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Johan’s Diary- February 10th, 2016
I wake up at 8:30 and slept really well last night. I watched a movie I had with me on my computer last night, it felt luxurious and was nice to relax too.
The last two days have been a bit harsh, as I have been feeling a bit low. It’s been slow at the site of Home of Hope. We had rain on Monday, no one working yesterday because of a wedding, and just a few have shown up to work today since the president died yesterday so today was a national mourning day. The delivery of nails didn’t come today so I have not been able to build the rafters to the extent I had hoped for and yesterday morning my tent was full of ants when I woke up, so I have felt a little frustrated lately. The ants had eaten their way through the bottom of the tent; there were surely 40 holes. So I had to pack the tent and remove the inner lining. I managed to borrow Shyam’s father’s tarpaulin to put under the bottom of my tent. With this issue, plus having lived in a tent in such simple conditions for quite some time has resulted in homesickness. I miss Sophie, and our children. As well as the simplicity in daily life such as heat, hot showers, tap water, a soft bed, toilets, washing machines, chairs and tables, electrical plugs, internet, cooked food, etc. I miss the companionship and closeness!
But today it feels a little better, since we have nice weather, which makes me feel energetic and healthy! I get up and start with my morning chores; I am a little low on my breakfasts. I eat noodles that I bought in Kathmandu some mornings to save food, but today it will be oatmeal with cinnamon and apple, plus coffee.
I make a list of materials for the carpenter; I need to get wood cut to the correct size with his self-built saw. I wouldn’t use it, as I do not feel safe. I build a Nepali power connector, so I can charge the computer and telephone at the building site and do not have to walk 10 minutes each time to Shyam’s house.
At 16:00, I go off to wash some clothes and myself before the sun disappears behind the mountain and the cold comes.
It feels really nice after a sweaty day in the sunshine. Back at the tent I light a fire, and send a construction report to Sophie who will have a meeting with her father and the company’s CEO later. I continue to build on to the rafters until it begins to get dark at 18:00. I am almost finished with another one today.
For supper today it is chicken stew with couscous and I feel pampered eating my second last dessert, a kind of vanilla pudding.
It is dark out, so I crawl into my tent and write my diary in the tent door with the fire crackling next to me. I’ve made improvements to the fireplace that allows more heat to reach the opening of the tent, and it’s not as cold outside as before.
I feel much more energetic and happier today, so I am hoping that I can put all my strength and energy into continuing to help build Home of Hope tomorrow.
Thanks for today! // Johan