School Daze

Monday we started classes. Our primary teacher is Kamal, a native Nepali. His English is very good (he's a highly educated man) but Bonnie and I have both noticed that by the end of the afternoon, he seems to get a little lazy in his pronunciations and we really have to pay attention in order to understand him. On Monday evening we were treated to a Welcome Dinner by the staff. Kamal took us to a Newari (indigenous peoples of Kathmandu) restaurant. We left the school in a very small (typical) taxi, crowding all five of us into one. Since Kamal broke his collar bone and injured his left hand on Sunday, we allowed him to sit in front with the driver. We four women crammed ourselves into the back, which was pretty comical--we expected the doors to fall off at any moment. After about 15-20 minutes we began winding our way up a hilly road with houses lining the street. Just as we reached the top, all the lights of the city went out (they call them "load shedding" here) It was just about dusk, but we could still see the Kathmandu valley spread out below. The restaurant was simply an open-air terrace, no tables, just small cushions to sit on. Kamal did the ordering and we sampled a wide array of Newari foods, including vegetarian and beef items, an absolutely fantastic fried fish that just melted in your mouth, and oh yes--Newari rice wine and rice beer. Kamal kept insisting we drink up and continued to replenish our goblets. When our taxi driver returned to take us home we ordered more food and invited him to join us, which he did. By the time we staggered to our feet for the return journey, we were all in love with Kathmandu! Oh yes, and at the end of the meal Kamal told us about his younger brother, who the family has been trying to find a suitable spouse for for several years (yes I know that's poor grammar--I haven't learned enough in my classes yet, give me more time) Anyway, he's down to 2 women he can't decide between, but he must make his decision soon, since he has to be back in France by the beginning of December. And, (the best part!) we have all been invited to the wedding!!! We are very excited and will let you know as the plans unfold.
School is taxing and Bonnie and I spend many hours each night doing our homework. (Note to my former students out there: I have much more empathy for you all ! :))
I'm close to being able to download pictures, but that will have to wait for another time.
Love to you all.
Namaste,
Connie and Bonnie