Finally, after a month of hearing about nothing but the Jubilee and it taking over the school to the point of cancelling lessons to prepare, it has arrived! 3 days of festivities to celebrate the fact that the school has been open for 50 years, a significant achievement here.
Thursday morning, aka Day 1, dawned bright and sunny. Caitlin and I arrived at school promptly at 10, to find it in a flurry of activity, doing last minute preparations. Coloured flags had been put up across both schoolyards, and a small stage set up for dancing. After handing in our posters (which we haven't seen hide or hair of since, although there was a classroom full of science displays that we found), we settled in for the wait until things began happening.
In Nepal, life tends to run at a slower pace than in the West. We call it Nepali time/pace. Nepali pace means an amble, and 10am in Nepal can mean anywhere from 10-noon. (except for bus departure times, which are more reliable, and when school starts, which is always on time). So even though we were told festivities would begin at 11, it wasn't much of a surprise when nothing happened until about 12:15.
Just a note: I've come to quite like Nepali pace. It's much more peaceful, and WAY less stressful. The mentality of 'we'll get there when we get there' and 'we'll start when we're ready' is nice, you don't feel so rushed or pressured.
I mentioned that Thursday dawned bright and sunner, and it stayed that way all day. It was HOT. Despite wearning sunscreen (which I hate doing because it feels so greasy), I still ended the day much darker than I began it, although I did manage to avoid a burn.
The day was filled with some dancing, several interhouse volleyball games, and activities for Class 1-5. The children's games were my favourite part of the day. I only watched the first 3 because we hadn't had lunch yet and were starving (it was after 2). Class 1 did biscuit --
--major tangent here. Living among Brits is contaigious. I now say things like 'biscuit', 'loo roll', 'ring' instead of call, and 'come round to ours' to name a few, without even thinking about it. Caitlin has an Oxford dictionary that has a few pages of British and North American equivalents, which have caused no end of amusement at the dinner table. Did you know that in Britain, a tube top is a 'boob tube'? I just got sidetracked a little by her asking me if I have any 'drawing pins'. Apparantly thats a thumbtack. I swear, sometimes its like we're speaking different languages, we keep having to stop and explain ourselves!
--on a string, biting a biscuit off without using their hands. Class 2 did egg and spoon, modified to marble and spoon, races, and Class 3 played the game where you have a balloon tied to your ankle and need to stomp on everyone else's. It was fun not only because I've taught all these kids, but because I played these same games at camp in Canada. It's fun to see the random little things that are the same here.
After a day in the sun we were more than happy to head home at around 5:30. Things were still going on but winding down, and we wanted to get home before dark, to get ready for Day 2!
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