Cast of Characters

Because I spent my ten days in Nepal living in the Khadka household, it's important for you to understand something about these people, who will play such a huge role in the story.

First, and obviously most important, is Bishakha. Bishakha and I met my final year of college, but didn't become friends until one night in Hanoi (on our month-long Southeast Asia trip over winter term). When we returned to Idaho, we started spending increasing amounts of time together, until by the end of the semester, I would stop by her house every morning for tea after class. Some of her friends actually thought we lived together, because most of the stories she told involved me spending the night - I averaged 3-4 nights sleeping on an air mattress in her bedroom for the last couple months of school. When she returned home to Nepal, we promised to stay in touch, and have been exchanging emails on a semi-regular basis, but we were both anxious to see each other again. I thought in college, and I maintain now, that Bishakha is one of the most generous, most hospitable people I've ever known.

This hospitality is either a cultural thing or a Khadka thing, for Bishakha's mother was equally as caring as Bishakha ever had been. I'd met Bishakha's parents at graduation, but her mother had been ill, and so we didn't get an opportunity to talk. But when I arrived in Kathmandu, she was healthy (albeit highly stressed from the wedding preparations) and happy to see me. Throughout my visit, she made sure I had everything I wanted to eat, to wear, to watch, to do, and when Bishakha left for Sandeep's house (more on that later), she decided that I was her new daughter. Before I left, she made me promise I'd return next year. (Mom, you don't want me to break my word, do you?)

Bishakha's father was equally as kind. A super-high ranking official in the Nepalese military, he did kind things like sending someone to check me in for my flight, so that I didn't have to sit at the airport for three hours (and put the fear of God in airport employees when we realized my baggage had been erroneously checked to New York). However, his hospitality extended far beyond his military power - he even sent someone to the store before my arrival to buy me a back-scrubber for the shower, because he was afraid I wouldn't have brought anything like that with me.

Her brother and his wife were also lovely people, although I didn't get to spend much time talking with them. Her brother is also in the military, so is often at work, and his wife is in her 7th or 8th month of pregnancy. This means they'd be preoccupied in the best of situations, but as this is the third pregnancy, after two miscarriages, they both had much more important things on their mind than a visitor from America. However, they still went out of their way to present me with a lovely gift the night before I left.

Since the trip was for a wedding, another key player is Sandeep, Bishakha's new husband. Sandeep is a doctor, 27, and quite a fun guy. He has a wonderful sense of humor and treats Bishakha very well, which is obviously the most important thing. However, we got along well enough that I consider him a friend regardless of his wife. He's convinced I'll never return to Nepal (I'm not sure he fully comprehends my travel bug), and I have every intention of proving him wrong.

Bhothu is Bishakha's "brother" - he may be related somehow, although I'm not entirely clear. Right now, Bhothu is taking a year off of school and tutoring, while he decides where he wants to study. I learned my first evening there that Bhothu is pretty much always around - he drops by every evening, sometimes for dinner, sometimes for TV, sometimes just for a chat. Even after Bishakha was at Sandeep's house, he dropped by to say hello to me. It took him awhile to get used to me, I think, but by the end of the trip, we were on rather good terms.

Finally is Bonu, a gorgeous 16-year-old girl and little sister of one of Bishakha's school friends. While the friend is away for her studies, Bishakha and Bonu have taken on a sister relationship of their own. There are tons of amazing things to say about Bonu, but most importantly, she was awesome to have around for all of the wedding festivities, as Bishakha was often a bit too busy to explain to me what was going on.

In addition to all of these people are the tons of family members always at the house, the dozen household "helpers" and drivers, including Inda Dai ("dai" means "brother" in the respectful, not really related sense), who doesn't speak a word of English but always made sure I was very well taken care of, and Bishakha's other friends, who helped steer me through the wedding festivities. This is my first experience staying with a family when I travel, and it was an incredible experience to be with people who weren't just passing through, but even more incredible to be with these people. I've heard often that the Nepalese are the nicest people in the world, and my experiences over these two weeks suggest those rumors are simple, unadulterated truth.