People have always had different reasons for traveling. Some have to, including us, although this is also the life we chose. Others will travel for the weather. Others to visit historic sites. Others will embark on pilgrimages. Others will travel halfway around the world for sporting events (right, soccer fan?). The minority will travel out of curiosity, mainly to witness elements and cultural aspects they would otherwise only see on the Discovery Channel.
So far, we have learned of a few things common to other regions in the world…and some entirely new.
There is the prevalent notion that you only greet and eat with your right hand. Fair enough, we have already known this from the Middle East, among other places. One man’s (left) hand is another man’s Northern Quilt. If you happen to be left-handed, then it is appropriate to explain this to your gracious hosts. My wife and I have an inkling that Axl might be a southpaw, so I suppose this must be clarified to our nanny before she either starves him or whacks his left hand with a ruler.
There is the Hindi term ‘juto’ (not a martial art), which means impure, hardly a modern idea but one in this area with a twist. Here, you are not to share wet food from a plate. In other words, if these people saw the sharing of couscous and tagines in Morocco, they would probably barf up a storm until it flooded the whole of Kathmandu Valley. On the other hand, it is perfectly okay for wives to eat leftovers from their husbands’ plates, most certainly not a modern idea and one that would only invoke unfavorable comparisons to animals living on the savannah.
Of course Hindis, the grand majority of the population in Nepal, refuse to eat beef, the cow being sacred in their religion. That kind of blocks McDonald’s from tapping into this market, doesn’t it? Little wonder there aren’t any fast food joints around here. And yet, that is how culture works. Some won’t eat animals because they are said to be holy (Hindis and cows), some won’t eat them because of how they are taught (Muslims and pigs), and others won’t eat them because they are plain disgusting (almost everybody in the world and dung beetles).
But back to the term ’juto’. If you are to share a bottle with another person, the bottle is to be tilted so that your lips avoid touching the mouth. Saliva is always considered ’juto’, so there will be no manly wiping off of the bottle before partaking in the whiskey or coke or whatever beverage it is people are sharing.
‘Juto’ can also mean different things to different people. ’Juto’ is also referred to who or whatever touches the ground. The head is considered pure, and the impurity increases the closer you get to the ground. A lot of Hindis even refuse to eat chicken (and no market for you, KFC), since they live so close to the ground and regularly devour dung, among other things. Does this mean they also refuse to eat eggs? If it became law that chickens or their offspring are not to be touched, what happens to the chickens? Since they can hardly be considered holy due to their ’juto’ nature, the logical consequence would be a genocide of Chicken Little and Co.
The staples here are rice and several different kinds of beans, all of these alternately cooked with goat or lamb (preferably) and spiced in four different levels:
1. Mild (here, that means your breath can light a cigar)
2. Medium (certified flamethrower: your breath will scorch the guy eating across the room)
3. Hot (congratulations, your breath can now raze an entire village and you can expect the Department of Defense to come knocking any moment)
4. Super hot (The global scientific community estimates that the world’s temperature will increase by a half degree with each exhalation)
This also means that I am more or less up the creek here, as I am no friend of spicy foods. Funny how that works here. Saliva is ‘juto’, and dragon breath after the consumption of atomic curry is considered wholesome. Looks like water and bread (boiled or disinfected, of course) for me.
So far, we have learned of a few things common to other regions in the world…and some entirely new.
There is the prevalent notion that you only greet and eat with your right hand. Fair enough, we have already known this from the Middle East, among other places. One man’s (left) hand is another man’s Northern Quilt. If you happen to be left-handed, then it is appropriate to explain this to your gracious hosts. My wife and I have an inkling that Axl might be a southpaw, so I suppose this must be clarified to our nanny before she either starves him or whacks his left hand with a ruler.
There is the Hindi term ‘juto’ (not a martial art), which means impure, hardly a modern idea but one in this area with a twist. Here, you are not to share wet food from a plate. In other words, if these people saw the sharing of couscous and tagines in Morocco, they would probably barf up a storm until it flooded the whole of Kathmandu Valley. On the other hand, it is perfectly okay for wives to eat leftovers from their husbands’ plates, most certainly not a modern idea and one that would only invoke unfavorable comparisons to animals living on the savannah.
Of course Hindis, the grand majority of the population in Nepal, refuse to eat beef, the cow being sacred in their religion. That kind of blocks McDonald’s from tapping into this market, doesn’t it? Little wonder there aren’t any fast food joints around here. And yet, that is how culture works. Some won’t eat animals because they are said to be holy (Hindis and cows), some won’t eat them because of how they are taught (Muslims and pigs), and others won’t eat them because they are plain disgusting (almost everybody in the world and dung beetles).
But back to the term ’juto’. If you are to share a bottle with another person, the bottle is to be tilted so that your lips avoid touching the mouth. Saliva is always considered ’juto’, so there will be no manly wiping off of the bottle before partaking in the whiskey or coke or whatever beverage it is people are sharing.
‘Juto’ can also mean different things to different people. ’Juto’ is also referred to who or whatever touches the ground. The head is considered pure, and the impurity increases the closer you get to the ground. A lot of Hindis even refuse to eat chicken (and no market for you, KFC), since they live so close to the ground and regularly devour dung, among other things. Does this mean they also refuse to eat eggs? If it became law that chickens or their offspring are not to be touched, what happens to the chickens? Since they can hardly be considered holy due to their ’juto’ nature, the logical consequence would be a genocide of Chicken Little and Co.
The staples here are rice and several different kinds of beans, all of these alternately cooked with goat or lamb (preferably) and spiced in four different levels:
1. Mild (here, that means your breath can light a cigar)
2. Medium (certified flamethrower: your breath will scorch the guy eating across the room)
3. Hot (congratulations, your breath can now raze an entire village and you can expect the Department of Defense to come knocking any moment)
4. Super hot (The global scientific community estimates that the world’s temperature will increase by a half degree with each exhalation)
This also means that I am more or less up the creek here, as I am no friend of spicy foods. Funny how that works here. Saliva is ‘juto’, and dragon breath after the consumption of atomic curry is considered wholesome. Looks like water and bread (boiled or disinfected, of course) for me.
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