Trekking vocabulary and culture (lesson 15)
lekh, ukaalo, oraalo, paani — the mountain words you'll use every day above 3000m, plus the cultural etiquette of teahouse stays.
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FSI 1979, lesson 15. The trail-specific vocabulary every trekker needs above 2500 m. Core list around minute 3: lek (high altitude pasture), ukaalo (uphill), oraalo (downhill), paani (water), khola (river/stream), pul (bridge), jharanaa (waterfall), baato (path/road). Around minute 6: teahouse-stay vocabulary — kothaa (room), bistaraa (bed), tato paani (hot water), khaanaa pakaayo (cooked food), bil (bill). Cultural drill at minute 9: never step over food or another person's legs, take shoes off before entering the kitchen, and 'jutho' (ritually polluted) — once your lips touch a cup it cannot be shared. Final 2 minutes: the altitude-sickness phrase set — 'lek lagyo' (altitude has affected me), 'taauko dukhcha' (my head hurts), 'orlinu parchha' (I need to descend).
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