That mushy, flowery post from a few days ago? SCRATCH THAT. I’ve had it up to HERE with this trip and cannot wait to go home because:
Bugs. There are a LOT of bugs in my room – small, annoying, gnat-like bugs and big, flying-around-my-head scary bugs. The “hotel” employees have sprayed a toxic amount of bug-killer in my room, so my room is temporarily bug-free but the floors are littered with dead bugs. It’s a lovely haven to relax at the end of each day.
My bathroom with no hot water and bugs littering the floor. I’m whiny and posting about trivial things to make myself feel better.
A little lizard to keep me company and eat the bugs that swarm in my room. Again, I’m whiny and posting about trivial things to make myself feel better.
A mouse. Just when I thought I was getting used to the bugs and could live peacefully with them without losing my mind, I spotted a small gray blob darting across the floor of my room this morning. It was smaller than the mice I had in my NYC apartment, but IT IS STILL A MOUSE. It kept darting back and forth between its hiding spot under the bureau and the two inch gap under my shoddily-made door to the outside. But did it actually GO outside? NOPE. That nasty little vermin remains living in my room.
Electricity. Every evening, usually when I am brushing my teeth or in the middle of reading my book, the electricity goes out. Sometimes it comes back on within thirty seconds, but sometimes it’s out for several minutes during which I stumble around my room, looking for my headlamp.
Water. There’s no hot water here which is uncomfortable but something I can deal with. I’ve taken two ice cold showers thus far and while they’re painful for the first few minutes, by the time I’m conditioning my hair, it almost feels refreshing. However, last night I came home from dinner, ready to brush my teeth and wash my face and hop into my (bug-infested) bed and the faucets spewed…nothing. I had no water. I asked the hotel staff several times about my lack of “pani” (water in Nepali) and they looked confused, then rushed around doing who knows what, then I still had no water. I brushed my teeth and washed my face with a bottle of mineral water, cleaned my face with a face wipe and called it a night. Then, in the middle of the night, I heard water rushing from my faucets in the bathroom and had to jump up and turn them off. Water’s back!
Food. On my first day, my staff explained to me that they don’t take lunch here. They eat breakfast at 6am, followed by lunch at 9am (before they get to the office) and then dinner in the evening. As always, I followed suit and have been eating a couple eggs, toast and hash browns around 9am each day. I eat nothing throughout the day and pop my dwindling supply of Tic-Tacs and gum whenever I feel hungry. Around 6pm, I head to the restaurant at my hotel and choose from very few items for dinner – last night I had fried rice. Gross. The night before I had a chicken sandwich. Gross. The night before that I had roasted chicken and vegetables. Gross. Also, I have depleted my snack supply and have been surviving on probably less than 1000 calories a day. I cannot wait to get home next week and devour a massive cheeseburger followed by a few pounds of our wedding cake!
Transportation. There are very few cars in this town and most people get around by bicycle or motorcycle. Each of our staff members has a motorcycle and my direct report has been charged with taking me around. My direct report? Well, he is a crappy driver and hell on wheels and a complete lunatic. Yesterday we had to drive to a vendor about 85 kilometers from our office and I saw my life flash before my eyes several times during the drive. At 80kph, we passed a rickshaw as a gigantic truck barreled towards us and a goat ran out into the road. And this happened again and again and again – except sometimes it was a car barreling towards us and a cow in the road, etc. We made it, obviously, but I nearly had several heart attacks.
Motivation. I have lost all motivation for the work I am supposed to do here. I don’t know if I’ve lost motivation because I just want to go home already or if I want to go home because I’ve lost motivation for this work. At any rate, not caring about my job here is not helping my cause.
And so you have my list of whines. I know that many people in this little town have many more substantial and worthy complaints. I always try to take these things as they come, laugh them off and make the best of the adventure, but this time? I think I’ve had enough adventuring for now. It’s been a busy year and an even busier month and I think I’m ready to settle down at home. At least for a while…
