I'm writing this sitting in the sunshine on the roof of the house, looking over the valley and the mountains behind it. They're incredibly clear in the morning, and tend to cloud over as the day progresses. Right now you can acually see the clouds forming and moving across them. It's like one of those videos where clouds are recorded for hours and then the movements sped up into a few seconds, but a bit slower and in real time. It really makes you think about just how windy it must be at the peak.
I don't think I've described where I am relative to the Himalayas, so I'll do it now. From the roof, looking straight across to Gorkha, you can see Manaslu behind and a little to the left. Imagaining that as north on a compass, the Annapurnas are at about Northwest. They're not visible as often as Manaslu, but we've been getting fantastic views of them in the morning for the past few days. It's mid-afternoon now, so they're entirely obscured by cloud. There's only clouds over the mountains though, otherwise its a cloudless sky, and an unbelievably gorgeous day.
Since the events with the missing stuff last Sunday the week has been quiet. Guarav came on Monday, and brought some things from Kathmandu that we had asked for. I now have maple syrup in my porridge (its the only way I can make at palatable!) and on my french toast (to the amusement of Caitlin, Kirsten and Amy, apparently you don't do that in the UK), and am ready for pancake Tuesday, because of course you can't have pancakes without maple syrup. (its not real, the bottle says 2% real maple syrup, but its a lot better than most of the other fake kinds at home) I was going to make Nanaimo bars, because you can get fresh coconut here, but Guarav couldn't find icing sugar, so thats on the back-burner for now.
Since my school's Golden Jubilee was held this past weekend, everything pretty much stopped during the week to get ready for it. There have been no lessons since Monday - for Caitlin and I this meant making the English language teaching materials (aka posters) to be part of the teaching exhibition. So essentially, we went to school to draw and colour all day - quite nice!
It has been getting very foggy in the mornings, and lasting long into the afternoons, a sure sign its going to rain, and sure enough, on Tuesday the heavens opened. I brought 2 thermos flasks with me from home, so from Tuesday Caitlin and I have been taking tea to school, inspired by the cold and wet of that day.
Because there were no classes going on, the staff room was full of people all week, making it difficult to find places with tables to make our posters. We ended up staying at school until about 12:30 on Tuesday and Wednesday, and working from home the rest of the time, where it was warm and dry. Much nicer.
And then, at last, after weeks and weeks of hearing about nothing else, the Jubilee finally arrived, and was held Thursday through Saturday, but its going to have its own post, next time I'm online.
The upside of Tuesday's rain has been beautifully clear weather since then. I mentioned the Annapurnas above, we've only really been able to see them from this week, before that it was just a mass of cloud all the time, with a little bit of mountain poking through. Now, however, we get the benefit of the full range in sharp, clear detail. Several times a day I tend to take a step back and marvel that this really is the background to where I'm living, its been a month but it still never ceases to amaze me how beautiful it is!
Although today is Sunday (and I'm typing this into the computer on Monday) because the Jubilee ran over Saturday we had Sunday off, and Monday is a holiday. Amy and Kirsten ended up having Sunday off as well, and we've spent the day relaxing and reading on the roof with a pot of tea and the view. A very relaxing way to spend the day.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Manakamana - Saturday February 6, 2010
Today Caitlin, Kirsten, Amy and I ventured further afield than we've been since coming to Laxmi Bazaar. We went to Manakamana, a famous temple at the top of a mountain. It is one of the most important temples in this part of Nepal, and is believed that the goddess Bhagwati, an incarnation of Parvati, has the power to grant wishes made there. It is somewhere that most Hindus was to visit at least once in their lives, apparently particularly newlyweds wishing for a son!
The day started slowly due to the water and money issues I talked about in the previous post, so we didn't end up leaving the house until about 10, a full hour and a half after we had planned. Luckily we caught the bus quickly, and had an uneventful trip down to Abu Khaireni, the junction town where the road to Gorkha meets the main highway. From there we caught another bus that dropped us off at the bottom of the mountain where Manakamana is. (when I say mountain, I really mean big hill compared to the Himalayas).
To get up to the town of Manakamana, where the temple is, it is either a 5-hour hike or a 10-minute trip by cable car (gondola at home). Given that it was already 11:30, we opted for the cable-car, as we needed to get home that same day in order to go to school on Sunday. As Saturday is the only full day off here, the place was packed, and the line at the bottom was LONG! We waited 3.5 hours before finally getting on the cable-car. Thankfully we brought a packed lunch with us, although the site of the four of us munching away on egg-salad sandwiches (something I'm going to re-consider liking when I get home, although that will probably go along the lines of peanut butter soup) was endlessly amusing to the Nepalis all around us. In Nepal most people eat two meals of dal bhat and curry per day, in the morning and evening. Therefore it was not only what we were eating, sandwiches not being common here, but the very fact that we were eating in the middle of the day that was amusing. At least we feel we provided some entertainment during the long wait - one person actually took a picture of us eating!
It was a relief to finally get onto the cable-car. I was the only one from the four of us who had been on one before, so it was amusing to see everyone's faces when it started moving, and swayed a little. I was more pre-occupied with how nice they are to ride without skis in the way of the view and only 6 people inside! Its Austrian-built and exactly like the gondolas on ski hills, just without the bracket on the outside to hold skis. It was definitely the first time on one for the Nepali woman sitting next to me, who had a death grip on my arm the entire time!
After such a long wait, the 10 mins up the mountain flew by, and we were finally there. It is clear that visitors to the temple are the main trade in Manakamana. The road from the top of the cable-car to the temple itself is lined with stalls selling necklaces, bracelets, snacks, photos, cheap toys and everything else you can think of. There are also countless hotels and guest houses for whoever wants to stay overnight (what I would suggest doing if anyone reading this ever goes, that way you will have much more time there, instead of spending so much time in lines).
The temple itself is the typical small square building (roughly 15'x15') with a 2-tier sloping roof. It is situated in a large square, which also has 2 places for small fires (fire is sacred in Hinduism) and 2 rows of priests giving tikas. The temples is surrounded by bells, which are rung after saying a prayer to send that prayer to the gods. It is forbidden to wear leather in the temple, so there was also a building along the outside of the square dedicated to holding shoes while people go inside to pray.
I mentioned earlier that people go to Manakamana to make wishes. In order to do so you must sacrifice an animal, usually a chicken or a goat. There are even 2 special cars on the gondola for the animals to be taken up, and carcasses brought down. While we were waiting in line we saw countless goats and chickens being taken up, and many bloody bags with legs sticking out coming back down. Hopefully lots of people's wishes came true!
By the time we actually got to the town it was almost 3:30, and there was another long line to get inside, so instead we wandered around the town a little more (it gets dark around 6, and we wanted to be on the bus from Abu Khaireni back towards Gorkha by then) before heading back down the mountain.
Getting a bus home took a while, and by the time we walked in the door it was almost 8. It was a long day, but tons of fun. It was especially nice to really get away from home and go somewhere. We felt like tourists again!
The day started slowly due to the water and money issues I talked about in the previous post, so we didn't end up leaving the house until about 10, a full hour and a half after we had planned. Luckily we caught the bus quickly, and had an uneventful trip down to Abu Khaireni, the junction town where the road to Gorkha meets the main highway. From there we caught another bus that dropped us off at the bottom of the mountain where Manakamana is. (when I say mountain, I really mean big hill compared to the Himalayas).
To get up to the town of Manakamana, where the temple is, it is either a 5-hour hike or a 10-minute trip by cable car (gondola at home). Given that it was already 11:30, we opted for the cable-car, as we needed to get home that same day in order to go to school on Sunday. As Saturday is the only full day off here, the place was packed, and the line at the bottom was LONG! We waited 3.5 hours before finally getting on the cable-car. Thankfully we brought a packed lunch with us, although the site of the four of us munching away on egg-salad sandwiches (something I'm going to re-consider liking when I get home, although that will probably go along the lines of peanut butter soup) was endlessly amusing to the Nepalis all around us. In Nepal most people eat two meals of dal bhat and curry per day, in the morning and evening. Therefore it was not only what we were eating, sandwiches not being common here, but the very fact that we were eating in the middle of the day that was amusing. At least we feel we provided some entertainment during the long wait - one person actually took a picture of us eating!
It was a relief to finally get onto the cable-car. I was the only one from the four of us who had been on one before, so it was amusing to see everyone's faces when it started moving, and swayed a little. I was more pre-occupied with how nice they are to ride without skis in the way of the view and only 6 people inside! Its Austrian-built and exactly like the gondolas on ski hills, just without the bracket on the outside to hold skis. It was definitely the first time on one for the Nepali woman sitting next to me, who had a death grip on my arm the entire time!
