Week 2: the 'sammelan'

Word association: to remember a word/phrase in a foreign language, create an association in your mind using a word, phrase or sound/s in your mother tongue which relates somehow to the word's actual meaning.   

The above technique Luc introduced us to in class came in very handy for week 2.

The theme word for this week, given it was the week before our assembly, was 'sammelan'.  There were various ideas put forward such as, 'to avoid salmonella at the sammelan, bring your own lunch to the assembly', but it was Ric's suggestion which stuck: 'sam, me e Lan* will be at the assembly'.

I can now say that the excitement before a 'sammelan' is universal.  The inviting, transport organising, menu preparing, program anticipation, and perhaps not most importantly, yet close to every sister's heart, outfit organising...gave the week a special buzz.

In Nepal the outfitting process is a little different but I enjoyed every step!

The first step was to buy the fabric.  Ritsu my resourceful little house-mate took me one afternoon to Asaan, a bargain district where you can find (if you have the energy) anything from kurtas and saris to ginger and saag at super cheap prices.  With Ritsu at my side, I came home neither empty handed nor empty pocketed.

out the back of tempo^ on the way to shop in Asaan

pagoda in Asaan

markets

Ritsu in true form

buying 'adubaa' -> ginger

Once I had my fabric, the next step involved a trip to the tailors.  Alana and I thankfully met Gemma (another lovely pioneer sister from Kent) en route and thus was able to use her translating skills to impart my design instructions.  As I was new at this I decided to give Anita (our tailoress) artistic licence, and after being measured up, left her to surprise me...

at the tailors

Meanwhile, at home Ritsu was having her family study night with the Japanese sisters.  We arrived home in perfect time to gate-crash their post-study dinner and then coaxed each sister into finding their alter-egos...some needed less encouragement than others...

'Yoko Oh-No'

'Stacey' (insert trashy-Surry accent) and 'Yoko's sister'

I really enjoyed being out of doors this week as Kathmandu was very clear.  For about 4 days straight we were able to glimpse the Himal (mountains) beyond the valley foothills, and I felt like I gained some perspective of where I am in relation to the rest of the country.  Being able to discern the valley shape made me think that when the Newari people originally settled here Kathmandu** must have truly been beautiful.

spot the Himal!

Though my excursion to Asaan had secured me a couple of kurtas^^, the shopping was not complete.  The 'sammelan' is a time to look your best and in Nepal, a sister looking her best requires a sari.

Laxmi and me

Lans and I this time set out on own, knowing full well that we would be ripped off, but determined to buy a sari we were in-love with...I did not have to venture far.  The first sari that caught my eye, stayed in my mind for days until I relented and bought it, not at 'the originally agreed price'...doh! I am a sucker for a cheeky shop-assistant!

dress sari fitting

And Alana is a sucker for teal (the colour of gangrene...)

This week I had my first invitation to my first Newari lunch with the girls at a lovely sister's house called Indira.   She lives out of our territory further towards the northern foothills.  

I saw these men having their daily (?) shave next to the bus stop...

barbers

Indira and her girlfriends, Puspa and Mina, had started cooking at 5 am...and well...it was delicious...they made: dhal (lentils), fish, palak paneer (pureed spinach with Nepali/Indian-style cheese), chicken curry, this amazing spicy salad of fenugreek, lentils, coriander, lemon, peas, onion and a few other things I cannot quite remember...swadillo thiyo!...'I was one stuffed calamari'...where's a sneaky espresso shot when you need one?

le buffet

everyone

After lunch Indira brought out her photo-albums and I wished Sahs had been there.  Indira is still an attractive woman but when she was younger she was the embodiment of an Indo-Aryan princess, absolutely beautiful.  And in black and white her beauty was enhanced still.

young Indira and her husband

Indira and her natini (granddaughter)

On our way back from Indira's I spotted this 'holy man' on the street...he had fused dreadlocks with the top-knot and had to be captured!

holy moley

And then the wait was finally over...

Act 2, Scene 6:  Day 1 of "the sammelan"

she's gonna stop traffic...

Feeling fairly spent after the first 2 weeks' activities, Alana and I decided to sleep in and catch the afternoon session.  It turned out to be a grand plan as we felt refreshed and ready to glean what we could out of the afternoon (with the aid of Chasty's notes from the English sessions).

Day 2 was an early start, however.

By 7:30 am we were quite the spectacle walking down our street, all made up wearing our jeans and heels, on our way the Shahis for some assistance dressing.  Sister Ratnashoba (Adheens's mother), Sayera (Adheen's sister) and Gemma kindly adorned Ritsu, Alana and I in our saris, and I personally walked out of their house feeling the closest I have felt to being a princess.  Saris, though completely impractical, make you feel indescribably feminine and delicate.

As you can see below, the task is neither quick nor simple.

the first attempt

folding

let's not trip today!

Alana's sari was voted the morning's 'most complicated' sari as its beautiful black lace trim was painfully hard to position and tested even Ratna's sari folding ability.   

patience

finishing

art

But the ladies prevailed and after dressing themselves (without our assistance) got us, in style, to the sammelan on time!

pros

Ritsu learns how to tuck

Sayera

There were 9 baptised this assembly and I was later told by one of my return visits that there was an article in a local newspaper about it, so was that pretty cool.

Lans and Dipika (Rosella's Nepali twin)

It was nice to meet some brothers and sisters from other congregations around Kathmandu (although there are actually two circuits here, so it should be interesting when the District Convention comes up).  I met one of Gemma's old bible studies, Dipika, who could be Rosella's (Milano) Nepali twin....We also met this lovely Japanese missionary couple, Brother Kenji Chi Chi and Sister Hiroko (hello classy lady).  They are now serving in Bethal, but since they arrived some 15-odd years ago they have brought a number of people in the truth, and their faces are beaming love for the people here.

Seeing as I did not get much out of the program that I didn't already get in English...I'll leave those anecdotes out, but it was a lovely introduction to our extended family in Nepal...and I cannot wait for our next assembly...and my next sari...

don't look mummy, it's a mid-rift!

Sara and Ritsu

saris

somebody's children - kasto nishi!

Gemma's post-sammelan Broadway moment

dinner at Roadhouse

* Lan or Lans: a Nepal-based nickname for Alana
^ Tempo: Nepal's answer to a rickshaw, a tin can on wheels!
** Interesting fact: the name 'Kathmandu' comes from two Sanskrit words meaning 'wood' and 'beautiful shade'
^^ Kurta:  National costume for women:  tunic worn over Punjabi style or skinny pants