Aria
We live at the top of the hill/mountain. That means to get anywhere we walk downhill, to get home it's alllll up hill. This is by no means a small hill. It is big. steep. hard to get up with a massive pack. Harsh would be one word to describe my frist trip up hill -- the one time we carry our entire pack to the palce we are staying. Sick -- the word I would to describe how I was at the time
Tired - another word describing our entire team
Cold - we got from 40 degree heat to 15 degree chills + rain.
so all in all first time up the hill = brutal
ah well it's not so bad now. I quite like it now. Lots of excercise. We go up this hill (like an incline 50-70 degrees at most points) every day twice a day I think.
The locals laugh at the top I think because we are usually huffing and puffing (well 3/4 are) But hey, I am getting more in shape and getting less huffy-puffy each time :)
so it's all good :)
Rain -- it is monsoon season. sick. when it does clear up though it is beautiful. we have a view out our back windows of the 3rd tallest mt. in the world, and if we get up tiger mountain when its clear we will be able to see everest. Wow :D
Squatty - Yep I used a squatty hahaha = hole in the ground with foot holds on either side. haha I think I would rather use a squatty sometimes than a tiolet in some of the places I have seen.
Damp = this word describes all of our belongings. I don't think that they will ever dry completely until we leave. Our bedding is always damp, clothes = damp, towels = damp, shoes, purse/bag, Everything is damp.
I entered our room and was like holy crap! I could barely breathe (I think I am allergic to some mold...) and ya everything is damp so possibly mouldy, and cold!
oh well I am getting used to it now. But still every time I enter our room my nose goes "ooook oh here we go again!" haha
ok well that I think will be all for now because I have to run.
Let me know whats up :)
I now have facebook too!
Mom emailed me and said I have 56 days until I am home. So 56 days guys!
Talk to you later :)
Aria
India thus far.
The following is from Monday I think, it's a little glimpse of what's happening.
---------------------------
I just finished lunch at a very dodgy place and it was something I didn't know what it was -- spicy rice with a boiled egg on top with some borwinsh yellowish sauce/paste?? sick eh? I couldn't eat the egg, almost made me gag when I put my spoon in it... it kinda oozed even though it was hard boiled. oooo still creeps me out. I also finished getting tickets for the train to Darjeeling next week, and a day at the Daya Dan house --- a house for orphaned children, the one i worked in was for boys (all under 10) and they were all almost all disabled. it is quite sad to see them, but playing with them and helping them get dressed (after a bath) and sitting with them during mass was nice. Mass was weird. they think that mary never died but she went to heaven and is in heaven with her body etc etc. my first mass so it was weird.
Today we got lost on the way to the mother teresa house. We took a bus (thought it would go to the Daya Dan house) but it didn't. we got off at this place that was pretty dodgy and walked for a bit trying to find a place we knew (we were with some others from the mother teresa house too so it wasnt that scary) but still, scary place in calcutta, ah well it was all good, we got there an hour late I think. Walking in 35+ heat, my last bit of water, pants and a tee, oh my gosh it was sick. and passing the dodgy places smelled nasty too. We ended up finding the place where our bus would have dropped us off. So we took a motor rick shaw and went down a street, more like an alley, to daya den (the name of the specific house we went to). Oh rick shaw rides are fun! we hit the motor cycle in front of us yesterday, almost got squished between a bus and a car (rick shaw is like 1/4 of a car). That was one trip (my first trip), another was a little better, less scary which was good haha.
So far I have taken the subway (and got on in a guys car (they have guys and girls cars! weird eh?) well no worries it was all good though squished (more squished than the one in singapore), we took cabs (those are great, almost hitting people. people dodging out of the way, almost hitting cars and busses and motorcycles, rick shaws etc. they go really fast and even we took one today and zoomed between two busses. So yep, pray for safety on the roads etc.
I went shopping yesterday and bartered! I bought a skirt and a bag for 300 R. Like 10 aud. They wanted 650 I think (different deals though) and it was kinda fun.
oh wow I have been trying to journal so much but there isn't enough time to write down everything. I haven't taken many pictures at all because I am worried I will be swarmed with beggars asking for $$.
I am being a vegetarian while I am here.
Chicken = sketch b/c 1. climate. 2. whats food safe?? 3. I see chickens all on the street (in basket like pens), on bicycles (about 80 perhaps clucking away upside down), below rick shaws (non-motorized ones), raw in the shops... w/ this heat? sick! and it doesnt taste very good and it just looks gross when cooked. Oh and that egg grossed me out completely.
pork = 1. looks gross. 2. it seems like mystery meat. 3. don't see pigs around at all... makes me wonder. and don't see it in the restarunants much either. :P
beef = I am in India need I say more? lol... becky thought it would be sick if mad cow was out here..... lol
fish = seeing them be gutted right in front of you on street corners is pretty dodgy to me... especially since they pee and poo on the same streets.
so veggies is where its at.
Ok well there is a tad of an update on what I am doing...
heres random points
- water here is merky green ish
- we have a toilet in our room!!! no squattie!
- I have met a bunch of backpackers and they are nice to talk to
- men 'hork' and spit every minute down the road... you would be sick
- they pee everywhere
- they are very dirty here. even wearing pants and shoes my legs get dark from dirt.
