Our Story : Visa process and long wait – Part 22

This is a continuation of my previous posts. Please read the previous posts here.

I was really sad when our holiday to Thailand came to an end. We had had an amazing time together and it was so much fun spending every second together doing things we loved.

The last day, at the hotel, we were busy packing. I couldn’t believe that I had come with an empty suitcase and now there were so many stuffs that AS was having a hard time trying to fit all of them in. It was probably a good we were busy otherwise I would have become too emotional and the impending separation would have been harder.

We took a cab to the airport and checked in. Luckily, we didn’t have any problems with my luggage even though it was 8 kg over the limit. My flight was departing first so we went to the gate where my flight was.

I tried my best not to cry and make him feel sad. We just talked and he promised that we will keep in touch like before and finally he would be with me in Sydney soon. I knew it is not too long in the future but at the same time those few months before he would be in Sydney were going to be hard ones.

With a heavy heart I bid good-bye to AS and went through the gate to board my plane. That last hug lasted longer than intended and both of us were wordless for a while. I really didn’t want to let him go but they were announcing the last call so I had to board the plane.

I looked at him for the last time before entering the plane. It was really hard. Harder than before, because now I had a taste of our life together and thinking it may not happen again soon was killing me. Nevertheless, I had to go back to Sydney and him to his job.

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I really can’t remember the first half of the flight because I had millions of things in my mind. As soon as it was allowed, I opened my laptop and looked at the lovely photos we had taken in Thailand. It felt like a dream and I had woken up all alone again.

Back in Sydney, life resumed as normal. I missed him a lot and we talked or sent messages every day and Skyped as much as possible. We spent several hours talking about our lovely holiday in Thailand and planned more holidays for the future.

All I wanted at that stage was for him to be next to me.

At his end, he was preparing papers for the visa. Some of the documents were taking longer than expected delaying the whole process. Eventually everything was done, visa lodged, and everything was out of our hands. We had heard some people had their visa in weeks and some had gone for months and even years. Therefore, we didn’t know what to expect for ours.

I knew in my heart it was not going to be years but at the same time I knew he wouldn’t be in Australia tomorrow. AS used to make light of our situation asking me to enjoy my single life as much as possible before he arrives and controls my life. I definitely preferred that option than what I was in at that time.

I was back at my job and it was good because that kept me busy and gave me less alone time. Otherwise, I might have gone crazy thinking about our situation. I really don’t know how people handle long distance relationships for long periods of time. For us it was not so long and still I was losing my mind. I especially salute the family of soldiers who are posted away from them months on end; on top that they are always worried about their loved getting hurt or worse.

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I kept reminding myself that we were lucky and things had worked out so well for us so far. Rest of the things would be OK as well.

But then I had the days when I was down and I feel bad thinking now that I had unreasonable fights with AS during that period. I knew in my heart he didn’t have any control and he was doing his best but still I had to take my frustration out on someone and he ended up being at the receiving end. Poor AS.

I have to give most of the credit to AS for our long distance relationship’s survival. He was so patient and listened to me no matter what mood I was in. On my bad days, he just tried to show me the light at the end of the tunnel and on good days, he laughed with me. No wonder I love him so much and I feel blessed to know he is in my life. He is one of the greatest blessings from God, and his love is a gift that I open every day anew.

A few months went by just like that. There were definitely some difficulties at that time but we were still surviving with a big hope of being together soon.

Then one evening he called me. I was surprise that he called me as we didn’t have a plan to Skype that day. I was still at work and he had some other things planned but I was so happy to receive a call.

Me: Hello, baby. How are you?

AS: I am good. Are you Ok?

Me: Of course why? I am at work and will be finishing in a few hours. Can’t wait to go home and talk to you.

AS: I know baby. I was thinking of you so decided to call you.

Me: Ohoo so sweet and thank you baby.

AS: By the way I got an email from the immigration department.

Me: AND???!!!

AS: And that’s it.

Me: Come on. That it WHAT???

AS: And they said that I can go to you whenever I want.

I screamed when he told me that forgetting there were people around. I was so happy.

Me: Ohoo that’s such a good news and I am so happy. Did you call home?

AS: I will soon. Just wanted to tell you first.

Me: I am so, so happy baby. Now no more late night Skype and phone calls. Can’t wait for you to be here and hold me.

As: I know and I feel the same. Anyway, go back to work and I will talk to you tonight.

Me: OK love.

When you receive a good news that you have been waiting for, for a while you are thankful and relieved. That was exactly what my reaction was when he told me, relived and thankful. I was so happy thinking he would get here soon and then I would actually see him at the airport–in real life 3D and not Skype; that would be one of the best days of our life. Finally my prayers had been answered and he was going to be here.

Of course, it wasn’t going to be that easy. Otherwise, our life would have been boring.

Stay tuned for the next post.

Take care ,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Go to Part 23

Golveda Kerau Achar (Tomato and Green Pea’s achar)

Ingredients

  • 4 medium tomatoes chopped
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 cup green peas (I used frozen one)
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon coriander powder
  • Salt to taste
  • Fresh coriander to garnish

Steps

  • Heat up the pan on high heat and add oil.
  • Add turmeric powder and peas and stir it for a minute or so.

