10 Tips for Village Visits

I have put together 10 essential tips for you... you know, for the next time you go visit a village.

1. Walk to your destination.

Waiting for our bus to get fixed for the third time. 

I don't care how far away or how many meters above sea level your destination is. Walk there. I guarantee that it will be faster, more enjoyable, and your chances of survival will be exponentially higher than if you were to ride a bus.

On the way to our destination, the bus broke down three times. On the way back to Kathmandu,  it took us ten hours to go 100 miles. That's 10 miles per hour, folks.

Did I mention that we were traveling during the biggest holiday of the year? The holiday where you are practically required to go back to your village and visit your family? Did I mention that there were about 100 people inside our bus and nearly as many riding on the roof? Oh, and did I tell you about the grandma who was sitting in the aisle next to me who was gripping my knee with her toes? Or the guy standing behind me who kept falling asleep on my head? Or the countless elbows who made their home in each of the crevices of my ribcage?

I probably forgot to mention that because I am so thankful to be alive. There were literally times when we could look down out of the window and see a 500 foot drop off below... which is probably why grandma had a death grip on me with her toes.


2. If you refuse to walk, at least have a return bus ticket.

You should probably purchase a return bus ticket before you decide to ride a bus to the end of the road in the middle of nowhere. But you were probably already planning on doing that, right?

We had this crazy idea in our minds that we would leave to go home on Saturday. Nope. No bus tickets till at least Tuesday.... remember that whole holiday thing?

Tuesday we walked the two hours down the mountain to get to the bus stop. Only it didn't take two hours. We were practically sprinting and it took four hours. And we missed the bus. So since the next bus was not leaving until the next day, we spent the night at a tea house and tried to buy a ticket on Wednesday morning.

The view from the tea house window. 

Wednesday morning rolled around and we were up before our alarms... only to find out that there were no seats left on the bus!

But wait. There were still some tickets available for us to stand in the aisle. Score.

Here's the thing though. Nepali people are way too generous and way too kind. We accidentally sat in some peoples' seats before the bus got full, and since they saw that we were foreigners, and that we clearly had no idea what was happening, they made sure that we stayed in those seats for the whole ten hours.

It was pretty stinkin' humbling.

3. When you are asked to dance at a PTA meeting on the side of a mountain, don't hold back. Give it all you've got. 

This one is pretty self explanatory. Just dance like a crazy person. You won't regret it. 

4. Bring earplugs. 

It is very likely that there will be several friendly mice running around inside your bamboo cottage during the night. I have found that earplugs make it much easier to pretend that the mice are not really there. 

5. Do not refuse food. 

Actually, I think that it will be impossible for you to refuse hospitality from anyone. Your host will probably give you sad puppy dog eyes and sweetly convince you that it is the best thing for you to take what she has just offered you.

Even if she offers you ten heaps of rice. Or warm buffalo milk. Or baby bumble bee larvae. 

Buffalo curds. Mmmm, tasty!

I'm not even kidding you. I freaked out so bad when I ate those baby bumble bees. I screamed and spit it out so fast that nobody was even offended because we were all laughing so hard. Except me. I was not laughing so hard. I was making sure there were no baby bumble bees stuck in my teeth. 

6. Suspend your judgement.

If you want to cross the bridge to understanding a foreign culture, realize that you know nothing about why these people do the things that they do. Don't judge. Just watch and learn. You will have plenty of time to form conclusions later, I promise.

A bridge we crossed on our way up the mountain.

I would have saved myself a lot of heartache if I had suspended judgement. For instance, I got really frustrated that our hosts were making a little girl carry a heavy basket up a mountain while they didn't carry anything. Then I learned that the little girl isn't really as young as she looks.  I learned that she works to pay for her own school tuition because her dad is a drunk. I also learned that our hostess only has one foot. And then that same hostess took Cynthia's backpack so that her guest could walk up the mountain more easily. And then I felt really, really, really stupid for judging such amazing people for being so awesome because I was too culture-blind to see what was really going on.

7. Try to speak Nepali.

Practicing your language skills is the quickest way to make friends. You will get laughed at, told that you are saying your words incorrectly, and will accidentally tell the buffalo to get married.

It's ok, just keep at it.

8. Let your heart be broken.

It's gonna hurt. When you see the brokenness around you, and you recognize your inability to do anything to change it, don't fight the feelings. Let your heart break. Because that is what is going to lead you to number 9. And number 9 is what is going to make a difference in people's lives.

9. Pray.

Psalm 19 

Pray a lot.

Listen to God.

Pray with the brothers and sisters for people to get healed and then rejoice with one another when God does it (yes He did... four times).

Praise God for the glory that He displays all around you.

Pray for the ones whom you have come to love so much who still do not know Him.


10. Don't resist the refining process. 

The lack of cleanliness, the missed busses, the constant stares, the mice, and the bumble bees are going to send you into a place that you have never been before. You will drift way beyond the end of your rope.

Don't be afraid to fall.

God will catch you.

And you will love what that feels like when He does.