Christmas day

After the cinema we returned back to the flat to make some food. It took all day – mainly because there were about 5 cooks trying to make several courses on only 2 gas rings. In conjunction with D I made a thai green curry which actually ended up being the spiciest thing on the table challenging even our Nepali guests. I made a delicious mulled wine (Jamie Oliver this time) which went down well. The last guests left around 11pm after much dancing in the kitchen. Above is a picture of me with Ronald in all his festive finery.
In the evening I opened the gifts from my family which taken collectively would surely give anyone a complex about their appearance (sponges for washing my face, make-up brushes and a pair of tweezers!). I also got to watch them open their gifts from me live on skype which was lovely.

All is Well

I finally got to see my first Bollywood film this week. On Christmas day at 8.30 in the morning. I had to get up earlier than I do for work. But it was well worth it – I loved it and it confirmed all my long-held stereotypes about Hindi films:

3 hours long. Check.
Dramatic shots of Indian landscape. Check.
Singing. Check.
Dancing. Check.
Dancing in the rain. Check.
Spontaneous whooping and clapping from the audience. Check.

It was called The 3 Idiots and I would definitely recommend it. It was a very funny but also quite moving in places and I did shed a tear or two. One thing I wasn’t prepared for however was a rape joke – obviously violence against women crosses all boundaries but I was still surprised to hear rape being used as the punch line. I had D as my interpreter and hoped something was lost in the translation but everyone else who went to see it with us said the same thing. And it went down a storm with the audience.
We ended up going back to watch it again today with my current flat mate to take S, the helper in the flat. I think she really enjoyed it.

Meet Ronald

My final post from this marathon update is to introduce Ronald. My current flat mate and I discovered him on the street earlier today, lying in an old bag. I have been told by Philip’s wife that I should take in any puppies that I see, which can then be re-housed to nice owners. So Ronald (named after a footballer in a recent edition of the Himalayan Times) was scooped up and brought back to the flat. He currently snuggled up asleep in a cardboard box. He is also prooving himself to be very clever - so far he has gone to the toilet twice, both times on newspaper - genius! We are slightly concerned that he has a problem with his legs. He does appear to have a Bambi complex and is very unsteady on his paws.

Mosaic Magic

I am partly posting these photographs to freak out my mother, and partly to show you the amazing mosaic that was designed and put up by EBT's resident artist, D (sadly returning back to the UK tomorrow). I helped (in a loose sense of the word) to put it up, mainly by cutting up larger pieces of mosaic into smaller ones, and cleaning the finished piece with toothpaste. It was put up in the school which many of the children at the refuge attend. The scaffolding was (to my mind) a fairly flimsy bamboo structure. It wasn't so bad once you were out but getting from the balcony onto it was pretty hairy.

General strike

This is a photograph from my wanderings a couple of weeks ago during a Nepal bandh. This is when the Maoists call a nationwide, general strike. On these days there are no shops open, no transport running and very few services. Government offices remain open. I find it incredible that the Maoists have the power to bring the whole country to a standstill. A friend of mine had a flight booked for that day and had to walk to the airport.
I was therefore confined to the local vicinity so took the opportunity for a stroll. It was amazing being out and about. The roads were empty - the photo above is of a main road which would normally be packed with vehicles zipping up and down and honking their horns. (I have been meaning to write about crossing the road here which is obviously a risky undertaking. Imagine if you will a real life game of Froggit. There is no chance of getting across even one half of the road in one go so you just have to keep your cool and walk confidently across as cars speed in front and behind you. My top tip is to hide next to somebody else trying to get across - and then swap sides with them in the middle to avoid being the one directly in the line of traffic!). The traffic free city was wonderful to walk around. I found this lovely temple near to Patan Durbar Square and pottered around the back streets. There actually were plenty of small shops open but these were in the back alleys. I understand that if the Maoists come along the shutters are quickly pulled down.
The calling of Bandhs is now more regular although they have also been called off at the last minute too. The one that started today is due to last until Tuesday which will be very frustrating as I am due to go out and about for work tomorrow.
The torch rally's also remain frequent. I watched one from a restaurant window and then we ran into a further one today.

Postal palaver

I finally posted the last batch of Christmas cards (and a few presents) about a week ago and I think I can safely say the postage was far more than the value of the gifts. I quite enjoy posting letters and postcards because the stamps are all traditional ‘lickable’ stamps with lovely designs (usually wildlife) and much nicer than stickers of the queens head. Packages are dealt with differently though and require a post-mark machine. I had to wait as a few pieces of A4 paper were completely covered in 90 rupee postmarks (enough to total the 1600 rupee cost of one parcel) and sellotaped to the packet.
I have also learnt a valuable lesson which is not to package anything until I get to the post office. It took me a long time to wrap everything up and an awful lot of parcel tape. When I got there however I had to not only open up the outer wrapping and take out each present to show the postal workers but I then had to unwrap many of the presents from their Christmas wrapping paper to display them. I apologise for the state of any gifts coming your way.

Seasons greetings

I have been at several different Christmas fairs in the last couple of weeks (selling mosaics). The most surreal of which was at the Hyatt. The hotel itself is enormous and set in beautiful, manicured grounds. The fair took place outside during the day with piped Christmas music, a (rather small) Christmas tree and a Santa Claus wandering around. And there were mince pies and Christmas pudding to buy as the sun shone brightly and people wandered around in shorts and flip flops.

