Door to Door Service

The only word to describe the last three days would be, Amazing. This week we were given an opportunity to visit the villages we will be moving to for the next 9 months in order to help us prepare for what it will be like when we get there. However nothing could have prepared me for the experience we were embarking on.

The adventure started with our departure from Kathmandu. The day began with a four-hour bus ride east through the mountains. As we weaved up the mountains we would pass public buses on our right.  The public buses are packed with people and include handle bars on the roof in order for people to sit up top as well. As we would pass the buses I though there was no way both vehicles could fit on the tiny dirt road we were on and that my life would surely end by falling off that mountain.  As our journey continued the mountains got higher and the scenic views more dramatic. Off in the distance we could now see the peaks of the Himalayas. While the mountains seem to stretching up to the skies the Nepali fellows assured us that these were still considered “hills”. Which after seeing the Himalayas sitting above the clouds I finally understood how our perception of what is a hill versus what is a mountain could be different from theirs.

Bridge Number One

Bridge Number Two

Then the bus came to a stop. I looked around to see what the hold up was until I heard someone say, “we’re here, time to get off.” We appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. There were no cars, no people, no sign of any village, however there was a large suspension bridge going across the rushing river.  In this area of the country there are several rivers that are unavailable to cross by car.  Except from where we stood and the villages exist two rivers, therefore we would have to cross this river by a foot bridge, hike to the next river which we would cross by a second foot bridge. Only then would we reach our next means of transport.

 After an hour of hiking along the ridge of a mountain we finally reached the second bridge. Here we were rewarded with lunch, which was and will always be Dal Bat. We had lunch in the small village at the bottom of the mountain which is also where we waited for cars to pick us up and bring us to the village of Dahu. There is where we would be spending the next three days and half of us will be living for the next 9 months.

Finally two tiny jeeps arrived. There were 25 of us as well as all of our luggage so it was a very tight fit. We spent the next hour squished into these jeeps climbing the mountain to our village. I was grateful for the fact that the sides of the jeep were blocked so I could not see on either side of me.   

After 7 hours of traveling we finally made it to Dahu. The woman of the village greeted us with Tika’s and flowers. Everyone was so excited for our arrival and seemed so grateful that we were there.  Following our introductions we were then split into small groups and assigned to a “aamaa”, which means mother in Nepali, who we would be spending the next two nights with. 

The House 

My aamaa was a beautiful sweet woman. Her house was simple and cozy and full of warmth.  I soon learned that our aamaa has a widow for two years. She has 6 children, five daughters and one son. four of her daughters are married, and one is studying in Kathmandu, while her son is working abroad in Malaysia. After sitting with her for a while she brought us to the second floor, which was where our beds were. There were three beds aligned in the corner so we all picked one and collapsed.

The School in Wasa 

While we were gone for three days, because of all the traveling, we only had one full day on the mountain. During this day we hiked up to Wasa, which is the other village where we will be staying. This village was drastically different. It was very spread out and it was hard to imagine what our work there will look like. We were brought to the school, which consists of 5 classrooms. It was clear the education group will have their work cut out for them there.  It was very interesting to visit the surrounding villages and see how excited everyone was to see us. We quickly learned that one of their major problems is the lack of water. While during the rainy season water is flowing and plentiful, they have no devised a system that allows them to store water during the dry season. Therefore it appears the villages that are closer to the water source are hesitant to share their access to water with surrounding villages in fear that during dry times there will not be enough.

Before we knew it, it was time to begin the long trek back to Kathmandu. However we learned that it is not necessary to cross the two bridges but that we can in fact go through the river which would avoid the hike from bridge to bridge. We had not done this the first time because the water level was to high, however now it was believed that we could cross through it more easily. Therefore we took a vote of whether we should take the long hike from bridge to bridge, or walk along the river on flat ground until we reached the area where we could walk through it. Unanimously we agreed on the latter.  

When we reached the crossing area it was clear the river was not nearly as shallow as anticipated and that we were going to get extremely wet. The current was also relatively strong which required the help of strong men to help many of the tiny woman cross without getting swept away.

Once everyone made it across safely we boarded the bus for the four-hour ride back. We set off along the river and up the mountain, and just as we were getting comfortable and dozing off we hear a weird sound and feel the bus begin to slow down. We have a flat tire. So we all get off and find a place to sit along the side of the road. We are assured that we will be off again in no time. And sure enough only 15 minutes later the tire had been changed and we were off again! I was amazed!! I was sure that we were going to be stuck for an hour or so waiting. However apparently flat tires are no rare occurrence here and Nepal and they are extremely efficient when it comes to fixing the problem. I couldn’t help be remember the times when I had gotten a flat tire and had to wait hours for triple A to come to fix the problem.  However I’ve only experienced a flat tire a handful of times in my life, while here, as I’ve been told, it’s common to experience them every trip. For me learning how to change a tire, while a convenient and useful skill, is no at the top of my priority list, while here it would be a necessity.

The next few hours consisted of sleeping, singing, and enjoying the scenery. When we finally made it back to our guest house wet, tired, and hungry, I couldn’t help but think “now that’s what I call door to door service.”

The Group