Dashain Party 2009 was my intro to the Nepali culture. Dashain Party 2010? I was excited to be in the presence of & celebrating a year spent with some astounding Nepalese persons. My dear bahini (little sister), Grishma, got me a ticket to the event & her doing so, made me feel quite honored. My Nepali friends (both old & new) have been so good to me over the last year - welcoming me, treating me as one of their own. Odd as it may seem, I have a family-like atmosphere with many of them. From the moment I first learned about this years party, I had high hopes that I would be fortunate enough to go. Last year, I felt a little like a duck out of water. I was in an unfamiliar setting amidst a roomful of strangers from a completely different walk of life than my own. This go around, I felt "at home" if you will. While I certainly did not know everyone in attendance, I knew a a fare percentage of those that were present. Just as they have done time & time again over the last 12 months, they greeted me with kindness & a friendly spirit. This year, I bought a ticket for a friend of mine - an American friend. Zach had been in my home when one of the Nepali's cooked, he'd been around some of the Nepali's...only seemed appropriate to invite him along. I was sure to let him know that he would probably not understand a word spoken through the evening as most of the program would be in Nepali. I failed to mention, however, that he could just disregard whatever "time schedule" may have appeared on his ticket. If there is one thing I have learned over the last year, it is that the Nepalese do not run on American time. I am not saying that harshly nor is such a statement true of every person from Nepal. However, I think that many of my Nepali friends could agree with me on this though. I have grown accustomed to how things are done & I'm OK with it now that I have an understanding of things. That being said, our tickets stated that we would begin eating dinner at 8:00 p.m. As the clock kept on ticking & our stomach's continued to growl with hunger, Zach questioned when we would be eating. I then remembered from the year prior that I had asked the same thing when sitting at the table with Suman. As I thought back to the year before, I began to laugh. I broke the bad news to Zach--it was probably going to be a while. If my memory was correct, we did not eat until nearly 9:00 the year before. On another note, when we finally did eat, the food was delectable! I think Zach would admit that though the wait was long, the food was worth the wait. He, like me, loved the Goat's Meat. Only disappointment of the evening was that Zach left before the after-hour dance party started. I was really looking forward to watching him show off his moves on the dance floor. I had already insisted that I would NOT be dancing. In fact, I said I would "NEVER" dance. Lesson learned yet again in life..."NEVER say NEVER!" Though I'm not sure one could call it dancing, I was on the dance floor & moved slightly. All in all, I would total my minutes of "moving" to maybe 5. 7 minutes top.
(Pankaj was, no doubt, the dancing machine. He tried his best to try to get me to moving. He was successful for a minute or two.)
Instead, I was much more at ease taking my pictures. At one point, some guy I did not know came & grabbed me by the hand & attempted to drag me out there to dance with him. I told him I was busy. His words were, "You've taken enough pictures, it's time to dance." He got me out there--it was short-lived though. Every fiber of my being wishes that I had rhythm & knew how to move without looking like a complete fool. I heard the music, liked the music, could sing along to the songs & was dying to get out there. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I wonder....are there Dance Lessons for Dummies?
(My sweet friend, Pawana. She let me know that there are just a few "basic moves" that I need to learn in order to "hold my own out on the dance floor." She'll have to be the teacher-not an easy task!)
Despite the fact that I did not dance the night away with my friends, I had a fantastic time with my many friends. The party ended shortly after midnight & after driving here & there to return friends to their "homes", I finally tucked myself in my own bed at 3:30 the next morning. I had just as good of a time (if not better) as expected. I am so jubilant that I was able to go share such a special time with people that are so close to my heart. A year away but I'm ready....Dashain 2011!