- I was going to post a photo but it will have to wait as it is on a friends camera

Backdated posts

Main road to Kathmandu

Inside the house

I’m writing this off line during a planned power cut. I have a load-shedding schedule which currently shows 4 hours a day of intended cuts. This is ok so far – it is far better knowing when electricity won’t be available than it going out half way through a film. But apparently it gets much worse from here on in and may reach between 12 and 18 hours a day – and often it is not enough to recharge a laptop. Obviously my hair is a primary concern and I will have to draw up contingency plans for hair straightening. If only I’d brought my gas powered straighteners…

The last few weeks have been busy as ever. I have been meaning to post about a pre-Pokhara trip that I took to Hetauda in Southern Nepal to visit a project. I went to see the families of some of the children in the refuge (many of them are from this area which is extremely poor). Visiting the more rural communities was eye-opening. The pictures above are of a one-roomed house (the room on the second storey is for storing produce), both inside and outside. It is located in a field and the family are farmers. 4 people live in this room, along with two goats and a buffalo. I was shocked to see the animals inside. A few different reasons were given – they were young, it was too cold for them outside… One of my colleagues tried to explain that this was normal and the animal waste isn’t so bad since cow dung is often used for cleaning, and for insulating houses. But this is a bit different to having animal’s live in the house and leaving waste in the same room that food is prepared in. I remained unconvinced and felt somewhat vindicated when my language teacher laughed as I tried to describe what I'd seen in Nepali. She thought I was just trying to say that the family kept pets and asked for photographic evidence.

The other thing I was surprised about was the quality of the road surface between Kathmandu and Hetauda which was terrible. While travelling to assess a some local schools the day before we journeyed for a few hours in a fairly remote village down a single track road. We were in a 4 x 4 and despite it being a road I would have said we were 'off-roading'. There were so many twists and turns, dips, pot holes and rocks to negotiate. The main highway back to Kathmandu however was pretty much exactly the same thing. But with a sheer drop down the valley factored in for good measure too.

Birthday Galore

For the first time in my life my birthday coincides with somebody else I know! D, who works in the office, also has the auspicious birth date of 29th November. We had planned for a while to have a joint party, along with S whose birthday falls next week but whose last day in the office was Friday. The party was originally for Sunday but S and I had already planned to go away for the weekend.


At exactly 5pm on Friday I practically ran out of the office to start cooking. I made a lovely pumpkin and coconut stew (a Nigel Slater recipe) and a chocolate fridge cake thing which was delicious if I may say so. Philip came in to see me to give me a birthday gift – a mosaic of my name. I love it – I’ll put a photo up soon. It was a lovely surprise.


I got back to cooking and was joined in the kitchen by various other chefs: D made his chicken curry again, another D had made potato pickle previously but also cooked up spinach and kidney bean dishes, K brought couscous - I may be forgetting something else. And B turned up with an amazing cake (see above) after pleading a lack of culinary knowledge. It was a great night. After the food we went up on to the roof to cut the cake. All three of us took the knife (although you can’t see S in this photo) to cut it! I received some gorgeous earrings from F and J, and a notebook which everyone from work had signed which was really sweet. Later on we all went out to Thamel where (thanks to a friend of K’s) we got free entry to a DJ set with a DJ from Bombay which was pretty cool. I loved the dancing and obviously it was a useful precursor to the satsang.


My actual birthday was slightly more low-key but I had some gifts to open. Mum and Dad sent me a beautiful pair of earrings, and I also got another pair (along with some much needed beauty essentials) from Emma – thank you so much. By the by, should anyone still want to make a small contribution to my birthday fund for EBT please just follow the link ☺

Mini-break

OK – so where to start? The last few weeks I have done a little bit of travelling – some for work and some for pleasure at last. And obviously a brief mention should go to my birthday ☺.


I have just returned from Pokhara which is kind of Nepal’s Riviera. There is a huge lake, a main street filled with restaurants, bars and shops, lots of hotels and a fair bit to do. The bus journey is about 7 hours, made worse by a slight hangover from the party on Friday night. And by the fact that I had to get up at 6am.


Thanks to a recommendation from a friend in Kathmandu I had already decided on a paraglide to celebrate my thirtieth year (or is it my 31st year now?). So Sunday morning was partly spent soaring through the air watching eagles fly around me (there was one) and the awe-inspiring view of the mountains and Pokhara below. You can see me pre- and mid-flight above – the knees add a touch of perspective I think.


Plans for a pony trek were abandoned when we saw some of the poor creatures plodding around. Instead I hired a bike for a little while and A and I took a boat out on the lake. I insisted on taking someone to row for us as I was more interested in the lying around in a boat than any physical labour. I was pleased when we were assigned a woman as I thought I would practice my Nepali with her and get some fascinating insight into the life of women in Nepal. Sadly she could hardly have been less engaging and in the end I remembered that it’s actually quite good fun to paddle around. A and I took it in turns to row so basically paid extra to give this woman a trip around the lake – I’m not quite sure what she made of us.


