HOW DID YOU SPEND THE AFTERNOON?

Today started differently as its a special day. The big horns were played from the monastery roof for about 40 minutes before daylight – actually it was very moving. Then the punja lasted for two hours, with breakfast being served in the middle.

The afternoon I spent in the clinic rubbing pink anti-scabies linament into the hair of young monks. Then with pink hands I went to the prayer room and watched monks reciting poems, then making speeches on philosophy (some in English and some in Nepali), and then a debate. The debate was nothing like an English debate, and I didn't understand a word they said.....but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The whole session lasted about two and a half hours.

After that I watched two fellows decorating the monastery roof with fairy lights for the New Year. The two wires on the end of the lights were stripped back and inserted directly into the power point........ no plug!! Then I watched the cook making noodles from scratch before I left to make some flash cards on a story about a wizard and a wood-cutter, ready for the Lama's English lesson after tea. So how did you spend your afternoon?

STREET FESTIVAL

Lakeside is the area along the lake which caters for the tourist trade. It has the most motels, guest-houses, cafes and shops selling tourist goods and adventure treks. Between the 28th December and 1st January the main street is blocked off to traffic for a street festival. Shops and cafes extend out into the roadway, a music shell is set up in the park, there are many stalls and a parade of sorts, there are demonstrations of dancing and martial arts. There is even a stall by the Michael Jackson memorial fan club.


On Monday night we took the kids from the orphanage down to the festival. First we took them to see the music in the park, then posed with the local police (who were everywhere, including some in riot gear and armed with rifles) then for a walk along the main street. We stopped and bought the kids, Chandra and Joti an ice-cream, for some this was the first time they had ever tasted ice-cream, something we take for granted. They were so amazed and excited by such a simple thing that some of the volunteers had tears in their eyes. At the end of the street we went to the motel where we were staying and the kids watched TV, another treat for them.


Tuesday was 'parents' day' at school. We took the kids and arrived at about 10.45. Teachers in matching uniforms met us at the gate, bowing to us. Students in Nepal scout uniforms ushered us to our seats. One teacher told us it would start in half an hour. Another that it would start at 1 o'clock. There were lots of students there sitting in the sun and every so often they would bring around pitchers of water for the kids to take a mouthful. There were a few parents, more kept wandering in, but others left. At about 12 they started some speeches.......each lasted at least half an hour........but nobody seemed to be listening anyway. Some official guests arrived and were introduced. There was a march past by the scouts, more official guests arrived, some prizes were given out and then some dance items. It was still going at 3.30 when I had to leave to go back to the monastery, and Amanda tells me it was still going an hour later when Joti came and got the kids.

27TH DECEMBER

7am breakfast: peas and roti bread. 7.45 assembly: the students sing a prayer, the Nepal national anthem and the Tibetan national anthem. It sounds beautiful. I have never seen kids, or anyone for that matter, sing a national anthem so passionately. They throw themselves into it and it sounds fantastic – you can feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up.


After assembly three hours of exam supervision and then lunch. After lunch Ronne and Eva (the two Dutch girls) and I set off across the river in front of the monastery. We cross by a long suspension bridge and then climb up over a ridge. The people were all friendly and there is no traffic as today was another Maoist strike day (called a Bunday). We came to the Bat Caves and again I only went in and out the entrance. The girls scrambled and crawled out the exit.


On the way back we were able to get some good photographs of locals and stopped at a village blacksmith to watch him work. He had a small pile of charcoal, a small fire and bellows made from a goat skin.

After tea there was an hour and a half prayer session (punja) for a Lama who had died. This was very interesting, especially when one of the younger monks kept falling asleep. The first night the girls were here they got me to remove a cockroach from their room as Ronne in particular was 'scared' of cockroaches. As luck would have it, in the middle of the prayer session a cockroach (probably the same one) scuttled across the middle of the room. I could sense Ronne starting to fidget and squirm, but it got worse! The cockroach stopped right in front of her and turned and headed straight for her. It scurried along the front of the bench we were sitting on. She spent the rest of the prayer meeting checking the seat under her.

SATURDAY

Having stayed in Lakeside last night we got up early and by bus, taxi and walking arrived back at the monastery in time for breakfast and then three hours of exam supervision. Class II had to draw a picture of the water cycle. One student asked every teacher what this question meant. I tried to explain it to him several times. Finally he drew a picture of a motor cycle in the rain.


After exams we fixed the curtains for the clinic by cutting them off and sewing a new hem. The monastery had a pedal power sewing machine. Nobody was confident so I attempted to use it. After a few knots and the machine becoming 'unthreaded' we sort the help of one of the women who worked there. She laughed and happily hemmed the curtains.


The monks were also having haircuts. So I lined up for mine. Vastly different from the barber at home. I had to kneel in the doorway while one of the senior boys ran the clippers over my head. The Lama was greatly amused at my new 'monk style'



After lunch one of the monks invited us to the movies in town. The movie playing was Avatar and it was supposed to be in English. This would be amazing sitting in a theatre in Nepal with a monk watching a science fiction movie. We met up with Amanda, Tess and Maya but found the movie was in Hindi. Instead we set off to visit the orphanage the Dutch girls had been staying at. It was vastly different from our orphanage. There were ten boys living there and the house was well organised. It had TV, a vegetable garden, chickens and the boys all went to karate lessons every morning at 6am.Two Danish volunteers were staying there now.

