My New Backyard...

Luckily, CORD has rented a small house for Minal, Sejuti, and I for the duration of our stay. The house is composed of three separate bedrooms, a kitchen (with no appliances), three bucket showers, two Turkish toilets, and one western toilet (THANK GOD). The house is located 300 meters from the CORD office. We have been eating all of our meals at CORD’s small cafeteria. The vegetarian meals have been great (lots of veggies, rice, roties, and momos (Tibetan dumplings)). We’ve been spending our days orienting ourselves at CORD and their programs. On the 9th of September we will begin trekking to rural villages assessing their needs and implementing sanitation (i.e. toilets). I can’t wait!

During the evenings, Minal, Sejuti, and I tramp through the rice paddy fields, creeks, and hand made bridges to the nearby town, Yol. Yol is 3 kilometers from Sidhbari. It’s a beautiful walk – the Himalayas are the backdrop. The mountains take my breath away and I dream that one day soon I will be standing atop one of them.