The highlight of the trip however had to be the one-day yoga/meditation class we took. The three of us (S, A and I) got up early ready for a day of spiritual enlightenment at an ashram. We were looked after by various people in flowing robes and ushered from one area to another for different sessions and therapies. The day began with Kriya yoga. Kriya yoga is all about the breathing and we sat cross-legged while being instructed on the various techniques which consist of several combinations of breathing in or out of each ‘nose’ while closing the other ‘nose’ with your finger or thumb. However we were still waking up in the cold morning and all of us had blocked noses and/or colds. Instead of the noise of quiet breaths and contemplative reflection all that could be heard was laboured inhalation, the blowing of noses and much sniffing. After this was Hatha yoga followed by breakfast at 10 – I did wonder if I would last this long. Happily I did.


The holistic massage was pretty bizarre to say the least and mainly consisted of being squashed all over. There was a slightly disturbing moment which involved the fairly aggressive rubbing of my buttocks and the eyebrow massage was also new to me but I’m sure I’ve grown as a person because of it. I was told after the massage that I was someone who thought too much, found it hard to trust people and was too cynical. I sure Doug at least will find these descriptions less than accurate; naïve optimist has always been more fitting but maybe that is what Nepal has done for me. And it did cross my mind that the very act of allowing someone to give me a ‘holistic massage’ and reiki is surely the antithesis of cynicism.


The culmination of the day for me however had to be ‘satsang’. This was a ‘dance and celebration’ class before dinner. After some brief meditation we were instructed to close our eyes and ‘dance as if no-one was watching’, which obviously they shouldn’t have been. It was absolutely hysterical and all I could think about was the Rainbow Rhythms episode from Peep Show. Being completely sober, wearing 3 layers of clothing and the lack of an R and B beat inhibited me somewhat but I gave it my all and flailed around with much gusto. It certainly made me smile. After the dancing and before dinner we had to listen to a lecture from their guru via a tape. We were given literature throughout the day about this man who has an ashram in India. It is a luxurious place with images of beautiful people walking serenely or posing by the swimming pool. I imagine it costs a fortune. One of the articles was about how the guru helps to alleviate poverty in India. He explains that people have been building schools and hospitals in India for centuries and it has not helped. His contribution is to tackle the ‘poverty of the mind’ through individual enlightenment. I guess they must do an outreach programme in the slums. It didn’t say where the money went. Maybe I am cynical…

Kathmandu Valley

Buddhist Shrine

On the way to Monkey Temple

A Monkey at Monkey Temple

Gateway to Monkey Temple

View of the mountains from the roof of the refuge

Weekend Sightseeing

This weekend has been pretty busy. I was down at the refuge for the baby's first birthday party which was great. It was a gorgeous day and the usual festivities - singing, dancing, good food - were complemented by a huge birthday cake. Two of my colleagues and I gave a rousing rendition of Stand By Me to much applause. Well, some applause.
In the afternoon a few of us met at Patan Durbar Square for an art exhibition, entitled (some may say predictably) Separating Myth From Reality: The Status of Women. Patan Durbar Square is beautiful and we had mint tea on a rooftop terrace. In the evening I went with a couple of friends to a new cocktail bar/restaurant and finally tried some buffalo (which pretty much tasted of beef to me).
Today I have been on a trip up to Monkey Temple and then on up to Iyanga Narayar (another temple). These were great walks and I was so glad to be out and about even if we didn't leave the valley. We were walking in the hills which surround the valley and looking down on Kathmandu itself - the photo's probably don't do it justice again but it was a wonderful view. Monkey temple is a pain to get to though because there are about a million steps and it seems never-ending when you are on them. But there were frequent breaks to photograph the monkeys, there were some adorable monkey babies but I don't think I got good shots of them. At the top there are various temples, shrines and monastries -it's surprisingly busy - along with lots of traders.
After a break for lunch we continued with part two and discovered a huge Buddhist shrine not far away - there are three enourmous figures in gold (Buddha is in the middle) on the side of the hill. Our final destination (a Hindu shrine) was a bit disappointing in comparison but the walk was lovely. I'll post some photos now.

Historic Occasion Happening Soon

So later this month I will turn 30, obviously a pretty cool milestone (despite the fact that I still have no discernible career and am on less than minimum wage). My self-imposed exile prohibits me from bullying people into coming to a party and the postal service is not great (in either country) so for anyone who may possibly have been tempted into celebrating with me, or even giving me a small gift I would like to suggest an alternative. I have set up a fundraising page for the Esther Benjamins Trust and I would be very grateful to anybody who would like to, and is able to, donate.