On the way back we found a music/DVD shop and were able to buy a copy of the movie Avatar. It was rediculously cheap and later that night we watched part of it, before a blackout stopped us. The sound quality wasn't the best but two of the monks sat and watched it with us.

CHRISTMAS

December 25th, the monks wished us a Merry Christmas, but they still had their three hour exam. After the exam we travelled into Lakeside so I could see Amanda and visit the Childrens' Home for Christmas.

On the way I found a big supermarket so bought Amanda Christmas presents: Choco-flake breakfast cereal, fruit museli, two Mars bars and a block of chocolate. For the kids at the orphanage I bought several huge bags of lollies, a jar of peanut butter and a couple of loaves of bread. The Dutch girls also had some stickers, some games and a box of pens so there was plenty to go around. Amanda gave me a book on the history of the Ghurkas because I had found the Ghurka museum so interesting.

At the Home they celebrated with decorations and a Christmas tree. They also had many visitors and a feast of food. We stayed the night in at Lakeside but travelled back early in the morning as we had to get back to do our exam supervision.

THE CLINIC

The next day we found we had exam supervision for three hours. After the exams we did a stocktake on the clinic. Its a small room with a bed, a desk and a cupboard used to store medicine. It did have a reasonable stock of medicines, though the girls did throw out a lot that was out of date. A nurse comes in every afternoon for an hour to teat any ailments.

In the afternoon we went into the town and bought material to make curtains for the clinic (the young monk who took us in was the fussiest about the colour and pattern), some plastic containers for storage and two thermometers. As it turned out we made the curtains too long – we told the monks that this was on purpose so we could cut some material off each curtain to make a curtain for the cupboard to keep the dust out of it.

The girls discovered an outbreak of scabies amongst the younger monks and set to work treating them with a hair wash, but we fear this will spread further. One of the young monks showed considerable interest in the clinic, and has already been helping the nurse. He wants to study to be a doctor, so we are looking at the costs involved in sponsoring him to do this study.

COMINGS AND GOINGS 2

Since there were no more lessons, but only exams, Amanda, Tess and Maya decided to return to the childrens' home where they would be more useful. I decided to stay at the monastery for a few days to continue my English lessons with the Lama and I wanted to walk out further along the road to explore the district a little. I also thought it would give Amanda a few days by herself, or as she put it a few nights without my snoring.

I had planned the afternoon walking on the day they left, however an hour after their departure two new volunteers arrived. These were two Dutch girls, Ronne and Eva, who were with the same agency as us but had been working at a different orphanage in Pokhara. They were medical students, both in their final year of becoming doctors. They had come to the monastery to work in the clinic there.

However this afternoon they joined me and one of the monks on a 10km walk in the countryside. It proved very interesting. We met another group of young monks who lived in a rented house. They were out the front with their gowns hitched up playing cricket when we arrived. On the way back we joined them in their punja or prayer session. They were a lot more disorganised and rowdier than at the monastery. At times they were even flicking rice at each other during the prayers. At times during the prayers they played drums, cymbals, horns and two very big horns. These were about 4 metres long and when they played them I could feel the vibrations in my chest.

We met a lot of other interesting characters on the walk and even helped push start a bus. We observed a man milking his cow, men making baskets, women carting rocks in baskets and women carting huge loads of wood. Many were happy, even amused at us wanting to photograph them.

Comings and Goings

Because of the strike most of the teachers couldn't get to school. The Lama asked us to cover the classes. Six classes for six periods each day. The girls, Tess, Maya and Amanda aren't teachers but cheerfully threw themselves into the task. They did a great job. With suduko puzzles and colour by number pictures we survived.

That night after tea the monks were doing their dance practice in preparation for their New Years rituals (Tibetian New Year is in mid January, I think). I have watched them perform this enthusiastically on several afternoons. This time I joined in and practiced the dance with them.

Later we were talking about our first night in Kathmandu and our impressions of Nepal. Tess and Maya let slip that they had slipped out of the motel late each night and checked into a more expensive motel with hot showers and clean sheets and in the morning they slipped back in to the cheap hotel, pretending they had spent the night.

I was annoyed because I had lost my prized possession – my hat. I was confident it would turn up again... and it did four days later back in Pokhora.

I think you should all sit down. Now lets do this quickly, like pulling a band aid - visiting a Buddhist monastery is not a spiritual awakening. It is about as spiritual as visiting a Catholic boarding school. I know what the celebrities and the movies say but it is just not true. The children here aren't any better or worse behaved, they don't spout zen catchphrases, in fact they swear like sailors, English sailors.

The staff are pretty much the same as when I went to a Catholic school. One big boss trying to appeal to the kids with impromptu speech referencing hip pop culture (usually football). There are also a couple of off-beat characters, here monks, at my school brothers. The majority of staff are just trying to get through the day without strangling a kid or anyone noticing they didn't bother to prepare a lesson plan.