- there are bars on all our windows
- we have a tv in our room and I watched Heroes, frasier, and i want to see Indian Idol tomorrow night!
- there are bed bugs and I have been bitten a bunch... so annoying.
- 3/4 people in our team are sick... myself included. and the healthy one is getting sick. Pray for health ?
- I got pants that I could fit two of me in and they are the best ever... and ya they are meant to be that big.
-------------------------------------------------
From today!
ok. Last night we went to Pirates of the Caribbean 3. I loved it. The atmosphere of the theater was cool too! People all cheering and clapping at heroic parts, laughing at (random to me) points.
They had an intermission right in the middle of a action part and it was wonky, but fun. Britney Spears and Micheal Jackson tunes played... Kara, Becky, and myself knew the words and lip synked and wow it was fun. The lady behind us then asked where we were from and stuff and she was soo nice. At the end of the movie she even gave us buisness card from her brother in law's hotel in Darjeeling. For a place to stay, even gave us her number on the back. So kind.
Aw I love the people (for the most part)! Even some of the peddlers are halarious and fun to talk to.
Ok so I am going to go now.
Next post is from Darjeeling.
Oh and I am heading there tonight and arriving 6am ish. The night train.... in India. I have heard it's an experience and a half haha. Ah well hope it all goes well.
---------------------------
I just finished lunch at a very dodgy place and it was something I didn't know what it was -- spicy rice
Today we got lost on the way to the mother teresa house. We took a bus (thought it would go to the Daya Dan house) but it didn't. we got off at this place that was pretty dodgy and walked for a bit trying to find a place we knew (we were with some others from the mother teresa house too so it wasnt that scary) but still, scary place in calcutta, ah well it was all good, we got there an hour late I think. Walking in 35+ heat, my last bit of water, pants and a tee, oh my gosh it was sick. and passing the dodgy places smelled nasty too. We ended up finding the place where our bus would have dropped us off. So we took a motor rick shaw and went down a street, more like an alley, to daya den (the name of the specific house we went to). Oh rick shaw rides are fun! we hit the motor cycle in front of us yesterday, almost got squished between a bus and a car (rick shaw is like 1/4 of a car). That was one trip (my first trip), another was a little better, less scary which was good haha.
So far I have taken the subway (and got on in a guys car (they have guys and girls cars! weird eh?) well no worries it was all good though squished (more squished than the one in singapore), we took cabs (those are great, almost hitting people. people dodging out of the way, almost hitting cars and busses and motorcycles, rick shaws etc. they go really fast and even we took one today and zoomed between two busses. So yep, pray for safety on the roads etc.
I went shopping yesterday and bartered! I bought a skirt and a bag for 300 R. Like 10 aud. They wanted 650 I think (different deals though) and it was kinda fun.
oh wow I have been trying to journal so much but there isn't enough time to write down everything. I haven't taken many pictures at all because I am worried I will be swarmed with beggars asking for $$.
I am being a vegetarian while I am here.
Chicken = sketch b/c 1. climate. 2. whats food safe?? 3. I see chickens all on the street (in basket like pens), on bicycles (about 80 perhaps clucking away upside down), below rick shaws (non-motorized ones), raw in the shops... w/ this heat? sick! and it doesnt taste very good and it just looks gross when cooked. Oh and that egg grossed me out completely.
pork = 1. looks gross. 2. it seems like mystery meat. 3. don't see pigs around at all... makes me wonder. and don't see it in the restarunants much either. :P
beef = I am in India need I say more? lol... becky thought it would be sick if mad cow was out here..... lol
fish = seeing them be gutted right in front of you on street corners is pretty dodgy to me... especially since they pee and poo on the same streets.
so veggies is where its at.
Ok well there is a tad of an update on what I am doing...
heres random points
- water here is merky green ish
- we have a toilet in our room!!! no squattie!
- I have met a bunch of backpackers and they are nice to talk to
- men 'hork' and spit every minute down the road... you would be sick
- they pee everywhere
- they are very dirty here. even wearing pants and shoes my legs get dark from dirt.
- there are bars on all our windows
- we have a tv in our room and I watched Heroes, frasier, and i want to see Indian Idol tomorrow night!
- there are bed bugs and I have been bitten a bunch... so annoying.
- 3/4 people in our team are sick... myself included. and the healthy one is getting sick. Pray for health ?
- I got pants that I could fit two of me in and they are the best ever... and ya they are meant to be that big.
-------------------------------------------------
From today!
ok. Last night we went to Pirates of the Caribbean 3. I loved it. The atmosphere of the theater was cool too! People all cheering and clapping at heroic parts, laughing at (random to me) points.
They had an intermission right in the middle of a action part and it was wonky, but fun. Britney Spears and Micheal Jackson tunes played... Kara, Becky, and myself knew the words and lip synked and wow it was fun. The lady behind us then asked where we were from and stuff and she was soo nice. At the end of the movie she even gave us buisness card from her brother in law's hotel in Darjeeling. For a place to stay, even gave us her number on the back. So kind.
Aw I love the people (for the most part)! Even some of the peddlers are halarious and fun to talk to.
Ok so I am going to go now.
Next post is from Darjeeling.
Oh and I am heading there tonight and arriving 6am ish. The night train.... in India. I have heard it's an experience and a half haha. Ah well hope it all goes well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)