Training...

I’ve started homestay for training.  So far, so good.  I must say, for the most part, this set up is much, much nicer than what I had in Mali.  First, the food is good.  It is basically the same every day, but it has flavor… mainly curry, but it is tasty.  Dinner usually consists of rice with lentil sauce, and some sort of curried veggie like spinach and carrots.  Sometimes they throw in these piping hot peppers that really give me a run for my money.  Occasionally we get chicken, and also sometimes dessert.  My favorite so far is rice pudding, but I get banana mushed up in rice that is topped with fresh water buffalo milk.  It is so good.  Fresh milk is super rich and yummy though drinking it is probably a bit of a gamble.  So far no major problems.

My house is a three story house with very low ceilings, but we have pretty constant electricity and a squat toilet inside the house!  Food is eaten with my hands, but not out of the same bowl which is quite a bit more hygienic that Mali.  Obviously it is best not to compare experiences, but that is impossible.  That said I am having a much different experience here.  I am much closer to my host family this time, but that is because I am making an effort to do so.  My host family in my house consists of a mom, dad, younger brother, his wife, the wife of another brother who lives in Kathmandu, that brothers daughter, a great uncle, and a great grandmother.  The little daughter is adorable.  I don’t usually find kids that cute, but this kid is adorable.  She is a happy, happy kid and clearly well loved.

The area is beautiful.  My house is on a ridge, and going down the mountain side on each side are tons of super green terraced rice fields.  I’ll try to post some pictures now.

And of course, that didn't work so I'll try again later today hopefully.