*my arrival deserves a write up alone so I will be posting that soon
*intrnet is terrible and pictures don't upload so when I get a string connection sometime I will make posts with the photos!!
I woke up feeling confused and nervous about the day. I had drams about my night earlier and thinking I may have made a terrible mistake. The streets are scary and people live in such great poverty that I don't know whether to be scared or just cry for their pain. I was hoping that the light of the daytime will bring new feelings.
My roommate holine and I woke up around 7:20 and went down for breakfast to meet the other volunteers. While drinking milk tea and eating two eggs we discovered that we would not be staying in Kathmandu but actually traveling to Chitlang for our orientation program. I started to meet the volunteers and my favorite comment was when I asked olivia how she decided to volunteer in Nepal who only response was google!!!
We hurried upstairs and packed our bags forgetting most of the essentials such as money ( I would later find out that this was not necessary at all).
Holine and I waited anxiously in the rook only to find out everyone was waiting for us. We made our way through the filthy streets.
When I talk about the filth I am basing this off of my limited experience in the city, although I do not think it gets any better off. Everything possible is just tossed to the side of the street while roads are torn apart and left a mess. It truly is a sight that uses all of your senses and leaves the brain mind blown.
We reached our small van and climbed in. About ten minutes through honking horns, swerves, and almost hitting the occasional cow or person we picked up another passenger who rode in the open doorway of the bus next to me for the duration of our journey.
Our driver informed us we would be taking a winding path to the top of the hill in front of us. We all laughed at the joke until we realized it wasn't a joke at all. The van took the most dangerous roads I have ever experiences back and forth in the mountain path on diet, mud, rocks, and ruts all inches away from the cliff side.
Halfway up we stopped to take pictures then continues on. We reached the top them made our journey down on the other side to Chitland. Our group consists of 28 volunteers and a few program coordinates. We reached the town and stopped in the village and a nice hut for a traditional Nepalese lunch consisting of rice, lentil soup, veggies, curry and chicken. It was surprisingly delicious.
I believed our journey was ending here but we soon boarded two jeeps and a van to go on another hour jeep ride. There really is no way to describe the roads except for a comparison to disneyworld. If you have ever gone in the safari in animal kingdom you can get the picture. In Disney they form these mud roads and cement them so they are safe but look like tracked up and rutted mid. It is exactly like that here minus the cement casing plus the real mud.
Our crew in the jeep consisted of some hilarious people. We laughed and cracked jokes as we bounced in the back through small villages and gorgeous scenery. When we reached the town of Markhu we eagerly jumped out to solid ground and started taking pictures if the scenery. The only way to describe it is breathtaking. Because of the rains that have begun here the earth is growing bright green everywhere you look.
The villagers everywhere are all hard at work tending to the fields. As we walk by the kindly say Namaste and bow slightly with their hands pressed together.
We all board three boats and are paddled around by two Nepalese boys to the other end. Looking up there was a giant suspension bridge that looked quite terrifying. Of course we find out we will be crossing it. We hop out and hike up the terraced hill and begin to cross. It was very sturdy and fun to stand over the water below. In typical Nepalese fashion there were prayer flags tied to part of the bridge.
Walking through the village we saw a small glimpse of rural life and how simple everyone lives. I was able to snap some cute photos of a little girl who clasped her hands together me greeting me with a little high pitched namaste. I nearly melted!
When waving the village an older man came down and started talking to us. It was adorable when his wife came and started yelling at him. We found out he was in trouble for supposedly flirting with us!
During our excursion we came across Geo older Nepalese women. We asked permission to photograph them. She was shy at first but then she took off her head scarf and fixed her hair. The other women then waved for us to take her picture. They both had such string personalities and their smiles were full of warmth. It was truly a beauty different than you find at home.
On the way back to Chitlang we stopped to admire a beautiful .....
Omg as I write this I am in a tiny hard bed with my Australian roommate and a spider just crawled up. This thing did not want to die! I squished it and it just kept going but she finally crumbled it with her hand.
Anyways, we stopped to take pictures of a beautiful field with a single tree on top of the hill. It started to pour so while everyone stayed int eh covered back of the jeep Shavini and I jumped out and danced in the rain. It felt wonderful, and I kind of needed a shower anyways. Once it cleared up we hike to the tree and took photos. I have already said it but the beauty of the land is just unreal. I feel like I am living in a movie.
One of the best moments so far was when we nearly reached our camp in Chitland a little up girl laughed at the top of her lungs and waved.
We returned and had tea and cookies and then were placed in out home stays. Three Australians and I decided to room together because we get on so well together and walked towards our house. We were surprised to learn we would actually be living in a Nepalese house!
Our house consisted of a family of a mom dad and son. The mom proceeded to put on every piece of jewelry after we arrived! It was adorable. One Australian shared her spicy Cheetos with everyone and when th host, dad, ad i boy tasted he took the bags, scarfed them down, and just tossed the trash out the window. This explains the piles of garbage everywhere.
Next, we had our culture course which was extremely interesting and I will post more about another time. We ended the night by playing hot potatoes and whoever landed with it had to pick a card. The card either gave you a gift or made you do something silky. It was such a cool experience because of the volunteers ended up singing their national anthems for the singing dares. I was lucky and got a rhino statue! Everyone huddled around the fire then head back to their home stays where I am currently! It's simple and going to take a lot of getting used to if my next one is anything like this! But the whole experience is magnificent and unbelievable so far.
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