There are over 100 major languages spoken in Nepal. The language I’m learning to speak during my program is Nepali. In India, there are also hundreds of languages spoken in different regions. In Uttarakhand, the region where I stayed this week, I met some people who spoke Nepali. However, most of the people in Dehradun and Rishikesh spoke Hindi and English.
Nepal uses the Nepali rupee, and India uses the Indian rupee. About 140 Nepali rupees or 90 Indian rupees equal 1 US dollar.
I bought a bottle of water in India for 20 rupees at a cafe.
The best meal I had was daal bhaat in one of the places where we stayed in Dehradun. I was missing my aamaa’s daal bhaat, so eating something that tasted similar to the Nepali dish made me happy.
I heard people playing drums on the streets of Rishikesh. In Nepal, I haven’t really heard music or drums on the streets. On my walk to school in the mornings, I often hear people ringing bells during puja, the worship ritual performed by Hindus. Puja consists of rituals that stimulate all five senses, one of them being the sound of bells ringing.
