So, we went up into the mountains thinking that we were going to a house fellowship, but when we got there, we were suddenly told that it was a nepali engagement ceremony. oh man... we felt so underdressed in our jeans and t-shirts. The ladies were all wearing beautiful Sari's (their nepali dress). People started coming into the church at the top of the mountain from the village. The church became so packed that we (karina and alana) felt that we should give up our seats and move to the back. Apparently the whole community had showed up for the engagement. The service started with praise and worship, then the pastors got up to say a few words while the families exchanged gifts. The couple gave each other rings and the 'soon to be' bride had a ring of flowers put around her neck. It was an interesting engagement ceremony.
After it ended, we were taken up into the mountain village where we experienced the Real Nepal... yaks, lots of goats, chickens, and older mud-thatched homes. People in the village were all helping to build a home for the engaged couple. We saw women carrying loads of stone and sand for the foundation. They carried sacks on their backs with the strap around their forheads. The loads must have been like 80 pounds or more! It was crazy. There were women and children helping out. Then, pastor Raju started leading us back down the path towards where we parked our jeep. We cut through a yard with loads of goats in it and approached one of the mud-thatched houses. But we didn't pass it after all... they led us into the house. I thought we were on a tour, just to see what the houses looked like inside... but oh no... they had other plans for us. We walked in the entrance and the main floor had rooms of straw and hay-apparently the goats and yaks stayed inside the house on the main floor. Then we went up a steep set of ladder-like stairs to the main floor of the house. When you walked across the floor, you would notice the floor flexing under your weight. They led us into a room with 2 beds on one side, on the other side, there were sacks of rice, vegetables laid out in piles (from their field). Apparently this was their storage and bedroom. We sat down on a mat on the floor. Once we were seated, i knew that they would soon bring in the tea and serve us. Which was nice, we were kind of parched from the long walk. The ladies came into the room and gave us all a cup of what looked like white tea. I love white tea! It's my favourite. But when i took the cup from her, it was cold... then my father turned to me and said, "This is it!" He was referring to a concoction that he was given when he last came to Nepal in 1999. Yes, it was the milk. The milk that we've heard so many stories about. And alas, the stories were all true! As i gazed into the cup, there were thick chunks floating with black specks throughout it. And then... then the smell hit you. Wow, my dad wasn't kidding. Karina and I looked at each other with fear-stricken eyes. How were we going to drink it? My dad looked at us and said... "you have to drink it. It's an insult not to." Oh dear...!
Then they brought in plates of food with a mountain style of rice- cooked, flattened and dried, quite tasty actually. There was also spiced chicken, spiced vegetables, potatoes, some beans and dark brown things that i've never seen before and don't want to guess what they were. The whole meal was very extravagant for the family- as they were quite poor, but we realized it was for the engagement celebration. The groom sat amoung us. We finished the meal, thanked the family for their generosity, and headed back to the jeep. The ride back down the mountain was just as scary. I even started hyper-ventilating. The fellow nepali's in the car were laughing at our reactions as we went down. Pastor Raju had to pump the breaks before every turn because the breaks are very bad. It was an exhilirating ride. I'm not sure if i'm gonna want to go to Kath Gaun again... i think it'll be the memory of the milk. (posted by Alana... and karina)