After such a long wait, the 10 mins up the mountain flew by, and we were finally there. It is clear that visitors to the temple are the main trade in Manakamana. The road from the top of the cable-car to the temple itself is lined with stalls selling necklaces, bracelets, snacks, photos, cheap toys and everything else you can think of. There are also countless hotels and guest houses for whoever wants to stay overnight (what I would suggest doing if anyone reading this ever goes, that way you will have much more time there, instead of spending so much time in lines).
The temple itself is the typical small square building (roughly 15'x15') with a 2-tier sloping roof. It is situated in a large square, which also has 2 places for small fires (fire is sacred in Hinduism) and 2 rows of priests giving tikas. The temples is surrounded by bells, which are rung after saying a prayer to send that prayer to the gods. It is forbidden to wear leather in the temple, so there was also a building along the outside of the square dedicated to holding shoes while people go inside to pray.
I mentioned earlier that people go to Manakamana to make wishes. In order to do so you must sacrifice an animal, usually a chicken or a goat. There are even 2 special cars on the gondola for the animals to be taken up, and carcasses brought down. While we were waiting in line we saw countless goats and chickens being taken up, and many bloody bags with legs sticking out coming back down. Hopefully lots of people's wishes came true!
By the time we actually got to the town it was almost 3:30, and there was another long line to get inside, so instead we wandered around the town a little more (it gets dark around 6, and we wanted to be on the bus from Abu Khaireni back towards Gorkha by then) before heading back down the mountain.
Getting a bus home took a while, and by the time we walked in the door it was almost 8. It was a long day, but tons of fun. It was especially nice to really get away from home and go somewhere. We felt like tourists again!
Life over the past 2 weeks, Part 1
The past two weeks have just flown by! The first was definitely interesting - there was lots of house drama, thankfully all caused by outside people though. I lasted posted here on Saturday January 30th. That afternoon the four of us returned to Laxmi from Gorkha to find about 30 people up on our roof, all watching the laying of the cement roof for the house next door, and just generally hanging around. It was something of a surprise to find them there, as it had not previously been possible to get onto our roof except through the house. We've gotten used to people peering through our windows, but still not quite yet to the fact that people can just show up on our roof; it certainly makes it all the more important to remember to lock the upstairs door! Since then there's only been people up there while the builders are there, and only 4-5 at most at a time.
School progressed much as it did the week before, with lessons in the morning and Jubilee prep in the afternoons. On Thursday night Caitlin and I visited some more of our students, this time 2 sisters in Class 8 named Rama and Sapana. Their house is quite a bit larger than Rupa's; it has 3 rooms, all cement plastered, with a fourth room that is really more of a patio, as it has only 3 walls. Their father is in the Indian Air Force, so it was just the girls, their mother and their sister and her baby at home. Their mother doesn't speak any English, but is very good at communicating through gestures, so that was how we conversed.
The house is down the road south from Biren Chowk, a part of the road we had previously only driven along. In the evening we walked down ever farther, visited a temple to the goddess Shiva, and took in some views of the river valley along with the sunset. Then it was back to the house for dinner - dal bhat and curry of course! As at Rupa's it tasted fantastic, and we were given so much we could hardly move afterwards. It was the same again for breakfast; if there are typical sizes (Rama and Sapana ate only slightly less), I can well understand how Nepalis eat only twice per day.
Friday and Saturday held the bulk of the house drama for the week. The water for the house comes from a 500L tub on the roof, which we refill periodically using a hose that has been strung up from the ground. The water only runs in the mornings, so every week or so we make sure its full. We filled it on Wednesday morning, and by Friday evening it was empty. We figure the construction workers next door used it to cover the roof, as concrete here needs to be kept constantly wet for several days after it is laid (I have no idea why). This was extremely frustrating, as we couldn't wash the dinner dishes, make tea, flush the toilet or generally do anything involving water, including have a drink. Added to that, we then had to spend part of Saturday morning filling the tank before making breakfast.
The water, however frustrating it was though, was nothing compared to what we figured out on Sunday morning. On Saturday morning we got up to go to Manakamana (see related post), and in the midst of cooking breakfast, realized we had run out of bread. This prompted a search for the wallet containing the house money, in order to go down to the shop to get some more, which proved fruitless. After quickly turning the house upside down (we were trying to get out at a decent time to get to Manakamana) we gave up and just went for the bread, and then headed out for the day.
