A week with a Nepali family

After 8 weeks of learning Nepali, I thought it was time to put my language skills to the test and so, I spent a week living with a Nepali family.

I arrived after my language class on Monday evening and after some introductions by my language teacher, I was left to fend for myself. I sat with the mum (Manju) as she made Dahl Baht for dinner and asked her about her family and the food she was making. After dinner, we sat around in the living room and talked a bit, getting to know each other.

The family of 4 was made up of Manju, her husband Mahendra and her 2 sons - 1 son was studying in the States, and 1 son was living at home. I sure was glad to have Sanjil (the younger, 17 year old son) around because he could speak some English which was very helpful with translation, as well as some English conversation when Nepali got a bit much.

I remember waking up on the Tuesday morning. I grabbed my towel and headed for the bathroom, only to be met by Manju who started asking me some questions. Having to think in Nepali straight after waking up was a bit hard going but as the week went on, I got more used to it.

I headed to the bathroom and got ready for a shower, only to find that they didn't have any hot water (oh...AND they had a squat toilet...boo). From then on, each morning, Manju would boil a bucket of hot water for me to bathe with (washing my hair with a bucket of water was not an easy task!).

I headed to school for my language class around 10am each day and would return around 5:30pm in the evening. Waiting for me when I got home was a cup of chiya and some biscuits. We would then eat dinner around 8pm at night, sit around and chat after dinner (or watch TV), and then go to bed around 10ish (they kindly put down a mattress in their toasty warm living room for me to sleep on).

On Friday, Manju took me to Pashpati - a cremation site along a river. It was quite interesting watching people being brought in and the different rituals they performed to get them ready to be cremated. After washing their feet and putting water in the mouths, the dead person would be covered with the correct coloured cloth, then brought to the woodpile to be cremated.

When the dead person arrived at Pashpati, they were covered with a blanket. The thing that surprised me the most was that a bunch of homeless kids would hang around, and after the blankets were taken off the person, the kids would run off with them, happy to have something to keep them warm at night (the idea of using a dead person's blanket kinda freaks me out but I guess you use what you can get).

It was an interesting experience and gave me some new insights into Hindu beliefs and the rituals they perform so that their loved ones will be reincarnated as something better.

It was also a good reminder that I don't need to fear death, and that I have assurance that when I die, I will go to be with my awesome God in heaven, not because of anything I've done to deserve it, but all because of God's grace in sending Jesus to die and rise again.

When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. Because of his grace, he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. - Titus 3:4 & 7

Looking forward to more adventures ahead!

Read more »