Dang! This Is Great

Dang (which is actually pronounced “dong”) lies toward the south of the second most western region of Nepal. In stark contrast to the endless hills of our PST site, my new community sits in a very flat valley between two mountain ranges. The climate is temperate at the moment, but it apparently gets very hot in the summer. I live with my host mother (her husband died from lung cancer) and an older, unmarried sister. I have four other sisters (two of whom live in America) and an older brother (whose family lives nearby). The health center’s ambulance driver lives immediately next door with his wife and two sons. There are also a number of young women who help with the housework. My new family was hesitant to talk to me the first few days, but after teaching each other some Nepali and English, watching TV, singing Nepali and English songs, and just joking around, they’re warming up to me.

I live in a large, high ceilinged room on the ground floor. The room has a large bed, shelves, wall hooks, and carpeting. The kitchen is in a separate building next to the house; my family cooks with gas (as opposed to the wood stove) and eats meals at a table (instead of on the floor). Several small gardens surround the house, as well as a number of rice/wheat paddies in the backyard. There are mango, guava, and lemon trees abounding, with gourd and pumpkin vines weaving their way through their branches. Our family has a number of goats, chickens, cows, and water buffalo, as well as a kitten. We fetch our water from a well in the backyard, or from a stream a mere stone’s throw away. In terms of amenities, it’s definitely an upgrade from my last home.

The location of my new house couldn’t be better. Just down the road is a large community of Tharus, a disadvantaged ethnic group with it’s own distinct language and culture. Two schools (one private, one public) are within a half hour on foot. The primary health center is just a five-minute walk from my home (many other volunteers are several kilometers from their offices). There are a number of small shops a short distance away, and just beyond the health center is a farmer’s market (haatbazaar). A half hour bus ride brings me to Tulsipur, the largest city in Dang.