I have written a little before about the work of EBT but in brief they rescue and repatriate Nepali children who have been trafficked across the border into India. Those children for whom a return home is not possible (because of the risk of re-trafficking, or for other reasons) are cared for in one of three refuges where they are provided with high quality care and a good education. They also look after street children and children whose parents are in prison. They run various educational programmes and fund a school for deaf children in Bhairahawa (South-west Nepal). The work that is being done out here is really amazing. For more information please visit the website at www.ebtrust.org.uk

Obviously, it should go without saying that if anyone has already got anything for me I would love to receive it! And cards are still appreciated ☺

Torch Rally

Yesterday we had a barbeque at the flat. It was a great day - everyone (except the boss, although he was invited) came along. P demonstrated how to make chicken curry and aloo gobi, D made an amazing tomato relish and J and I prepared a version of banoffee pie. We ended it drinking Nepali chiya (milky tea) on the roof terrace with Bollywood music.
My plan today was to sleep in, finish off some work and then head in to town to buy the hula hoop! I decided to walk to Thamel for a bit of exercise and everything was going to schedule. I stopped off for some papaya juice and then popped in to buy the hoop. I always find it a bit embarrassing carting around a hula hoop so my intention was to get straight into a cab and speed home with my purchase (although I've really got the hang of the buses now so ordinarily I wouldn't have got a cab). All this was thwarted though when I walked back outside, it was dark by now, to be confronted by a small fire in the road and lots of people queueing up to light big sticks and join a procession down the street. I wasn't sure what was going on - it all seemed quite calm. Me and the hoop (which is the least discreet colour possible, a glow-in-the-dark green) climbed onto an overpass to watch the proceedings. It was an incredible sight - on one side the whole street as far as I could see was filled with people marching with flaming torches, and on the other side was a traffic jam into the distance and the sound of horns beeping (this is also when it dawned on me that getting a cab was going to be a nightmare). Sadly I didn't have my camera, I took some snaps on my phone but can't upload them at the mo. Initially I had wondered if it was some kind of festival but it was a Maoist protest against the government. I have been terrible at reading the local news since the daily paper to the flat was stopped. I was aware of a protest for the 10th when the Maoist's will blockade the airport but it seems this is the start of a 2 week programme of demonstrations. I've been trying to google/twitter for some photos to link to but nothing has turned up. Anyway the hoop and I had to traipse for miles to get away from the traffic and find a cab. After agreeing a fare the driver went all over town, down backstreets and alley ways to avoid joining a traffic jam. I have no idea where we went but we crossed the river at least twice and were driving along the river bank for a while. I have never been down there but saw at first hand some of the many makeshift huts where people live by the river. The dust and pollution and car fumes were awful. The whole journey took about 50 minutes (twice as long as usual) and my eyes were stinging by the end of it. Still, me and the hoop are home now. She's in the living room at the moment and I'll be giving her a whirl in a bit!

Update - I found these photos on-line.

Home help

Hmm, a 'didi' moved into the flat today. Didi is the word for older sister and is basically someone who lives in and helps with cleaning and cooking. She has been appointed to help me turn over the bedroom each time someone moves in and out of the spare room (a volunteer moved in for 2 weeks yesterday). She seems very nice and doesn't speak any English which is good for my Nepali (although my Nepali is such that at the moment things are just a bit awkward as I try to explain things). I had said that if I was on my own I didn't want her to cook for me, and I thought that she would only clean the communal areas like the office and kitchen (which everyone uses during the day). However I went to my room after work to find that she had made my bed and cleaned and neatly arranged everything. She has also cleaned the whole house which is kind of mortifying because I made real efforts to clean up yesterday before my temporary flat mate moved in but there is a significant improvement in the level of cleanliness now so I must look like quite the slob. Which wouldn't be far off the mark, its just embarrassing when other people realise.
I feel uncomfortable that she is cleaning up after me. Obviously I will tell her not to clean my room anymore and I hope this prompts me into tidying up after myself a bit more. But lets not get carried away. I still haven't been to the gym after all. But on that note I spotted a sports shop today that sells hula-hoops! I'll be getting one as soon as I can.

48 airports, ten of them with paved runways.

This (post title) is one of my favourite facts about Nepal, courtesy of Wikipedia. Today I took my first internal flights as Philip and I flew to Bhairahawa where several other EBT projects are located. The town is further East and on the border with India and much hotter than up here. I can happily report that its airport is paved and I had an enjoyable flight. I flew Yeti Airlines which is just the best name (there is also a Buddha Air).
The sticker above was attached to the seat in front of me and the statement in the middle made me chuckle. I can't really work out what is intended by it - any suggestions please let me know.
There is a refuge out here which is much smaller, and for younger children and another mosaic workshop. There are two British artist volunteers out here and they really have a free rein to develop new designs and products and tackle much larger projects than the tourist-oriented work in Kathmandu. At the moment they are planning to cover a life-size statue of a cow in mosaics - I'll post a photo once it's completed.
I'm now planning an early night to try and go to an aerobics class at a near-by gym tomorrow. It starts at 6.30. I'm not hugely optimistic that this is a realistic goal.

Tihar - Part 2

Following 'Day of the Dogs' on Saturday and 'bailo' on Sunday, today was 'bai tikar' day where sisters worship their brothers and shower them with gifts. There is no equivalent 'bahini tikar' day for brothers to demonstrate their appreciation of their sisters so you can imagine my opinion of this tradition! But it was another lovely day up at the refuge. My boss gave a presentation to a group of Americans who are currenty visiting several projects in the country. Following this we went up to the refuge where the children gave a repeat performance of their repertoire which I feel like I have seen countless times now! The children were tikared and received some sweets and gifts. Above is another picture of me and my tikar and marigold garland which smelled lovely. One of the staff spent hours making over a hundred of the garlands. You cannot really see but the tikar was a lot more intricate this time with various colours dotted down a central white line - it was really beautiful.
Afterwards I finally got to visit the mosaic workshop up in the hills of the town. Several of the older resuced girls have been trained to make mosaics to give them the ability to be self-sufficient and earn a good wage. Several professional mosaic artists have visited and trained the girls involved and the results are stunning. I don't think you can really tell from the photos above so you'll have to take my word for it. To finally give you a bit of context to the work out here please have a look at this clip from a television programme explaining the reasons behind the charity and its early days (although this is quite old), there is also a newspaper article in the Nepali times chronicling the most recent rescue mission along with the current website for more information.

