Since I haven’t had much internet this month and when I do have internet it
is kind of crappy. So I will give you a run down of what has been happening
the last couple weeks.
When we arrived in Nepal, we were short three squad members because Phillip
didn’t get all of his passport and visa stuff figured out. Another girl
lost her passport during our free day in Hyderabad, India. Along with them,
the female squad leader stayed behind. The girl that lost her stuff decided
it was best for her to go home. Phillip and Melina jumped on a plane to try
to get to Nepal. They made it to New Delhi before customs had a fit when
Phillip didn’t have an exit visa. Therefore they had to stay in Delhi all
weekend until the US consulate opened on Monday. They acquired the visa
Monday afternoon and flew in to Kathmandu last week Tuesday morning.
The next day we had to catch a bus which was going to take us way out east
to Surunga, Nepal. It was scheduled to leave at 2 pm and didn’t leave until
3:30 pm. It was also only supposed to be a 10-12 hour bus ride that was
actually 15 1/2 hours. We arrived in Surunga about 7 am Thursday morning
and hiked half an hour to one of our contacts (Pradi) aunt and uncles
house. This must have been the hottest house I have ever had the pleasure
of staying in. It was close to 100 and the humidity was 100 %. We spent the
majority of that day resting and staying in the shade. I made the mistake
of thinking my hammock was going to be the coolest place to sleep and it
was most definitely a sauna.
The next morning was an early one because we had to get a van before the
strike started. There is a daily public trans strike from 6-10 am. Due to
that we were up at 5 am to catch a ride to the base of a mountain about 15
minutes away. We had breakfast at a small cafe at the bottom before the
hike. We were told that the hike only takes the locals about 20 minutes but
would probably take us about an hour. Although three days earlier we were
told it was a 3 hour hike. We started up this mountain with all of our gear
and 2 litres of water each. When we were about 30 minutes in a lot of
people were given false hope from our contact (Reuben) who told us we were
half way there. Well, 5 hours later we were there. We had to go up a
mountain, nearly 3200 ft to a final height around 8000 ft, then drop back
down all that distance. At that point we were sure we were close. We rested
at a river then climbed back up the mountain on the other side of the
river. This climb was about 2000 ft and took a little more than an hour.
Around 11:30 we arrived at Reuben’s parents house. This house was awesome
and right on the river. We ate then rested until about 3 pm. Reuben
promised to teach us how to fish in the river. The men all went down to the
river and found a soccer field that had a game going on. Reuben and I were
focused on fishing but the rest of the guys played soccer. When Reuben told
me that we needed to find fresh cow toilet for fishing I was very confused.
We searched the field for cow crap and filled a bag about the size of a
plastic grocery bag. Then we made balls of s**t about the size of a
cantaloupe. We covered and filled the poo with corn meal and placed it in
knee deep water. In some spots the current was strong so we had to dam in
front of the bait. We let the bait sit while we bathed in the river. We
waited until just before dark and then Reuben taught me how to use a cast
net. Then we simply cast the net over the poo and pull the fish out. We did
eat them later that night.
Saturday we visited several huts, the school that is being built and the
church that Reuben’s father started. It was about a 3 hour hike in all.
Then we played in the river all afternoon. Also we killed 2 chickens for
supper. That was a new experience for a lot of people. Then it was hang out
time/sleep as much as you can.
Sunday we were up at 4:30 am to hike out and catch our vans at 9 am. The
hike down only took 3 1/2 hours. We ate breakfast in the same place we ate
before the hike up. Then we rode to an orphanage about an hour west. In
that same town we ate lunch at a church that Reuben planted. Then a “3”
hour bus ride which took 5 1/2 hours to Gaighat, Nepal. Spent the night at
another one of Reuben’s churches. Slept in my hammock again and was rained
on. Another uncomfortable night.
Monday morning, up at 4 am to catch a bus at 5:30. Our “6” hour bus ride
took 12 hours. After 8 hours, a flat tire and a bunch of stop we were in
Hetauda, Nepal. 4 hours later we were in Sauraha, Nepal at the Royal
Chitwan National Park/Parsa Wildlife Reserve. We ate supper shortly after
we arrived. After supper was a cultural dance show just down the street
from the hotel.
Tuesday morning we went to the safari about 8 am. This is where we climbed
onto elephants and rode around the reserve for 2 hours. Probably one of the
most awesome bucket list items I didn’t know I had. I saw a rhino!! After
the safari we had lunch before we headed back to Kathmandu. The “3” hour
van ride to Kathmandu took 6 1/2 hours, but it was really nice to be “home.”
As He leads me,
Jason
