Today I was invited to my neighbor and landlord's son's sixth birthday party. I was really excited because we had only said "Hi" and "Namaste" to each other since I moved in. I found out that my neighbor's in the apartment below me are not Nepali but Indian. The party started at 8pm (in Nepali time, that seems a bit late.) I felt a bit awkward at first because it was a big family gathering and I was noticably on my own. I got many questions on why that was, where was my family, was I lonely in that big apartment all by myself when 6 people lived in theirs. (Grandmother, Grandfather, Mom, Dad, brother and sister.) But soon barriers came down and I had a great time.
The celebration started off with appetizers of Momos (Tibetan dumplings) with a spicy sauces and soda. Then came time to light the candle on the birthday cake and sing "Happy Birthday" in English. There is no Indian or Nepali translation to the song. The son was then blessed by his Grandpa (tikka) and the red smudge was put on his forehead and he was given 1000 rupees (his eyes got big, about $12), his grandma did the same thing (and more money ;-). Then he took a piece of the cake and went around in family ranking order and gave each person a tiny bit of his piece of cake, then he was given a present. He got lots of candy and few little toys, along with more rupees. After that he went around and thanked everyone in a traditional way by touching feet as a show of respect.
Then came the dinner (did not realize how much food was going to be served...) We had a potato curry, dal (lentils), paneer cheese in curry sauce, naan bread and a sweet (this spiral round orange, honey, sticky sweet thing). They kept filling my plate until I pleaded I could eat no more.
After that I had a great talk with the grandfather, sisters of the wife and daughter about books, henna, life in Nepal, what the Lincoln School was like and the prices of petrol and houses around the world. It was a ton of fun and I have been invited back for another traditional home cooked Indian meal soon.
This is the reason I wanted to live overseas again, for these types of cultural experiences, If everyone in the world could experience this on a regular basis then there would be more peace in the world.
The celebration started off with appetizers of Momos (Tibetan dumplings) with a spicy sauces and soda. Then came time to light the candle on the birthday cake and sing "Happy Birthday" in English. There is no Indian or Nepali translation to the song. The son was then blessed by his Grandpa (tikka) and the red smudge was put on his forehead and he was given 1000 rupees (his eyes got big, about $12), his grandma did the same thing (and more money ;-). Then he took a piece of the cake and went around in family ranking order and gave each person a tiny bit of his piece of cake, then he was given a present. He got lots of candy and few little toys, along with more rupees. After that he went around and thanked everyone in a traditional way by touching feet as a show of respect.
Then came the dinner (did not realize how much food was going to be served...) We had a potato curry, dal (lentils), paneer cheese in curry sauce, naan bread and a sweet (this spiral round orange, honey, sticky sweet thing). They kept filling my plate until I pleaded I could eat no more.
After that I had a great talk with the grandfather, sisters of the wife and daughter about books, henna, life in Nepal, what the Lincoln School was like and the prices of petrol and houses around the world. It was a ton of fun and I have been invited back for another traditional home cooked Indian meal soon.
This is the reason I wanted to live overseas again, for these types of cultural experiences, If everyone in the world could experience this on a regular basis then there would be more peace in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment