Water

I have great news to report today.
Yesterday I went out to the village with Sem and Sikher (another director of Natraj) to introduce Natraj to Gadgade school.
Sikher was quite shocked by his visit. He couldn't believe just how little the children have and how great are the problems the teachers are dealing with. He promised to supply clean water... There... easy. The total cost is something like 80pounds (no poundsign on this qwerty). For a major problem solved. This should make a huge difference to the health of the children and also the staff.

His interest is worth a good deal too. Somketimes that is all they want here. To know that someone knows.,Love,
Jill x

Early morning in the city x

I had a brain wave about my art. Why don't I try the city squares before anyone gets up?
I am on my way back now from a few hours drawing. The early morning was so busy, but only locals. I walked through the market places before the days trading began. There was a strong and evocative smell of incense and the ringing of prayer bells. Everyone has to get to the temple to begin their day with prayer and that is what they wee doing today. Amazing sights and sounds. They were actually sweeping and cleaning the roadways and alleys before laying out their wares. The vegetable market was in full swing. mariglolds and spices and herbs and tika powder. There were evn people feeding the cows and calves in the street and also the pigeons and a goat with a bell round its neck. The stray dogs didn't seem to be being fed but one or two had malas on.

The only people ready for business when they saw me were the saddhus trying to charge me for photos. Since I didn't have my camera that was a nonstarter.

And the only people missing from this scene were the Japanese and Korean tourists and their distinctive face masks. Bizarre world.
Love from Kathmandu,
Jill x

Paint and giggling xx

Well Viv managed to avoid the Santa hat thing on her birthday yesterday. Hers was an altogether different day. For a start we are in Kathmandu this week. And secondly Bhakta took us both out for a special evening to a different sort of restaurant. He even organised a birthday cake for Viv and the traditional musicians sang 'Happy Birthday" which was definitely different.

The restaurant was a traditional Nepali place where one sits on the floor and is served with one dish after another all evening. All the traditional dishes of the main tribes of Nepal are included. Sounds like a banquet but it wasn't. These were only tastes. There were also traditional dances (dancers, not us) and some Kathmandu valley musicians. All rather lovely.

And this morning she left for Phokara in her weeks' exploration of some of the rest of this beautiful and extraordinary country.

I am taking the time to draw and paint in my favourite places around the valley. This is easier said than done. If one stands still at all here in Kathmandu one is assailed by hawkers and beggars and people trying to practice their English and act as unofficial guide. Endlessly saying "no thank you" doesn't work. Nor does getting het up. Nor does ignoring. I shall let you know if I find the answer.
Meanwhile my sketching is fun and a very sociable activity. For most of the neighbourhood.

Hoping to call in to Natraj tomorrow and meet up with Sem for a viewing of the website, which has caused us so much giggling to date....
Love and kisses,
jill x

Vigil for the dead x

Well we did do our longer walk... down into a valley we have not visited before. The village, Sankhu, is not on any tourist itinery and was a lovely Newari settlement. A real delight. I especially loved losing our way slightly on the way there and having to wade through a tributary. The feel of the water was a change.

We caught a bus from there into Pashipatina which is on the outskirts of kathmandu. We found the place crowded with mourners. This is the most sacred place in Nepal to Hindus and we were there on the day of the vigil for the Dead. That was not as depressing as it sounds (to me anyway). On this day every year people who have been berieved during the past twelve months (or 13 if you folow the Nepali lunar calendar) meet there for an all night vigil. They have to fast and purify themselves to be fit to tend anoil flame for their loved one. There were people simply eerywhere, many wearing the traditional mourning white.

This week has flown by. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed here resulting in a days holiday celebrations on Wednesday. My school is also closed on Thursday and Friday. Which mans I have taught my last lesson there. The children assembled despite the public holiday on Wednesday... to give me a proper goodbye. I came away wearing 9 malas and with two bags full of flowers all arranged by the children. They also did some singing, dancing, drumming and crying for me. It was lovely but tearful. I finally arrived in Nagarkot loking and smelling like a mobile flower shop.

Viv's final teaching day was the next day. She did get a couple of birthday presents from some students but most were not ready for the full sendoff. So she has to go back in for that at the end of our trip.

So now we are in Kathmandu and it is so warm here in the valley. We have met up with Bhakta and he is helping Viv to organise an itinery for her trip further up country next week. I intend to stay here to do some arting. My sketchpad at the moment looks as if I did eerything on the balcony which is pretty much the truth..... So I have a week to paint Nepal as I see it.

