Lunch with our Tibetan Language Teacher and our American friends and teammates

A few days ago our Tibetan language teacher (Lopsong) asked us (and our teammates who have also been his students) to come over to his house for his lunch. Lopsong and his friend Dolma made us full Tibetan lunch. To people in Nepali and Tibetan culture food is really important so when they have you over they like to feed you their favorite and best foods. It is also important to them that you enjoy them and eat your fill....and I mean FILL! There are a lot of foods in Nepali and Tibetan culture that I truly enjoy but many of the foods are made with a rancid butter and those I really can't handle (although I do my best and eat all I can with a big smile on my face). At this lunch two of the items had this butter in them: "poo" cake as our American friends have so graciously named it and Tibetan tea. "Poo" cake is rancid yak butter, yak cheese, a little wheat flour and sugar all mixed together and formed into a meatloaf shape (without cooking) and then they just slice off pieces and eat it raw, just like that. Tibetan tea (which we have to drink very, very often) is black tea made with rancid butter and salt served hot. We also ate some really good vegetable and water buffalo momo's (which are steamed dumplings) with a really good homemade spicy sauce to dip them in (which was also delicious). We had a great time hanging out with Lopsong and Dolma and getting to talk and catch up with them. Although we don't love all of the food and some of the cultural differences make us laugh, we are so thankful for them welcoming us into their home and for their friendship! We had a really fun time!

Me, Keane, Dolma, Summer and Sophia after lunch.

In Tibetan culture you generally don't smile in pictures. I don't know why but you don't. Lopsong knows that Americans do smile in pictures and so when he takes pictures with us he smiles but Ryan and Bo were trying to get Lopsong to not smile in a photo with them and Lopsong couldn't do it. He kept trying and then bursting out laughing. It was so funny.

Another attempt at a not smiling photo.

They finally decided to abandon the 'no smiling' thing and got a great picture.

The momo's that we ate.

The homemade chili sauce.

The "poo" cake cut into serving size pieces.

Tibetans LOVE dry meat. Don't let anyone fool you that because they are Buddhist they don't eat meat (of course there are a few people that don't and there is one month a year that they don't but overall Tibetans LOVE meat and believe that the one who kills the animal is the sinner, not the one who eats the animal). This goat leg was hanging in Lopsong's kitchen. They let it dry out and take off pieces as they are "ready". Lopsong said it is the most delicious meat. Thankfully for me, we didn't get offered any!

(Left) A picture of Lopsong's kitchen. A very typical Tibetan kitchen in the city (they are very different in the villages).

Gracie trying on Lopsong's motorcycle helmet.
Keane trying on his helmet. Keane and Gracie had a lot of fun too. They got to play with Sophia and get into all sorts of stuff at Lopsong's house. They even enjoyed the vegetable momo's.