On Sunday morning we noticed some more things were a little off. Some random pieces of food were missing, and some of my toiletries were somehow in the far corner of Caitlin's bed. But, we attributed this to miscounting how many bread rolls we had and accidentally moving our stuff around without realizing it. It wasn't until we wanted cornflakes for breakfast, and we realized the bag was gone, that we really thought something was up (especially because a thorough search for the house money the night before still hadn't turned up anything).
For a while we were thinking that maybe one of Kirsten and Amy's students who came by Friday afternoon had swiped the money, but we nixed that after the cornflakes were gone, because we ate some on Saturday morning.
Now, when we moved in a month ago the house next door was little more than half-built walls. It wasn't possible to get onto our roof except through our house, and therefore not possible to get to the window halfway up the stairs, the only one in the house without bars. We also didn't realized that our roof runs underneath it, creating a convenient ledge. And now that there is a roof next door, it is very easy to walk through the unfinished main floor, up the stairs, and accros the 6-inch gap between the houses. Needless to say, we've come to the conclusion that someone came into our house through the window on Friday and Saturday while we were out.
What was surprising (and VERY lucky) was that next to nothing was taken, and nothing more valuable than Kirsten's cell phone, which we have discovered missing over the past week. The house money was only about 200 rupees at the time - roughly $3. We called Dulga, our landlady, on Sunday morning, and she had bars put on the window that day. She thinks it was one of the boys who lives nearby, who apparently has a history of this sort of thing. We've been very glad we have chests to lock valuables in, and have been using them!
School progressed much as it did the week before, with lessons in the morning and Jubilee prep in the afternoons. On Thursday night Caitlin and I visited some more of our students, this time 2 sisters in Class 8 named Rama and Sapana. Their house is quite a bit larger than Rupa's; it has 3 rooms, all cement plastered, with a fourth room that is really more of a patio, as it has only 3 walls. Their father is in the Indian Air Force, so it was just the girls, their mother and their sister and her baby at home. Their mother doesn't speak any English, but is very good at communicating through gestures, so that was how we conversed.
The house is down the road south from Biren Chowk, a part of the road we had previously only driven along. In the evening we walked down ever farther, visited a temple to the goddess Shiva, and took in some views of the river valley along with the sunset. Then it was back to the house for dinner - dal bhat and curry of course! As at Rupa's it tasted fantastic, and we were given so much we could hardly move afterwards. It was the same again for breakfast; if there are typical sizes (Rama and Sapana ate only slightly less), I can well understand how Nepalis eat only twice per day.
Friday and Saturday held the bulk of the house drama for the week. The water for the house comes from a 500L tub on the roof, which we refill periodically using a hose that has been strung up from the ground. The water only runs in the mornings, so every week or so we make sure its full. We filled it on Wednesday morning, and by Friday evening it was empty. We figure the construction workers next door used it to cover the roof, as concrete here needs to be kept constantly wet for several days after it is laid (I have no idea why). This was extremely frustrating, as we couldn't wash the dinner dishes, make tea, flush the toilet or generally do anything involving water, including have a drink. Added to that, we then had to spend part of Saturday morning filling the tank before making breakfast.
The water, however frustrating it was though, was nothing compared to what we figured out on Sunday morning. On Saturday morning we got up to go to Manakamana (see related post), and in the midst of cooking breakfast, realized we had run out of bread. This prompted a search for the wallet containing the house money, in order to go down to the shop to get some more, which proved fruitless. After quickly turning the house upside down (we were trying to get out at a decent time to get to Manakamana) we gave up and just went for the bread, and then headed out for the day.
On Sunday morning we noticed some more things were a little off. Some random pieces of food were missing, and some of my toiletries were somehow in the far corner of Caitlin's bed. But, we attributed this to miscounting how many bread rolls we had and accidentally moving our stuff around without realizing it. It wasn't until we wanted cornflakes for breakfast, and we realized the bag was gone, that we really thought something was up (especially because a thorough search for the house money the night before still hadn't turned up anything).
For a while we were thinking that maybe one of Kirsten and Amy's students who came by Friday afternoon had swiped the money, but we nixed that after the cornflakes were gone, because we ate some on Saturday morning.
Now, when we moved in a month ago the house next door was little more than half-built walls. It wasn't possible to get onto our roof except through our house, and therefore not possible to get to the window halfway up the stairs, the only one in the house without bars. We also didn't realized that our roof runs underneath it, creating a convenient ledge. And now that there is a roof next door, it is very easy to walk through the unfinished main floor, up the stairs, and accros the 6-inch gap between the houses. Needless to say, we've come to the conclusion that someone came into our house through the window on Friday and Saturday while we were out.
