More Travel. Training was over, such that it was, and we were setting off to our communities. First though, a 6am breakfast which finally seemed to do the work for Jess’ little problem. She disappeared just before we boarded the coaches and came back looking noticably lighter on her feet. Still, sitting next to her…

My first full day in community. I was awoken at 7am by the sound of baby goats charging past my window and the smell of chiya tea. The morning was mostly spent sitting around as Raj chatted to the family, with me smiling politely when they looked my way. I definitely should have spent more…

The Pipeline. After such an eventful evening, I imagined the following morning would be dull by comparison. I was proven wrong almost immediately. First, by a woman chasing off a troop of monkeys, yelling and banging on a saucepan, and second by the introduction of Perkas. Perkas was from the neighbouring region of Pokhara and…

The Day of Snacks. It was decided by our team leaders that Sunday would be our rest day. Personally, it seemed like we’d done enough sitting around already. But it did give me the chance to have a go at hand-washing my clothes for the first time. I began the day by chatting to Perkas…

Repeat. The days had started to follow a familiar pattern. Wake up, dig , lunch, chill, afternoon activities, chill, dinner, sleep, repeat. There’s not much to be said about today, that wasn’t already said yesterday. We dug with a few more aches and pains, and Meg seemed like she was here to stay. The only…

A Wedding? It was our least productive morning of digging yet. We had finally finished digging the difficult jungle section and were looking forward to making a start on the rice fields. However, what should have been a triumphant moment, was quickly soured by a few of the locals starting to argue. The dispute was…

School. It was Monday morning, which meant we were back to digging. But I didn’t mind, I think I actually missed it yesterday. However, it was hard to enjoy it completely as Meg had disappeared in the night, presumably scared away by the storm. The rest of the morning passed with no sign of her,…

Holi. Today marked the date of the Hindu festival of colour, called Holi. We were pulled into the festivities straight away as John’s Ama came and gave us red tika markings before we headed off to dig. Things only escalated from there. By eleven, my face was completely red and some of my clothes too….

Sunday Fun-day. Another Sunday, another day off. This was especially good news for me, as I was still ill. Thankfully, I seemed to have completely emptied myself out, so I only needed to run to the toilet after meals now. I spent the morning doing my washing with Loulou at the tap, and by washing…

On the Mend. The night went pretty much the same as the previous few, and after not going to dig again Rianne came to check on me. She put me on the phone to the medic and I was prescribed a round of anti-biotics to be taken at 12 hour intervals. I’d never taken anti-biotics…