March 8, 2010

Okay Mom and Auntie Les, you win. Here's a full description of my house and neighborhood.

The Name of my neighborhood is called Jayabageshwori. It's a fairly long street studded with shops, fruit and vegetable vendors, tiny restaurants, and temples. Most houses are either above the shops and restaurants, or on side roads (like mine). The main street is always bustling with taxis, motorbikes, bicycles, people, cows, goats, etc. The entire neighborhood is very friendly. I am getting to know some of the shopkeepers and their children quite well. And upon walking home from the orphanage in the afternoon, I am always greeted warmly by everyone I see (especially the children, who love screaming "Hello! Hi! How are you?" every chance they get).

As families live close together, usually groups of houses will belong to one clan. My family lives in a four story home. The first floor is inhabited by relatives of the family. On the second floor, my host brother, his wife, and baby girl Alya have a bedroom, a living room, and a bathroom. There is also another bedroom on that floor, where Kumar, the family's helper stays. The third floor includes my bedroom, my host parents bedroom, a guest bedroom, a bathroom, and a television room. My room is very quaint. I love it. It has a window overlooking one of the temples. Monkeys often come to visit me on the ledge that runs along the outside of the second story. Also, I must have over 1,000 books in my room. It's amazing. The television room has one chair, and then pillows on the floor for sitting. There is very little furniture in the house.

The fourth floor of the house is actually the roof. It is the place where we spend most of our time. It is like a common room, with a couch and outdoor chairs. It also has a manual washing machine and an outdoor sink. This level is partially covered by a sort of awning. I love coming up here to read in the sun. Off to the side of this room there is a spiral staircase, which takes you to the very top of the house. Here is where clothes are dried, along with different fruits and vegetables (homemade raisins!). On the fourth level of the house there is also a bedroom off to the side, belonging to my other host brother, and then another room, the kitchen. The kitchen is very modest. And the food that comes out of it is amazing. It has a fridge, a little bit of counter space, some cabinets, and a sink. On the counter is a portable gas stove-top. My favorite part of the house is this little nook that is sort of carved into one of the walls of the kitchen. It is almost a secret room... one in which I'm not even sure I could fit. You have to climb three stairs to get inside it. It's where my host mother prays everyday.

I'm sure this description is quite confusing, although it makes perfect sense to me. I will post some pictures soon, to give everyone a better understanding.

Next door lives my host father's brother and his family. This is where I do yoga in the morning. It is literally a 3 second walk (which is lovely, considering class is at 6am). Two doors down from my house is a little butcher shop. Usually I am sitting on the steps outside, talking on the telephone when a goat is struggling to free itself, screaming this terrible scream and then quickly being silenced. Suffice it to say that I am now back to being a vegetarian.

I love Jayabageshwori, and what's funny is that I so clearly remember a time when this place was so foreign to me. I would walk by the front gate of my house five or six times before realizing where I was. And now, when I reach the opening of the street at the top of the hill, I feel so happy to be home.