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  • Add chopped tomatoes into the pan, stir it and cover it with a lid for 3-5 minutes. Do not forget to stir it in between.
  • Once the tomatoes are mushy in texture, add chilli powder, salt to taste, coriander and cumin powder.

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  • Stir well and mash the tomatoes to give it a gravy texture.
  • Add ¼ cup of water and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes on low heat.

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  • Place the achar in a bowl and garnish with fresh coriander.

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Take care ,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

I am getting old

For the last two weeks or so I have been having some pain in the right side of my back. It stared on the day of my nephew’s birthday and wasn’t too frequent for a week but then suddenly it has been painful all the time for a week now.

I went to the doctor last week to see if he can do anything. He examined me and told me to see if it gets better in time, gave me some painkillers and asked me to put a heat pack on it. I always want a miracle when I visit the doctor and was hugely disappointed when the pain continued even after the visit.

So now I am not able to do a fast walk during my lunch break and I haven’t swum for a week. On top of that I am avoiding high heel shoes and that was a big deal for me.

Anyway looks like my age is catching up with me and for the time being I need to be extra careful with my back.

Hope everyone had a great week.

Take care ,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Dry fry Nepali style goat curry

I had guests for lunch last weekend. They informed me that they don’t eat chicken and chicken is what I do best. I decided to make goat for them but wanted to do something special. I have never tried the goat like this before but was so proud at the end when the goat curry turned out so good that I didn’t even have a piece left at the end of the day. Even my brother who doesn’t like goat at all ate it and had second helping. AS was really happy and the guests all praised my cooking. My mum will be so proud to know that I am becoming a better cook every day.

Ingredients

  • 1 kg goat with bones cut into 1 inch cubes (pieces with bones can be a bit bigger too)
  • 3 medium onions thinly sliced
  • 2 dry red chilies
  • 2 medium tomatoes diced
  • 2 tablespoons ginger & garlic paste
  • 1 inch cinnamon stick
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
  • 6-8 curry leaves
  • 1 tablespoon red chili powder
  • 3 tablespoons garam masala powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 5 tablespoons oil
  • Fresh coriander to garnish

Method:

  • In a pressure cooker, put cut goat meat cover half the meat with water and add 1 tablespoon of salt.
  • Cook it until the whistle goes off 5-8 times. Let it cool down.
  • The meat is perfect if you can separate the meat from the bone with hand.

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  • Drain the water and pour the meat into a large bowl with 2 tablespoons ginger & garlic paste, 1 tablespoon red chili powder, 3 tablespoons garam masala powder, 2 table spoon of oil and marinat well and leave it for at least a few hours in the fridge. I left mine overnight and it was just great.

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  • In a pan, add oil, onion and salt and sauté until onion becomes soft and translucent. Take the onion out of the pan and put it aside.

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  • In the same pan, add remaining oil, add dry red chillies, cinnamon stick and curry leaves and fry them for a minute.

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  • Now add the marinated meat and fry until the meat is brown on all the sides. Keep stirring frequently making sure, the meat doesn’t stick to pan and keep frying for 5 to 8 minutes on medium flame.

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  • Add tomatoes and fry them all together for about 5 minutes or until tomatoes are cooked and mussy.

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  • Transfer into a serving bowl and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

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Take care and happy FRIDAY ,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Bringing Nepal to our home

When I was young and naive, I had planned to build a nice Nepalese architecture style house in Sydney. I wanted to buy land and bring craftsmen from Nepal to construct this dream home.

I wanted to use wooden Nepalese style windows and doors. Make every part of the house as Nepali as possible.

I also wanted a garden with a pagoda and dunga dhara (stone water feature). I still want to make it one day if I win a lottery but for the time being I need to dream a little smaller.

When we bought our place here in Sydney, it didn’t have anything Nepalese; it was a modern building with modern interior. Still I wanted people to get a feel of Nepal when they visit our place so we tried our best to bring Nepal into our living room.

When people visit us, the first thing they notice will be a big oil painting. The painting is of a landscape of Nepal with mountains, hills, village style house and everything Nepalese.

It is around 5 feet by 3 feet. There is a long story behind the painting. It took us a while in Nepal to find the painting and we are glad that we managed to get it. We brought it from Nepal but got it framed in here.

The next thing they will notice are two Nepalese handmade carpets in the dining area and living area. We were really lucky to get these carpets.

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When we were in Nepal, we looked for the carpets for a month and we could not find anything we liked. Most of them were too multicoloured and too modern for our liking. We wanted a typical Nepalese design and we were hugely disappointed. Luckily, we went to do this trade fair and the first shop we went to had these carpets and we got them right away. It was just a few days before we left. For me, these carpets were love at first sight. 🙂

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We also have a large statue of Goddess Tara displayed on one side of the TV cabinet.

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On the TV table, I also have a statue of Buddha and the supari from our wedding.

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On the buffet table, I have a statue of standing Budda and two panas.

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I also got the window valance custom made in Nepal. It is not really Nepalese style but I like it.

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I still have a few things planned to make the room more Nepalese but I am happy with the outcome.

What do you think of my Nepalese collection :)?Please share what did you bring from your heritage to your home?

Take care ,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO