Ewwwwwwwww.....

So I've started feeling a little sick to my stomach the last few days. I think it's the combination of the pollution and the new food. In any case, I had to use the grossest bathroom I've ever used in my entire life just now. It was a squat toilet (of course) and the sink didn't work. I had to walk down an alley and jump over a few sleeping dogs to get there from the internet cafe. There were flies everywhere and it smelled terrible. But desperate times call for desperate measures and I made do. Luckily I was with 2 other volunteers, and one of them had toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Did I mention? Nepalese don't use toilet paper. They use water and their hands. (Coincidentally, they also use their hands to eat, just the other hand). So I discovered today I should carry some around with me. Far be it from me to look down upon ancient customs, but given what we know today about disease, you'd think some customs would start to change. I think perhaps they've added soap to the mix, which is a step...
That's one of the things I've noticed about Nepal. It's a mix of old customs and new technology and the combination seems far from harmonious. For instance, it may have been fine to throw trash outside when all their trash was food waste and could decompose. But now that there's plastic everywhere, the trash just sits on the side of the road and smells. And perhaps the roads used to make sense, but now with no traffic laws or emissions standards, and tons of new vehicles, the pollution and traffic are terrible. I feel like Nepal, or at least Kathmandu, is in limbo between it's old customs and ways and the new technological age that is starting to arrive. I'm having a little trouble adjusting, but I'm sure I'll figure it out soon enough. I wanted to get away from my sheltered life, and I've certainly done that, but it's harder than I thought it would be. I think it will be good for me, and in the mean time, I'm trying to enjoy myself. I walked around Patan and saw some gorgeous temples yesterday, which was really really fun. I also met an expat!!!
I think I am going to enjoy working at MSPN after all. There are two other volunteers besides me, Sarah and Roz, and they're both really nice. Roz just started at MSPN but has already been in Nepal for 5 weeks. Sarah's been at MSPN for 2 weeks now and has 2 more to go. Working with the children is somewhat challenging, especially with the language barrier. The kids are all really sweet and when I got there this morning, they came running to the gate all excited. It's sad because I don't think they really know what's going on. They try to teach both the parents and the children about HIV at the center, but I don't know how much they really understand. I don't know that they even realize they're different from other children, as many of them have been sick all their lives and this is sort of just standard. Many children in Nepal have HIV, but most don't realize it until they get really sick. Most Nepalese children are also really small for their size, so it's really hard to tell how old they are. There's a little baby at the center who looks like she's only a few months old, but I think she might be 2 or even 3.
The children only stay at the center while they heal from whatever opportunistic infections they have and then they go home. They aren't in school while they are at the center, so we have to try to teach them some english and math. The children don't understand the concept of sharing at all, perhaps because they've been so poor, and so they often fight or steal things from one another. I hope I'll ultimately be able to teach them things, and I can already see I'm starting to bond with them. They all LOVE my locket and so when one child is upset, I try to calm them down by letting them sit on my lap and showing them the pictures of my family. I'm hoping to teach them some English like "mother" and "father" through my locket.
In other news, I'm getting a roommate! She's apparently Australian and is an occupational therapist who is going to be working at a center for children with Cerebal Palsy. I haven't met her yet, but I will later today. I hope we get along. It will be nice to have some friends to go and do things with. Sarah and Roz are really nice too and i'm hoping we'll have some time to spend together as well. Roz did half her work at one place and the other half is here, so maybe I'll see if I can do that as well. We'll see. Anyway, that's it for me for now. I'm hoping that my system gets adjusted to Nepal soon. I hate being sick away from home. I miss you all a lot! Please comment or e-mail me just to say hi! I love getting e-mails from people back home!