Thank you, toilet.

After being in Nepal for nearly 4 weeks, I have become very thankful for the seemingly simplest of things...

Like a flushing toilet. I had problems with the toilet in my room for the past few days. First it was flooding all over the bathroom floor, and then it stopped working completely. Today it flushes and I thanked the toilet gods. I squealed and did a happy dance and said, "Thank you, toilet!"

And today as I turned on the shower and waited, the water finally became luke warm and I squealed and did a happy dance and said, "Thank you, shower!" Every morning it's a gamble on whether I will get hot water, room temperature water, or freezing water.

And later as I was out and about with classmates trying to catch a taxi to the school where we were to teach, and we had to get out and walk due to the bad traffic, I did a happy dance that it wasn't as dusty as previous days, and it was a little easier to breathe as we walked on the dirt roads to the school. And thankful for being able to take taxis in the first place, as that is certainly a luxury here, with how expensive they are and the severe fuel shortages.

And I'm thankful for toilet paper, and even having a shower in the first place, and having extra blankets on my bed, and having 4 walls to my room, and having the luxury of having toast and coffee for breakfast, and having coffee and some Toblerone as a snack this evening, and being able to sit next to a space heater in the hotel lobby while I do lesson planning for classes, and having wifi Internet, and having generator power even during some of the 14+ hours of daily power outages.

Life is good.

Donkeys

This is a donkey...


This is NOT a donkey...


It is a wiener donkey with a Scooby Doo face. Oy. My drawings of vegetables are pretty good, but animals and people need improvement. At least the students have some good imaginations.

September 24, 2011

And why are shadows always falling?

I just walked in front of the campfire and saw my shadow rise as tall as the pine tree. I was a giant.

I sat under the stars, somewhere deep in the Rocky Mountains, and cried for all of the things I'll never know...

Like what it's like to fly into a star and burst into flames. Turn to ash.

Or glow red hot from the inside like a log in a campfire that's been sitting there awhile.

Or grow roots and sway with the aspen trees when the wind blows over the mountains.

Magic Tiger Balm

Today my head exploded in the most hideous of common colds. Constant sneezing and stuffy face. It was a really great day otherwise. Tonight after a fabulous dinner, which I'll post about later (delicious local Nepali food and dance), we found a market still open and hopped in to buy the magic ointment, Tiger Balm. There is a man on the street who, for the past two days, has tried to sell me Tiger Balm, and I turned him down both times not knowing what was to become of my face in the near future. Here is why Tiger Balm is so magic...

"TIGER BALM. For fast and effective relief of headache, stuffy nose, insect bites, itchiness, muscular aches and pains, sprains and flatulence. Apply gently on affected area."

Apparently there's nothing it can't cure. And FYI, no matter how afflicted I am by flatulence, I refuse to ever apply it gently to the affected area. I have more photos and writing to post here soon, but right now I'm going to take advantage of being all slathered up in Tiger Balm and get some good rest before day 2 of class tomorrow.