"Home is where you are"

This week our host family has been preparing for Diwali/ Tihar, the Festival of Lights. According to our host father, Dashain (the last festival we celebrated) is for eating (hence all the goat that took us 2 weeks to finish), and Diwali/Tihar is for dancing. We were slightly relieved when we discovered that we could not eat meat on Thursday because after the last festival we were nervous to be served more goat. Each day of Diwali celebrates a different thing; the crow, the dog (each dog on the streets is adorned with red Tika and a necklace of flowers), the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, the the New Year, and Bhai Tika, when sisters put Tika on their brothers.
Thursday morning we took a trip to a beautiful monastery where our friends Toby and Gillian are teaching English. It took us a while and a lot of backtracking, walking up steep hills, and asking directions from locals who had never heard of this monastery before, but we eventually found our way. It was a beautiful monastery, with sparkling gold coloring on the Gompa, the main building, and an amazing view of the surrounding towns and hills. It was so peaceful and quiet up there, so different from our life in the city, and a great way to start off our holiday. Getting lost adds color to the day and makes the end destination way more satisfying.







We retuned home after a long day of walking and noticed a significant increase in the amount of street vendors and people milling about, buying and selling Tika, strings of marigolds, bundles of sweets and candles. People were in the streets dancing and singing, and the houses were all decorated with lights and candles. Each doorstep welcomed us with a beautiful design made with different colored Tika (called Rangoli) and a trail of candles and footsteps leading inside the house, welcoming the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. We arrived at our house to find it decorated in sparking lights (the word "jilly-milly" in Nepalese means the sparkle/twinkling of lights -so far it's my favorite word that I've learned). Shikha, our oldest host sister made a Rangoli with colorful Tika and flour and then spread cow dung along the floor in a path up the stairs to the main floor of the house. Along the trail of cow dung we made yellow circles and then added little red footprints in each circle. Finally, placed on each footprint was a small candle with marigold petals around it, all to lead Lakshmi into the house. The family spent the night chatting and sharing many laughs. These are the moments I realize why I'm addicted to travel and being part of a home away from home.




Preparing the candles.






Visitors peeking in!



Tika!



Maybe I'm not the best at making footprints...I hope that didn't prevent
the goddess of wealth from paying a visit.

Saturday our friend Yasoda invited us to her house to celebrate with her family. She lives in a small room with her brother on the bottom floor of her landlords house equipped with 2 beds, a small stove for cooking, and a shrine for prayer (puja). I realized how different it was from what I'm used to, always a looking for more space, and especially how much we value privacy. Yasoda is always so happy and she has this loving spirit about her that just makes you smile. We celebrated with her brother, sister, and her sisters husband and their baby. We each received Tika, a necklace made of marigolds, and a plate of food. It was so nice to celebrate with a new friend and to meet her family. She is probably the best cook I have met in Nepal, next to the lovely Sirita, so of course our meal was fantastic.







7 colors of Tika.



Our dear friend, Yasoda.

This festival was just another reminder of the kind hearts that Nepali people have and their willingness to share their traditions and culture with others. Pico Iyer said in his TED talk, "home is where you are", what a great way to live, making a home wherever you go. Happy Tihar everyone!

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