Advertisement
Published: November 28th 2007
16-NOV-2007
Steve handles the health checks on his own this morning, because apparently I need 11 hours of sleep. It's strange how that no matter what time I turn in for the evening I always find myself up at 715 more or less exactly. So this air mattress is complete crap needing to be blown up every day- what a waste of $37. That'll teach me to not shop at these fake gear stores. But I've gotten used to sleeping on the rocks- so it doesn't bother me much.
Today is vaccination day! Accordingly, Steve and I take shifts trying to make sure the 5 kids we need to inject stay home from school. All of the other children have complete records for the 4 immunizations we're doing today- MMR, DT, HepB, and Typhoid. Sadly, the HepB was manufactured by some company I've never heard of in India. I suppose it's cheaper than the Merck version.
In the meantime, 3 of the target children try to leave for school, but I act as as blockade. The home manager informs me that they may go, but will return in time for the shots. I'm a bit apprehensive about this setup
as it takes control completely out of my hands. And we all know how I feel about that.
I brainstorm aloud for a bit regarding what exactly to do when I return home. Never to early to start thinking about these things.
The VSN jeep arrives at Charity with the nurse, and our 5 kids receive 4 immunizations each- one in each arm and buttock. Our kids are tough- and not one of them cries due to the injections. However, I had to hold and comfort Aka, as he was a bit scared beforehand. At each of the homes, I take responsibility of communicating to the nurse what each child needs, checking off what's been completed, and record lot no. and expiration dates of each of the vaccinations.
From the back of the jeep, we're treated to a breathtaking panorama of the mountain views, completely surrounding the valley. Steve and I are like kids in a candy shop. At the other homes, there were only a few temper tantrums- so not too bad overall. And in terms of stock, we only ran out of MMR for one child (hey I submitted the proper numbers), but it's a
non-issue since it's only a two dose series and we're heading back for two more rounds in December and January to complete the program. Very successful day!
As we're leaving the last home of the day, we found our jeep blocked by this large truck holding a bulldozer on its bed. There was a guy in each of the vehicles, but it was apparent the truck wasn't moving anytime soon. The jeep turns off, as we all wonder what the holdup is. All of a sudden, the bulldozer begins backing up off the truck bed- 5 feet from the ground. As the bulldozer inches off the bed such that it's hovering over the ground, the front of the truck begins to lift into the air until the back end of the bulldozer slowly makes contact with the ground. The bulldozer rotates its arm around onto the strained truck bed to offset its weight, as it inches forward. After all, we don't exactly need this truck to come crashing to the ground 5 feet in front of us. As the bulldozer pulls forward, the truck is slowly lowered to the ground, and within 15 minutes, both vehicles are safely resting
on the ground, drive us, and allow us to proceed past. Only in Nepal.
As we're heading back towards Thamel in the jeep, Paul points to this large shopping plaza that he calls Disneyland. He says it's where the elite of Kathmandu shop. This must be the grocery store with shopping carts that he'd mentioned before! To my surprise and delight, the jeep rolls to a stop in the parking lot and we're allowed to go in! It is a proper grocery store in the middle of Nepal! But as such, it is completely out of place- I never expected to run into such a place here. But I am a kid in a candy shop (again). I grab a shopping cart because I can, not because I'm actually going to fill it. I peruse the full length aisles with my mouth hanging open and break out into a giggle every so often in sheer delight. It feels as though I've been instantly transported to a grocery store back home with 3 full aisles of biscuits and candy. AND there are at least two full aisles of shampoos and toiletries, here, right at my fingertips! Not that I need
any of these things, but the availability is breathtaking. And the prices are better than in the wee shops. I grab a couple of items that catch my fancy and Steve and I head over to check the baked goods. As he points out the pizza, the power goes out and it becomes pitch black. Worst place for this to happen. We immediately grab hold of each other as if there was a Boogie Man lurking in the darkness. But within a minute, the power resumes, and we are saved. It was a close one for sure.
We make our final selections, and I limit myself to two items within a sea of deliciousness. My picks- chocolate pies and cheese flavored sea creatures. I miss my cheese crackers from home (Goldfish). And chocolate pies are also a winner- marshmallow layered between two small circular cakes, all covered in a tasty chocolate shell. Mmm. We head out and hop back in the jeep where Paul presents us each with our choice of candy bar. I've never heard of any of them before, but the Lion bar from the UK was most definitely a party in my mouth.
Book it
back home in time for daal bhaat, which is immensely difficult to eat as usual, but moreso because I just had that Lion bar and a sandwich an hour earlier in town. Aama refuses to let Steve in the house afterwards, since it's 8pm. 25 year olds with 8pm curfews...