Both schools have rituals which seem inexplicable to outsiders but I don't feel overwhelmed by some spiritual aura at the monastery. There is no enveloping sense of calm. It is just a nice building full of kids who would rather be playing football than studying.

It is peaceful but it is in the middle of nowhere so it should be peaceful. It is relaxing but we only teach for 120 mins a day. 5 days a week we have 22 hours to do as we please (as long as what we please isn't use the internet, or the phone, or take a hot shower, or watch television). We spend a lot of time staring at the hills and drinking tea.

I know it sounds like I am criticising. I'm not. I am merely dispelling a common myth that visiting a Buddhist monastery will be in anyway spiritually moving. I spent a few days listening to chanting, conversing with the monks and i'm proof it won't turn you into a zen spouting Mr Miyagi.

A little history of the monastery. Its located in the village of Hyangja, just outside of Pokhara. It was first established in 1999 in Kathmandu with 30 children, 25 of these were from the different villages of the district of Mustang (the people who are ethnic Tibetans) and five from Tibetan refugee camps around India and Nepal. In February 2002 in was moved to its present location near Pokhara, and in 2004 added 25 more students again from Mustang and Buddhist communities in Nepal. At present there are about 80 students but the monastery aims to accommodate 105 students eventually. The institute also caters for blind students who are taught using the newly invented system of braille pioneered at their sister school in Mundgod in India. Lama Kunga was formerly appointed chairman of Pema Ts'al in 1997.

The Kingdom of Mustang, where the children are drawn from, is one of the smallest Buddhist Kingdoms. It is located to the northwest of Nepal and surrounded on three sides by Tibet. Until recently it was one of the most isolated and inaccessible areas of the world. While its social and spiritual life has remained unchanged for centuries it lost its spiritual patronage from Tibet in 1959. The institute seeks to in part fill this void and preserve cultural identity and the Buddhist way of life.

At present there are 80 students and 12 teaching and non-teaching staff. Students are taught English, Nepali, Science and Maths subjects in primary and lower secondary. They also study for their Dhunpa, which is a very rigorous prayer test.

It is difficult to explain the prayers or chanting sessions to someone who hasn't sat through one. The boys take it very seriously. They are something of a drone but have a musical quality to them. They also give you a sense of peace. I have heard them at the morning prayer sessions and at the end of dinner, but they also spend several periods a day practicing and so the monastery is filled with the droning chants.

Because of the Maoist strikes there was only one regular teacher here on Monday and again today, Tuesday. The volunteers filled in and took the classes. Seven classes for six periods. We had our hands full with the little ones but colour by number pictures got us through.....just! The older ones had cultural talks on Australia, Nepali/English/Tibetan language lessons and even one on global warming. We were tired by the end of the day. Four of us had a philosophy lesson from one of the junior monks and then I gave Lama Kunga an English lesson. It was surreal sitting in a room with a Lama, a very revered man, and correcting him while he read 'The Three Bears' from a second grade English textbook. We got halfway through the story but he promises to finish it tomorrow.

That night there was a blackout so under the effects of a cold and the full day teaching I turned it at 7.15.

We decided to go into Pokhara on Saturday afternoon as there would be no buses on Sunday, and possibly Monday and Tuesday. Accompanied by Helen, Lucca and one of the young monks we walked down to the road and a bus stopped for us. It was very crowded so all of us, except Helen, scrambled onto the roof with other passengers already there. Lets say it was exciting, and I still have the imprint of the luggage rail in my lower back. We passed some trucks and a bus being washed....they drive them into the river then splash the water up on them. The bus belonged to a school: the Cosmic Galaxy School. The bus didn't go all the way to Lakeside, where the orphanage was, so we changed to a taxi. Five of us in the taxi.

At Lakeside we visited the orphanage. Everyone was very pleased to see us and we were pleased to see the quilts had arrived and every child now had warm bed clothes(thanks Kerrie and Stuart). Then we went for lunch but afterward Luca, the German girl became ill. Helen and the monk took her home in a taxi while Amanda and I went to spend a little time at the orphanage. After they left we realized we didn't know the name of the monastery or the village it was in. We decided to go back to the motel as our organizer there would know, except when we got there he was out at the airport....so we had to wait.

Dan, Tess and Maya had planned to come out the next day to visit but, again because of the strike, they decided it was better to come with us that night. After a few phone calls it was all organized. A taxi took us out to the monastery at about 9.30. The gates were locked. After much fuss several monks and the Lama came out to the gate. The lama quizzed us about the monk that went with us saying he hadn't returned yet. He made no move to open the gate and kept expressing concern about us losing the monk. I think some of us were getting worried that he wasn't going to let us in........but then his face broke up in a big smile and we realized what a sense of humor he had. He actually escorted the new commers up to their rooms and made sure they had towels and bedclothes.

Although we got to bed late I woke up at 3am. I couldn't sleep and since I was sharing a room with Dan I sat in the bathroom reading a book until after 5. I took Dan down to the morning prayers ad nd I went to watch the juniors at prayers. When I realised they did prayers in their classrooms I went down to have a look in the kitchen. I watched the cooks preparing the Tibetan bread, and making Tibetan tea, which is salty and made from butter and tea. I also helped two of the senior students clean out the butter candles. They clean these out and make new ones every morning (if I have understood them correctly). We chatted away about where they came from, soccer and cricket, they all know Ricky Ponting.