Tihar - Part 1

The last few days have been Tihar over here which is the Nepali equivalent of Divali. This has meant that houses and shops are decorated with fairy lights and garlands of flowers (usually orange). There are lots of candles and fancy lights along driveways and around gates to welcome goddess Lakshmi, goddess of welath, into your home. It all looks beautiful. I was at the refuge on Saturday for the day which was fun. Competitions and games were organised for the children and there was a great atmosphere. We ate popcorn for lunch. Just popcorn. Does popcorn count towards the 5 a day?
It was also 'Day of the Dogs' which I discovered when I arrived in the village to find all manner of waifs and strays had been 'tika'd and given a flower garland. Above is a picture of one of the refuge dogs 'Bikkie'. You can just about to make out the red mark on the top of his head. As I write this I am really wondering where and when this ceremony originated. Considering the appalling way many dogs are treated it seems strange to honour them in this way. The blessing of the machines I can understand since people are dependent on them but dogs? I guess it's nice that they get one day of guaranteed (friendly) attention.
On Sunday I went round to my bosses house where the children came down in the afternoon for a programme of singing and dancing. Over the last few days children visit local houses to perform for sweets and money. It's a bit like trick or treating but there are no tricks which makes it a much less stressful situation. Although this should be tempered with the torment of firecrackers and fireworks going off all through the night. Disappointingly there is no organised fireworks display. I have been up on the roof a few times but apart from spotting the odd one or two there is nothing to see.

Mathilda in the office.

OK - one of these photos was posed but basically Mathilda spends her working week wandering between people, alternately nuzzling at hands or licking feet until she gets attention. Or she sleeps.
She is a perfect dog and follows me about everywhere. My boss says I should research how to get her back to the UK. I'm not sure if he was joking but I love the idea! (Also this post is not intended to denigrate the memory of Molly, who, while not being the most well-behaved creature, did her best and is sorely missed by at least 3, maybe 4 people).

List of Recipes from my New Nepali Cookery Book That I will not be Trying

• Fried viscera of buffalo or goat
• Fried lungs of goat
• Solidified blood (Recipe starts: Use the plasma blood lying in a fluid state in the interior part of the body after the stomach and intestines are taken out).
  

On the subject of meat it is not uncommon to walk past a butchers ('meat shop') and hear the sound of chickens awaiting their fate. Also buffalo meat is really common here, I haven't tried any yet but will let you know what it's like when I do. I'm not sure when this will be as last weeks Kathmandu Post had the headline "Valley Meat Products Declared Unhygienic" - it doesn't make for pleasant reading and means the buffalo experiment is some way off.
- Check out my first link!

Wash day blues

A new washing machine arrived at the flat today which was brilliant. I have only been able to handwash things since I got here and I wore my tracksuit bottoms to work today! I already had some washing powder but was told that my brand would create too much lather and I had to buy a very specific product (Henko-matic). I had originally purchased Henko-oxy and I can only imagine the havoc that might have been wrought had I gone with this. Unfortunately I am saddened to report that the machine has failed to work and is down stairs mocking me with it's little red light beaming at me as it steadfastly refuses to perform.

My food woes continue unabated. There's no way I've managed my 5 a day since I got here which is a bit distressing. It's just as well I have so many vitamins or I would have got scurvy by now. I haven't really got into the swing of cooking yet. I do most of my shopping at the nearest supermarket which I can walk to (so I can get receipts for work), but then have to get a taxi back so I haven't been getting fresh food everyday. There are shops near me selling vegetables (I never see much fruit) but they are things that I have no idea how to cook and I am scared to buy too much again and then end up throwing it all out, like the cauliflower incident. Also I found out that anything that I can't peel needs to be soaked in iodine for half and hour before cooking it - even if you boil it. So the cauliflower curry in the freezer is definitely going out now. And I need to buy some iodine.
Instead, mortifyingly, I have been eating boil in the bag meals if I'm not out for dinner. I had a nice Tarka Dahl earlier. I also have a large collection of miniature tins of fruit to up my nutrient levels. I've just had a fruit cocktail which was 14% aloe vera. I never knew this was an edible item!

Mero nam Megan ho, mero ghar Edinburghma Leith ho

I had my first Nepali lesson yesterday (Monday). I have been booked in for two two-hour lessons a week so I hope I will be able to say more than just Dhanyabad (thankyou) and Namaste soon. It's amazing how words sound alike in different languages, (such as name and 'nam', and 'ma' for me) even those which I didn't think were related at all. I will have to ask Cristina about this. Although don't let this fool you - the majority of words are not so easy and there's the written side of things to conquer. We focused a lot on names this week. We only used mother, father and friends as subjects so after naming Mum, Dad and some friends I had to name some friends of Mum and Dad and then it got trickier. I had to name all my grandparents and then some of their friends names!

