It would be nice to blame being on a team of all women for my shrill girly screams and jumpiness, but the truth is I've almost always been easily startled. My mom has often said I am scared of my own shadow, which I will neither confirm or deny.
So, one lazy Nepal evening right after sundown, I decided to forego the long walk from my room to the outhouse by stopping in the front yard to do my business. No sooner had I dropped my pants when a four legged creature of some kind approached me and got way too close for comfort!
I screamed, of course, and attempted to pull up my pants while running frantically toward my room! My teammates were getting ready for bed when I suddenly appeared in the doorway totally freaking out. I couldn't string any intelligible words together between nervous laughs and loud screams. It then became all too apparent that I hadn't adequately fastened my pants in the panic and they accidentally dropped to my knees! There was a full
moon that night for the ladies of my team.
Soon our host appeared in the doorway with a huge stick to fend off whatever evil was causing my crazy noise. Our neighbors came close to the fence to see what all the fuss was about. One guy even hobbled over on crutches! It seemed the whole village heard my loud and obnoxious yelling.
I sheepishly explained that an animal approached me in the yard. My pride was allowed to remain intact when they insisted it was likely a jackal, which are common in the area. Now, I'm not sure it was actually a jackal, but jackals sound pretty ferocious and worth the commotion!
The moral of the story is: don't be lazy. No matter how long the walk to the outhouse, make the trip and don't forget your flashlight.
