Roadside coconuts and life without Steve

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I finally enjoyed my first roadside coconut slice, as I've been eyeing up since I first got here. Malai nariwal manparcha! (I like coconut!) I can't imagine that it was the most sanitary food item I've had (admist roadside dirt, dust, exhaust and flies), but I concerned in the least provided the conditions my daily meals are prepared in (dirtay dirtay kitchen). I am developing quite the stomach of steel here. And I thought I had one before- oh how far I've come in just over a month!

Steve's last day in town prior to trekking the Annapurna Circuit for two weeks was last Sunday, so we decided to send him off in the proper manner with some decent food and bevs. We discovered this cute wood-fired pizza place in Thamel where I devoured the biggest pizza I've single handedly finished on my own. I have absolutely no idea where it went with as little food as I've been eating recently. But absolutely AMAZING. After checking out this cute loungey place with cushions on the floor around mini tables and a couple white/black russians later, we (attempted) to head back to the Tradition for a quick nap before parting ways but were instantly intercepted at reception. Paul had left us a note and seriously wanted to having a health meeting then, at 6pm, while both of us were half drunk. I thought he was playing some kind of sick joke on us, as this was certainly not the plan. So we both attempted to focus over the next three hours while all I could think about was getting a bit of shut eye. After enduring those three grueling hours, we parted ways, as Steve was roped into heading out with the others and my family was expecting my back at the house. I began walking back to Manamaiju around 930pm. Other than a few locals, the roads are completely deserted (so early!). I am the only white person ridiculous enough to be walking alone at night. But in all honesty, I genuinely feel safe here. In fact, I've never once felt as though my safety were threatened. There is so little crime out here, you very rarely hear of anything happening in the valley. Then again, I don't watch the news or read the paper. But regardless, I would KNOW!

I give in and take a cabbie up on his offer, because all and all, I'd rather not walk an hour on unlit roads after dark. See, I do have common sense after all (no worries mama dukes!). I arrive at the house shortly before 10pm, where I find the house boarded up like Fort Knox. Fortunately, the uncle peeked out the window and opened all 10 of the locks/boards, but only after scolding me about how late it was. If I'm going to be returning home, I need to do so before 8pm from now on (holy early!). But we all know I didn't have much of a choice this time. It was Paul's fault with that 3 hour meeting- ha!

On Monday, following my first single-handed health checks, I managed to choke down some soy sauce rice as my stomach wasn't in its best shape. The cold had returned, but this time with a vengance, as I was initially unable to put on enough clothes to warm me up at 65 degrees ambient. Two sweaters, a tank top and t-shirt neglected to get the job done. Of course, my wet hair certainly didn't help matters- hair dryer desperately required. I ate breakfast in all of this clothing, in addition to my ski hat and was still chilly. After much debate, I decided to leave the hat back home on my journey to Thamel, as I get enough looks on my own without being dressed like there's snow outside in subtropical temperatures.

Despite my body's incessant plea for a soft bed, I headed into the office to update the health report and organize the immunization schedule. I had prickly chills and dizzy spells, but needed to get this done. I even donned ski socks in the office once my flip flops were off, but to no avail. Desperately requiring sustenance, I took a break and ran over to Hot Breads (more like dizzily stumbled) for my first taste of their DELICIOUS pastries. Unfortunately, the cheese danish had actual salty yak cheese in it, which didn't exactly mesh with the sweet glazed pastry. I should have guessed- everything cheese is yak cheese. Not that it's bad, it just doesn't go with pastry per se. You never know until you try. However, the fruit and custard number was exactly what this girl needed. Hey- there are couches in the espresso bar across the street! And they are calling for me! Though I really needed to sleep in a soft bed, my rock is never forgiving, and we all know I wasn't getting an ounce of relaxation with that thing. Those couches looked like a much better alternative. AND they had mocha and lemon tea service to boot! I was sure my bum would thank me later.

I am getting much more efficient with these daily meds- down to a half hour on a good day!

Since I felt a bit warmer on Tuesday, I neglected to bring the extra layers with me to the office. I needed to head in to take inventory of the health cabinet since Emma is scheduled to go on leave for 1.5 months. Emma is the founder of VSN, and we would all be desperately lost without her. She's the brains behind this whole business. The storage closet wasn't far off from a meat freezer, so I began freezing my bum off for the second day in a row. Okay, let's admit it, I was incredibly sick. I needed some warmth and some softness for my bum, so I headed back to the espresso bar, where the couches were situated in the bright and toasty sunlight. Regardless of my snotting and coughing all over the place, the waiter was so impressed with my Nepali, he handed over his contact info. Horray- this makes Nepali bf number 3! I tried to find a hotel room to nurse my sickness in a comfy bed, but both of our go-tos were unfortunately booked. Perfect. I had no other choice but to head back to the house.

I invited myself into the living room for the first time (since my family certainly wasn't going to make a move on this one) where I laid on a couch for a while (aka my death bed- much more comfortable than my regular bed I'll have you know). My entire body was so achy, I could barely move. I had a headache, stomachache and was extremely dizzy. Getting up for bathroom breaks proved to be quite the challenge, but I refused to take any medicine. Seems that Steve and his anti-medicine approach to things were rubbing off on my perpective a bit. I once again refused daal bhaat and couldn't seem to get the point across that I needed a bottle of water, so I took the trek down the street and got one myself- was quite the adventure navigating those two floors of steps! After returning, one of the boys very sweetly let me know to notify him if I needed anything, and then he asked if I wanted noodles. NOODLES! I think I did a pretty good job of not acting excited about this sudden and unexpected change of events, but the noodles were exactly what I needed. Who knew that half the reason I was sick was that I was secretely and slowly starving myself (yah alliteration!). After the afternoon in the living room with Rambo, relaxation on a slightly softer rock, and the life-saving noods, I had enough energy to head up to my room for the evening.

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