Nepal Lessons

I have compiled a list of things I have learned in Nepal so far. Here they are:

1) There is no such thing as a rat or roach free hotel.
2) Cockroaches are not the vilest of vile creatures.
3) How to properly haggle.
4) The body language of someone who wants to cheat you.
5) The proper way to take a walk through the streets of Kathmandu without letting the street children, beggars, touts, salesmen, garbage, stray dogs, drug dealers, rickshaw drivers, and trekking guides bother me. (Note: It is all in the word "No!")
6) The joys of tea, especially Nepalese milk tea. (Yum!)
7) When to tell a white lie. (Suspicious person on the street at night: "Are you alone?" Me: "No, my husand is right back there.")
8) How much most things really cost. (Note: for anyone who is not Nepali prices are doubled, tripled, or quadrupled, therefore must be bargained down.)
9)How to balance and hold on for dear life while riding one of Kathmandu's ubiquitous rickshaws.
10) How to survive the frequent power outages of Nepal. (Note: keep flashlight and candles close at hand!)
11) How to get the street kids off your trail. (Note: feign complete disinterest and IGNORE!)
12) How to manuver through the insanityof Kathmandu streets.
13) How to capture cockroaches whom have taken it upon themseles to nest in one's bag. (Note: the tried and true "capture-under-the-garbage-pail-put-a-piece-of-paper-underneath-and-drag-outside" method works best.)
14) How to sleep on rock hard mattresses.
15) How to shower in ice cold showers.
16) That eating museli in your bed is not a good idea. (Note: this brings on phalanxes of ants.)
17) How to tell a Nepali person from a Tibetan person.
18) How to not have a heart attack when hearing the blaring horn of the local buses.
19) How to get all the worms out of the lychee before eating. (Note: they burrow into the pit so check where the tree twig connects with the fruit skin. There are always a few lurking here, but if you miss some, don't worry: extra protein.)
20) How to take the bus long distances.
21) That it is not possible to simultaneously itch 35 mosquito bites, so its better to just give up.
22) That when drinking yak butter tea with the monks it is better to think of it as soup. (Thanks Bill.)
23) That eating dal bhat with your hands is much more fun than with a spoon and fork!
24) All the best foods from the street vendors.
25) That swatting 40 flies off you at once is impossible, so its bewtter to just let them eat the crumbs of whatever off your skin.
26) To wwalk on the other side of the street from gangs of street kids huffing glue.
27) That "No, I do not want that Tiger balm, necklace, socks, hat, incense, marijuana, hashish, underwear, violin, pottery, thanka, or purse thank you." (Note: insert appropriate item for each salesperson.)
28) How to tell a real saddhu from a fake one.
29) How to sit discreetly on a street corner to watch the street life without being asked 25 times if I am lost. ("No, just watching.")
30) That seeing a monk dressed in maroon and gold robes riding a motorcycle and talking on his cell phone is not as strange as I initially thought. (Still amusing though.)
31) That there is absolutely no garbage or sanitation system to speak of.
32) That some people (locals) are resentful about the foreign presence.
33) That the Nepal "hills" look more like looming mountains to me and the "mountains" are gigantic beyond all reason.
34) That the greeting here is not "How are you?" but "have you eaten?"
35) How to tell a rabid dog.
36) How to live out of a backpack. (It is surprising how little we really need.)
37) How to deal with the famous Nepali leeches.
38) How to take it all in. (Note: I am still working on this one.)
39) That I am very very fortunate and lucky to be living the life that I am!