KATHMANDU BABY

During the day the sky, is a perfect blue with candyfloss clouds, at dusk it turns pink and red. At night relief from the oppressive heat: the skies open and the rain thunders down . Matgelema is surrounded by lush forrest. Food grows all around; huge ripe mangoes dangle from the trees, pineapples sprout from their plants on the ground, jellied coconuts hang in juicy clusters above our heads. Every fruit looks so practically perfect. The scene is surely the perfect setting for Charlie and the Fruit Factory. I feel very pleased that my food mile consumption has just become less than 200 metres for all that I eat, and that even accounts for the chicken dinner that attempts to run off. Ah but then I spy the mum using oil from a jar which is labelled , ‘World Food Programme’. I think of my two girl friends who I know are meeting somewhere trendy in London for lunch. Can I tell them I might be eating some world food programme produce? No and anyway I’m sure it’s just an old container being put to use.
I am being fed so much rice, no wonder there is a rice shortage. One of my main concern becomes just how fat I will get during my stay here and explaining to people in London, whose TV screens are currently full of the rocketing rice price, how it was I managed to return so fat. Relatives bring us food to eat every day; chickens, pineapple, mango, sweet potato, papaya, coconut: the supply for us is endless. The food is brought the women cook it. Rebekah, ‘meh’ ‘meh’ (eat eat ) is the chorus to my day. My concerns about weight gain here will not be understood. Here is it good news to have a big belly, it is good news to have enough food, it is great news to be able to eat until completely full. I have never known real hunger , I will never understand.
I love the way we eat here. A huge plate that fills the small table is piled high with rice and then with the curry or gravy. We sit around the table, friends , family whoever has stopped by and then armed with a utensil or hand we all eat , out of the same plate. We chat (or I try and understand the mende chat), we eat, we relax .