Back from the village

Greetings from Chitwan National Park! Our time in the village of Nichuta was an amazing experience. It was very different from all my expectations. Houses in Nichuta are made of clay and cow dung with straw roofs. The house we stayed in was one of the nicest homes in the village. Brijlal's family was so welcoming to us even though they weren't able to communicate with us since most of them didn't speak English. We were fed big and delicious meals of dhal baht with vegetables grown nearby and carp caught in a neighborhood pond. We had chai tea at the local tea shop. When we walked around exploring the village we attracted a large group of village children who loved to smile at us and give us high fives. While writing this I'm just thinking that I really can't explain how much we saw or what we experienced. We got to visit a public school in the village where the Literacy for Nepal library is located. It was incredible to finally be standing in the building that I talk about and think about all the time when working on LFN projects throughout my time at SLU. The students at the school were also welcoming and were eager to show us around their school and Chris, Lizzie and I even got to teach a lesson in two classrooms. The students had amazing enthusiasm to learn and were so happy to be showing off their English to Americans. I have so much more to say about Nichuta but I really can't describe the village and the amazing community there. Nepal is truly a unique place with amazing people.