It’s officially Day 2.

It has only been 2 days and I have already endured a mammoth proportion of new experiences that I think my head is going to explode. Everything is fine of course but when the you notice and adapt to the little things that you take for granted back home, they tend to add up. Most notable…

Water – Tlell and I have to ration our daily 4 bottles of water. Drinking from the tap is not advisable and it appears this will be the norm for our entire time here. The volunteers that have already been here for 8 months says this is normal.

Heat – It is the middle of winter here in Kathmandu and we are now accustomed to sleeping under layers of blankets (it is quite cozy actually). There is no heating at our place and I have heard that some volunteers have bought electrical heaters and blankets.

Electricity – apparently, the government will be implementing electrical load shedding for 10 to 14 hours per day, meaning, for up to 14 hours per day, there will be no electricity. 10 hours of load shedding will start soon and up to 14 hours will start in February. That should be interesting.

Yesterday, a group of us walked around the Thamel market for the first time. As expected, you can pretty much get anything here (ie. back packs, clothes, hiking gear, electronics, boots, shoes, etc.). There is so much variety and wealth of goods – it is quite wondrous and amazing. That same evening, we had our first security meeting at the VSO Nepal Programme Office where we met the country director and fellow support staff members. There was also a party in the evening where we were able to meet up with the March voluteers and ask questions galore about what it is like to live and work in Nepal.

Nervous, excited, worried, and anxious.

Slowly but surely….