The first CD I ever purchased was *NSYNC’s “No Strings Attached.” I loved that thing. It ain’t no lie, I could listen to “Bye Bye Bye” over and over again. I was so obsessed with this CD that I wouldn’t even let my younger sister touch it. What if she scratched it? What if she got her fingerprints all over the glossy CD cover? My life would surely be over. (The semi-almost-normal human being standing before you today did not always exist. Middle school was a rough time. Don’t judge too harshly).
My sister Katie had to buy her own copy of this album. That’s how much I didn’t let her listen to mine. One house, two too many “No Strings Attached” CDs.
The kids at Asha Nepal are nothing like me.
Today we took two of the youngest girls, Dina and Namu, to get Momos at a restaurant. They’re kind of like Chinese pot stickers. The girls each got a plate of friend buffalo momos. Dina had already chugged her Fanta. She handed Ally, Cassie, and I each one of her momos. Then when she and Namu were finished they took the rest and stuck them in their pockets. Think Napoleon Dynamite and tater tots.
After eating we went to the tea shop. The pockets on Dina’s purple jeans were bulging with momos. It seemed as though the side pockets on Namu’s purple polka-dot shorts were created for just such an occasion.
At some point while at the tea shop Dina blurted out, “My pocket is momos!” And Dina exclaimed, “My also pocket is momos!”
Maybe you had to be there. Maybe you had to hear them say this in their cute little voices with their cute little accents. But I can assure you, it was pretty hilarious.
We also bought them a treat at the tea shop. A package of ramen noodles for each of them! They love to eat it raw, especially the seasoning. Once they realized they would have something to take back and share, they decided to eat more of their pocket momos. I believe they had saved a few chips in their as well.
Dina and Namu are seven years old. And on their special time out they thought enough of their brothers and sisters back at Asha Nepal to pocket a few momos for them. I don’t even do that as an adult. The motto here is “sharing is caring” and they aren’t kidding. Yesterday we took another one of the girls on an outing and she saved some of her Fanta so the other kids could have a sip. Any time anyone is eating anything they always offer it to everyone around them. I’m definitely seeing areas in my life that could use a little more sharing with others.
I love the spirit of sharing here, and I love what I am learning from these kids.
(photo thanks to Ally Blackwell)
