I went to the house where I am going to make the ICS and said my friend can come Saturday, which is the day that the guy asked to move it. He was not there so I told his mom. His mom then proceeded to tell me that Saturday was worship day so we needed to do it Thursday or Friday. This meant that I needed to call my friend again to see if she could change the day she was coming. I decided to hopefully talk with her son later to confirm with him that that was ok because I know he wanted to be there and while I was fairly certain he was coming back Thursday - there had to be a reason he suggested Saturday instead of Friday.
I had gone to the health post today so I could ask them questions to complete my Village Situational Analysis. I asked questions throughout the day when we had a lull in patients. On my way back home, I was stopped by a mother I had met while visiting a friend’s house. We talked a little bit and she gave me cheeya. While I was drinking it, a man came down from the steps leading to the health post and said something. Of course, I only understood one word - manche - which is Nepali for person.
I got the impression from how everyone began going up that there may be a fight going on, but I was not really sure because I did not know what the word they were saying was. All I knew was that it started with a “P”. People were going up and asking if I was going, but I didn’t really want to see a fight. I told them I wasn’t scared - just didn’t want to go. I got home and tried telling my Dee Dee that a person was doing something, but she didn’t understand my sentences. Luckily, someone was nearby that knew what was going on and told her.
My Dee Dee then proceeded to tell me the same word people told me that I hadn’t understood, but she also added hand motions. She pointed to the mud wall near our house and pointed to the road in front of it. I immediately understood “landslide”. She and my Bahine left to go up to it and again - the offer was made for me to go too. I told my Dai I really didn’t want to see someone buried alive and went to my room where I prayed and read.
About an hour later, I heard my Dee Dee back and was called for kadja. I came down and my Dee Dee told me that the man had died. Apparently, it was only a little dirt that fell on top of him, but a big boulder had hit him in the head. This made me even more grateful that I did not go the multiple times I was asked. I’m ok - it’s just been weird.
I talked with the mom again and found out that her son left for the city today and is coming back Thursday. After talking with my gracious friend who said any day worked for her - I figured it was the woman’s house and since she preferred it not to happen on Saturday, we could do it Friday since her son and his wife would be back by then. It works a little better with my plans this way too, but this certainly has been a learning experience for me.
I’m pretty go with the flow, but when I have some plans and things change - I have a tendency to just try to work around it. That is fine in some cases, but in others - I need to recognize that it is ok to stick with my plans and make it work for both parties. As I finish typing this, want to know what happened? It is hailing really hard and it is was hot outside today and certainly not much colder right now, but the hail is still coming and staying frozen for a little bit on the ground.
The perfect ending to a weird day.