Earthquake!

Last night, when Mom and I were relaxing downstairs and Dad was shaving in our room on the third floor, one of the people we were talking with noticed that there were things rocking. We then realized that it was an earthquake! After it had been going on for a little while it started shaking more and it started getting a little scary and we went outside.  It really got scary when it kept going and Dad didn't come down.  When Dad did finally come down, he was in only his towel and carrying his clothes. That was the first earthquake any of us had experienced.

Today was our first day out of Kathmandu.  We took a minibus to Jiri starting at 7:30 in the morning and it took a total of eight hours.  It was a lot like the tro tro rides in West Africa, except there were a lot less people and the van was newer and nicer.  The road was rough and it went up and down a lot.  It also went through a lot of streams at the top of waterfalls.  The road was narrow enough that if the driver made a single miscalculation we would all go tumbling over the edge.  The driver had an assistant that would tap on the side of the van if all was well.  He would hit the side of the van hard once if we were too close to the edge.  We saw debris on the road from landslides that were caused by last night's earthquake.

The lodge we stayed at in Jiri had a bathroom without a sink.  Mom sprayed me with the water bottle when trying to wet her toothbrush.  I couldn’t figure out how I was supposed to wash my hands or where to spit when brushing my teeth and I felt homesick.
- Brook