We all survived our arrival at Kathmandu, the city is a whirlwind of sounds, smells and sights which we all tried our best to explore in our limited time. With a map in one hand and the hotel address in the other we all set out to see the sights and managed to get lost many times along the way.
On the 26th of June we began our journey to Pokhara, 7 hours and 200 km later we reached our destination. During our travels we really learnt the meaning of traffic and potholes and were happy to finally get off the bus! We soon realised that Pokhara was much calmer than Kathmandu although it was still hot! The place is set in a valley of mountains and the main tourist spot is right on the Phewa Tal lake, a perfect spot to enjoy an afternoon beer or cruise out on the lake in a rowboat.
We caught some of the sights around Pokhara on our first day and were given a history lesson about Tibet and a Nepali language lesson. On the 27th we headed to meet our host families. We reached Tashiling Tibetan Refugee Village in the afternoon where we were paired off with our host Mums who came to collect us. We have since tried many traditional tastes and experienced a different way of life. We have been able to try traditional Tibetan tea made from butter, salt and milk and enjoy rice at every meal! Our host parents have definitely been making sure we eat enough, I have never eaten so much rice in my life so my dreams of loosing weight while staying in Nepal have been shattered, needless to say we are being well looked after.
Over our first week we have discovered our best squatting position and bucket showers have become the most refreshing part of the day, we have also realised that being in such a small village means that everyone knows everyone and word spreads fast! Our Tibetan language is developing and each day and night we have the opportunity to try it out on our hosts who are always very patient trying to decipher what we are saying.
Our working week began on Tuesday 28th June. All hospital volunteers were up and rearing to go by 7.30am and they soon discovered that the hospital is not quite as luxurious as our public system however they have all jumped in with enthusiasm. The teachers headed off for their first day and found that teaching English to children can be a grammar challenge when they start asking technical questions! Workers at the disability centre found that the kids were great fun but they had a time dodging snotty noses and the volunteers at the orphanage were busy keeping the children in check, playing games and keeping them entertained.
Just over a week into our placement and we are becoming accustomed to the Tibetan lifestyle, just like the Tibetans we can now be found hanging out the front of Sonam’s house swapping stories. There have been some illnesses adjusting to food and climate but our first weekend was spent paragliding and mountain hiking which helped alleviate any illness.
Our working week started on Sunday this week and I for one found it quite difficult to drag myself out of bed knowing it was Sunday morning but we all tackled the Sunday shift and started another week. The plans this week involve the Dalai Lama’s birthday tomorrow (Wed 6th July) where we get to enjoy the Tibetan culture and dress up in traditional dress. Thursday (7th July) we are off to the jungle heading to Chitwan National Park. We will stay for 2 nights and 3 days and hopefully get to ride an elephant, spot a rhino and maybe even a tiger if we are lucky. Back to the grind on Sunday 10th July!
1 week in and we are all adapting to the heat of the day and the pouring rain at night! We are discovering that this new way of life has many lessons to be learnt and many challenges to jump into, with plenty of rice in our bellies so far it is going well!
This journal update from 1/13 Unibreakers in Nepal is great for those friends and family back in Australia.
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