A blog from Nepal: Life in the Village, by Madeleine

I awaken to the bellowing of a rooster below me and the battering of rain on the tin roof above me. I roll over on my straw mattress, remembering where I am, and  drift in and out of sleep before breakfast. Yesterday, we left Kathmandu for the homestay portion of the trip. After spending a day or two relaxing and preparing in the city, the group embarked on a 12 hour drive. The drive was followed by a rather sweaty 40 minute uphill hike to reach our village. This is where each of us will spend the next two weeks with a family. After being introduced to our “ama” and “didi” (mother and sister), my homestay partner and I ate dinner with our hands while sitting barefoot on a rug. We tried out the “squatty potty” that we would be using for the next two weeks, and found our room, right above the bhai-si (water buffalo.)

During the day, we wake up and eat breakfast with our host families around 7:30. We then reconvene as a large group for the working portion of our day. Some days, we work alongside skilled laborers to construct a concrete wall around the village water supply to prevent animals from getting in. Together, we mix cement, move rocks and pebbles, and dig trenches. This work takes us to lunch, which we all have together. In the afternoons, the work continues. At the end of the day, we have time to shower, relax, or even head to Weling, the nearby town. Other days we go to the river to swim before eating dinner with our respective host families.

As outlandish as this experience feels, the families we all are staying with strive to make us feel at home. We eat until we are full, share bits and pieces of the language, and laugh together all day. Even though some things are completely new and different from the lives we are all used to, such as watching a chicken be gutted near the porch or struggling to pick up rice with our fingertips, many things are similar. We share stories from the workday at dinner and relax outside with a cup of tea. Our families involve us all in the facets of their lifestyles. Over the past week, for example, I have learned how to make delicious black tea (the secret being lemongrass). I've also learnt how to construct a bowl out of leaves and straw, and even how to milk a cow. I now know how to make the most phenomenal potatoes and also rice roti. Although at times it can be hard to adjust to such a different way of life than my own, I can’t wait to see what lessons, challenges and happy memories the coming week will bring.