After breakfast the volunteers went for a walk up to the Tibetan village/refugee camp. The Lama sent one of the senior students to guide us. It was interesting because there is another monastery there, bigger than ours and with a huge temple. We had a good walk around and took lots of photos. There is also a village school with a central oval. The monk told me a big (four teams) soccer tournament was played there. The goals aren't the same, the ground is uneven and very rocky. We also visited the Tibetans selling handicrafts, somehow I became the chief haggler, but I was able to get everyone very cheap deals on their purchases, everyone else anyway. Dan bought a singing bowl, and all of the girls bought rings. The village is fascinating and on the edge are houses which can only be described as hovels, yet the people are all smiles and happiness. In the afternoon we took another walk along the river beside the monastery. Many of the older monks head down here to wash their clothes and bathe, as do many of the locals.

***note this post was created by Robert but posted on his behalf by Amanda

Just some thoughts

When we first got to our volunteer placement I thought I was surrounded by idiots. The volunteers were hopeless - well meaning and full of good intentions but still idiots.

It started with a great deal of excitement and hype over a bamboo chicken coop. It never progressed past a pile of broken bamboo and rope. Then there where plans to fix the solar water panel so the children could have warm showers. Once the glass was priced that panned stalled too. The lessons on bathing the children more then once a fortnight ended after one talk. Nobody mentions the goats which were promised. And a wooden moveable chicken resort keeps getting more elaborate with every new set of plans.

The American couple who were staying at the home had no idea how to interact with people, let alone people from a developing country who are relying on you to deliver. Everyday it was a new project. They would get the couple who ran the home all excited about something, send them off to get quotes and materials and then... nothing.

Maybe I sound conceited. I studied development planning at university but I KNOW I don't have the answers for these people. I also recognise the dangers of promising something you can't deliver. I only discuss projects I know can be completed with the very limited funds and knowledge I have here in Nepal. I will only be here for a few weeks, there are limitations to the long-term improvements I can offer. As they say Rome wasn't built in a day and Nepali orphanages don't magically transform to a comfortable standard because a couple of volunteers arrive. I think it would be arrogant to assume we can have a sustainable effect in only two weeks when the Nepali couple who live here and run the home everyday have been working on it for 12 years.

The Americans have left now. We have had some new volunteers though. A Tasmanian couple, Adam and Jen, who were lovely and donated some money to help us buy the children mattresses. Then came Dan, a cynical American who's general negativity is puzzling as he is here in Nepal volunteering his time to help others. Lastly the Israeli girls, Tess and Maya arrived. At first I was worried. They complained a lot - the hot water didn't work, it was dirty, the power was off, they didn't eat rice. Despite that they were great with the kids and turned out to be lots fun at meal times.

Now that we have moved to the Monastery I have started to miss the constant Hebrew chatter, the enquiries as to when the hot water will be back on, even being constantly corrected by our expert on everything from the US.

Dan and the girls were supposed to be visiting tomorrow but we hear there may be a bandas – a strike. No cars or buses for three days. This is terrible news. I was looking forward to their company.

PRAYERS

I was invited to prayers in the morning by Lama Kunga, the head of the monastery. I asked a student what time they get up. He said at 5am and prayers at 6am. I set my alarm and got up at 5.20. I turned on the light but two minutes later the blackout hit. I dressed by torch light and went down to the main building. There were only two monks awake, though a couple of rooms had chanting coming from them. It was cold and I had five layers of clothing on. In the darkness I wandered around and then sat out the front watching the odd car, truck or motor cycle already headed towards the city.

Eventually a bell rang and monks headed off to the prayer room. As I went in they gave me a woolen cloak to keep me warm. For the next hour they sat and chanted. After forty years of football there was no way I was going to cross my legs but I did sit on the low bench and listened. It continued for the hour, sometimes being broken up by the playing of cymbals, horns and drums. It was peaceful and melodic. In the prayer room were the older students. The younger ones started outside about 30 minutes later.

After prayers we went to breakfast. The younger students were in there and chanting, they were really very good and it was nice to listen to. After the chanting came breakfast: Roti bread and spicy potato, washed down with sugary tea.

Our three lessons for the day went very well. For the juniors we created a colour-in by numbers sheet with a drawing of a head, on the bottom of the sheet it had the names of the parts of the head in english. We drilled them for a while on the names... having them point when I said the name, then they used crayons to colour in the head parts with the correct colour. We thought this was good doing english head parts, numbers and colours. There was a street kid who has been hanging around watching the classes so we slipped him a sheet too. For the two older classes we had to teach hygiene so we discussed what hygiene was then did a mind map of all the things that they have to do to keep healthy.

