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Belle's Tales.
Namaste from Nepal!
Well I've mainly been out in the village working so haven't really had a chance to get into Thamel to interent as the boys have also been on holiday and driving Joe and I insane at times, like when they diasappear without telling us where they have gone!
So exams start for the boys today and for the next week and a half-2weeks. Yesterday we took them to Balaju park, (even though some of them most definately didn't deserve to go as a result of their bad behaviour) which is bascially big gardens with a lot of fountains and ponds with dirty water, the boys were warned way in advance not to even think about drinking the water! So they were able to blow off some steam, especially Passang and Pratap who ran around daft for about 3 hours solid!
We also saw alot of monkeys although we did see a baby monkey lying in the bushes, it had obviously gotten into a fight with a dog as on the left arm it had no fur or skin from the elbow down, it only had two little bones and had been totally skinned, poor wee thing it looked in so much pain so we got one of the boys to tell the guy at the front gate, who just shrugged his head and gave the impression he couldn't really care less. I was quite proud of my little ones though as they were really concerned and wanted to give it some bananas (we had to explain that it would take more than bananas for the monkey to get better)but their hearts were in the right place unlike some other older boys who thought it would be fun to torment the poor wee monkey.
There was also another surprise in the park..... Rocky!! The boys were jumping around him and looked so pleased to see him as he has not been to visit them since they moved (even though he had told me he had!) So he is also coming on friday and possibly saturday with Rupa, ( Mum, everytime I see her, she's wearing her jewellery and carrying her new purse!)
The boys also had their health checks yesterday, which is kind of nerve racking as it reflects on Joe and I and how good (or not so good) a job we are doing but I'm happy no report no scabies, only a few cases of lice and overall their health has improved, there is still the problem of de-hydration but it is really hard to keep them hydrated in this heat, Joe and I are quite de-hydrated and we're adults who should know better. We are trying to get the boys to drink more water but sometimes they refuse point blank and short of man-handling, we can't force them. (Although Joe did have to hold Tanka whilst I oiled, and avoided getting bitten by him the other day as he was acting up and all the orphanages have the kids oil their skin everyday now to help with de-hydration)
So today Joe and I are in Thamel for a break where we met Wye and Luke (the Charity vollies who we spend some of our time with as they are 10minutes away from us and our kids play together at the field) and we'll head back later in the afternoon to do it all over again. Dal bhat uncle seems more arrogant since I've moved out (coincidence?) although he still doesn't speak to us and I have also asked him to make dal bhat earlier so that I can check the boys are eating their veg and brushing their teeth (and also that he is not staying over and inviting his friends) I may not live there now but I can still implement/enforce a few things and my future plans do not involve him anywhere.
On friday I moved to my host family for various reasons, sharing a charpi with 14 boys is not the easiest task in the world and the food was making me sick (There aren't any proper storage facilities and so there are ALWAYS flies,mosquitos, spiders etc crawling around it and I was feeling the effects) but I am pleased to say that my family are absolutely LOVELY!!!!
I have 4 wee sisters, Pallavi (19) is such a beautiful and smart girl, she is the one with the best english, and wait for it, last week she passed her motorbike test, and I do mean motorbike not a moped or scooter! She is eager to take it a drive and has said that if I need to go anywhere she would take me on the bike!! (Don't worry mum, she's a sensible girl.... unless she will let me drive!) Laxmi is next she looks after my younger brother Krish who is 2 and such a funny wee guy. She does a lot of the housework. Next there are the twins, Nikki and Noozle (9) who are lovely as well, they have quite good English for their age. The mum is lovely as well although she has told Pallavi she is going to make me fat(ter) before I leave Nepal and true to her word she has been piling on the food! Even when I say I dont want anymore she puts more on my plate when I'm not looking, typical nepali family though!
Joe and I were discussing how the host families are really quite rich so sometimes you can feel guilty about the conditions the kids are living in. Realistically, at times you can't live in the same conditions, animals shouldn't even be living in them. It really hits home and you realise how fortunate your own life really is, but also that i've been lucky to experience the other side of things.
However I also have a theory regarding living in an orphanage that I'll elaborate on later for those of you who are 'lucky'(?!) enough. (Sorry family, this means you!!)
The house my family live in is beautiful and quite comfortable, they own 3 poultry farms so have a relatively comfortable lifestyle. So I'm being fed well and feeling better as before I had no energy, feeling sicky and tired but not being woken at 5am with soggy sheets helps! Of course the whole family come in to watch me eat and last night my dad went out and got momo's for the family... as well as my dal bhat, I reckon thats the mum's doing though as she keeps pinching my stomach!
My sisters are lovely, they wait for me to come home and then we do girlie things. Last night they were dancing for me and singing Avril Lavigne songs ( so cute!) then they painted my nails and played with my hair although to be fair, the boys also do this, they love to cuddle in and pleat my hair for some reason, although the little ones can sometime pull what feels like clumps of my hair out when trying to tie a band in my hair. But this morning before I left for the orphanage, Pallavi done my hair and put eyeliner on me (again a lot of nepali girls never leave the house without lots of eyeliner on) and said she will do the same tomorrow.... Joe just laughed when I arrived at the orphanage!!
The only slight disadvantage is that my house is about a 10minute walk from the orphanage, even leaving at 7.45pm it is pitch black and Joe, bless him, even though we pass his house miles before mine, walks me some of the way as every night we have walked I've had a few things shouted at me. Nothing bad but when there are no streetlights it's still intimidating, even for a girl from Paisley!
Last night for example, after Joe left me at the corner of the road, a man started walking right behind me, this is normal as a few chancers do this, so I stopped and pretended that something in my foot was really interesting. This didn't deter him though, he simply waited for me and so off I set again at a speedy pace. Then came the usual 'Hi honey how are you?' Ignoring them works sometimes, other times they just fire question after question after question. He worked out I was European, he was a tailor and that I had very pretty face, he likes faces like mine and did I have a husband?! Easiest answer: Yes I do, sorry.
To which he responded 'Oh that is too bad, I would have liked to marry you ( he clearly hasn't spent enough time with me haha!) I am poor but I could be rich with a beautiful wife like you, if your husband is not in Nepal with you maybe you would like to meet up?' Luckily I can laugh about it now but last night I was getting really creeped out but luckily my house was coming up so I politely declined his offer and ran up the hill! I think I'll only ever be able to laugh about these encounters the morning after!!
Hope everything and everyone is well back home. I forgot my connector lead for the pc and my camera so photos to follow at a later date.
Fi- thanks for the email honey, maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong, we'll see! Everyone else, whats with the lack of contact?! At least I live in a village (well thats my excuse)
Ok, Joe and I are off to catch a movie, i'll be back in on thursday overnight for Clare's birthday so I'll try to phone home then mum.
Take care everyone
Much love
Lauren
xxxxxx
p.s. Joe gave this book to read, 'Tuesdays With Morrie' I haven't even finished it but I highly recommend it!!
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