What was surprising (and VERY lucky) was that next to nothing was taken, and nothing more valuable than Kirsten's cell phone, which we have discovered missing over the past week. The house money was only about 200 rupees at the time - roughly $3. We called Dulga, our landlady, on Sunday morning, and she had bars put on the window that day. She thinks it was one of the boys who lives nearby, who apparently has a history of this sort of thing. We've been very glad we have chests to lock valuables in, and have been using them!
Friday, January 29, 2010
A night in a Nepali house
I thought this deserved its own post, so the last one wouldn't be super long. On Thursday Caitlin and I spent the night at the house of one of Rupa, one of the girls in Class 9. It was really interesting to see just how a typical Nepali family lives, and to take part.
The house was very small, only 2 rooms made from brick, that wasn't covered over inside, so there are open brick walls on every side. The main room has 2 beds, the stove, a tv and a cupboard to hold clothes. The other room has another bed, another cupboard and a desk. The family has 6 people, 5 of whom still live at home - Rupa, her parents, one sister and one brother, one brother is older and has moved out.
I think the house is one of the few in the area with a television, because there were lots of children hanging around watching through the afternoon. They were all kids from school, and it was nice to see them out of their uniforms and in their natural environment. Once it was dark we went for a walk through Biren Chowk, to see the village by night. Everywhere we went we ran into kids from school, so by the end it was quite a big group. The village looks very different at night, it actually felt more alive than during the daytime when everyone is a work. I think we visited about 4 homes on that walk, and walked the length of the village on the main road. All the while being taught more and more words in Nepali.
Dinner was the traditional Nepali meal - dal bhat (rice with a lentil stew) and vegetable curry. the curry in particular was delicious. I have no idea what spices were in it, but the potatoes in particular were fantastic. Breakfast was the same again, but a different curry, and a little bit of meat. I'm not sure what animal it was, they just said it was meat, so who knows! I've never had rice for breakfast before, and I'm not sure if I want to do it often, I didn't feel as if I got much energy from it, I feel better after a breakfast of a few eggs, or the like. Overall though, it tasted amazing.
The power was on most of the evening, and so was the television. There were a few Nepali channels, and many in Hindi, which shows the cultural influence that India has. Rupa said most of her family, including herself, understand Hindi, as it is very close to Nepali. There were also a few English channels, mostly with really bad movies from th 90's, and many channels with music videos, so we watched a number of Nepali and Hindi music videos - very colourful!
Life in Nepal starts and ends early. We went to bed around 9, and were up by 7, the rest of the family having been up since around 6:30ish. We didn't do much in the morning, just hung around (with the tv on again) until it was time for school.
It was certainly an interesting experience, staying overnight, and it has made me ever the more grateful to have been born where I was, with the opportunities I have. You don't really realize how lucky you are until you see people who have so much less. Studying hard and getting a scholarship to university in Kathmandu or abroad is really the only way out of this town, and it is difficult to do this. Despite this, everyone is very happy and very generous - this family doesn't have much, but still invited us into their home and gave us lots to eat (it was the fullest I've been since coming to Nepal!). It just goes to show that you don't have to everything to lead a happy life.
its been a month!
Ok, I should probably begin this by saying that I did end up getting my bag back. I got it about 10 days ago, and it has been wonderful having all my stuff back again. This past week has flown by, with many changes.
Firstly, Caitlin and I no longer teach Classes 1 and 2; instead we teach Class 7, and will begin Class 6 in about three weeks when the student teachers leave. Although I'm sad to no longer have the really little kids, it has been nice to only deal with tons of noise once a day, instead of three times. Classes 5 and 7 are great at sitting quietly and working, especially Class 7. We're working on past tense with them right now, and I'm finally feeling like I'm actually imparting knowledge on someone, as opposed to keeping the peace for 40 minutes.
Last Friday David Graham, the over of AV, came to Gorkha, so everyone had dinner at the Gurkha Inn, which was a wonderful evening. On Saturday morning my house got up early to come into Gorkha again, to go to the Durbar (the temple that was the home of the prince who united all of Nepal about 250 years ago), which is up the mountain and has fantastic views. We got there around 9, and spent about an hour before heading back down the hill. Surprisingly enough it felt like further on the way down. Its a little over 1300 steps from the town up to the Durbar, but it didn't feel like it on the way up because we took a backcountry route.