We did have a lesson off so we walked into the next village. It was a resettlement camp for Tibetan refugees. The village is only small with little twisting lane ways, and a very medieval feel to it... wonderful for a historian. Some of the Tibetans had their craft work out selling it to the odd tourist who passed by. I did find some small Tibetan snuff or opium bottles that someone asked me to look out for. Some were metal and some were covered in jade, so I will have to go back and have another look before I leave. Sunday is our day off but we have heard there will be Maoist strikes on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday so there will be no transport to go anywhere

This morning I watched eagles and the odd vulture cruising past the front of the monastery on the thermals and looking for prey down below us. I have noticed also the dragon flies here. In Australia they are greyish-green, with transparent wings. Here I saw one that had a brown striped body and dark brown wings. And then a different sort that had a green body with red stripes and light brown wings. I could start a dragon fly collection, but the monks might have something to say as they don't kill anything......even bugs.

THE MONASTERY

Today we moved to the monastery. We were picked up this morning in a 4-wheel drive by the monastery secretary/headmaster and a driver. We were officially welcomed with a white scarf around the neck before the 20 minute drive.

The monastery is a little out of town in what might be described as a rural area set amongst the mountains. It is a wealthy monastery which receives international funding. The building itself is impressive. The institute has been running for 10 years. It has about 80 students, from kindergarten upwards and each class has about twelve students. The students are all studying to become monks.

On the way out in the car we were told we would be teaching personal hygiene! Amanda nearly died.. personal hygiene to seventeen year old boys... that would be a challenge. We were given our timetable. We have about 14 classes a week. Five of these are with the kindergarten kids and three classes each with other different groups. Our first class was about an hour after we got there... nothing like being thrown in at the deep-end.

The older classes were actually a delight. They were respectful and paid attention and showed an interest in us and where we came from. In the two older classes most kids were named Kunga. In one class of 12 students eleven were named Kunga . The poor other kid, I asked him if he felt left out. They had varying levels of english, but none were fluent. Kindergarten on the other hand were little shits. They wouldn't stay in their seats and eventually we had 3 or 4 of them running around outside the room. However by the end we had them settled....a little. Things will get better.

We all eat together. Because it is a wealthy monastery there is no shortage of food. Three meals a day and morning and afternoon tea. In the dining hall they say a prayer first and then everyone can start. Otherwise everything is reasonably informal. There does seem to be a teacher's table. There are two other volunteers here at present. A German girl, Luka, who has just finished high school and has been here since September. Recently she became ill and went into hospital for three days. The hospital looked after her well, however hospitals here do not provide food. It is left to the patients family. In Luka's case two of the monks stayed in her room in the hospital to provide her with meals and look after her. The other volunteer is Helen, a retired teacher from the USA who will be here for three months. She seems well organised and has half a truck load of supplies with her. She has also had the internet connected to her room so talks to people at home every day.

The accommodation here is reasonably good. Though hot showers depend on sunny days. They warned us about the monkeys and told us to keep the windows closed when we leave the room otherwise the monkeys come in and eat the soap and toothpaste. That afternoon I heard the door open. Thinking it was Amanda I kept reading. When I did look up there was nobody there. I went outside and there were the monkeys eating something they had taken from someones room. They come down from the jungle every night and go back in the morning. Again all through the night we could hear dogs barking....even out here in the country.

WEDNESDAY

Today we went with Chandra to the markets and purchased quilts for all the kids. These are nice, warm ones, each with its own cover which can be taken off for washing. These were made possible by a donation from Kerrie and Stuart at Parkes and we thank them very much for the thoughtfulness. It is something the kids really need......we had a look at what they were using......there was all kinds of thread-bare blankets and torn old sleeping bags. They are something that the kids will have all for years to come. The quilts are to be delivered tomorrow.

We also worked out why the adults and kids never ate together! They don't have a pot big enough to cook enough food in one go. So at the markets today we checked out prices and shops and found a 12 litre pressure cooker. Tomorrow we won't be here but Tess and Maya have volunteered to go to the markets and buy the pressure cooker for them.

The bus ride to the markets was interesting. The local buses are made to seat about 20 people. I counted 51 passengers squashed, and I mean squashed onto the bus. Most had bags or shopping. They were literally pushed together, with three fellows hanging out the door. But everyone was good humoured and had a smile. We enjoyed the trip.

We were very worried about leaving tonight after last nights performance....however they seem very content that we have changed our plans and will be coming back to stay with them again. Tonight they sang for us.....a song pleading with us not to go. And we taught them a song....'waydown yonder in the paw paw patch'.

American films

I got in trouble from one of the other volunteers for corrupting the children with sugary treats. I am not sure if it is better or worse to corrupt them with crappy American movies but they seem to love it.

I set up my laptop and they watch the movies in complete silence. Even Johti, the mother, sneaks in to watch. Dinner has been late a couple of times now because she couldn't pull herself away from the movie.

So far they have seen Futurama, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Push.

So here are some more names that I found on my early morning walk.

TUESDAY ON THE TOURIST TRAIL

Amanda was much better this morning and we set out for a rare chance to do tourist things. With Dan, the American, and Tess and Maya, the two Israeli girls we hired a van and set off for the 'bat caves'......Dan just wanted to be able to say "take me to the bat cave". The bat caves were a large cave complex where these little bats spent the day clinging to the ceiling. There was no lighting and no safety rails. We had a torch and fumbled along, down steps and over rocks. To get out you climbed up rocks and went through a very narrow opening.....OK I had to go back out the entrance 'cause the hole for the exit was just too small.

