Looking in the Mirror

So far, these posts have largely been about my adventures in Nepal - the things I've done or discovered since being here.This might be a bit of a change of pace, but I'm gonna share a few more serious thoughts that I've been having lately. I don't know if you have days (weeks or maybe even months) like this, but over the last week or so, I've been feeling kinda down on myself. I think it started when I read this book that made me realise that sometimes (or maybe even more than sometimes), I'm afraid of doing new things out of fear of failure. I don't want to look like an idiot, so in order to protect my pride, I don't even give things a go. I fear people's judgement of me more than I should and it stops me from stepping out and doing things.Then,...

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Food Fail

It's been awhile since I've blogged, partly cos I'm not sure what to write about and partly cos I've been busy and haven't had time to, but today I had a bit of a fail which I thought would be funny to tell you about.At school there is someone who cooks lunch every day for the teachers. Every 2 weeks, she puts out the menu for the following 2 weeks, I look at what's being served then go to the accounts office and order my lunch (it's 85 rupees if pre-ordered and 100 rupees if ordered on the day so I usually try to pre-order). Most of the food she cooks is really good but there are a few dishes that I avoid if possible.One of those meals is this bean and paneer dish which I don't particularly like. 'What's paneer?' you may be asking - good question...I...

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Everything Comes Down To Poo

Almost every day, I have a conversation about poo.In a country where getting sick is a regular occurance, just asking someone 'how are you?' will often lead onto a conversation about poo.For most people, soon after arriving here, whether it's from eating different food, not washing their hands thoroughly, drinking contaminated water or just simply breathing, they will encounter a sick stomach.It's amazing how well I've gotten to know my stomach and it's different ways of churning to tell what type of stomach bug I've got.The other week, I was talking to a friend about my upset stomach and said to her 'it's not diarrhea sick, more a crampy sick'. She immediately knew what I was talking about. Seems that no matter how your stomach feels, someone else has felt the same way before (kinda comforting...

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Thailand - The Land Of Smiles

I recently returned from a week in Thailand which was fantastic. I went there for a 2 day (Monday-Tuesday) teacher training conference, but because of the cost of my flights (my school wanted to send us on the cheapest possible flights), I ended up arriving the Friday before the conference and left the Friday after, which meant more time for eating, shopping and hanging out at the beach - AWESOME! When we arrived, we were in awe of the tall skyscrapers, efficient public transport and how clean the streets were. Everywhere you turned, there was something to buy - food, clothes, souvenirs. It was fun to be in a place so different to Kathmandu, but at the same time, I realised how much more I wanted to buy because it was there, not because I...

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Has it really been 2 months?

I can't believe time has gone by so fast and I've been so slack in not posting for so long!So much has happened in the past 2 months that I'd love to tell you about:CHRISTMAS:Christmas was spent eating lots of food and enjoying carol services. Being in a Hindu country meant that not that many people celebrated Christmas...it was mainly the Christians and other expats, so the focus was really on the birth of Jesus which was awesome.CHITWANAs we had school holidays over Christmas and New Years, some friends and I headed to the terai (the lower plains of Nepal) and spent some time in Chitwan National Park. It was lots of fun - riding elephants, doing a jungle walk and taking a nice canoe ride down a river. We saw lots of cool animals such as rhinos,...

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