Happy Dashain!

This week was the beginning of a 15 day Hindu holiday called Dashain. We have the week off in the office so we decided to spend the first part of the holiday with our host family. The festivities started on Monday with a fabulous party at the VIN office. During the day we played games and ate food with the kids from the orphanage that VIN sponsors. At night we ate even more and danced to some upbeat Nepali music.


Bhupi and Rosemary pose for a crazy photo!

We were not sure how our family would celebrate so we thought we would stick around for the week to see what would happen. We were told that Today, Friday, was the big day but we weren't sure what the plans would be. Sure enough, Thursday night we retuned from a days worth of walking and sightseeing to find our entire family cooking a giant meal in the kitchen. The main course was cooking in a huge pot in the middle of the kitchen floor...the goat they had slaughtered that day. Our grandmother was sitting on the floor cutting the stomach and intestine into pieces, and dinner for Thursday night was being prepared on the regular kitchen burner (the usual dal bhat- lentil soup with rice- and some veggies seasoned with an amazing mixture of spices). The goat was being prepared for today's feast. Our grandfather is the eldest in the family so family members traveled here today to receive Tika, a Hindu blessing (otherwise known as that red dot on everyone's foreheads) and to share a meal, and maybe play some cards.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, Thursday morning Sirita waltzed into the kitchen during our morning tea proudly carrying a very large rooster, which apparently we will also be eating eventually. Hey, at least we know the meat we are eating is fresh! It took a couple minutes of people taking turns holding until it decided it was done and it pooped all over the floor!



Goat meat. Yumm.


Various parts of a goats stomach and intestine.

This morning the kitchen smelled delicious and we ate a savory meal of goat meat, fat, and intestine. After breakfast we put on our new 'kurtas' (Nepali outfits) and waited for a couple hours to receive Tika. We received a blessing and some money from our grandfather and then we we gave Tika to the little ones. It was supposed to be spiritual but what I appreciated the most about it was that they treated us like a part of the family and we got to be a part of such a special celebration for them. The smell of incense, smiles all around the room, giggles at our silly American mistakes, and an overall sense of cheerfulness was what really made the day special and reminded me of the strength and connectedness of families in Nepal. No matter what occasion, holidays always make me feel at home. Happy Dashain everyone!













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