Bistari Janus

While applying to JVI, I kept hearing about community, and just thought of it as the people you live with, but over the past year I have learned that it is something that becomes a part of you, and those you share it with are woven into your life forever.
Katie and Sean, were more then just the people I came home to. We worked together, ate together, explored together, and lived together in all senses of the word. Which is what makes their recent leaving so difficult, because for so long they have been all that Nepal is to me. When ever I needed something, I always could count on them from khurta shopping, to book recommendations, to life conversations, they were there. Over the past year we have shared so much of our lives together and learned from each other. It is difficult to picture what Nepal will be like, now that I can’t hop on a micro and meet Katie for some chiyaa or build a tent with Sean.
I was challenged and stretched by both of them and found a deep respect for them. They both took me in, this girl from Chicago with the Wisconsin accent, and made me feel at home in a place that was anything but. They listened to my stories, and told me theirs. We spent hours after dinner was finished and chiyaa was drunk, deep in conversation, learning and growing.
Sean was the one who taught me about the history and politics of Nepal. He made a mess seem somewhat understandable. He taught me how to ride a bike in Kathmandu, he showed me the wonders of Blue Fox, and he was always willing to go get last minute veggies for dinner. But beyond that, he listened when I needed someone to, he took my sass, and gave it back, and he cared in a place that can feel so uncaring at times.
Katie taught me my Nepali, she taught me how bargain, to make the best banana bread, to buy khurtas. But these are also just things. Beyond this, she was my support, my anchor when I felt lost. She showed me how to be a woman in Nepal, and gave me comfort when that was hard. I learned that hospitality goes both ways, and that even when you are exhausted, there is always time for chiyaa. We could talk for hours about anything, but mostly importantly we could just be.
I didn’t realize that when I left home, I would find another here. I didn’t expect that when I left my family, I would form another here. And now just like when I said goodbye at O’Hare, I find myself with that same emptiness as I said goodbye at Tribhuvan airport. But I find comfort in knowing that I carry them with me, and that just like family we will always be apart of each other.