The Fulbright House is the name of the apartment that Fulbrighters use when we are away from our villages and in a bigger city. For security purposes, I’m not going to show any pictures of the exterior, but it’s a nice, small apartment in a quiet community.
1. There are hot showers (sometimes). Hallelujah! I would like to take this opportunity to declare my profound love of hot showers. Having hot water is the most unexpected and thrilling surprise I’ve encountered. It takes a few minutes of freezing cold water before the hot water kicks in, so I use that time to wash some clothes, and by the time that’s done, I’m ready for a hot shower. Most of the time, there is no hot water or the water runs out in the middle of showering, but I’d rather have hot water some times than none at all.
2. We have two bathrooms (only one with a shower and western toilet- the other has a squat toilet and no shower), and there is a window in between the two! So, as I spend a not insignificant portion of the day in a bathroom–as any foreigner in Nepal is bound to do–I get to enjoy a lively conversation through the window with whoever is occupying the other bathroom. This has lead to unparalleled team building.
See the window on the right?
3. There are windows in our apartment (in the hallway and in one of the bedrooms) that look down into the living room of the residents below us. I’m still trying to figure out the purpose behind that architectural feature. As far as I know, the apartments were always separate, so I’m not sure why we get the pleasure of gazing into our neighbors’ living room activities. We take comfort in the fact that in an emergency, we can escape through the window and into the neighbor’s apartment (the windows are large and open, so my colleagues assure me they would be quite easy to climb through)
Window into the downstairs apartment
4. There is an abundance of wildlife. Just the other day, a cat never seen before climbed through a tiny crack in our window and made itself at home for a few minutes before quickly vacating again. It was having a hard time finding an exit and started to get quite panicked. Also, as I came outside one morning, I nearly treaded on a decapitated rat the size of my shoe. I hurried back inside, and when I peeked out again, all signs of the dead rat were gone. Before I open my eyes in the morning, I imagine I’m on a safari in the wilderness unknown, and all the animal sounds (monkeys, birds, dogs, roosters, cats) feed that imagination.
5. The beds are soft and mostly comfortable! If you have ever traveled to Nepal, you will know that the beds are harder than any rock or floor. It’s actually quite a feat to make beds that hard. The Fulbright House has soft beds! Mine is such that if I move at all, I bounce for a few minutes. I think the springs might be too springy. But still- imagine finding a springy bed in Nepal! Kudos to whoever pulled off that miracle.
My Americanized Bed!
6. Constant games of hide-and-seek! Never a dull moment when you are constantly playing hide-and-seek with the abundance of cockroaches and worm-turn-centipedes things we find. One delightful evening, we were all in the tiny kitchen making dinner when someone stepped on a cockroach (Note: these are the biggest roaches ever), and this cockroach apparently just got up again and went on its way. Now, one of my roommates is missing his solar panel, and we think the roach took it for revenge.
Don’t mistake the sarcasm for not appreciating it. The Fulbright House is great- it has elements of both American and Nepali apartments, and we are lucky to have it. I think aspects of it also allow us to adapt quickly to the environment and to living with each other.
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