Happppy Christmas everyone!!!

Hope you are having a magical time wherever you are! Thinking of you all, H xxx (p.s...thankyou to those who sent me cards/packages, i loved them all and was so excited to recieve them!)

I am now back in sunny Kathmandu after a week of village life and have to say…feels good to be back. Such a difference from the feelings I had when I first came here. Think being with a family that speaks only limited English has increased my confidence, and has made city life much less intimidating. I’m noticing things that I hadn’t spotted in my first week here and am no longer aggravated (as much) by the traffic and the smell – progress!!

So…village life hey?? What can I say….

After much hype about the village, and warnings about how hard it would be, I ended up really enjoying myself and feel lucky to have had that opportunity - An experience I will never forget. The family I was living with were all so kind and patient, and the mum a wonder in the kitchen; amazing what you can do with the fruit and veg from your garden and a small mud chullo/stove. You’d think I’d have got bored of dhaalbaat everyday but am actually really missing it. Saying that… given a choice of a scrummy home cooked roast with my family back home, or a plate of dhaalbaat, I know which one I’d choose!

When class wasn’t on, I spent most of my time playing with/being hassled by my hyperactive little sister, and listening to many a Nepali tale from my brother. Though have to say it would have been a much harder week without their giggles and playfulness. Having visited other volunteers in their respective houses, I got a sense of different families comparative economic standing. My house had cows, goats, crops, 2 large bedrooms (avec rats – not so fun spotting them running across the floor boards above my head and waking up with droppings covering my things. Tactic –put ear plugs in to block out their scurrying and pesky early morning rat-chats, tuck up tight and pray they don’t come and nibble me!) Other families had no animals, little food and very small houses. There was a sense of competition among the villagers, particularly between those whose houses were either at the top or bottom of the hill, and those in the middle. Our aamaas (mums) would invite us round to their houses for kajaa (snacks), and the next day talk would turn to who provided what and how much. My aamaa seemed particularly keen to prove herself to others/us. When I got ill she blamed the dinner I had eaten at another persons house, and told me never to eat there again. Pride wouldn’t allow her to think it was her cooking, and I definitely wasn’t going to suggest it! Which brings me to struggle number two – how to not wake up the whole family when you need the loo in the middle of the night. I failed – the door just wouldn’t open, and after 5 attempts and getting more desperate by the moment, the family came to rescue me. When back from the loo I was grilled on the status of my bowels. As they seem to love loo talk over here….I obliged them!

So besides food and loos, the week also involved a one-day community project. After hearing from the villagers about what they’d like us to do, we chose to put our budget towards helping redecorate the local school and provide play equipment for the kids. This sadly was not their first priority, which had in fact been fixing the water mains that were damaged during a protest in the nearby town over a month ago. Felt terrible that couldn’t help them with that, especially after the kindness they’d shown, but it was an impossible feat to do in just one day and with the money we had been given by VSO. I just hope it’s not too long before that is sorted for them, they get somewhat neglected being so far away from other civilization.

So….lots more I could say about my stay there, but as this is turning into a bit of a ramble I will leave it there, and maybe write more on it another time.

I’m off out now dressed in my Kurta, to go to our volunteers Christmas meal. Hope everyone has a wonderful day, and will speak to you again soon,
Lots of love and hugs, H x