I am a celebrity or a parrot?

So life at permanent site is similar to the life of a parrot. Everyone thinks you are beautiful to look at and loves to simply sit and stare. Now when I start speaking in Nepali everyone gets so excited and immediately thinks I can speak all Nepali and they start asking you tons of questions at the same time. (The basics, how old are you, are you married, why are you not married, are you going to marry a Nepali, do you want to marry my son, how much money do you make). The crowds grow large every time I sit down to talk to a person. And then they love giving you food and tea (Pauli want a cracker?) and are very curious what kinds of food I eat here and what I eat in my natural habitat (America). It is also comparable to the life of a celebrity. Everyone comments on what I am wearing, how pretty my hair is, that my nose is big which is beautiful and my mouth is small so that is beautiful as well. As people walk by my house they are constantly looking to see if I am outside doing something to get a glimpse of the American. When I am sitting in the market talking or having tea at least 3 people will have taken my photo by the end of the day.

It’s amazing how you can go to the 11^th poorest country for a food security project and end up gaining a ton of weight! I read about this is previous blogs and websites about Peace Corps service but I was hoping it wasn’t true. Unfortunately for me it was very true. Thankfully I have started running and now when I skip a day running in the morning everyone is confused why I didn’t go, so I look at this as a form of motivation. Also my mother found out I worked at a gym in the United States and wants me to teach exercise here and I told her I would up to 10 people. So that will be good to get moving again as well.

I have been at site for over a month now and I must say time is going faster than it was when I was in Pre-Service training. But I still have good days and bad days, the bad part is I usually only contact friends and family when I am having those bad days so I’m sure I am making my experience to seem negative (sorry to those of you I viber message negatively-I am doing good here). The emotions are very high and then low, it is amazing how you can go through so many highs and lows in one day. I fully understand why people have said this is going to be the hardest job you will ever love and people back home will never fully understand what it is like. There is a reason RPVCs has gatherings, we can all relate in a weird way no one else will be able to. But also without everyone back home sending mail, packages, emails, facebook messages, calls, and text messages I would not be able to get through this all as smoothly. Receiving my first package and letter at site was I definite high point, I had the whole village telling me to go to the post office there is something there for you. The excitement of everyone watching me open it and wanting to see photos and my goodies was very fun.

Slowly but surely the language is coming along and I am meeting more and more people and becoming very comfortable interacting with everyone in the village. It’s amazing what confidence I gain daily. After this I don’t think I will be shy to approach anyone ever again.

Things to know for permanent site:

-Embrace the Nepali cloths and jewelry the women love you for it.

-Find the English teacher at school-its going to make life way easier

-Start your workout routine within the first week (you are weird at first but then you are weird if stop your routine)

-Wearing shorts down to your knees is ok for working out in

-Your mother hates when you t-shirt does not cover your butt

-Hiding food in your purse, sleeve, or pockets is not shameful: the 20lbs you gain from eating everything you are given is shameful.

-You will have diarrhea and everyone is going to know it so don’t bother coughing, splashing water, talking to cover up the sound-embrace it they will know anyways.

-Bring photos of your house, car, American stoves, your living room, scenery of what the land looks like (ND-flat with no trees), tractors, machinery equipment, your garden, food storage practices, SNOW, your family, holiday decorations, your school, your grocery store, COWS, food.

-Make sure to journal your good days. Also in the last page of your journal write down all the reasons you joined peace corps-you will review that at some point during those low days.

-Tell your family and friends you will be calling them upset and emailing and text messaging them during the hard times but no matter don’t tell you to come home! Also let them know the first 3-6 months are going to be hardest and you will think about going home, everyone does whether they admit it or not.

-Even if you just drink tea and chat all day you are fulfilling two of Peace Corps Core Expectations-learning Nepali culture and sharing American culture.

-Nepalese hate the cold too; requesting boiled water to shower is not a stupid request. They think you are crazier if you bucket bath with cold water.