17-NOV-2007
I cannot handle all these sleep- 11 hours again. Yes, I know, cry me a river, but it completely exhausts me for the day. So I am waking up with the gods tomorrow morning at 5am. The daal bhaat had LOADS of beans- the musical fruit, horray! Steve and I discuss the logistics of our Tibet trip- tentatively planned for Dec 1-10.
The first round of health checks this month begins today, but we are not in the best moods. So our walk to the office consists of bitching and moaning- him about my ridiculously early curfew, and me about all of the people trying to sell me stuff and the unwanted attention in general. How many consecutive days do I have to walk past you before you finally realize that (1) I live here and am not buying your crap and (2) Nothing that you say
The real grocery store
This photo was staged- I'm not THAT excited about the liquor.is going to impress me. I buy some of my chocolate cake and candies in order to boost my spirits. Never fails.
The kids, as usual, are so excited to see us out at Shining Stars! We complete our work there, and I once again, want to take Renu home with me. She's such a sweetheart. I eat as many of my candies as possible in a desperate attempt to wake up but to no avail. After quickly getting through the 10 children at Paradise, we head to town where I sink my teeth into the best grilled cheese ever made, as well as a tasty tuna salad chock full of much needed veggies and protein. SOO GOOD. But with an evening free of daal bhaat, why not go all out? I indulge in an Irish Cream creme brulee to top it all off because I don't need to save room for rice. Such a good feeling.
We grab a cabbie out of town to agrees to 150 Rs all too easily and tries to take us in the wrong direction more than once. And he also put it in reverse- trying to kill us. Apparently the guy
is learning stick shift because it takes us twice as long as usual and the car is shaking violently the whole way home. Shift please.
18-NOV-2007
5am. I layer up as quickly as possible because it's quite the chilly one both inside and outside. When I meet Steve at 530 it is pitch black with no sign of sunrise. We begin our walk heading north since we'd never ventured further than the children's home. The road turns into a dirt one, and the bells are ringing from every direction to wake the gods. It gradually begins to lighten in the Eastern sky and we choose to head east at the 'T' in the road to see the sunrise over the mountains. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a cloudy and foggy morning, rendering it diffiult to see anything beyond the foothills.
We pass through a few rustic villages that have so much character. The dirt road is vehicle-free sans the occasional motorbike, with children walking to school in their uniforms, is lined with small brick homes with corrugated tin roofs and front yard vegetable and rice gardens. The further we get from home, the more frequently and longer people stare at us. We then run into another village built entirely of brick- road, courtyards and homes. It felt almost as if we'd traveled back in time, with the exception of an occasional macrovan passing through. From our route, we figure that the road must meet back up with the main road at some point to form a loop, so we continue on.
Yearning for some chiyaa, we stop at this shop where a man is frying up fresh rotis. And he has the sweet glazed small ones that I tasted at Tihar- I'm in! 4 bitty rotis and a tasty chiyaa later, I am one happy woman- wow. After fueling up, we continue as the road becomes more developed with more ostentatious buildings and more frequent shops. All in all, our walk took a total of 2hr, and was much better alternative to excessive sleep (still find it funny I'm complaining about this).
For my morning daal bhaat, I am presented with the largest serving of rice I've seen in my life. Think of a full sized dinner plate filled completely with rice 3 inches deep. And it's too late to request they remove some, because hajuramma has already dished it all out. I believe she's done this on purpose to make up for me not eating the evening before. This is one big challenge that I was not looking forwad to. It takes me long enough, but I finally live up to the challenge. I have eaten it all and am about ready to explode. I hurt. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the sun and nibbling on fruit on the roof, because my belly wasn't up to anything much more active.
At the home, it appears as though one of the boys may have broken his arm and needs to get x-rays at the hospital. Steve takes him, because there's no way I'll make curfew if I go along. And I need to distribute a fresh round of anti-seizure meds to one of the boys as well.
A couple hours before daal bhaat, I manage to sneak down the hill to find a little shopfront restaurant where I can score some noodles. I got questioned to where I was going on my way out but lied and said I was going to Steve's. Okay I actually didn't lie, because I did head over there to inform his family he's probably be back late due to the hospital adventure. I book it down the hill and run into a place that seems far enough away that I won't get caught or word won't eventually travel back. So I order a small portion and it is GOOD! It's chock full of veggies including tomatoes, and is not too spicy that it burns my lips off. And it's only 13 Rs (20 cents). Definitely coming back. And because they'd stuffed me so full of daal bhaat in the morning, I feigned a bellyache to get out of it in the evening. Sneaky sneaky.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.068s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 5; qc: 46; dbt: 0.0441s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
