We had three days in the Chitwan National park with guides to help us look for rhino, tiger, crocodiles, sloth bears, monkeys and elephants. They taught us a lot about the wildlife, conservation efforts and the local economy as well as guiding us on walks in the jungle areas and punting us across the river.
The road journeys have been long and arduous as the roads are unmade and often broken from storms and flood. There are many potholes and piles of stones along the way. There are frequent hold ups because of previous accidents and we have also been halted because of protesting tribal groups who want to know who is travelling in their area.
I am staying in a family house five minutes walk from the orphanage where I work. I have a bedroom to myself and a cold shower in an outhouse. The other volunteers live in similar host houses nearby. Daal Bhat (pulses and rice) is the staple food for breakfast and evening meal but we have pickles and vegetables too for variety sometimes. The daal is very soupy but I can eat with my hand now after a little practice.
There are 28 children at the orphanage. They go to school during the day so we go as well to act as classroom assistants, reading with them or trying to teach them some vocabulary. We sometimes help in the orphanage kitchen with preparation of vegetables for the meals. When the children are home from school and have done their homework we play games with them like volleyball, cricket and football.