Tan Ankles, Boiled Milk & It Smells Like Poop

Hi All! Thanks for the comments and happy thoughts...

I'm in Narti living and working at the Lamajuni Girl's Hostel which houses about 30 Kamlari (ex-slave) girls. My friend Jesse and I have been teaching English and Art to the girls in the afternoon once they're out of school. They attend school on the property from 7-10 am, and when I say attend I use that word loosely. The school is really a shame and to some extent a waste of time, which is why I chose to teach them outside of school hours instead of becoming involved in the school.

Jesse is awesome (he told me to say that- he's sitting right next to me emailing his own family) because he came into Lamahi (a very small version of Kathmandu) with me and surprised me by guiding me to the internet shop. I think he was sick of hearing me talk about home...whatever works.

The girls at the home are great for the most part, but I'll be honest, they're driving me nuts at this point. Living with 30 girls for this long is rough. I live in their room, don't get any privacy and god forbid I should go to the toilet alone (when I say toilet, I mean an outhouse with a hole in the ground). I'm ready to head back to Nepal where I at least share a room with female ADULTS. I'm leaving Narti on Thursday night and will arrive in Kathmand on Friday morning some time (Thursday night your time).

I'm so dirty that my ankles constantly look tan. There is a pump, but bathing with my clothes on isn't that effective. The girls are very modest and I struggle to find a private place to change everyday. They eat rice and curry vegetable for breakfast and dinner everyday (I'm craving a blizzard and mom's pizza and a salad daily) and drink BOILED milk from the hostel cows. I drank it the first day and I almost vommited (I hate cold milk) and have had to refuse it ever since. Oh, and it always smells like poop. My room is above the old septic tank and when it heats up to 100+ degrees everyday I can't help but notice it. The cows smell like poop, the water from the pump smells like sewer and the squat toilet smells like poop. If it's not poop, it's BO. Nobody wears deodorant and are lucky to bathe once a week.

Everywhere Jesse and I go people chase us (kids), follow us (adults) and ask to take our picture with their cells or practice their english with us. So annoying. Jesse is like a celebrity around here and everyone remembers him from last year. I can truly say I know what it feels like to be a minority and treated like a side show in the circus. People don't mean to be rude, but damn it's annoying. I'll be happy to get back to the US where I can be a wallflower.

I live with lots of creatures in Narti. Goats, cows, chickens and dogs roam freely onto the hostel land and a toad, lizards, mosquitos (thank god for malaria meds and mosquito nets), a mouse (who ate my tank top and pooped on my bed) and a rats who live in the attic space who are frequently visited by a large python live in my room. I know you're all dying to come with me next year!

On the positive side, I've met a little girl that I've fallen in love with. All of the girls are very sweet, but Gita is a shining star. She is 5ish (Kamlari don't have birthdays) and couldn't hold a pencil when we got there. She has only been out of slavery for 3 weeks and has already come so far. She is a spunky little thing and loves to learn anything I'll teach her. She's learned to draw (she refused to even color during the first lesson), write her name (a huge feat!), the alphabet and a huge array of English words. If I could take her home with me without being caught I wouldn't think twice about it.

Jesse and i threw the girls a picnic on the July 4th. It was extravegant for them, costing us about 4,000 rupees ($100 = 7,700 rupees). The girls requested the food they wanted to cook, we bought it and rented a bus to take them to the park for a day of fun. They cooked an amazing meal (including bread, yey!) over three campfires (amazing) the fed about 60 people with food left over. We had a great time and I enjoyed taking the girls for a hike through the jungle around the lake (muddy pond) to get to the temple in the middle. That was right up my ally.

Today the girls dressed me up in full Tharu dress and took pictures of me. My bone structure is bigger than theirs and they snapped two bangles trying to get them on and off of me (fatty! Huh?). They even put soap on my hands and wrists to get them on and off. It was a little painful and embarrassing, but they got a good laugh at my expense.

This has been a great treat to write you while I'm in the "boonies" and I'll be back at you later this week. I'm doing well and am quite happy here, but ready to hoof it back to Kathmandu to wrap up my trip. I'll be back at you late this week and home the next!

Until then, Laura

PS. Thanks for the celebrity gossip, Yen and Chris! I learned about Michael Jackson on the Nepali news. I couldn't understand a word except for "Michael Jackson" and a picture of him covered in white cloth on a stretcher being put in an ambulance. I'll never forget I was in Nepal when Michael Jackson died. Which reminds me, everyone here always asks if I know George Clooney, Jean Claude Van Damm and various WWF wrestlers. I always say yes and that we have dinner often. ; )