Life in the Terai

Life in the Terai begins at 5:30 am during the hot weather, when temperatures soar to 45C a vast difference to my own countries climate when daily conversation is based on the terrible UK weather, here we would welcome a rainy day. My dog Ziggy waits happily on my door step waving its tail excitedly as I open the front door onto my balcony, the air is fresh in comparison, a welcome relief to the whirring fan in my bedroom. In the back ground I can hear the call to prayer from the local Muslim temple, this indicates that its time to dress and head to the stadium to go for my early morning run. I put on my tight lycra running shorts and t-shirt, securing a long sleeve top around my waist to try to cover up some of my forbidden areas. As I cycle along the dirty streets I can feel the curious stares and when I arrive I am greeted by a dozen ‘Namaste’s’ and ‘Mornings Mornings’, in Nepal you receive not one but two ‘Mornings’ a unique and endearing greeting. I meet up with my two Nepali friends and we run gently at first as we warm up before speeding up our run. We talk in English and Nepali though neither of us is perfect in our linguistics, it’s the effort and companionship that counts. After our rounds have finished the sweat pours and I head red faced towards the market. I see my American friend heading my way, she is off to teach at one of the local schools, then shortly after a foreigner heads towards us running who I don’t know, this is a rarity indeed as there are only, seven foreigners living in Nepalgunj where I am based. We stare just as the Nepali’s do and fail to muster up any kind greetings other than smiling. I head over to the vegetable market and grow greedy at the lush selection of vegetables which are a far more resplendent arrangement than I would find in the UK. I buy my weeks vegetables for 260 Nepali rupees which is about £2.25. Then I head to the next shop to buy eggs, I don’t have any change so they suggest that I pay the following day, this is repeated at the next shop where I buy yogurt and milk without any money. As I arrive back at my house I am happy to find that there is both electricity and water, these things should not be taken for granted in Nepal where I have learnt the real value of these precious resources. With still hours to burn before work I do my house work, cook my lunch and check my e-mails then it’s off to the office on my bicycle, dressed in a Nepali kurta sawel. When I arrive the office is closed, I am not surprised, I wait patiently and think about why I am here in the first place. My main motivation was to share the skills I have with Nepali people, whilst also having an adventure myself. One thing I have realized here is that unlike in the UK my work is less about personal achievement and more about a slow steady pace where it feels like small steps are made towards small changes, this I have accepted. Uma, the office Co-ordinator arrives from her village and we talk about today’s work, she has lots, I have a little which I begin. First I write an article for my organizations Good Governance newspaper, titled, ‘Why is it ok for male prostitutes and not female prostitutes?’ Then I plan a presentation for a new volunteering program called ‘Good Governance Defenders’. I volunteer for two organizations, one is a disabled rights organization advocating for the rights of people with disabilities and the other is a youth based anti corruption organisation, quite a contrast though there are many overlaps when it comes to organizational development, with which I am tasked. As I sit in the office the fan fails to turn we sweat, its edging 43C. Tea comes and go’s it’s delicious and sweet far better than English tea which I never liked. Then at 5:00 pm its time to head home, I pop my laptop in my bicycle basket and cycle the dusty busy road towards home. I have begun to think of the cycle home as a game, in which I have to dodge cows, dogs, buffalo, horse drawn carts, cars, buses, rickshaws, lorry’s, tempo’s motorbikes, pedestrians, cyclists and holes in the road, its enjoyable if you look at it that way, but not for the faint hearted. I stop off in the bazaar to buy lentils and various simple food supplies which my allowance finances, then drop into see friends on the way home for a cup of coffee. Reaching my home I give my neighbour 1000 rupees for her children’s school uniform and school books and feel content in my days activities.