On the way back in we stopped at the Ghurka museum. This was interesting.....the Ghurka unit began much earlier than I knew. I tried to buy a T-shirt but none large enough for me. After this the van took us up to the top of the mountain so we could see the Peace Pagoda. It was really high with a very narrow dirt roadway leading up.
Half way up a truck was coming down and we had to back back for about half a kilometre with a sheer drop beside us.....pretty exciting. From the car park we still had a fair climb. An old lady with a load on her back actually gained ground on us for a while.

The view from the top was magnificent.......well worth the climb. We started the walk down the other side so we could get a boat across the lake and back to our hotel. However Tess became very ill with stomach cramps and suffering from the heat and the climb. We had to nurse her all the way down with lots of stops. We passed a number of locals.....women armed with long knives and axes.....probably collecting fire wood. The boat ride across the lake was also worth seeing. Reaching home Tess began to feel better so maybe it was altitude sickness instead of food poisoning

I went up to the home and later Amanda, Dan and Maya joined me.Towards the end of the day one of the boys broke down sobbing, telling us not to go back to Australia. Soon there were three or four kids and Amanda crying. One of them cried for about 30 minutes......and we still have tomorrow to go. However we have changed our plans a little and plan to come back here for at least a week after visiting the monastery.

Just before tea I went for a shave. The barber uses a cut throat razor....so far so good.......but halfway through, the blackout hit....no problem.....finished by candle light....and then a head and back massage.

After tea we went for coffee at a little sidewalk cafe. When we were finished we found we were the only ones there.....no staff at all. We had to wait until someone came back 10 to 15 minutes later so we could go.

Joseph

Age: 12

Joseph is one of the oldest children at the home. The younger kids look up to him and he lives up to the responsibility. He translates for the children and his parents (who run the home). Joseph is one of the only children attending private school. Speaks very good English, even if he pretends he can't understand sometimes.

Loves music like Linkin Park and Avril Lavin, which disappointingly I have none of on my Ipod.

More about hair

I guess it is understandable that the Nepalese are fascinated with light coloured hair. No one here has it. The children have slowly been gathering up the courage to touch my hair and yesterday this built up to some styling for the volunteers.

Surprisingly it was the boys who were most interested in the game of hair dressers. They were actually pretty good at braiding.

STILL HERE

The American couple who were here had a bust up and ended up leaving a few days ago. This caused some upset at the home but also left some projects promised but not completed. So this afternoon we travelled in to the markets (shops) to investigate fixing the solar panels and blankets for all the kids. We found we could replace the whole solar heating system for just a bit more than what it was going to cost for fixing and hooking up the old broken system. We are going to consider it first ....the whole thing installed for $500 US dollars seems a better option. We did buy them all new tooth brushes and today try to solve the chicken coop saga. We just want to be sure that food for the orphans is taken care of ....and at the moment that is not so certain.

Yesterday Amanda began to get sick......pretty standard for Nepal. By last night she was very ill, with stomach pains, headaches and cramps in her muscles. It was a long and very uncomfortable and painful night for her. We dosed her up with everything we had and with bits and pieces of sleep she feels much better this morning. An easy day for her with rest and, when our hot water starts working again, a hot shower.

More wonderful names, the best of yesterday: Sublime school, and Hotel Peace Full.

Saturday afternoon

Yes we took the kids down to the park beside the lake. Here they get to run around and kick a ball so they enjoy it. There are lots of other kids here too playing all manner of games. There are also some women selling handicrafts and all manner of tourists. This time their were Indians camping in the middle of the park and some Australians playing frisbee. All the local kids chased the frisbee. And in the middle of all this a herd of buffalo wandered through the playing field.

Tess and Maya had brought some chocolates for our kids. However when they opened them kids came from everywhere and swamped them. There was even a woman standing there next to a little kid, she put out her hand and Tess gave her a chocolate for the kid but she just turned and ran off.....it wasn't her kid.....she just wanted the chocolate. Tess became worried about one kid who didn't get a chocolate and so sat disgruntled with a big rock in his hands. But with her army training in Israel we knew she could handle the situation.

The woman who steals chocolates from children!


I was a big help....I played soccer with some of the local kids.....of course once we were two down one of my kids said if we lose I have to give the other team 10 rupees.....got to hand it to them for trying.

IN APPRECIATION

Amanda and I, and on behalf of the kids at the orphanage would like to thank a few people. First to those people reading the blog....thanks. Its good because it keeps us writing and especially links us to back home....so keep reading and make a comment to let us know you are there.

Thanks to Parkes Rotary and Robert Jay. Before we left we got several boxes of books to bring with us. Parkes Rotary Club helped us out by posting them to Nepal. This was a considerable expense but I can assure you the books will be appreciated here. They have no resources and these books will help. We intend to take some to the school so all the kids here can use them. Thanks to Rob Jay who had to repack and post them....much appreciated.

To readers of the blog who unexpectedly sent us money to help at the orphanage, especially Stuart and Kerrie... the money will be put to good use and we will let you know what we spend it on... but every cent will get to the kids. Today we are investigating improving the solar panels and making hot water more accessible to them. We are also going to look at tooth brushes and blankets. Will let you know... but a big thank you.

