Pokhara

Now I can finally tell you the name of my volunteer placement (or maybe not...).To find out information such as this has been surprisingly difficult. Louise (rapid fire): "What's the name of our orphanage? Whereabouts in Pokhara is it? How old are the children?" Bijen (relaxed shrug): "Well, you will find out when you get there". Seems that they place you where you are needed at the time, depending on how many volunteers are available, how many have buggered off trekking, etc. So we are here.

The settings have been somewhat grim. The bedding had not been changed and the toilets have not been cleaned for 2 years up until this week. Pretty dire. Ann and Katie (our fellow volunteers) seem to have it all figured out and have done wonders for the place already. We have been painting the walls (to cover the mould, yummm), so it's looking much more friendly now. The kids are wonderful. We have been teaching them English and they all seem incredibly eager to learn - I sat with a group of three this afternoon for about an hour, reading them sections of their English books from school. I love it.

I'm still waiting for the mist to unveil the vast mountains that I can see faintly painted in the sky.