Namaste! Sanchai hunuhuncha? Ma mero naam Annie ho. Mero
kaam sikchhikaa ho. Mero desh America ho. Ma Nepali sikdaichhu.
Hello! How are you? My name is Annie. I am a teacher. I am
from America. I am in the process of learning English.
And that folks, marks the beginning of my Nepali language
training. I’m going to be honest. Learning a new language freaks me out. It’s
that sweaty-palms, dry-mouth, racing-pulse feeling some people get when they
are sitting in the reclining dentist chair. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed the
dentist and the free helium balloon I used to get as a prize. However, learning
an unfamiliar language is a different story. I even went as far as to switch
from French to Latin in high school. Why? Because it cut out the speaking/listening
tests. Phew.
I am happy to report, however, that learning Nepali has been
fun and successful! Today I could feel
the other side of my brain working on overdrive. 14 vowels. 36 consonants. Even
then it’s considered one of the easiest of the Asian languages to learn. And as
cool as it sounds, the Devanagari script looks even cooler. (I haven’t quite
figured out if and where the symbols might be hiding out in between Times New
Roman and Wingdings, so you’ll have to take my word for it!)
Orientation is designed to give us at least 60 hours of
language training before we leave for our site placements –hopefully giving me
enough practice to be able to communicate with my host family, teachers, and
students. We've begun to get the basics of grammar and already it's a great reminder of what it's like to be a student as I start my teaching position for the next 8 months. However, if today’s practice run was any indication, I have some work
to do…
I put my (very basic!) language skills to the test when I
went out to bargain for prices to tailor my new kurtaa suruwaal. These
three-piece outfits are awesome.
Seeing the eight girls shopping for fabric yesterday was like watching kids in
a candy shop (a very inexpensive and overwhelming candy shop, I might add). Can’t
choose? The brighter the colors and patterns, the better. And while I’ve never
been a fan of gold lame, it’s starting to grow on me after seeing the beautiful
outfits worn by the women here in Kathmandu.
Once you purchase the fabrics, you are sent out to hunt for a tailor who takes your measurements and even designs the cut of the outfit to your liking. The trick here is communication. Stepping into one of the shops, I panicked for a moment when it seemed as though everything I had learned slipped out of my head and hightailed it down the street, lost in the rush hour traffic. With a little Nepali, a little English and a lot of pointing and head shaking (bobbing your head side to side is used instead of a nod), I ordered my first kurta for teaching, before being invited to share Nepali chai tea with the store owner.
Once you purchase the fabrics, you are sent out to hunt for a tailor who takes your measurements and even designs the cut of the outfit to your liking. The trick here is communication. Stepping into one of the shops, I panicked for a moment when it seemed as though everything I had learned slipped out of my head and hightailed it down the street, lost in the rush hour traffic. With a little Nepali, a little English and a lot of pointing and head shaking (bobbing your head side to side is used instead of a nod), I ordered my first kurta for teaching, before being invited to share Nepali chai tea with the store owner.
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