Apologies for the lack of update, the internet is scarce and power cuts are a way of life so it has been difficult to keep you informed!
We arrived at the airport where our leaders Barat and Bal Krishna greeted us, they gave us each silk scarves and took about a million photos of us. My first taste of Nepali life was difficult to say the least, a man dragged his body toward us begging, his legs were broken and twisted and the bones had obviously re-formed in the wrong way, his hand was backwards, his clothes consisted of some rags. And the project leaders shouted at him to go away. This wasn't as bad as the children with no clothes on begging and crying everywhere in the streets of Kathmandu, they follow you up the road just begging 'please'. We have been told that any money they receive goes to their parents, who make them do this to earn a living. The streets of kathmandu are severely polluted and over crowded, there are no pavements and cars and bikes drive all over the place, if you don't move then you get hit - it's as simple as that.
I'm not going to talk about the hotel because although it was a little shabby, it was a hotel. standard. we did spend some time visiting the tourist places like the monkey temple - it is called that for a reason, there are monkeys EVERYWHERE!! soo cute! lol. It is the temple of lord krishna who had over 1600 girlfriends, as legend would have us believe!
Off we went to our host family and OMG they are just the most wonderful people, they treat u as family immediately and gave me the Nepali name Rashya (to protect) - my mother shouts 'RASHYA!!!' when she wants me lol. I have a mother and father who i am to call mum and dad (ama and buwa in nepalise) i have a 22yo brother who speaks perfect english and loves Eric clapton!! And i have a beautiful 20yo sister called pratima who sits in my room and gossips with me at night! They dressed me in a sari - i am buying one for the festival and pratima is taking me shopping!
The way of life is a very simple one, cold bucket of water over ur head in the afternoon - this is the shower. A disgusting squat toilet in the outhouse (the hygiene in nepal is non existant, this is due to lack of education on dieseases and cleanliness). I sleep on a wood bed (no mattress) with a mosquito net, and the power goes out everynight, we eat by candlelight. Yes it's true, ALL we eat is RICE!! i've eaten so much rice my body is starting to reject it!! We have a full spinach curry at 8am before going to work and then the same at 8pm! And no, i'm not 'getting used to it' - it is disgusting. pure and simple.
Work is very tough, we are pick axing, shovelling and wheelbarrowing tons and tons of mud in the scorching sunlight or freezing rain. But that is getting easier each day. We have half days on friday and day off saturday so we went to the city for my birthday last night. People got me shitfaced and i have been sick twice today haha! Met lots of volunteers from around the world, it was interesting to hear what they make of nepal.
Going to the slums next week for the day, going to be the hardest day of my life no doubt. However, this is why i came here and the whole point of my trip so i must walk in with my eyes open and properly experience the life of these people.
All in all i am very settled. Of course i think of family and friends often and miss them. And i miss James so much that it hurts. But the life isn't all that bad, im enjoying what im doing and the people i have met here. Nepal is the poorest country in Asia and the 14th poorest in the world. But these people have rich lives full of love and happiness, u never see anyone frowning or angry, they accept the card they're dealt and get on with it, never asking for more than what they have in front of them. It is my opinion that the Nepalise are the most beautiful race in the world.
