My room in Nepalgunj is in a nice house with a very kind family. The room itself is not much to speak about, but the location is perfect. It is off the main road of Nepalgunj and near the “waterpark”, a man-made lake with a circumference of about a kilometer. In the evenings this lake is the perfect place to walk, and apparently go boating. Every time I take my walks around the lake I cannot help noticing one swan shaped paddle boat that seems horribly lost and out of place.

One night I went out to find my landlord sitting in a chair near the lake watching a couple boys cleaning the swan. He called me over and began to explain with gestures that the swan was in fact his. Furthermore, he was having it washed so that his nephew might make the inaugural paddle boat journey for the summer. I was extended the honor of joining this expedition out on the lake.

At first I tried to pedal, but my legs were too long and my knees kept hitting things. So I was relegated to passenger status while Rabin and his friend Sandeep took charge of the pedaling and steering. It was a perfect evening for a ride on the lake and we made a slow lap around the lake while crowds gathered on the banks to wave and call to us. The boys worked hard, but with an extra 185 pound passenger the boat was barely staying afloat and certainly not moving fast.

Sunset on the water was beautiful with rays of light reflecting off the ripples of water around our boat. We arrived back to the shore just as the last reds and yellows were fading into the dark blues of the late evening. Our return did not cause the same stir as our departure among the local boys as while we were gone they had started a war with the crows in the trees. They were throwing rocks and sticks into the trees, yelling provocations at the crows and then darting for cover when the bravest crows would swoop down at the attackers. Laughing at their antics my landlord and I sat silently by the lake until night had fallen. We then ambled back to the house for dinner. These evenings of peace are important for me. That quiet and calm can be hard to find in a border town like Nepalgunj. When I look for it, and when I find it though, there is nothing more refreshing so when it is time for the heat and hassle of the coming day I can take it in stride.