Odds and Ends

It seems like a long time since I wrote and I'm not sure where to start - although I haven't really done that much. On Saturday I went exploring in the neighbourhood a bit. I wanted to check out a few of the places I had seen but a lot of them were closed. I don't know if this is because I went at the wrong time, or because it was a Saturday. I think Saturday is the only day off for a lot of people (thankfully not me) because children start school for the week on a Sunday (with Friday being a half-day). Anyway I found a German bakery where I bought some coconut macaroons and then had a Ginger Cooler at the New Orleans cafe which is a lovely garden cafe/restaurant. In the evening a volunteer from the refuge came down to stay for a few nights so we went to a near-by restaurant for dinner which was nice.
On Sunday we went back to Baktapur since the tickets are validated for a week. I didn't really do anything except sit on a roof top terrace, enjoy the views and read (Malaloi Joya, Raising My Voice if anyone would like a recommendation, she's amazing - also if anyone has any suggestions for me, let me know). Anyway, then went on to Thamel for some shopping where I picked up my first new clothes - very exciting.

My Growing Dislike of Bus Transport

I had to get over to the refuge yesterday evening after being in the office all day. I knew I would be cutting it fine by leaving at about 5.45pm since buses stop sometime before 8pm but things started well as I managed to hail a bus immediately for the bus station (a first as I usually take a taxi). Then it all went wrong at Lagankhel. The sun was beginning to set and the buses were already low on frequency. There were a couple in the first 15 minutes that I couldn't get on - at least three people hanging out of each bus and several hundred inside. Then there was nothing for about 20 minutes. It was getting dark and a power cut took out the light from the lamp-posts. Just at the time when I was about to get a taxi a bus arrived. I didn't think I would get on it but a man who I had been talking to couldn't get on with all his family and propelled me forward in a (sorely misguided) act of generosity to make sure that I got a space. And a very small space at that. I was standing. Well, trying to. Often Nepali's can stand in the buses with a mere tilt of the head or a slight bow. I was bent double. If I tried to lift my head I could only see the floor as my head and shoulders were jammed against the roof. This was pretty uncomfortable. And I think I must have looked ridiculous as I got a lot of sympathetic/puzzled stares. Still we set off and I was thinking "it can't get any worse". Then we stopped and 3 more people got on. I could no longer hold on to any part of the bus but there was little chance I could fall over due to sardine-like set up. If parents with babies or little one's get on they seem to just pass the child to whoever has lap space. After about 15 minutes I did get a seat although it was hardly less busy and by that stage I was panicking in case I passed my stop since it was now pitch black and I could hardly see outside. Thankfully this didn't happen but I have learnt my lesson about getting evening buses.

The reason for my trip to the refuge was to help out on a day trip today. So begins part 2 of my problem with buses. We were going to Nargarkot in the hills to watch sunrise. We were to get up at 3am to make it there for 6am. I was vaguely enthusiastic but it's the kind of thing I would prefer to do without 30 children. Anyway, for the second time I was happy to get what I thought was a good seat at the front of the bus. (From now on I will seek out what appears to be the worst seat on any public transport because at least I won't be disappointed). After I got on the picnic was loaded on. Onto the bench seat in front on me. The food was a soup-y curry in large vats with no air tight seal. Just a plate covering it. (The picture above is from after breakfast so you just have to imagine the large pot with a plate on the top). Predictably the combination of shuddering bus, sharp swerves and steep inclines meant that within the hour my (best) jeans and pale sandals were stained yellow with turmeric and I spent the rest of the day picking pieces of onion and tomato from my clothes. Oh, and the small girl on my lap was sick from the moment we set off until we arrived so as well as trying to curtail the steady stream of food from my knees to my ankles I was doing my best to direct her head into a sick bag.
Other factors adding to my bus-phobia were the fact that I realised I was sitting next to the emergency exit only when it slowly started to swing open and I nearly lost the bottle of water next to me. I spent the rest of the trip tightly gripping on to the handle.
And finally the on-the-spot maintenance which consisted of taking a hammer to various parts of the engine/wheels when unusual noises were heard.
But I have posted the photo above to show that it wasn't all bad - this is the mountains at sunrise.

Dahl baat

Being at the refuge for a few days straight meant that I ate with everybody and had my first taste of dahl baat - the meal which is generally eaten by Nepalis twice a day. It is rice, a lentil dahl and vegetables. I like it. Which is just as well as I have eaten it for breakfast (and tea) three days in a row. I have also tried momo's which are small boiled dumplings - a favourite with the children but resticted to once a week as they are time-consuming to make.
I have also spent some time helping out peeling garlic. As you can imagine the refuge gets through a lot of it and the garlic used out here (for reasons of flavour) are much smaller than what I use in the UK and therefore fiddly to peel. First whole garlics are split up, covered in oil and left to crisp in the sun. Then the skin comes off much more easily. Today S was making pickle which the children love. This involves layering chillis, garlic, salt and vinegar in old coffee jars which will reduce down to a very hot pickle in about a week.

