Nepal! The Folk Song, Tues 6/17, Day 27

This entry is gonna be a bit rushed, I'm due for dal bhat soon and want to catch up on blogness:

Melissa left for good today, shedding many bittersweet tears with us and Druba, who she'd become quite close with. This marked the third time so far that I myself didn't start becoming really good friends with a volunteer until just a handful of days before their departure (Norman & Stan were the other two.) It's frustrating, but part of the deal when you're in something like this for a longer haul than most everyone else I suppose. We handful of remaining volunteers have forged a good little camaraderie, so it's all good in any case. Melissa, who had been here longer than most, shall be missed. I popped my head into the Hut for lunch and found a disheveled Druba sulking over her absence. He's certain she'll be back in a year with a box of Everest in tow. Of this I have no doubt.

I spent the rest of the day working in OCRC but will lump all orphanage news into the next entry after breakfast in an hour or so. Nighttime brought one of Pepsikola's many random electricity cuts, thwarting the SE Asia research I was doing. The family, Ladina & I huddled on the balcony as a result, which the brightest full moon in memory was illuminating enough to read a book. Laxmi taught us a tongue-twisting Nepali folk song which we botched to the amusement of the kiddies. A magical little night it was… with the power out all over, all one could see was the silvery moonlit outlines of darkened buildings and temples stretching into the distance, lil orange flickers of candles in each of their windows. The sky was cloudy, but a fairy-tale-perfect opening in the clouds let the full moon shine through. It was, despite the suburban location, bright enough to cast shadows and even a nighttime rainbow of sorts (difficult to describe.) Scattered silent flashes from a distant lightning storm added to the night's magic.

PS: Sushaan and I are going through a rough patch after he broke my crappy cheap phone charger during one of our wrestling matches. So yeah, phone's gonna be down until I can buy charger #3, not that the phone has been any good here anyway, spotty mobile network considering.

PPS: No petrol riots yet.

----Vital Signs----
Hand Sanitizer = 120%
Hygiene = 2 days without shower
Mosquito Bites = 47
Bug Repellent = 60%
Yetis Scalped = 5
Food Poisonings = 0
Digestive System = Rebelling
ETA to Singapore = 28 days
ETA to Indonesia = Unknown but I'll make it there somehow
ETA to Thailand = 40 days
ETA to Los Angeles = 63 days
ETA to San Diego = 65 days