More pictures to follow.....
Love,
Jill xx

B.B.C. rules O.K.

I am adding my photograph of Semanata's parents from last Saturday's visit to their home in lLubhu. We didnt get much chance to talk to his mother because she only came home as we were about to leave but Phokrelji senior was a delight. He has been a teacher for more than 40years and enjoys the company of young people. He cannot speak English, just Nepali and Hindi but that did not stop him talking fully to us. He wanted to compare notes about education and life in general. He knows all about the UK and has a great respect for all things British. Apparently the BBC broadcasts in Hindi are the final word on all matters in this house.
The other picture is of the rest of his family. His wife, four children and his brother's two. They all share a house in the village of Lubhu just outside Patan.

The week continues in our routine. Back to schools and then time after that for a visit into the village or a trip to Bhaktapur. There is a tour group from England staying in the cottage too now and it is so odd to hear so many English voices all of a sudden. The evenings by the fire have become much livelier. They are staying another two nights and then are off to Chitwan and Phokara.

We plan to investigate another longer walk from here at the weekend. Suddenly aware of the fact that we have only three weeks left. Aaaargh!!!

Shopping, Visas and Gurkhas

Hello all. Hope you're all well.

This is a slightly delayed post in that I started it yesterday, but the power went, so now I have to start all over again. Apologies for the delay!

We had a nice few days in Kathmandu last week, doing bits of shopping, renewing our visas, and also visiting the Gurkha base near Kathmandu. The shopping was fun (I've ordered a new winter coat for myself from a tailors, and will have the first fitting when I go back to Kathmandu next week), and the visa renewal was relatively painless. All we had to do was fill in a form, give them a photograph of ourselves, pay the required rupees (about 21 quid) and hand over our passports for half a day and collect them later. Collecting them later meant we could do yet more shopping, and we also found a shopping mall which was interesting to wander around. It wasn't in the least bit like a UK or US one; for one thing it wasn't anywhere near as big, and there wasn't the variety of shops you normally see. But it was fun.

The visit to the Gurkhas was interesting too. For those of you who don't know the connection, I work for a company called Ufi / learndirect, and to cut a long story short, the company has a connection with the Army and the Army runs hundreds of Army learndirect centres in its bases across the World. So I thought that as we were going to Nepal it would be interesting to visit the Gurkha base in Kathmandu and take them some learndirect advertising and other materials at the same time. So I arranged it with them, and we went. We had a nice afternoon talking to Captain Alan Foote, who's in charge of practically everything to do with communications at the base, Kiran Koirala, who is in charge of the learning centre, and Holly Thorpe (I hope I've got her name right), who's one of the learners in the centre and has just completed the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) Course. The picture on the right was taken at the centre.

On Saturday we did a bit of work for Natraj in their office, and then went off to meet Semanta's family in Lumbu (and I've probably got that wrong too), which isn't far from Patan. The area they live in is relatively rural, and they have some lovely views of the countryside and hills around. We met Semanta's father and mother, and his wife, three daughters and son. Semanta has a lovely family: his father used to be a teacher, and was really keen to talk to us; his wife is very friendly and kindlt made us lunch; his three daughters are both pretty and clever; and his son is quite mischieveous. So we had a nice few hours there, talking about the family and about education in general, and had a very nice lunch too.

Now we are back in Nagarkot, and it seems a lot colder than it was when we left on Tuesday. But the evenings by the fire are nice, and I wear two fleeces once the sun goes down. So I keep warm - plus we have hot water bottles when we go to bed!

Well, I think that's all for today. Take care of yourselves.

Vivienne

Meet the Head...

I would like to introduce you to this man. I took his photo during a conversation we were having about the issues facing his school and the children in it. His name is Uttav Prasad Jawalkhel. He is the Headteacher of Shree Gadgade Lower Secondary School.
A young man called Rashid had just had an epileptic fit. I have been on the workplace health course and knew to observe the child closely for information to give a health care professional. Except, of course, that I know there is very little chance of Rashid seeing medical help. Rashid fits most days. He has seen a volunteer Dutch medical team who can offer him a stabilising course of drugs. They cost aroung 100 pounds. Rashid's father is a day labourer. Work is not constant and the days wage is around 1 pound...enough for rice for a day for a family.

Uttav and I went on to talk about other children in the school. There are three deaf and dumb sisters. The value of a female child is not high in Nepal. If she is not pretty or in any other way marrred or handicapped then marriage may be difficult. If she does not marry a girl child may be looked after by a brother in return for her labour on the farmholding. Or her fate may be much worse.

