ive been eating rice now for 8 days. so nice to be simple again. rice for lunch; rice for dinner. no questions asked unless absolutely necessary. for fun i eat snacks and drink homemade whisky with friends and family. difficult things usually involve visas or doctors.
on day one i let the laid back air of nepal wind my sails and watched my american worries blow away. the pace here is slower. not much happens like it's supposed to and questions asked are seldom answered correctly. it's hard to explain but the 'don't worry be happy' lifestyle is a very important lesson in disguise.
kari walked in one morning and told me that the water wasn't working. i shrugged my shoulders because honestly the water only works when it wants to. then she said, "some things work here and somethings dont." it's simple but true. things are just a little faulty here and im thankful to have learned the exact meaning of 'go with the flow.' i just have to be mindful of not adopting the water's philosophy of working when i want.
even though it's thrilling to be challenged to think differently, im trying hard to maintain a balance between two mindsets: american uptightness that causes ulcers and nepali philosophy that generates well, constant and perpetual fun. im a little worried i won't get anything done and of course there's the ever tenacious agitation that i won't succeed. but my mom told me i can do anything if i put my mind to it. amen.
so the first month im here will be spent enduring 3-hour nepali lessons from a tiny 75 year old nepali man with no teeth. and of course i'll need a month of spending time with my family and friends submerging myself in the culture. then, kari and i will be more equipped to conquer the world through photography and multimedia.
i've included a precious picture (see below). it's something i spend most of my time looking at already: the bathroom wall. my good friend kiwako gave me some japanese minerals to take one day after i spent a little too much time looking at the bathroom wall. kiwako's medicine has really cut my bathroom time in half. she's a gem. maybe i should move to japan.
