Onto Stage Two

So the first leg of my journey in Nepal has come to an end.  The first week I spent in Kathmandu  was  amazing!  I met wonderful people from all over the world and spent a week learning the Nepali language through the RCDP program with 5 other students.  The six of us formed such close relationships in such a short amount of time because we traveled everywhere together and explored Nepal while we were all in pretty vulnerable states and in a relatively unknown world.

On Saturday night, all of us ventured back into the exciting mess that is Thamel.  Kirsten and Andy headed back to the hostel but I stayed out with Aaron, Jessica, and Diego.  We all got a chance to use the internet cafe and I skyped my parents for the first time since coming to Nepal.  Even though I was in the middle of a crowded town with people sitting all around me on computers, I felt like I was at home.  It was awesome!!  It's difficult to schedule times to Skype and talk on the phone with people at home because the time difference is so extreme.  It's doable though!

So anyway on Saturday night we ate at a yak restaurant and met some cool people from Australia, the UK, and South Korea.  We ended up sharing a table with all of them so there were 10 of us total.  Needless to say it was so much fun to meet new people who were traveling the world just like we were.  Some of them were here to volunteer while some of them came to do community service work for their college degrees.  Jessica ordered a Tibetan hot beer just to try it and while it was an interesting choice, no one seemed to enjoy it.  That'll be a memory forever.

On Sunday, we had our Nepali language exam, which all of us passed!  It was tough, but when I look at how much of the language I've learned in only five days, I'm impressed with my progress.  I even bought a dictionary to help me out in case my host family doesn't speak any English.  And boy am I glad I have that because the language is proving to be hard already where I am now, in Narayangarh.

The bus ride to Chitwan from Kathmandu was long, but not all that bad.  I had Aaron to keep me company, as well as an older couple from Australia who has stayed overnight at the hostel the night before.  Maybe about an hour in, people started throwing up.  And if you know me even a little bit you know that one of my biggest fears is throwing up!!  So I had to get used to people sticking their heads out the window with a plastic bag the entire way there.  Along the way, we stopped for snacks and breakfast which broke up the trip a little bit.  I was craving some fruit so I bought a bunch of tiny bananas to hold me over.  And bananas is pretty much what I ate the entire way, with the exception of some cookies that I bought for a treat.  The trip along the highway was just about what I expected it to be... lots of traffic jams and steep cliffs, broken down cars and busses off the road in ditches.  I'm just glad I made it to where I needed to be safely.

When I got dropped off at the hotel, the staff were looking at me strangely, probably because I hadn't made a reservation and had just showed up all sweaty and frazzled from the long ride.  But they were welcoming and gave me a nice room for the night!  I was really overwhelmed when I realized I was alone.  I found myself sitting on the bed, with an empty bed next to me, FREAKING OUT.  Like OMG I'm all alone, no one here speaks English well, nothing is written in English, but instead in symbols.  How the heck am I going to fend for myself when I don't even speak up back home??  I really was struggling.

But I walked downtown, being the only white person for miles, and tried to find some food or at least something familiar.  I was too scared to step into a restaurant, so I let myself take baby steps and buy some fruit from local people who had stands set up every 20 feet.  I thought, well I guess I'll be eating fruit for dinner, to go along with my fruit for breakfast and fruit for lunch.  By this time it was only 3:30 in the afternoon.  I came back to the room and decided to take a nap to settle my mind.  When I woke up, I explored the dining room and got some dinner in me- momos (dumplings) and rice, a huge amount of food for only about $2.  I downloaded a book to my Kindle and settled in for the night.

This morning I packed everything up and came to the dining hall for a solid breakfast of eggs and toast.  And that's where I sit now.  I have the room to myself.  One of the hotel staff members said he would give me a ride to my host family farm, so I'm glad for that stress reliever.  He said I could ride on his motor bike but I have luggage with me so DAMN!!  That would have been sweet.

I'm excited for what the future the holds.  In just about three weeks I'll be meeting up with my friends from the hostel to go trekking in the Annapurna region, to the Annapurna Base Camp.  I can't wait for that!  In the meantime, I'll be farming up a storm and taking an elephant bath in Chitwan National Park, among other things.

Peace out for now!!  Hope all is well :)