Attention, you have left the comfort zone

Welcome to Salleri!

A quote I took notice of before leaving: “Life begins at the end of the comfort zone”. We need to hold that close because we have left comfortable and dropped deep into the realm of uncomfortable. Even with our slow travel transition to the 'third world' and the rustic lifestyle we experienced trekking, our limits are being tested to a greater degree, as we are experiencing daily eye and throat burning woodsmoke, frigid coldness after the sun goes behind the mountains, no warm water, language barriers (Awkward!), breathlessness (from the elevation?),cramped quarters and lack of a physically comfortable (and warm) space to 'hang out' (read: be able to do yoga/pilates) in. I am also experiencing aimlessness, as I really wanted to start SOMETHING. I was looking forward to a meaningful experience volunteering in the school, but we have run into yet another holiday and won't be starting for a week or so.

Reader, please don't take this as complaining, but our first two days in Salleri have been an enormous reality check. The friendliness and kindness of the people, the internet 'cafe' (what do you call an internet place with no cafe?) as well as finding a German bakery and a huge jar of honey for 200 rupees ($2.50) have been strong positives. Oh, and my jar of peanut butter that I brought from Kathmandu. (the standard protein back up for vegetarian travellers!) I know that once we start in the school (and Heath the monastery) we'll have a routine and I will feel better. Perhaps not warmer, but better.

The House Description

This picture was taken from below the back of the house. There are 3 houses in the photo- ours being the middle one with the black vest hanging from the top floor. Our window is to the left of the vest, there are 2 other small rooms up here, and the other window lights the top of the stairs. The next floor down is where the family lives, and the stairwell goes up the left hand side. The whole house slopes towards the back- any water spilt on the floor runs downhill. I really hope an earthquake doesn't happen while anyone is in the house!

The floor with the laundry is the main kitchen/dining area. There is a narrow back room that runs the width of the building which is the washing/pantry area. Running water from a pipe inserted further up the river constantly runs into the sink (and out another pipe into the river at the right). The kitchen is wood and sparse, with both an open wood stove and a gas hotplate. There are 2 simple benches and 2

small narrow plank tables. The family spends most of their time in this dark space. It would be warm, but they leave their front door open, so there is a constant breeze running through. They have a larger dining table and room towards the front of the house, yet this seems rarely used. The rest of the front of the house is taken up by a shop, where they sell shoes and other items. This shop that fronts onto the main street is rarely busy, it seems they don't really need the income from it, as they own another shop or business in Salleri (we are actually living 20 mins south of Salleri in Dorphu). This picture was taken on market by by the front top window. The one of Heath shows the front door (with girl in doorway) behind him.

Thee floor beneath the kitchen seems carved out of the hillside. The open window lights the stairwell, and I think they use the other rooms for storage. There are only windows on this backside! One of the daughters bought a live chicken from the market, it is currently living under a basket in this area.

I wonder when chicken will be served? The bottom floor of the house is the craziest. The stairs continue downwards, through a hole in the floor, with a hatch-door, like a Wizard of Oz cellar door.



This is shut during the night, which makes it a little creepy for night time toilet visits. This is where the toilet is located, as well as access to the garden. The bathroom has water that trickles into a basin from another pipe/tube, and is complete with a pedestal toilet, where the plumbing also exits it's deposits with the water we add by a little bucket into the river. I am assuming the river. We never see TP or poop in the rivers (just piles of other garbage) so guessing it breaks down pretty fast? Glad we brought a water purifier! But I digress.

To get to the garden, in the photos you can see it is another place to hang wet hand-washed-in-cold water laundry, you open the door and find the only place for afternoon sun! Don't mistake the garden to be a flat area- Heath and I found a quiet place warm ourselves, but we are literally perched on the foundation of the house, and the neighbour intermittently lets off fire crackers to scare the birds. There is another ladder to get to the tiered garden. Fall is here, so most things have been harvested, but it is still bright with marigolds.