In Nepali, you wouldn’t say “I am talking to so-and-so.” Instead, the word ‘sung-guh’ is used because you are considered to talk ‘with’ someone, and not ‘to’ them. I love that. Seriously, think about that for a moment.
When we first landed in Asia we were struck by the cadence of conversation; the slower, circular rhythm of how information is communicated was foreign to the fact based sharing that we were accustomed to. I don’t fully know all of the history behind Dashain, but I love the festival! It paints a brilliant picture of this relational “with-based” culture. I love that for two weeks storefronts are shut and families spent time together. I had to work extra hard to keep up my language studies, but I love that my Nepali nurturer spent the last two weeks back in her home village with her parents and her community (super bummed that we couldn’t find a car and driver for a manageable price to take them up on their offer to travel with them). Finding a taxi at all during the festival was difficult, but both of our favorite drivers had been home with their loved ones; and I love that. Life has moved at a slower pace, and relationships have blossomed as we’ve had time to linger in conversation, drink coffee or chai, or have lunch, or dinner together while schedules have been freer. I’m not entirely sure how an economy can support a 2-3 week holiday; but I enjoyed participating.