Today was another average day for the most part.  The kids had exams in morning until about noon, at which point they were let out to go home, play soccer, throw a frisbee, play a game that looks like a mixture of cee-lo and botchie ball, or do whatever else their hearts desired.  For those of you who don't know, cee-lo is a back alley sort of game involving dice and gambling.  There is no gambling going on in the kids' games but I'm pretty sure marbles end up exchanging hands.  Those seem to be a hot commodity here and are the cause of much controversy.

For the past few days one of the class five students has been inviting me and some of the other volunteers to his house.  We did not know where he lived so we asked him to meet us at the school one day after exams so that he could take us there.  Two days of failed plans went by before one of the other volunteers and I decided we were going to surprise him at his house.  We had another student take us there when we found out he did not live far.  We walked up the road just a little ways to until our guide pointed at a very small house with some older women sitting out front.  It was Raju's house, but we did not see Raju.  We walked up asking for him, in mostly english.  The women understood his name and  probably figured we were looking for him but they seemed flabbergasted by seeing the likes of us approaching them.  Soon we heard Raju's voice calling to us from the back of a small truck.  He was finishing up some simple chores, just sweeping out of the back of the truck.  He was very surprised to see us but also clearly excited.  So much so that he did not know what to do with us.  Eventually he brought us into his house which was a very small, very simple structure.  It had two front entrances, no doors, and a single wall dividing the house into two.  We went into his parents side where there was a small bed and a single cabinet with a television.  They have the choice of watching Nepali, Hindi, or American TV, though I suspect a limited number of channels.  We did see some VH1 though.  We sat on the bed and were introduced to many family members.  At first everyone was shy and sat outside the house, peering in at us.  Raju told us to stay there while he went to get us some Cokes from his fathers tiny roadside shop just out front.  It felt like we were on display for his family.

Raju returned and we shared a few Cokes.  The other volunteer and I taught him the parameters of a toast and then things got better.  Soon he was playing Justin Beiber and Akon songs from his cell phone and pushing us to show him some dance moves, though his were probably better.  Soon all of his siblings and cousins were gathered around the door, pointing and laughing at us, as we likely deserved, and things felt much more comfortable.  Even his parents, aunties, and uncles were laughing at us.  We made sufficient fools of ourselves and next thing we knew we were being invited to a wedding in a little over a week.  Obviously we accepted the invitation, I am just keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't coincide with our family vacation.  If it doesn't I am thinking that I will get some traditional Nepali wear tailored for the event as I would likely be under dressed in my American clothing.  Raju's cousin is getting married and she, Raju's father, and several other adults all asked us to come.  I think they want to watch us dance and embarrass ourselves again.  I think it is a fair trade however when you consider that I will be getting an extensive look at some intimate Nepali culture.

Anyway, long story short... branching out was fun and well worth it.  Raju wants us to come back often.  Next time we will have to treat him to some Cokes and support his father's shop.

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