Week 6 in Sirutar :)

I don't feel like I have much to say about this week…..mainly because I'v been ill for most of it. I was well looked after though. The amount of people that kept checking on me was unreal. On one of the days my family would'nt even let me out to work unless I ate something. I felt like a child not being allowed out to play unless I ate my dinner. I lasted 5 weeks though and I am the last person to get ill, so im proud :)

The same work continued on the school project site…….carrying bricks, making cement, making walls and digging out tree roots. This week the boys actually allowed the girls to tackle the tree which I was surprised about. They said it looked like I was murdering someone with a hex. Ragin I wasn't there to see the thing finally come out. Teaching went really well this week. Me and my lovely assistant Alice O'D had my favourite class. We done constructing sentences, word scrabbles, crosswords and word card games, ending with a bit of a sing song. We also visited the school this week to show the students how to make paper bags from newspaper and glue.Supposedly the same trial was conducted in Calcutta where children could sell on these paper bags to shops for money. While we were at the school we met the kindergarden kids. Our next misson is to redecorate their little classroom…….redecorate the walls and maybe buy a water filter. The roof is basically planks of wood with a classroom above, you can actually see through the gaps. Because of this, dust is coming through from the classroom above on the children, which can't be for their health. We also want to buy plastic or something to stop this dust falling on them.Unfortunately, Alexs grandma died this week which means he leaves us next week to fly home. Redecorating the classroom is something he wants to be involved in before he leaves so we are doing it next week. We had a collection for materials and each put in 500 rupees which made it up to a total of 8500 rupees, so around 80 pound. Khym, Alex, Alice, Kweku and I will go shopping for supplies.

There were a few trips planned for during the week. There was a DFID meeting, which I didn't get to go to because I was ill, but the guys said it was a great presentation. I quote Rory, "The women who gave the presentation was well good. Really interesting and reinvigorated everyone about why we're out here and all that….Boss! (You can tell he's from Liverpool :)). There was another trip planned to Nagarkot for sightseeing . It took about 2 hours to get there. It was sooo high up. The roads were so narrow I thought we were going to tip over the side. The view was amazing. When we got there we went to see our rooms, we were all staying in these amazing cabins. We had a feast and then went outside beside a camp fire. This didn't last long because it started raining. We didn't get to see the sunrise either because of the bad weather. The next moring we all got up at 4am to go and watch the sunrise. Because the weather had been bad the night before it had cleared the sky. We walked to a tower to get a good view and watched the sunrise at 7200ft. It was amazing. We also got an awesome view of the Himalayas because it was so clear. There is no camera good enough that could capture that view or that moment. It was unreal! Like our supervisor Kapindra said, "Nepal may be poor but it has good views". We were lucky because about an hour after sunrise the clouds and rain returned making it the coldest day yet. I had to put on a hoodie and a raincoat it was that cold. That spoiled the sightseeing for the rest of the day but the sunrise made the trip worthwhile……that and the food. We had an feast of a breakfast and lunch and then returned to Sirutar. On our journey back we saw the army training. It seemed intense. They were running for miles in groups carrying logs. Their assault course looked well fun though. We also encountered corruption on the way back. Our bus got stopped by the poilce. The driver said he had "forgotten" his road certificate or something (not sure if he really did forget it or just didn't have one). The policeman said it was a fine of 2000 rupees but he accepted a bribe instead. Policemen must make a fortune in Nepal.

This week the presentation was on HIV/AIDS and was presented by Alice O'D. We learnt so much. Best presentation yet, in my opinion. Some facts learnt were that HIV is transferred through blood, body secretions and breastmilk. It cannot be passed through saliva. We also learnt that nobody dies from AIDS, they die from HIV. Aids can be treated but the person will still always have HIV. Another interesting fact is that a person can be treated within 72hours of contracting HIV by medication. It is also possible to stop HIV from being passed on from mother to child. In the UK 75% of young people wouldn't kiss someone with HIV. 1/5 would not care for a family member with HIV. As a result, social disgrace and isolation prevent them from seeking treatment. In Nepal, a woman can be thrown out of her home and disowned by her family, even if the HIV was passed to her by her husband. Poverty, leading to lack of education and healthcare increases the number of people with HIV in Nepal. Conflict also spreads the disease through migration and rape. 70% of sex workers returning to Nepal from India are thought to be HIV+. HIV is a development issue. It hinders development as it increases the death rate of skilled workers between the ages of 18-30, also increasing the number of orphans and decreasing the amount of young people to care for the eldery population. HIV also causes an increase in food insecurity.

After the presentation I went and left my camera in to be developed. I'm like the only one who doesn't have a digital camera but I'm liking the element of surprise with disposable cameras. I was also raging I was missing the most important day of the year at home……the All-Ireland final. I was so excited when I actually managed to get RTE Radio One online in the local internet café. However, the time difference and my 7pm curfew meant I only got to catch half of the minor match between Cork and Tyrone. Still it was exciting to hear some of it. Down Abu!!