Shuba Din, good day from Sirutar!

Not much to report work wise this week, on Monday we had a day out to Maiti Nepal, Tuesday we were rained off, Wednesday was spent shifting sand and cement and today we are continuing the battle against the tree stumps on the proposed playground. Everyone still getting on great and working as a team.

Our trip to Kathmandu last Friday was cool, we met some people who were travelling around SE Asia and had a good laugh with them.

Our trip to Maiti Nepal was quite emotional. Maiti Nepal helps Nepali women who have been affected by sex trafficking or domestic violence. Me and Jasmine had done some research into their work for our global discussion, and it was great to meet some of the people involved with their organisation. Some of the women they'd rescued were really shy and timid and we were careful not to act like visitors to a zoo and stare at them. The other group of P2 volunteers who are based in Lamatar were there and it was good catching up with all them.

The monsoon season is slowly coming to an end and as the clouds dissipate the view from our village is getting more and more amazing. The weather is still hot but in the distance we can see massive snow capped mountains as clear as anything. Sirutar is in Kathmandu valley and if you stand on the roof of our home and rotate 360 it actually feels like we're in a massive bowl! Khem tells us 8 of the world's 10 biggest mountains are in Nepal, I wonder where the other 2 are?

Last Sunday Alex and Alice led the Global discussion on Government. After the turmoil of a 10 year civil war that ended in 2006, Nepal has spent the last 4 years locked in political stalemate. The major players are the Nepali Congress party, the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). Members of parliament are trying to elect a Prime minister and things are so divided that voting is set to hit a 7th round!

Corruption is also a problem that blights the daily lives of most people here. It's a dilemma that my brother summarised for me. Do you fight the system and refuse to pay bribes, or do you cough up a fistful of rupees and skip the 3 hour queue/3 month wait for a passport/3 year wait for medicine, etc etc? Corruption is so endemic it will take a complete culture change to challenge it.

At home things are as great as ever, Tuesday was Princess's birthday so me and James got her a few sweets and colouring in books. She was most happy with the 5 rupees cash we gave her though! Wednesday is father's day here so we had a get together with extended family and some buffalo chilli for tea! Superb! Alice also got an invite as a thank you for looking after James at the hospital. James is almost fully recovered now and when he's back on site next week we'll be back up to full speed, can't wait!

Have I mentioned our Nepali names our family gave us? Mine is 'Raja' which means King! James's is 'Janak', which means King of Love (well jealous haha). I like Raja though, it reminds me of my nickname at home, Reg, and also of the Irish translation of Rory, which is Red King.

King of Ireland? King of Nepal? What's next?!

Anyway short and sweet this week! More next time!

Love =)