This time around, I visited our family alone as Gina had an abrupt emergency to attend to. The family once again had many relatives over, including the really cute little daughter of our family’s oldest daughter. This time she didn’t cry when I said hi to her; I think she’s finally warming up to me! I joined them in watching the last half of “Little Man”; it was heartwarming to see them laugh together. Afterward, their older son and I got into a long conversation where we kind of exchanged personal bits of knowledge about each other’s nation’s histories. He had asked me about Abraham Lincoln and then told me a lot about Nepali history. Apparently, the king that reigned while they lived in Nepal was a very good man; there was great peace in the land. He, however, was murdered by his brother who subsequently usurped the throne. This brother’s reign was filled with fear, pain, and death; our family’s oldest son made a note to show his extreme disapproval of him. I can only assume this situation may have promoted the idea of their resettlement, but I was not comfortable in asking if this reason was exactly why they decided to move.
He started to explain to me a lot about traveling in planes. In his opinion through experience he totally hated flying through Nepal because of its national airplane service. He mentioned how shaky and scary these planes were, which led him to showing me a clip from the History Channel’s top 10 most dangerous airports in the world. Lukla (Tenzing-Hillary) airport in Nepal was deemed the most dangerous because it is the highest airport in the world, located close to 10,000 feet above sea level in the shadow of Mt. Everest. Many crashes have occurred, and each departure and arrival are harrowing events. The runway is only 1600 feet!! It was funny to hear him talk about what a “baller”, what a “man” the chief pilot was who flew planes in and out of Lukla.
As I left their house, stomach full of delicious noodles and egg, and heart warmed by my family’s continual warmth, I look forward to next Saturday when mom will cook us another huge feast to stuff ourselves on.