Flight of the Neffilim: Welcome to the Jungle

It has been nearly a month since I arrived in Bharatpur, in the southern-central part of Nepal. When I was planning this trip, most people I told were under the impression I would be huddled in a thatch-roof hut in the Himalayas, scratching verb conjugations into blocks of ice for the benefit of orphaned Sherpa children. The reality is quite the opposite. As many people know, Nepal contains at least one slope of 8 of the 10 highest mountains in the world, but at its southern border, it's only a few hundred feet above sea level. Here, it is a hot, humid, landlocked jungle. Even when the monsoon brings days of rain, it is still warm. I haven't worn socks and shoes in weeks. Every day I must find a balance between the need to stay hydrated and the possibility of getting stuck in a situation where there is no place to relieve myself.

I am living with Anish (the director of Volnepal,) his sister, her 3-year-old son, and an ever-changing mix of other foreign volunteers on the ground floor of this lovely house.

Every Sunday through Friday and some Saturdays, I ride a very upright, Indian-style bicycle about 15 minutes to the Murry Foundation English School. I ride past homes varying from tiny huts with no plumbing or electricity to larger brick houses with small TVs flickering in the windows and motorcycles parked outside. I ride past water buffalo and floppy-eared goats with knobby knees lazing in the shade or munching on whatever greenery is within their reach. I ride past enormous rice paddies that whisper shhhhh when a light breeze finds them, past uniformed children who grin and shout, "Hi-Hello-How-are-you-I-am-fine-thank-you!" and men who just stare. The women stare, too, but they are much more likely to return a smile.

Once at school, I help with homework and play word games until it is time for the kids to eat their first meal at 9:00, after which I teach English to classes 1, 2 and 3 (ages 5 to about 11.) My favorite parts are when I can involve everyone, playing a game or getting them all working on a project. The kids are mostly great--more about them in the next post.