the nature of illness, a grumpy rainy day, the kitchen and food, washing in the sun, a plethora of tea.

If you should know one thing before you go to Nepal it’s that you will get sick. The question is only the manner and duration of the illness. Most people who come get some kind of intestinal issue, usually where stomach contents are going out in unusual ways or unusual paces. Instead of encountering this ‘normal’ problem, both times I have taken my Alaskan/Maine roots seriously and instead contracted the common cold- Nepali style. This means a cough which at first is spastic enough to make you throw up your breakfast, and then metamorphosizes into a true weight on your chest and mouthfuls of yellow phlegm (not pleasant, trust me, I know).
The brunt of my cold took it’s cue from the skies, which on Tuesday opened up into the first rain in the Kathmandu Valley since October. Though this was probably good news for the crops and plants, it is hardly pleasant when you live in a big brick home full of windows and no heating system, unless you count sleeping bags, human bodies, and candles. To compound the problem, the older kids who attend the government school had a 3-day ‘holiday’ which turned out to be a teacher strike. The kids found out on Sunday after walking down to school, returning 20 minutes later and explaining their reappearance through the confusing “the teachers at our school have a fight!” After I finally understood that there hadn’t been a brawl I joined the Nepali’s in saying “Ke Garne?” which means “What to do?” Consequently, on the day of this chilly day of rain 60 kids were all cooped up inside one house with no electricity and even less to do.
Combined with my cold it made for a rather grumpy day, but the next day the sun was shining again, and my spirits have been high. Sankhu is an odd place- last time I thought constantly of home, probably because so many new experiences at once were hard to deal with. This time, however, I feel much more present. To give you an idea of a general day here, I usually wake up around 6 to the dulcet tones of a loud buzzer, which in fact is like waking up to a mild electric shock, although I probably exaggerate. I then lie in bed for an hour or so reading or listening to music, or perhaps just thinking, a lovely privilege given my usual experience of bounding out of bed to start being productive. I share the room with three other volunteers at present, although one has just been here for the week, and it’s nice to hear each person wake up and quietly take some time for themself, even though we are all in the same space.
Around 7 or 7:30 we are usually all up, at which point there’s no exact schedule (a common theme out in Sankhu). I usually go and help kids with their homework or sit in the sun and talk with some of the older kids. I almost always check in the kitchen to say good morning to the cooks and see if they need help. I’ll admit, I also have an ulterior motive: tea. They are always making tea in the morning, and it’s almost always tasty, despite being laced with enough sugar to create an army of diabetics. As an auntie I am also almost always offered some when I come in, which makes a goodmorning in the kitchen well worth it, even if they don’t need any help.
This is the case most of the time, but the older girls that I am closer to always invite me to stay, even if I’m just peeling garlic or cutting potatoes, because the kitchen is such a social place. My favorite discovery is that talking is in no way integral to spending quality time together. I think the boys in the US understand this very well, and do activities together without saying much. I’ll admit, ‘girl time’ at home rarely has this element- instead it seems that conversation is constantly on the menu. It’s nice to just spend time with people and appreciate them, without needing to say anything. I am learning this lesson especially well because I don’t understand half of the things that are said around me, namely because they are said in Nepali.
After breakfast I try and take a walk or hike somewhere, although this week I have taken a rain check, both literally and in the figurative, I-need-to-get-better-first kind of way. I usually get back at the beginning of Junkiri primary school, which adjoins the house, just as the two other volunteers who come to teach during the day both arrive. As there are usually five of us, along with five Nepali teachers, and only 6 classes (Nursery through class five), I usually don’t teach for the first four periods. Instead I use that time taking that time to do small chores, my favorite being laundry and bathing in the little brook next to the house. I’ll admit, this can be really chilly, but the sun shines right down on the rocks, and the soap and the clothes are beneath your hands, and the water pours down onto your head, and at the end I always feel happy and calm.
I also use the morning to read or to set up my photo lessons, both planning the curriculum and reflecting on how previous classes went. The most time goes into uploading photos from the previous sessions and readying the cameras for new photographers, as 15 photographers are currently using 8 cameras at different times, and I expect the number of students to increase, given the number of requests I’ve had for lessons. Unfortunately, none of them will be as in-depth as the lessons I’m giving to classes 4 and 5, although two older girls who are very self-motivated are working on an alphabet exchange project that I hope to do with some students at Brunswick High. For the most part I think I will do some weekend workshops with people who are interested, showing them basic camera functions and doing a short project, most likely “Portraits” given the hard-to-beat fixation of these kids on taking hundreds of pictures of themselves and their friends, all of which are generally indistinguishable from each other.
After school is out, or on weekends/holidays, I usually spend some time just hanging out in the room with the other volunteers, talking over lessons and getting some time away from the kids, which is crucial given that we live with 60 of them all day, every day. Often I will walk down to the village, with or without other volunteers, and buy fruit for the next day, but only enough for 1-2 days because it's a good excuse for a walk. The apples here aren't as tasty as home, but i'm hoping to spice them up by buying peanut butter in kathmandu (it's not going to be the best peanut butter ever, but i'll probably appreciate it just as much). The oranges, however, are excellent, and the grapes in season right now are nice two, small, tart and sweet. In the evenings we help with homework/in the kitchen, or wait impatiently upstairs for dinner, which is served at varying times due to the electricity schedule- once we ate at 5:30, and sometimes at 8:30. I am learning patience. In the evenings i usually read, finish up projects or curriculum planning, and/or listen to music. Basically, i have more relaxing time here than i know what to do with, and sometimes more than i enjoy, but it's all a part of working and living in Sankhu.
One of the girls just brought me unasked for hot tea. Amazing. This is the best, most personalized, appreciated room service in the world. Let me tell you- I may appreciate a good piece of toast with avocadoes on it at home, but you appreciate so much more when you are far away and eat the same thing (rice and curry) twice a day, every day. It’s usually pretty tasty, but still. Hopefully I don’t give myself a stomach ache in Kathmandu, where I will be spending the weekend to send and upload PhotoPals pictures and have a little pampering- hot showers, my own room, and western food. While excited for the comforts of ‘home’ I’m still definitely happy here. Today is Shivaratri, a festival signaling the end of winter, and we will have a big bonfire and dancing until late in the night. (note: Kabita, an amazing girl here who feels like a kindred spirit just brought me MORE tea. I now have two steaming cups, and the second is Nepali milk tea. Score!) This is a good note on which to end this entry, which I am typing now to post tomorrow in the city. I am sipping my tea and looking at the light slant downwards with the setting of the sun.