Saturday

Two more volunteers arrived the other day, two girls from Israel, Maya and Tess. They have just completed their army service and are doing this trip now before starting university. They arrived with suitcases and one of them doesn't eat rice.....so we were worried whether they would last. However they have adjusted well and are fitting in well with the kids.

Today we went for breakfast with the kids. I took three loaves of bread and they had fried eggs on bread. After breakfast they completed chores and Chantri held a church service, as he is a pastor. He was worried about our reaction to this as he had had Korean volunteers before who really gave him a hard time about christianity. The kids all dressed in their Sunday best for the event. The sermon was on 'parental duties' complete with readings by his son, which some of them followed in the bible. The kids prayed and sang. All went well, even the jewish girls found it interesting.

This afternoon we will take the kids down to park beside the lake. They look forward to this excursion each week. Already they are telling us we can't go back to Australia.......they are enjoying having us there and in particular our sense of humour.

Food in Nepal

While we are at the orphanage we eat breakfast and tea at the motel. They don't have a restaurant. The meals are just supplied for us volunteers. Breakfast is milk tea, two slices of toast and an omellette. Amanda and I have both dispensed with the omellette and we just have the tea and toast. The toast is sweeter than Australian bread. The butter is OK some days. For dinner we have rice and dahl. Dahl is a thin lentil soup. Usually there is a hot pickles, some spinach and a serve of curried vegetables. You can eat as much as you wish.

The rice and dahl is a standard food across Nepal and is eaten by the locals with their hands. At some places we have had momos. These are the shape of fortune cookies but are soft dough, steamed or fried and filled with vegetable or meat. I like the chicken or buff (buffalo, as they don't eat beef), but Amanda only risks the vegetable. Other meals, usually when we are out, have been noodle soup, curry and a thing that looks like an apple turnover but had meat in it.

Everywhere we drink milk tea or marsala tea. The coffee tastes like weak chocolate. But every second shops serves tea or coffee or hot chocolate. Most also serve alcoholic drinks and soft drinks.

Kamal

Age: 8(ish)

Kamal is very shy. It has taken a full week to even find out his name and to get him to give me a hug.

Kamal recently broke his finger. Unfortunately there is no health care for children at the home. One of the volunteers is a nurse and managed to put the bones back in place but it needs surgery. Luckily it is only his pinky, he can live without its full use.

Lunch in Nepal

After the visit to the school today we decided to go for some lunch in town. I wanted something different...but local food. Amanda reluctantly went along, and we ended up at a Korean resturant and ordered Indian food. Amanda a vegetarian curry and me a chicken curry. Mine was delicious and Amanda was enjoying hers ....until half way through.....when she found a cockroach in her meal. So I don't get to choose where we eat anymore!!

The American, Dan showed us tonight video footage he took of the Maoists marching in Kathmandu. It was a bigger march than here, full of red flags....very impressive and with a cavalcade of motor bikes behind waiting for the road to reopen.

Random thoughts for a Wednesday

When we were sitting in Kathmandu, in an upstairs balcony we watched the female traffic guard. She stood in the middle of the intersection and seemly randomly blew her whistle. It had no effectr on cars or bikes, they just whizzed around her. At times she wandered over to a college and chatted with her.

Last night going to and coming back to internet cafe we observed a patrol of police, about 8 men dressed in a blue jungle pattern and carrying sticks. Up the road they set up a road block and stopped every car. They would blow their whistle and cars pulled up. If a car didn't stop they blew it louder and the car pulled in. We wondered what would happen if the car didn't stop? They had no means of chasing it and no guns to shoot at them, so they could have just driven through.....guess its seen to be doing something. At the bank the bank guard at least had a huge Gurka knife.

This morning I went for a walk along the lake before sunrise. It was nioce seeing the mist coming up from the lake and on the way back I had a good view of the mountains. What really amused me is the names of places. 'The Moon Dance Cafe', 'The harmony motel', 'Penguin motel (haven't seen any penguins yet), 'Silent Hotel', 'The international Inventive School' and this morning my favourite so far......'the Cosmic Brontosaurus language school'.

After breakfast I visited the International Inventive School. I introduced myself to the principal and she showed me around. They go from aged four up to aged 16 at this school. There are 700 kids and about 40 teachers.The classrooms are about a quarter the size of Australian rooms and in each room there are about 30 students. This means only room for desks, which are long benches. There are rows on each side with gaps down the middle....boys on one side and girls on the other. I visited year 9. They had about 5 students squashed onto each side. They had a good laugh when I pointed out I wouldn't fit behind the desk. Then a kid as nearly as big as me stood up....he was sitting on a stool down the back. They were all very well dressed and happy. They told me about the subjects they did and I taught them a short lesson. I visited a couple more classrooms and learnt a little about the school.

Razue and Ruth- enemies in the battle for control of the lap. It doesn't seem to matter if there is one adult or five they always compete for the same lap and sharing is not an option.

Age: 4

Ruth Loves: Biscuits, drawing flowers, using lip gloss and kisses

Ruth has a bad infection behind her ear, possibly from lack of showers.

Razue Loves: falling asleep in a lap, cameras, stealing toys from other kids and singing quietly to himself.

