Happy Birthday to You, even though I don't know you!

November 8, 2009
Birthdays are a festive time here, with parties and such! Usually we tragically end the life of a goat or chicken early in order to fully commemorate this rare occasion! Well, on Sunday Benita, one of the class 9 girls, turned 17, and she threw a party. I don’t teach class 9, but she insisted that I had to come to her party with the girls from our hostel. So, with uncle’s permission, Isha, Rami, Sunita, and I headed off to her birthday party. When we arrived, most of the class 9 girls were there along with some from classes 7 and 8. Probably around 15 girls in all. I think the boys at home were disappointed that they didn’t get to come!

Well, the girls did a great job of introducing me, though I got a little lost on the “this is my sister’s husband’s daughter” part. Sometimes family ties can be hard to follow, no matter what country you’re in! Then, I was walked into the living room, where I met Benita’s grandparents and parents. Her grandmother pulled me down next to her, and so I sat there for the rest of the evening! All the girls were scurrying about serving food, and I felt like it was my party! But her grandmother had a firm grip on me, and I obviously wasn’t going anywhere!

We did birthday presents in the living room, which was a cultural experience for me. I’ve never fully understood what the smudges of paint (called tikah’s or something like that...) on peoples foreheads meant before now. I knew it was distinctive to Hinduism, but I learned that they signify a blessing from whoever “smudges” you. So, each of her grandparents and parents put some paint on her head and sprinkled flower petals in her hair (still not sure what that means!). And then, they asked me if I wanted a tikah myself. I didn’t want to offend them as I was a guest in their home, but I wasn’t going to take a tikah since it is based on Hinduism (besides the fact that I hate the idea of putting paint on my face!). So, I declined, and to my relief, they laughed and said it was fine.

Benita then delivered an appetizer plate of food, which was really good. At any party here, you’ll have these kind of fried round thick pink things called Prawn or something like that. I can’t really describe how they taste, but they’re pretty good. Then, there was potato curry, alongside spiced chicken. Both were delicious! I was full after eating it, which was unfortunate, because unknown to me, we still had birthday cake and the main course to follow!

The birthday cake was a light chocolate cake with a very light icing with a dusting of coconut. It was amazing! Then, to my slight dismay as I was already stuffed beyond eating more, the girls told me that the buffet was set up in the kitchen and to go get my food. The bright side was that I got to serve myself, so I could serve myself very very small helpings! However, in doing so, Benita’s mother took that to mean she needed to go get me another plate full of food. So, I had rice and more chicken and chips and fried fish and I thought I might be sick. I told her it was all amazing, but when she left the room, I donated some of the food to the girls, who were more than happy to take it off my hands!

When we finished eating, it was time to go home, and I thanked Benita’s parents (in Nepali!) for having me over. And they wouldn’t stop thanking me for coming! They told me over and over again that it was their pleasure and honor to have me, and I was welcome to come back any time I wanted. I think it might have been their first time having a “white person” in their home :). It was quite the evening!