First Meal

 I celebrated my first month here in Nepal  having a meal at the home of our didi.  It was her birthday and she invited us over to her home for traditional Nepali food.  First we got all dressed up properly.






Then we went shopping for a birthday present. We went through a lot of material looking for just the right color, but when the salesgirl pulled it off the shelf, all three of us went, " That's it!"

We then headed off to Kamala's house. Well I am not sure it would be called a house, but it was her home. It was a 12 by 12 room in a four story apartment building.  She and her husband live on the ground floor. There is a shrine, that worshipers are at all the time, right outside her windows.  The bathroom is a communal one, out the door and around the corner. To cook, she needed to have a stool to stand on, because her stove is on a high cabinet.  I sat on the bed before the meal, but then we all moved to the floor to eat. The food was miTHo! (delicious).

 In Nepali culture the guests eat first. So the four guests were served the traditional dahlbhat (rice with lentil soup), pickle jam, a spicy chicken stew and a mutton stew. (I think that is what it was. The electricity was out, so we were eating by candle light. I was not sure what I was eating and  I did not ask). We finished up the meal with a cup of yogurt (which helped cool the spicy rumblings in my stomach).

Getting ready to eat!

Jamna dinko subha kamana, Didi!

Birthday Party group!

After the meal, we talked a bit more, I took some photos, and then we said our goodbyes and happy birthdays again! It was a very pleasant evening and I think I am still on speaking terms with everyone!