Oh, the frustration!

Yesterday was a rough day. I do my best to keep a positive attitude and to make the most of every situation, but yesterday was a struggle. I'm going to vent about it now and probably come to the realization that it wasn't as bad as it felt in the moment...but I sure felt beaten. 

The day got off to a bad start. I hadn't slept well because of the heat and the noise. It only got down to 75 degrees Fahrenheit that night, and remember, there is no air conditioning. I had a fan, but I was just so uncomfortable. So, I wake up groggy and sweaty. 

I decide to try to revitalize myself with a shower. I can't figure out the shower, there is no water coming out. Odd. I'll go turn on the pump that fills up the tank on the roof. Maybe the tank is empty. No electricity. Wait an hour, then flip on the switch. Leave the switch on for about 10 minutes, which should be plenty of time. Still no water for a shower, and now there is no water in the house anywhere. There's a sink full of dishes, dirty laundry in the washer, a dirty me standing in the bathroom, and there is no water to be had. Guess a shower isn't gonna happen for me today. Luckily Didi, the housekeeper, comes today and she knows everything about the house. She will get this figured out and I can take a shower tonight. 

I get dressed and walk the 30 minutes to work. I am a hot sweaty mess by the time I get there, which is typical. After I catch up with my coworkers and boss we decide to visit the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC). I need to get their stamp of approval before conducting a survey in the infectious disease hospital where people come to receive their rabies vaccine. We meet with various people and are basically told that we have to submit a proposal and then they will talk with us. but we were told previously that we didn't need a formal proposal, we just needed to come talk with them and explain the project. Well, now they need a formal proposal before we can talk. This whole meeting takes about 20 minutes, but it took us a long, hot, dusty 30-minute taxi ride to get there, and now we have to turn around and do that again, having accomplished nothing. SO FRUSTRATING! My mentor Sarah explained that this is just Nepali politics. We have to work on their timetable, meet their demands, and eventually money will come into play. Once they decide to cooperate with us, they will ultimately need some cash before they can give us their approval. I knew working in a foreign country was going to be difficult, but this just doesn't even make any sense. Welcome to Nepal! (Read that with sarcasm, lots, and lots, of sarcasm.)

After the ride home I have to walk half an hour back to the house. It is 3:30pm and HOT! I also have to stop halfway home at the Big Mart for some grocery shopping. About an hour later I make it home with my grocery bags. That wasn't so bad, what was unbearable was the heat. I had sweat through my undershirt and t-shirt, and I was nauseous. Definitely in the early stages of heat stroke. I made it home and literally peel off my clothes, wanting to head straight for a cold shower. ...It doesn't look like Didi came...there is still no water. (NOOOOOOOOO!) We have drinking water so I start rehydrating, but I need a shower for so many reasons. I am physically filthy and emotionally drained and mentally exhausted. I just resign to my fate of never showering again and always smelling horribly of body odor. I lie down on the couch and flip on the fan - no electricity. I just sit there in my hot stinking filth feeling really sorry for myself. Do you have a pathetic picture of me in your head? It's accurate. 

Once Heidi, my housemate, returns from work we try to figure out the water situation. We go to the roof to check the tank, nothing wrong there. Electricity comes back on and we turn the pump on again, still no water. We call around and eventually find out this problem has happened before and the issue is with the motor. We have to find the motor and then the solution is to put water in the motor. ? That's what we were told to do, but we didn't, because it makes no sense. Instead we wait until the night guard arrives and we try to explain the problem and see if he can get it figured out. Bless the man, he does it! Finally, at about 8:30pm, we have the motor running, and we have electricity, so the tank is filling. We have water! So, Jess, you jumped in the shower right then, right? No, because I was feeling horribly. I am suffering through another bout of bacterial food poisoning and was throwing up while all of this was going on. Once we had water, I brushed my teeth and collapsed into bed. And thus ended a very long frustrating, hot and sweaty day. 

I can't leave you with this horrible picture of me. This morning I got up and took a glorious shower, had a yummy breakfast, and am at work. I am feeling better, not yet 100%. I live in a constant cloud of nausea here. Needless to say, I am very excited to get home and get my stomach settled. 

It's all part of the adventure!