On to Tika day

Yesterday was Tika day when adults apply tika to childrens heads and give them money. Tika is the red paste which is put onto the forehead as I am demonstrating above. It is made of rice, red powdered dye, water and mashed up banana. It can happen several times throughout the day by different adults - parents, relatives, friends, mentors. P (the director) was meant to give Tika but was stuck in India due to a pilot strike.
For me (and F and M from the trust) the day started by accompanying 5 of the children to the central jail to see their parents. This was a really interesting (and emotional) experience.
Security was mixed. Showing a ridiculous lack of awareness of prison protocol I had turned up (unsurprisingly) with a chemists supply of various drugs and supplements. Unintentionally I was also carrying a stupid amount of money. Despite 4 bag checks and a pat down though this didn't seem to be a problem and I was allowed in to the women's section of the prison. Although the conditions didn't look particularly nice (but not terrible) there was a real effort to make everyone feel welcome and create as nice an atmosphere as possible.
We were shown into an alley way area where we waited for the children's mothers. When they came out they brought food with them and sat down to eat and drink. The women were very hospitable and keen for us to eat and drink with them - they also insisted on giving us money. It was very moving to watch the reunions. They generally visit two or three times a year - during major holidays. We stayed for about an hour during which time we were tika'd a few times before leaving to visit fathers in the men's section. I was also handed what seemed to be pieces of grass which are put behind the ear, or worn in hair - another form of blessing or good luck.
A guard for for the men's section then discovered my drugs haul and prevented me from going in. To be honest I was quite happy with this decision and waited for everyone outside.
In the afternoon there was more tika'ing and a leaving party for a staff member.

The weekend I witnessed two animal deaths - one planned, one not

This weekend has been really busy because of the Dasain festival. It lasts 15 days and a lot of the city is shut down during this time. I have spent most of it up at the refuge helping out with the children and taking part in the festivities. It was also my first solo trip up there involving a short walk and two buses. I failed at the first hurdle (I blame the lack of buses) and took a taxi to the bus station. After finding the right stop I was really pleased to be put in the front seat since there is a bit more room, although I still shared it with a woman and her baby who got on afterwards. I may have mentioned before how manic the driving is. Everyone drives as fast as is possible (which depends on the traffic). There is a lot of overtaking and continual beeping horns. All the time. There are no demarcations on the road but people generally stick to the left. There is very little giving way although I sense some deference from drivers of smaller or older cars. Basically it is pretty hairy at times.
Bearing all this in mind the dog didn't stand a chance. The driver did beep the horn a lot. But there was no slowing down. It just looked up confused before hitting the bumper right under me and being taken under :(
That was number one. The accidental one.
At the refuge I was met by a lovely brown goat (hope to have a photo soon - camera had no battery). He was looked after well by the children and the boys took him into their house for the night, keeping him well fed and watered. The next day was 'pujar' (I think that's what it's called) when animals are sacrificed to bless motorised vehicles. The school bus, 4 x 4 and two refuge motorbikes were the subjects of the day and a long time was devoted to making up 'tika' (no idea about spelling) and decorating the bodywork and engines with fruits and other items. Above you can see the hubcaps decorated with yellow and red tika mixture and the engine of the car with a banana and coconut, pieces of sugarcane and more tika mixture.
I had intended to be present for the goat sacrifice but was in an upstairs room when I heard a commotion. I didn't hear the goat and it seems to have been really quick, the bus driver (the 'pundit' trained to carry out the deed) had a long sword and took the head off in one. I did see a whole bowl of blood being carried past which I understood would be used to cover the vehicles but that didn't seem to happen. I also saw a lot of small boys holding the goat head aloft!
Apparently over this weekend hundreds of goats and buffalo are sacrificed in the main square in Kathmandu.
However it was maybe less of a big deal than I thought. A few hours later I walked back towards the office and did actually get to view the slaying of a goat by the next door family. It was witnessed only by two small children (and me) and this time after slitting the throat a little the beast was dragged around each hubcap to bloody. This time it seemed a little drawn out.
It should be noted that not all vehicles are blessed in this way. BK from work asured me that his motorbike had a vegetarian blessing!

My Friendly Bedroom Gecko

Cooking Update

I just put the weird cauliflower soup in the freezer (thus delaying any feelings of guilt I have until I finally throw it out months from now). Inside I discovered the half a dozen eggs I bought on my first day here. The security guard (who I'll call B from now on until I have discussed the blog with him, hopefully eliciting full and informed consent - data collection course was evidently time well spent!) put them in there and they are now frozen and cracked. Is there anything I can do with frozen eggs?

Since I arrived at the flat there have been nightly power cuts - usually at about 7pm. At the moment it doesn't really affect me as there is a back-up generator which lasts for a couple of hours - mainly to support the office in the event of cuts during the day. After learning the ropes the first few times it mainly involves me flailing around to find the indispensable head torch then popping downstairs to flick a few switches. It happened twice tonight though which was precisely the number of times it took me to connect me switching on the kettle with a black-out.

