Positives

Squat Toilets are useful.

While sick with diarrhea and vomiting at the same time an outdoor charpi (squat toilet) has proved to be very beneficial. You can be squatting and puking at the same time and when it is everywhere all you do is wash everything down the charpi hole. It is brilliant, no need to for scrub bucket or anything. Now the challenge comes in when the vomit and stomach pain starts at 12am and you have to run down the ladder stairs and go outside to get to the charpi with avoiding the massive spiders on the way which still scare the crap out of me every time. Then the later vomiting of putting a bucket by the bed is slightly more challenging when you have to crawl under your mosquito net. Nonetheless it is just making me a more marketable person in life haha. Oh and no bucket included, just a plastic bag. Thank goodness for no holes in the bag.

Alcohol is the cure?

When my host family found out I was sick the night before they thought serving me roxie (homemade alcohol-tastes like moonshine) with my morning dhal baat (lentils and rice) would help. Needless to say I had to pass on the morning alcohol offering, my stomach was still way way too messed up. PS talk about awkward moment trying to explain you have vomit to throw away because you were sick last night when you still have a major language barrier. Funny thing is it was the first night my dad cooked because my mom went to Kathmandu because their eldest son had a baby. Needless to say he was very concerned his cooking made me sick. Had to tell him I am a weak American with a fragile stomach.

I had the opportunity to meet my grandfather here who is 89 years old! That’s amazing for a Nepali to get that old. He still uses a squat toilet and sleeps on the floor and seems to be very mobile. So crazy. He seems very happy and even though I am still super limited on my language skills he seems to enjoy my presence.

All Carb Diet

I must say I will never ever complain about being on a diet in America. Three weeks only of straight rice and potatoes/cooked veggies I will eat protein and fresh vegetables for the rest of my life without complaint. They are always trying to give me more and more food and I continuously am unable to finish my food. I have never thought I would be in the position where I TRY to eat super fast so I don’t realize how full I am and I can eat everything off my plate. Up until now in my life I have always tried to eat slow so I realize when I am full; throw that concept out the window. Rice belly here I come; unless the diarrhea continues (nasty but true).

More reason to work hard

So if anyone feels like contributing to a deprived American feel free to send a girl a birthday/Christmas package hehe. Turkey Jerky, peanut butter, nutela, candy (sour patch kids, milk duds, M&Ms, twix, kitkat, mike n Ike, sour gummie worms,  salted chocolate caramels, skor, reese’s, cookies n cream ect), protein bars, protein powder, nuts, individual powder juice packets, hand sanitizer, bar soap. AND simple letters are just fun to receive. Honestly the food isn’t terrible; I just really miss cold things and a variety in my diet and CANDY. But this is more motivation to promote nutrition; growing in the off-season and increasing in the variety of foods grown locally.

Less wasteful

It is amazing when you don’t have a fridge or much packaged food how little trash one actually goes through. It probably helps not having running water so we aren’t wasteful in that area either. For how little I have come to live with coming from surplus American I feel I am doing quite well and living pretty comfortably. I do miss toilet paper though!!