Weekly Recap

Here is what I composed while lying in bed with a fever in a feeble attempt to catch-up after a week of blog delinquency. I really do promise that things will get better soon, or at least I have very strong intentions of that happening.

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Monday – New Home

Arrive in Godavari and am confronted with my first plate of rice within five minutes of entering my homestay. Imagine a plate (in America you would probably refer to something this size as a platter) at least 12 inches in diameter. Now fill at least half the plate with a mound of rice three inches tall. Add lentils and broth. Eat. Just as you triumphantly glimpse a shimmer that must mean you are nearing the bottom of rice mountain… your host mom kindly spoons “just a little more” in front of you. (And to be clear, what is considered a little more in Nepal is definitely the equivalent of a complete second helping where I live.)

Tuesday – First day at my school!

Turns out to be an exam day so only the upper level students are there and they are literally just taking exams all day. I watched for awhile and then went home.

Wednesday – Raksha Bandhan (no school)

Thursday – Gaijatra (no school)

Friday – Return to school to administer a listening and speaking exam for students in grades 9 and 10. Basically, I sat at a desk in the hallway with 3-4 other teachers, and students were called one at a time to come and answer a series of questions with one of us. Questions ranged from basic introduction to giving directions on a map or telling a story in the past tense. I tried to smile extra nicely at my students who I’m sure were cursing in their minds when they walked out and realized they had to speak with that weird foreign girl with the crazy American accent.

 Saturday – Saturday (no school)

Brave the public bus system to go into Kathmandu with my host sister and another ETA, Sydney, to get blouses ordered for saris. Apparently everyone wears a sari at Tij, an upcoming women’s holiday, so I needed to prepare. My host mom was disappointed that I did not get a shiny/sparkly sari blouse, but I’m very content with the plain red one; I don’t think I need bedazzlements to attract attention to myself. I promise to post a photo when everything comes in from the tailor.

Sunday – school

Yes, that’s right. I might have a million seemingly-random holidays and I don’t have to be at work until 10, but the normal school week is Sunday-Friday so it’s not all unicorns and rainbows. This was my first real day and I was so excited to see the students, meet more of the teachers, observe some classes, and get a regular schedule mapped out; my American upbringing has resulted in a strong craving for routine and punctuality that is difficult to fulfill here. I will write more about the school itself in another post; let’s just say I still have a lot of questions at the end of day one. Perhaps I would know more if I hadn’t missed the next two days of school…home sick.

Monday and Tuesday – bacteria in my belly

Headache + nausea + fever + “southern internal disturbance” = trip to the clinic. Unfortunately, all of my tests came back inconclusive which is good because I probably don’t have typhoid or hepatitis A (seriously though, that is good news), but bad because I don’t know exactly what is causing such unhappiness in my body. Hopefully a few days of cipro and some strict dietary adjustments will get me back on track.

Wednesday – no school

I’m not even sure why tomorrow is a holiday, but it will be nice to have one more day of recovery before I head back to school. (Correction – today was Krisna’s birthday so that’s why we didn’t have school.)

So this week, if you can, enjoy a glass of potable water straight from the tap and think of me J