Some children can only come to school when their sibling is not using the books or uniform. A full set of excercise books costs aroung three pounds.


These stories are repeated in each classroom. Uttav amazes me by his quiet and calmness. If his own child needed medical care he might find it difficult to buy. The headteachers wage here is 50pounds a month. He has a great sense of committment to his school and the Tamang children but he has many problems to deal with daily. One of his biggest is the attitude of his teaching staff. They are untrained and largely uninterested. Teaching is a government job and carries a small pension. That is why the teachers are here. They have often procured their positions and are very often missing or very late for work.

Uttav's biggest asset is his own belief that these students will get the best he can give and the personality of his newest and cheapest teacher, Purna Tamang.

If anyone feels they may be able to do anything, from sending a set of excercise books or three pounds for a childs uniform, to some little more for Purna's exam fees... To coming out here and teaching. You definitely do not need to be a teacher to do this..

Just let me know,
Love,
Jill xx

It would have been nice thats all....

I have been ill for a few days. Whimperingly so at the beginning (you really don't need the details). I am absolutely fine now. I was well looked after with exactly the right degrees of care and distance by Viv and also the N.C. staff. I have even enjoyed the recovery mostly spent on the balcony in the sun or by the fire in the evenings. It is a fine place to be ill, assuming you have to.

But when I was well enough to notice I could not help recalling that there is no kid (goat) with the colours of life carried on its back....
And there was no all night drumming vigil....

I merely noticed thats all,
Love Jill x

Bell Blessing Ceremony

Today was the blessing ceremony for a bell that Semanta and his family and friends are providing for a temple near the viewing point at Nagarkot. So Naryan picked me up from school on the motorbike and drove me all the way up the windy roads to the viewing tower, from where we walked to the temple. The ceremony took about an hour, and involved the priest and Semanta doing all the Hindu rituals and prayers to bless the bell. It hasn't actually been hung yet, as the renovation of the temple needs to be completed first, so that will probably happen in a few days time. After that we all got given tika by the priest, and had thread wound around our wrists.

After that we all had lunch - rice pudding and cauliflower curry, which was a bit of a strange mixture but very nice nonetheless. All the people who work around the viewing tower were invited to eat as well, which was nice.

Next week I promise there will be photos of my class and school. I did start taking some today (see below), but then the camera got taken over by the students and I have to sort out the good ones and the rest. But anyway, here are some to be going on with - the views from my windows, and the classroom itself, albeit empty of students. As you can see, the students have to sit in rows, and there is absolutely no chance of rearranging the furniture - all those benches and desks are made of iron, bolted to each other, and extremely heavy.


Well, that's all for today. Take care of yourselves,

Vivienne

Bhaktapur and Christmas thoughts

Hello Everyone,

Just to prove I'm not dead and that I'm not leaving all the hard work to Jill, here I am again.

I don't actually have a great deal to add to what Jill's posted about anything; the only things I could add are things about my school, but I haven't yet had the opportunity to take photographs of the students so that you can see my classes. I promise I will, and that you'll be able to see the Shree Krishna Higher Secondary School students in more studious mode. In fact, I haven't done as much teaching as usual this week as the Year 12s have exams all week, and so I've been finishing work at 10:15. The school was also closed yesterday as it was yet another festival day, and next week we won't be there much either as we will be mainly in Kathmandu as we have to renew our visa, and also visit the Gurkha learning centre in Lazimpat - should be interesting.

Yesterday we went to Bhaktapur for the day. The bus down was even more crowded than usual, and was making most alarming noises every time it went over a bump. It was really a large minibus, seating about 18 people, but I reckon there were at least 50 people inside it, and probably another 10-20 on top. So it was a little overcrowded. We had a nice time wandering round Bhaktapur and going to the woodwork shops. Bhaktapur is the home of woodcarving in Nepal as the photo on the left will illustrate.

Knowing it was the beginning of November yesterday also brought thoughts of home and Christmas that much nearer, so here's a picture of me sitting in a cafe in Bhaktapur writing my home-coming and Christmas present list - which is very organised for me as I don't usually start thinking about Christmas until the beginning of December. I guess I will have other things on my mind then.

Today we were going to a puja ceremony for a bell that Semanta is donating to a temple in the local community, but the priest has consulted the lunar calendar and it's now going to be tomorrow. I'm sure there will be pictures from that too.

So that's all for today.

Take care of yourselves,

Vivienne