Bistachhap - the training village

As soon as we left the city in our rickety old bus I felt instantly relaxed. We headed out to a village called Bistachhap, about an hour and a half drive out of Kathmandu. It was beautiful. There were rice fields and hills and no smog...I stayed with a pretty traditional family in a clay house. They made our food over a clay fire in the main room, and it tasted delicious. Gotta admit, using the charpi (toilet) was a bit awkward with the whole squatting thing, but apparently ours was the nicest. Apart from the massive spider sitting by the lock, it was nice - clean, and not overflowing. Of course, they don't flush, so there is a bucket of water and an empty tin and you flush it down that way. Good fun. We also went to a wedding celebration, where they fed us heaps and we danced with the kids. I couldn't believe how beautiful the bride was! We also climbed a hill up to 1550m with amazing views, though we couldn't quite see the mountains. I'm getting used to Nepali time - everything is slower, you can be late to things, and they go to bed early and get up early. I can't quite explain how much I loved it up there. One of the coolest experiences was showing my aamaa (host mother) pictures of home - scenery from NZ and pictures of my family. Sharing that was incredible. I'm back in Thamel now, its getting dark and its just past 5pm, missing everyone, hoping you are all ok. I'm talking about placement tomorrow, so where I'm going to work. There are two childrens homes in Bistachhap, so fingers crossed! We also visited some of the homes today, to see the kids smiling in some pretty crappy conditions really makes you rethink some of your ways of life.
Peace, out.
Much love.
Stay safe.
KEEP IN TOUCH!