Shuva Sanye, Good Evening from Sirutar...

First of all, I want to say hello and thank you to everyone who's been commenting on my previous blogs. I only realised this week that people could comment on them and it was great to see all the lovely messages.

Here in Sirutar it's been a bit of a hard week.

On the work site me and a few of the lads have been concentrating on uprooting some tree stumps where the playground for the school is going to be. So far we've had 2 of them out. It was a frustrating task but so satisfying when we got them out, all 7 of us pushing at once. Teamwork! Haha

Outside of work things have been tougher however. Tragically, on Friday night our father's brother died. Our supervisors tell us he committed suicide with poison after a family quarrel (not involving any of our host family, I should add). We were really shocked and unsure of how to conduct ourselves.

Forgive me for being morbid here but back in Britain if, for example, my dad's brother died, the whole family would rally round. There would be tears, sadness, and grief, but still togetherness. That does not seem to be the case here. Whilst my family has been going through various religious ceremonies, not eating certain things, wearing certain clothes, I can't actually tell how they are feeling? When we ask they give the generic Nepali response we have become used to when someone is uncomfortable giving a direct answer; a shake of the head that is neither a yes or no and a 'it is ok' response.

I'm in no way trying to say they love each other less than we do, but we have been constantly told since we arrived how the Nepalese family unit is strong, staying close together for life in stark contrast to the breakdown of the British family unit. But what is the point of staying close together as a family if you cannot express your true feelings for each other? I'm not saying everyone needs to be a wailing drama queen, but the complete lack of even acknowledgement of the whole thing really surprised me.

This isn't an attack on Nepali culture, just a learning curve for me and the rest of the volunteers. As ever I reminded myself, different culture, different ways.

Our family has an older more traditional house as well as the more modern house (by Nepali standards) that we have been staying in. This week we have been visiting the older house for breakfast and our evening meal. It was really nice to check it out, clay floors, wooden ceilings and traditional cooking area. It is a very old house built for Nepali dimensions however, and me and James had to stoop to walk about, so I'm glad we don't have to stay there 24/7 or my back would be fooked!

Last Sunday me Jasmine, Alice and Charlye gave a presentation on Gender & Inequality at the Global Issue Discussion. We divided into two teams, with and me and Jasmine researching the sex trafficking of Nepali girls to Indian brothels, and Alice and Charlye researching Maternal mortality amongst Nepali mothers.

Some of the statistics and stories we came across were really depressing, and the trafficking is a really big problem that the Nepalese and Indian governments simply aren't doing enough to tackle. Just to give you an idea of the scale of things, roughly 12,000 Nepalese girls (mostly under the age of 14) are trafficked every year. Our presentation seemed to go down well anyway, and Khem and the rest of the group seemed into it.

Yesterday and Tuesday were really tough days. My roommate and probably best mate I've made out here, James, has had to visit the hospital twice L. I woke up on Tuesday morning and he was gone from our room, and soon after Khem rang me to tell me he'd taken him to the hospital with severe stomach pains. He returned a few hours later after some painkillers, and he seemed pretty sure it was appendicitis. He was meant to be returning to the hospital for more tests at 7pm, but as we were sat in the office after work, he took a turn and nearly collapsed in agony. He was rushed to the hospital and they admitted him overnight and kept him there again last night. Despite him seeming to exhibit all the signs of appendicitis, the doctors now think it may be a problem with his lungs.

We're all pretty worried for him, but at least with him being in hospital he's in good hands. Obviously his long term health is our first concern and if he needs to return home for treatment then so be it. That said, we would hate to lose him out here. He grafts harder than anyone else, even me, and that's a hell of a compliment! As I write this he is on his way back to Sirutar, hopefully on the mend!

Fingers crossed he'll be fine!

Even besides the tragedy and the worry out here though, I'm still happy and enjoying myself. We're all off to Kathmandu tomorrow so that should help us relax.

So thanks for reading, and again, thanks for commenting.

Love =)