GULP - 6 weeks!!

All of a sudden the days are flying by and there is still so much to do. Think there will be 4 other volunteers heading to Nepal at the same time as me and we will spend our first 2 months together in Kathmandu doing some in country training. It sounds like a long time to train but I have to learn Nepali and if you have a look at the writing you will understand why (it's Sanskrit)!!

After that I head off to my placement in Birgunj. Thought you might like a little background so here goes...... Birgunj is the capital of Parsa district lying directly south of Kathmandu on the Indian Border in the southern central Terai. It is only 2 km from the border - so I can easily cycle there. The area is very flat and hot, with summer temperatures up to mid forties degrees Celsius. Winters are pleasant, with warm and sunny days although there can be fog which brings the temperature down and can make the temperature much colder. The monsoon rains fall from July to September. High humidity makes the temperature appear much hotter from May to August.

The organisation I will be working for works through community based projects to help disadvantaged groups, so here is a little about that..... The local population is a wide mix of ethnic groups due to urban migration and the location near the Indian border. The area attracts job seekers from the outlying villages and neighbouring districts where there is wide spread poverty and poor standard of education. Gender inequality is inherent in the society and girls and women receive less education, training and other social services, and have fewer employment opportunities and freedoms than men. Parsa borders the state of Bihar (one of India's poorest states) which influences the culture and attitude of many people in the area. Nepal also has a caste system (like India) and so another group that I will working with are the Dalits, the lowest caste (AKA the untouchables).

Mood is swinging at the moment from excited, to stressed (so much to do before I go and running out of spots to have injections), to very excited (new life, new language, new culture), to a little concerned (new language and how do I survive with power cuts of 16 hours everyday?), to I JUST WANT TO BE THERE NOW!!