My first meal - a lesson learned

Today has been a mixed day. It's my second day in the office and after being shown the ropes by the person leaving yesterday I am kind of on my own (at least until my boss returns from the UK). At lunch time another member of staff kindly agreed to help me get some shopping and we walked to the nearest town centre. There is a large department store/supermarket where I wanted to buy towels. I had been there the day before and discovered that there are different sections to it. If you buy items in one area of the shop and want to enter another section you have to check your shopping into a pigeon hole and you receive a ticket to collect it on the way out. Obviously I promptly forgot it and returned home without my dried apricots and a melon. Luckily it was still there 24 hours later and nobody even commented! I also discovered there are lots of nice cafes, restaurants and bars near to me, as well as an English language bookshop and plenty of good shops - this area has been described as the Chelsea of Kathmandu!
This afternoon though I haven't been feeling well and went to bed straight after work. But i have just got up again to make some food. I'm really paranoid about throwing food out and wanted to use up some cauliflower that I bought a few days ago. This is partly because I got in a pickle at the market and ended up with 3 cauliflowers instead of 1. (I also have about 19 bananas which I'll have to start giving away soon). Anyway, in one pan I added some of the first (fairly small) cauli to a lentil dahl-ish. Then I carried on chopping up the other two much larger ones for a soup. I kept flicking away tiny specks of dirt until there just seemed more and more of them - and then I thought maybe the little specks were moving. Then near its core there were about 3 largish caterpillars, one of which I had managed to halve. :(
I have bravely struggled on picking them all out (and washing it well) but I'm not sure I can have got all of them, and there must have been loads that I didn't get from the first one (although I'm clinging to the fact that it was much smaller and presumably of less interest to a caterpillar family). So I have now made a revolting-looking bland cauliflower soup that I don't really want and a lovely looking dahl that I am a bit scared to eat. Still, I guess you can't catch much from a dead, well-cooked insect can you?

Mathilda!

I have inherited a dog - meet Mathilda! She is very friendly but a bit over-enthusiastic. If anyone is in the vicinity she spends her time on her hind legs pawing at them. And she licks a lot. Sadly she is not really allowed in the living quarters and spends the night outside but there are treats for her in the kitchen and I hope we will be firm friends.

My new home!

Garden area with fish pond
View from the roof top terrace
Living room with cable television!
Here are some photos of my new home. I moved in today with the help of one of my colleagues. I really love it. It is a 2 storey building in a little garden area. It is gated and a security guard lives in the small house by the gate. The Trust's office is on the ground floor and that is also where my kitchen is (which is used by everyone during the working day). Then on the first floor there are 2 double bed-rooms (my room has an en-suite although it seems pretty grotty compared to the main bathroom so don't know if I will really use it). There is also a nice big lounge. With wireless internet so I'm skypable!
It's about 6.15pm at the moment and I'm feeling a bit claustrophobic. The guard came in to show me all the security features about an hour ago and in the process closed all the windows, shut the curtains and encouraged me to lock myself in for the night which I have done. So while it's still light and bright outside I am in the living room with the light and fan on! And although I have been reassured that it is a very safe area there are an awful lot of locks and I have to put a great big wooden bar across the front door each night.

Thamel and Durbar Square

I'm into my second day here now and things are going well although I wonder how long it will take me to properly get the hang of things. The people that I meet keep saying that within a week I'll feel perfectly confident and know my way around the city. I'm sure this can't be true. I spent a few hours wandering through Thamel and Kathmandu Durbur Square this morning and could barely orientate myself. My sense of direction is appalling and there don't appear to be any street signs (or not that I can read) so even with a map I still didn't have a clue. I think I'm going to need a lot longer than a week!
Durbar Square was interesting. It has over 50 temples and monuments. I saw a 'living goddess' (Kumari) in her house. She looked to be about 6 or 7 years old and was dressed in finery with make up and lots of jewellery.
This is the one photo that is worthy of general release from my pottering about.

First impressions

I arrived at about 3pm and it is quite overwhelming! It's not like anywhere I've been before. There are just so many people and cars and motorbikes and rickshaws all driving at about 4 miles an hour because it’s so busy. The roads are atrocious. I have yet to see a pavement and cars drive down the narrowest of lanes.
The descent into Kathmandu was amazing. It’s a bit hard to make out from the photos but where it looks like the clouds ending before the sky, is actually the skyline of the Annapurna mountain range. It looked better from the plane! There was an awful lot of banking and twisting to land in the valley. Once the clouds clear the city itself is vast, sprawling for miles. Apparently the infrastructure is intended to support 500,000 but the owners of the hotel where I am tonight (which is gorgeous, with a lovely garden courtyard) reckoned that there were now about 4 million residents. I had a little snooze then went for a quick explore and something to eat. It was dark by this point and I’m in the middle of the tourist district so just streets and streets of shops and stalls really. But everyone seems really friendly and I had a delicious, if lonely, meal. I’m going over to one of the refuges tomorrow where the children are putting on a musical show, not in my honour I’m afraid but for the festival of Dasain.

Teach Yourself Nepali

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OK - this is my first post and if it is all going to plan you should be able to see a photo of my Nepali flashcards which I am endeavouring to learn before I touch down on Thursday. I was hoping for a few phrases but the book tells me I must learn all the characters first. I'm about two thirds of the way through now which is not too bad. Although from what I understand now the language is pretty complex with different characters (for the same sound) being used depending on the letter preceding it. And I think my handwriting will inhibit me somewhat - they're not exactly identical to the printed versions!