The Village Life

I am very excited about this post since it is my first since beginning life in my little village. It began with an eventful journey to where it is on top of a big hill. The amount of rain the area has been receiving has caused many landslides. In fact, about 20 people in the area have died because of it. The roads were severely damaged, but my bus driver was determined to make a profit off of it by being the only one to drive all the way to the top. After pretty much driving over a missing part of the road where there was just mud, rocks, and a newly formed stream, we unimaginably made our way to near the top at a rocking 5 mph. Since we couldn't make it all the way, I stayed the night at a local guest house, whose management kicked an old man (I think their grandfather) out of a room to give me and Krishna, my host dad, a place to sleep. Well, the grandfather left his big black dog chained up under Krishna's bed, and in the middle of the night, the thing let loose in the most terrifying rampage of beyond-belief barking, sending me into the most bone-chilled state I think any earthly human has ever experienced. I was completely frozen, and with my back turned towards the barking, it seemed to resonate the most with my tailbone for some reason, making it feeling like it was turning to ice, and specifically, that kind of ice that they serve at Sonic drive-ins that crumbles upon the slightest pressure of a bicuspid.

We hiked to the village the next morning, and it has been blissful since. I have witnessed a goat sacrifice, which seemed more like a event for the owner to make some money by selling off the body parts than a religious ritual. The going about of it was captivating really. A big pot of water was heated to boiling to help with the plucking of hair (I guess so that the skin could be preserved, since they waste not a single body part). The head was taken off with one slash of a big ugly scythe-ish sword. The blood was collecting, I think for frying later. The gutting was jaw-dropping (which isn't uncommon for me evidenced by pictures from Tonga), but still, the intestines (which I later ate some of) were cleaned out with water and mouth-to-intestine blowing. Enough. but here's interesting article my good friend Kenny sent me (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSEIC47086020070905).

My typical meals have been Dhal Baat, which I am developing quite the appetite for. I usually use silverware, but I have also used the "Nepali Spoon" - my hand, like most of the villagers and Nepalese for that matter. My host family's (water) buffalo gave birth this week, so the dad is very happy. He is a fascinating person. He adheres to Nepali customs, but he shares his own opinion of matters quite often. There is another volunteer next door to us from Holland. It is very fortunate that she so close in a village where the homes are so far apart. Her name is Heidi, and Krishna (my host dad), Heidi, and I share wonderful discussions on our take on life and our universes.

Krishna speaks good English, and he makes many jokes. Because of his accent, many of the things he says remind me of Borat, and for those of you familiar with him, know that I can be quite amused by that correlation. Krishna is a teacher, and I teach at his school. The staff wanted the goods I brought to be presented as a gift in front of the whole school (about 500 students) during morning formation. They call it morning prayer, but it is quite militaristic, so I call it a formation. I told them that these were supplies that my friends, family, and church in America wanted to give them because we believe that with good materials, they can become wonderful students and successful individuals, and because we love them. The name "Chinni Raja" has carried over to the school, and that is quite popularly my name now, making Chinni Land even more famous world-wide. Teaching is difficult, but I am feeling that their learning of English is extremely important to their success after school. Their is much work to be done in their English learning, and I hope that I can help with that as much as possible.

I would like to end with talking about my host family, for they are the main reason life here has been blissful. Krishna supports his parents, who live with us. The Grandpa is a grumpy old man who refuses to speak English or learn any part of it. I'm amused by it though. The Grandmother is very funny little lady with a rough around the edges attitude. She tried on my Oakleys and had fun with that. (My Oakleys were trampled on two days ago when they fell off as Heidi and I were being dragged through a crowd to dance in front of hundreds of villagers at a women's festival because they think our Nepali dancing is good. It was a blast though.) Krishna is wonderful as I've told you. His wife works very hard, as do all the women in Nepal - the patriarchal side of things can be very distasteful at times. Most of all, the three young daughters have been the best part of my experience here. They are 5, 8, and 10. Silina, Praamila, and Prativa, respectively. Silina and Praamila love to sing and dance. They push my watch, and when it lights up, I launch them into the air or tickle them if I've tired. We all four walk to school together everyday (which really is a 40 min hike), and those moments make me wish the hike could last forever. All in all, I must say that if this is not a beautiful life I am living, it certainly is a wonderful dream.