Razue is about the size of an Australian two year old child. He makes up for his size with a huge voice. He kind of reminds me of a cranky Chihuahua.

TUESDAY 8th DECEMBER

Well interesting day. Finally no holiday so kids sent off to school....however they were sent home again an hour later. It appears that one of the kids from their school was murdered either on their way to school that morning or in a fight the night before, and at one stage the principal was involved......so haven't heard the full stry yet but school was cancelled for the day. Tomorrow was supposed to be a strike day and no school but we have heard tonight that this is cancelled and school will be on......what can I say ....its Nepal!!!!

Amanda and I looked after the kids all afternoon and sent Chandri and Joti to the markets to buy shoes for all the kids and a pair for Joti. She was so excited, dancing around....its been a long while since she has been to the markets let alone out of the house. Off they went. We looked after the kids but this was easy as for the first time Amanda showed them a movie on her lap top......they were enthralled even though they couldn't follow most of it. As it got dark, and no sign of Chandri and Joti there was the inevitable blackout. No computer, and three candles.....Amanda to the rescue....she taught them the chicken dance and the Hokey Pokey....all without music. The kids loved it and laughed till they hurt. We didn't know what to do about tea....sorry dinner.....they think of a cup of tea whenever I say tea. Finally we started sorting the rice by candle light. They buy te cheap rice with little stone in it and every night before dinner we spread it out on the table and pick out the stones before cooking. Two of the kids packed the small stove with wood shavings......but we were saved with the return of the shoppers with another three matresses and shoes for all the kids......they were so excited.....they had never had new shoes before.....one that weren't second hand. However they had run out of time and Joti still doesn't have a pair....but we will work on this.

All of the other visitors had left this morning leaving only us and Jean Luc...but tonight at tea another American arrived, Dan. He has been here working on a forrestry program with the same organisation but now spends the next two weeks at the orphanage.

MONDAY 7th DECEMBER

Well again the children didn't attend school because of a holiday or possibly fear of the Maoists since nobody knew until the kids reached school. After a visit to the home we caught the bus across town to the markets to have matresses made for the children who didn't have them. We had five made and purchased ten new bed sheets. We also purchased a big bag of rice as they had run out the day before. Here we met Ramji Bastola, a businessman and owner of the shop where we bought the matresses. He is something of a big shot in Pokhara, member of Chamber of Commerce, Lions' Club Director, and he play shuttlecock every morning with the Chief of Police. He has three children all in the medical profession. He drove us back to the children's home in his new car. This was good as we would have struggled even fitting on the bus with our bundle of matresses and sack of rice. On the way to the markets the bus had been crammed like a tin of sardines, with people even sitting on each others laps.

Back at the home two Australian girls from Sydney came to visit for the afternoon. We all helped make momos for tea. This turned into a huge production line with much mirth as we tried to get ours the same shape as Joti's (Chandri's wife) but filling kept falling out the side. A blackout in the middle of the process added to the confusion, but with candle light we managed to feed everyone. After tea there was some impromptu singing. The four oldest girls stood out the front and danced and led the singing. They were terrific and really showed a confidence that wasn't there when they were just playing. The kids sung at the top of their lungs and all had a good time. Just before we left for the night the power came back on.

SUNDAY 6th DECEMBER

Normally the kids go to school on a Sunday, Saturday is their only day off, but when they reached school they found that it had been called off for the day because of the Maoists. The Maoists called a general strike. Everyone complies because they damage any vehicles that are seen using the roads. Rumours are that six police were either killed or abducted a few days before. Many shops were closed and others closed when the Maoists marched up the road. It wasn't a big group marching, though they were vocal, but they were friendly towards us....maybe cause I had a red T-shirt on. Apparently they received about 40 percent of the vote in the last election. But the person I spoke to thought they were losing support and would be lucky to get 30 percent in the next election. As a consequence of their being no cars on the road there was little smog and pollution and for the first time we could see the snow covered peaks rising up almost infront of us. They are spectatular but we have not been able to see them until now.

So after breakfast we went early to the home. We were joined by a couple from Tasmania, Adam and Jennifer, and two fellows from NSW. For a while there seemed like more adults than children, but the children really enjoy the attention.

I have been teaching the kids the Australian 'Cooee' call. When I arrive at the foot of the hill I call out and they rush to the gate and answer.....sometimes all at once. We spent most of the day playing and talking with the kids. We also drew up plans for a chicken coop as we have talked about buying chickens and goats for the orphanage. In the evening we could hear the Maoists chanting, we found out the next day they were chanting 'victory, victory'.

cremation

Today we went to a cremation. I am not sure what to say about it yet. At first I didn't feel anything. I couldn't really understand that there was a real person under all that wood and fire. Then someone's daughter started screaming “Mum, why did you leave me?”
In Australia we don't show our grief. This family wailed and cried. The woman who died was loved. I think seeing so much emotion was a little confronting for me.
I took some photos from far away. I tried to show respect, but it is hard to know the correct way to act.
I did not photograph the cremations close up but some tourists were moving mourners out of the way to get better photos of the dead.
Some tourist showed no shame in standing close enough to touch and photographing the dead's face and grieving family.
Some tourists are jerks.