Monk Football (and other surprises)

Whatever idea about Buddhist monks I previously had is completely gone now. I mean, our monks are the kind, short-haired, gold and maroon robe-clad boys that I pictured, but they're also shockingly "Western." They love Chris Brown and Akon, they talk about how the email past volunteers, and they even have Facebook! Most surprising, though, was their love for football (soccer, as we know it). They even have their own team, and despite the fact that the head teacher has forbidden them from practicing, they're quite good. So good, in fact, that they came in 2nd place out of 9 teams during a monastery football tournament. They even have matching Barcelona uniforms. Impressive, no?
I was surprised with how excited about the game I got. I was definitely one of the loudest spectators at the game, and my voice stood out amongst all the others since it was only one of two female voices in the crowd. Even though our team didn't win, one of our players got a prize for scoring the most goals in the tournament. He combined his winnings with the team's prize to buy meat and soda for dinner the next night. Yes, our monks eat meat. Yet another surprise for me, but apparently only some of them take a vow to be a vegetarian, and they don't have to remain vegetarians for their whole lives!

Thursday night I left for Chitwan with the other 4 volunteers on this trip. Chitwan is in southern Nepal, and is basically one big, steamy jungle. We stayed in a nice little resort just outside of the park, and on Friday morning we went for a jungle walk. I know, I know. Right now you're thinking, "Maya Cantrell? On a jungle walk? NO!" But I did! I went for a 3 hour walk through the jungle and grasslands of southern Nepal. I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would, and by that I mean I didn't cry the whole time. There were a lot of bugs, and I wasn't so hot on all the nature touching my skin, and I had never gotten so dirty in my life, but it wasn't awful. We saw some deer running around and heard a lot of birds and monkeys. After the walk, we went for an elephant bath, which basically entails going into the river on an elephant, being thrown off, and then climbing back on for some more. It was REALLY fun, and I was so so so happy to get to ride an elephant. And, as if one elephant ride wasn't enough, we got to go on another ride through the jungle. Since the elephant's smell masked our own, we got to see 3 rhinos and a ton of deer wandering around the jungle. It was such a cool experience! This morning we had an early breakfast and then went on a canoe ride to do some birdwatching. Along the way we saw a huge crocodile sunning on one of the beaches. Pretty awesome!
The bus ride to and from Chitwan, however, were not so awesome. A trip that would take about 2 and a half hours in America took 8 hours on the way there and 5 and a half on the way back. The roads are ridiculously rough. I can't even describe how bumpy the ride was, not to mention how awful the traffic was on the way there. Despite the awful ride, the views were gorgeous. Sadly, the rough ride didn't allow for any pictures, but the hills and mountains are absolutely breathtaking. It's like Hawaii, but 100 times prettier.

Anyway, my time in Nepal is almost over, and I'm actually really sad to be leaving this week. I've grown so close to the monks that it's really hard to imagine not coming back, which is why I think I want to rearrange my trip so I can come back to Nepal next year (surprise, dad!). I don't think I've ever felt as attached to a place as I am to here, and I will definitely be sobbing on Thursday afternoon when I have to leave!