Nepal was a challenging month for me for many different reasons. When we were told that Nepal was confirmed and we would definitely be going, I was ecstatic. I would be leaving scorching hot India for nice cool Himalayan Nepal. After landing in Kathmandu, my team along with three others were whisked off to a church nearby to meet our contact. We spent two nights in the church sleeping with two heavy blankets on top of us. Finally! It was cold enough to have to use blankets and no mosquitoes! I was so excited. My team, along with Wildflowers, were told we were going to a village south of Kathmandu close to the Indian boarder, about an 11 hour bus ride. Even though we were going to be close to the Indian boarder I thought we would still need to bring clothes for cold or at least cool weather. We finally arrived at Haripur Prashansa Academy, our new home, around dinner time. It was a little warm but not too bad. Then bed time came. Our contact told us that we needed to put up the mosquito net unless we wanted to "dance with the mosquitoes" all night. We put it up but really did not do a good job so nothing was really tucked in. But we just came from India were the mosquitoes feasted on our bodies like a Christmas dinner and did not have to use a net; therefore logically speaking, it would not be that bad! Oh how wrong we were! The next morning, after the school dance, we were covered in bites. To make matters worse the day was long and extremely hot. I, however, was still optimistic that it would get cooler, that day was just hotter than most. Little did I know at the time that the days would only get hotter as we moved more into the heart of their summer. To say the least, Nepal was not as hot as Indian but it came pretty close.
To make matters for the month even more challenging, because mosquitoes and heat were not enough, I was placed in a village. Not just in a village but I was placed in a compound within the village. For the first week I was not allowed to leave that compound. There was a whole village outside those gates waiting, no begging to be explored and I could not go. I was stuck inside with a school, church, and the family's house. I felt like a caged bird! When I finally made my great escape, there was nothing more than a couple of corner or house shops (meaning they had sodas and soap but not much more). This village was 30 minutes away from the main dirt road where larger villages were located. A bus would come through ever so often but there was no way we could catch it. We could not speak the language and we had no clue where we lived or really how to get back if the bus did not come. We were about 5 kilometers from the Indian boarder, which for the two all girls teams meant you had to be exceptionally careful. This village was known for its part in human trafficking young girls to India. The constraints continued to tighten as we found out people, requested by our contact, were constantly watching our every moved, to protect us.
And if matters were not bad enough, we were so isolated and lonely that we began to get homesick. Hannah, a dear friend on Wildflowers began singing songs about the foods she missed the most. Every day we had rice, potatoes, and noodles. We rarely had fruit or meat. The song she sang was starting to get to all of us. Our fantasies and dreams about someday getting married and having family digressed into what was the first thing we would eat when we got to Kathmandu which digressed even further to what would be our first meal when we landed in the States. God always provides no matter how bad or good the food is; however, our two teams were in a state of desperation. We wanted nothing more than to make our escape from the village and never return. Like I said it was a challenging month.
With all of the challenges there were other things that brought pure joy to me. I was allowed to teach the fourth and fifth grade classes. I mainly taught math but it ranged from English to Computer class. Those were the moments I felt most at peace. I loved teaching!
Other joyous moments occurred with my fellow squad mates and friends. Being so isolated, you have two options, go crazy or build relationships with the people who are trying to stay sane themselves. There were many meals, laundry days, shower times, and nights under the mosquito net that were filled with laughter from our conversations. There were also many deep and passionate conversations. Even though I was threatening and maybe even teetering on the line of insanity, I would not trade it for the time I spent with my friends and the relationships that were built.
A normal day would look like:
6:00 a.m.: Last wake up call. The students would start arriving at school by then and since we stayed in a class room, they would love to walk by and stare to see what we were doing.
6:30 a.m.: Tea Time. Every morning we were required to be at tea time. We would have cookies and tea with buffalo milk. It was a little spicy but very tasty.
7:30 a.m.: Start Ministry. At first we were asked to teach classes but then it got reduced. Our ministry consisted of making a website, creating an accounting system, and creating a lesson plan for the school. When I would walk past a classroom full of students but no teacher, I would jump in and quickly come up with something for them to learn. This was my own created part of ministry. It helped to have something to do during the long days.
9:00 a.m.: Lunch. This almost always consisted of rice and potatoes with yellow curry sauce.
10:00 a.m.: Back to Ministry/Free Time. This would typically consist of us talking or doing laundry, maybe even a shower.
2:00 p.m.: Snack. This almost always consisted of noodles with yellow sauce.
5:00 p.m.: Bible Study. My team decided to study the book of Mark.
6:00 p.m.: Dinner. This almost always consisted of the same thing from Lunch and Snack. It was kind of like leftovers.
7:00 p.m.: Get ready for Bed. This could be showering under the pump, brushing your teeth, changing clothes, really just anything to keep from going to bed at 7:30.
10:00 p.m.: Late Night. If we stayed up this late, it was considered having a late night. The village would go to bed by 8:00 so everything would shut down, not that we were allowed off the compound that late.
(Family's house)
(The church building)
(Water pump and laundry area)
(Bathroom and shower)
(The school)
