Dog Bites and Rain: Just another day in Kathmandu

The other day I was bitten by a dog. Yesterday I got caught in a rainstorm. Although the later seems much more benign than the first, it was no less exciting. I'll start with the dog.

The afternoon had gone well enough. On the walk home from school, I picked a flower or two (typical hippie, I know). The boys caught on and soon I had a lovely bunch of wildflowers. :) After dropping them off at the house, I went over to the volunteer house to get a mug to put the flowers in and to grab my journal, so I could write a bit while they worked on homework. I had almost reached the gate of the boys house when this little yappy dog comes bounding up behind me. I turned around to chase it away, thinking it was just another one of the many annoying barking dogs that roam around the neighbourhood, when it reaches up and bites the back of my knee. Thankfully, some of the boys arrived at that point and chased it off. Lucky for me, i was wearing long, thick pants, although I have a small scratch, there's no hole in my pants, so I wasn't actually bitten. I even forgot about the whole incident until later that night when I was taking a shower. I survived till the next morning, so I must not have rabies. :)

The following afternoon I finally remember to bring my camera with me when we went to pick the kids up from school. We'd only been walking for 10 minutes or so when it starts to rain. At first it was just a slight drizzle, so I was able to keep the camera dry by hiding it under my shirt. But soon the drizzle turned to a downpour. My shirt would no longer suffice. I ducked into three small shops, asking for a plastic bag to wrap my camera in. They would have to do for the moment. When we arrived at school it was chaos. Few of the kids have umbrellas or raincoats, so the breezeway was packed with kids trying their best to stay dry. This is only my second day picking up the boys, and I'm having a hard time picking them out of the crowd. I know that I'm meant to walk with the 2 or 3 youngest and am hoping that they'll recognize and come up to me before too long. I end up with one of the 3, he says that the other two are walking with some other boys. Ok then... By this point, the rain has let up a bit, but my camera is still in danger of water damage so I ask the lad if he'd mind putting it in his backpack. He's a smart one and has a poncho that goes all the way down to his feet. :) I got quite a few looks on the way home. Drenched white girl, no umbrella or raincoat, walking barefoot in an area of town that's not often frequented by foreigners. I had a grand time puddle jumping. :)

A note on my placement:

I've been placed in Kanchenjunga House (named after the third highest mountain in the world), 29 boys aged 12-17 (approx.) It's interesting being around SO many boys. I eat dal bhat (rice and lentils) with them in the morning, walk them to school, pick them up, have dal bhat in the evening and hang out while they do homework. They go to school Sun. - Fri. Saturday is their one day off when they get to watch t.v. lounge around and whatnot. The volunteers are encouraged to plan activities for Saturdays – hikes, arts and crafts, games, projects, etc. I have a slight disadvantage in my house because I'm the only volunteer there. There isn't someone who's been here for a few months to help me learn the ropes. It been a challenge. The boys are grand though, so it's really not too bad. :)

Have you donated to your favourite charity yet?

http://www.mycharity.ie/event/jewelinnepal

On a side note, I thought the Swiss flag was the only one that wasn't a rectangle. The Nepali flag isn't either. It looks like this: