Hello,
thanks all for reading,
As this is the first day with internet for days i would like to make a few amendments to the last entry.. I have spent a few days since chatting to various other travelers and volunteers and have found out that my cheeky tourguide rava didnt really know anything. The square was made in the 17th/18th century and to receive a blessing in her courtyard is not a special thing needing to have connections. I felt like a dumbass when i found out! But all the same it was pretty cool, but i wont ever be taking a tour of anything ever again.
Its now my third day living out of the city in the north eastern part of the valley, the mountains tops are gone, dwarfed by the preceding hills - which by my standards are still mountains but are '1day trek' to the locals. Everything is so much more chilled out here, there are no taughts of any sort and the only people approaching u are those who are generally interested as to what I am doing here... im sure it does seem to be a weird place to stay. For anyone who has been here, im close to the Vishnu temple and the washer river. Im staying with a host family who are growing on me, the adults cannot speak english and im still limited to three of four things so i dont even know there names... i just smile and make polite hand gestures and we seem to get on. The kids of the host mother do speak english and have made this two month prospect appear optimistic, Bashla is 16 and she speaks almost perfect english, she goes to college at 4:30am and when she comes back is straight to doing everything around the house to do without acceptance of any tried help! So unsuprsingly i dont see her that much. The other kid is 11 year old and I call him chief, his real name is Ayush. He loves my laptop, my phone and my guitar and especially the cheap little scooter i hired yesterday, at $3/day, so a piece of crap but it goes, and fast enough to catch up with the crazy super bikes everyone seems to have as the traffic is max 30 anywhere, there are just too many people/cows/chickens and children in the road.
Yesterday was the first day i had at the project, I met the kids in the early morning to meet them and help them walk to school. From the first hour I was intrigued by them and by the time it came to my second shift 3:30 till dark, i was smitten. It will be really hard to learn all their names, a Chinese/American volunteer who is leaving in a couple of days told me it took her around a month, i think i may be able to do it a little faster as i have given a few of them nicknames (usually the little ones who dont really mind what the hell u call them) but a few real names have stuck, and of course they are all super cute. They all call me 'brother' and demand loads of attention, but iv got all the time in world out here so i can give it to them.
The food has been great, although iv only eaten meat twice since i got here, but the curries and dal make up for it. I can eat with a spoon like Ayush but the rest of the house chose their hands, they do have quite a knack for this but i think when i saw that Ayush used a spoon, i gratefully followed. Its not just Dal Baat here in Nepal, i have found amazing inter-meal thingies... Momos for a start, veg or meat steamed dumplings with a hot curry sauce covering them - the Tibetan ones are on another level as they also fry them. Crispy noodles and poprice curries and The bakery stuff here is awesome,no bread for my marmite :( but nepali doughnuts and cakes are a pretty good break to the Dal Baat monopoly. Dal Baat is literally rice with lentils and various spices and is eaten at breakfast lunch and dinner... breakfast is usuall about 3 hours after waking though and dinner just before bed. The dinners i guess are the same as in England, families talking, joking and preforming sometimes shouting. The house is very basic, but quite large, there is little to no furniture and of course no mattresses or hot water. Electricity seems to like to die its daily death at around 6 or 7 in this corner of the valley but i am enjoying the candles, i have made my room real homely and am not living out of a backpack for the moment, fantastic.I cannot not say that i am having the most incredible time, this is the most wonderful country, the people are fantastic (those who are not after ur rupees - but even these people are terribly likeable) and I am settling in... and now i know where i can get internet - next i will try and find a place where i can get some bread! :)
Really facinating reading,what are you sleeping on?
ReplyDeleteOH Leo I am so envious - what a fantastic experience. Yes......my thoughts too what are you sleeping on - just a mat?
ReplyDeleteHow has the tummy been?
Spot the mothers! (says Colin) x
ReplyDelete