– You get excited when you see a white person because they literally did not exist in India, but sadly, they are not as excited to see you
– You use a microbus to travel everywhere and you are absolutely amazed at the amount of people that are crammed into each one. There is always a complete stranger squeezed next to you, a stranger’s legs in between your legs, and sometimes so many people that the door is left open and people hold on to the railing and hang out of the micro.
– You wake up every morning absolutely stunned by the beauty of God’s creation in Nepal. And when it’s not too cloudy, you can see the snow capped mountains above the skyline. They are absolutely majestic.
– Every other day is a holiday for the schools. This is a slight exaggeration, but just slight. The kids never know if they have to go to school or if it starts at a different time because of a transportation strike.
– On your free day you walk 6 miles to get back home because it was a transportation strike and no micros or taxis are working in your town
– Your team excitedly hops in a car of a complete stranger because she is white and motioned asking if we need a ride.
– You can buy North Face shirts in the city for the equivalent of $10. Who cares that the North Face logo is crooked and the R is bigger than the other letters. It’s definitely not a fake. Nope.
– You see all different types of dress everywhere you are. Some women are in saris, some are in shorts, some are tank tops, but no two women are dressed alike.
– Your microbus is stopped in the middle of the road for 30 minutes because of a Hindu festival taking up the entire road. This festival includes music, dancing, and people in masks taking over the road.
– You get to go to an international church and the service is in English and is full of missionaries from the US, Europe, and other parts of Asia. You love worshipping with these people and are in awe of what a mighty work God is doing in Nepal.
– You see people bathing and washing clothes in the street at the local water pump because it is their only source of water
– A Nepali movie is being filmed right down the road and you walk over to the set to try to see if you can be in it. Every movie needs that token American girl, right?
– Anytime you go to a restaurant and someone uses the restroom, when they get back, you ask if it’s a western toilet and if it is, you go use it even if you don’t really have to go to the bathroom. If they have toilet paper too, you think you just stepped into heaven
– You can buy 2 just released movies for 100 rupees (about $1.25).
– You have a dance party in the middle of the road, at night, and surround all the motorcycles that come through as you’re dancing and no one is mad about it. You even have a strange man come and join in the party. Then you skip away.
– Every Nepali’s favorite food is MoMos and they are delicious!
– You are called “sister” by everyone you live with, and you absolutely love it.
– It is considered rude to not share food with the people around you, and it is so ingrained in this culture. Even a 2 and a half year old wants to share her candy with you
– Your legs fall asleep while you are using the squatty potty
– You have lentils and vegetables with every meal. Yes, even breakfast.
– You have tea at some point during the day.
– You carry your headlamp with you at night because you never know when the power is going to go out
– You have to hop the fence if you get back to Asha Nepal after 8 because that’s when they lock the door and everyone goes to sleep
– You do dance parties after dinner for an entire week. You teach the kids the Cupid Shuffle, Cha Cha Slide, and Stanky Leg.
– You take your dirty laundry outside to start cleaning it and someone always ends up doing it for you. And in about a quarter of the time you would do it. So then you start doing your laundry in the bathroom so no one knows you’re doing it
– Your view from your bathroom is more beautiful than any view you’ve seen in America
– You have seen the biggest bugs you’ve ever seen, and you are much more freaked out by them then the children are
– The people that work at the local grocery store love your team because you go by every day for some sort of snack, drink, candy bar, or toilet paper.