Sunday was back to school, but because the Golden Jubilee is coming up, pretty much everything revolves around it right now. The school is being repainted, so many of the classes have been moved outside so the insides of the classrooms can be finished. Its made it a bit more difficult to teach, as there are no blackboards outside, which are the only teaching aids we have. At times I've resorted to writing one or two words on a piece of paper and holding them up for the class to write down. Luckily I'm doing directions with Class 3 right now, so being outside works pretty well, as I send them through obstacle courses around the yard.
Classes are only being held in the morning right now, to give time in the afternoon to prepare for the Jubilee. So one day we will have periods 1 though 4, the next 5 through 8, meaning that we only teach each class every other day instead of every day. In the afternoons we tend to hang out in the classroom being used for dance practice, and talk to the students in class 9. (Class 10 are doing nationwide exams right now, another reason for half day classes)
Yesterday the four of us came up to Gorkha again to visit the house here. We went for dinner at the Gurkha Inn, and today walked up to Saraswathi, one of the other schools there are volunteers at, to see the view of the valleys from there. It was fantastic - from home we can see the valley across to Gorkha, and a little down the valley to the right of the town. From this vantage point we could see all down both valleys. The only damper was that it very very hazy, so the mountains weren't very visible, but otherwise it was a fantastic view. What we could see of the mountains was beautiful though - they looked like they were floating, and as Julia said "It looks like they've been painted onto the sky" It was also nice to see one of the other schools. This one is about 3 times the size of Ratna Rajya, with many more students (although they weren't there today because its Saturday). I couldn't see into any of the classrooms, but they looked to be around the same size, just more of them. The main difference between this school and mine is that all the subjects are taught in English, so the entirety of the teaching staff speaks quite good English, while at my school the level of English among the teachers is quite poor.
We've so far been swapping hosting with the Gorkha house every Friday night, which has become a nice ritual, albeit one that is so far only two weeks old! Its nice to be so close to each other that we can visit often.
It's hard to believe that it is four weeks from yesterday that I left Canada, and four weeks from Monday that I arrived in Nepal. The time has gone by so fast, but at the same time it feels like a long time. We were looking at pictures from the first few days in Kathmandu, which feels like ages ago. Luckily, many more months to go!
Firstly, Caitlin and I no longer teach Classes 1 and 2; instead we teach Class 7, and will begin Class 6 in about three weeks when the student teachers leave. Although I'm sad to no longer have the really little kids, it has been nice to only deal with tons of noise once a day, instead of three times. Classes 5 and 7 are great at sitting quietly and working, especially Class 7. We're working on past tense with them right now, and I'm finally feeling like I'm actually imparting knowledge on someone, as opposed to keeping the peace for 40 minutes.
Last Friday David Graham, the over of AV, came to Gorkha, so everyone had dinner at the Gurkha Inn, which was a wonderful evening. On Saturday morning my house got up early to come into Gorkha again, to go to the Durbar (the temple that was the home of the prince who united all of Nepal about 250 years ago), which is up the mountain and has fantastic views. We got there around 9, and spent about an hour before heading back down the hill. Surprisingly enough it felt like further on the way down. Its a little over 1300 steps from the town up to the Durbar, but it didn't feel like it on the way up because we took a backcountry route.
Sunday was back to school, but because the Golden Jubilee is coming up, pretty much everything revolves around it right now. The school is being repainted, so many of the classes have been moved outside so the insides of the classrooms can be finished. Its made it a bit more difficult to teach, as there are no blackboards outside, which are the only teaching aids we have. At times I've resorted to writing one or two words on a piece of paper and holding them up for the class to write down. Luckily I'm doing directions with Class 3 right now, so being outside works pretty well, as I send them through obstacle courses around the yard.
Classes are only being held in the morning right now, to give time in the afternoon to prepare for the Jubilee. So one day we will have periods 1 though 4, the next 5 through 8, meaning that we only teach each class every other day instead of every day. In the afternoons we tend to hang out in the classroom being used for dance practice, and talk to the students in class 9. (Class 10 are doing nationwide exams right now, another reason for half day classes)
Yesterday the four of us came up to Gorkha again to visit the house here. We went for dinner at the Gurkha Inn, and today walked up to Saraswathi, one of the other schools there are volunteers at, to see the view of the valleys from there. It was fantastic - from home we can see the valley across to Gorkha, and a little down the valley to the right of the town. From this vantage point we could see all down both valleys. The only damper was that it very very hazy, so the mountains weren't very visible, but otherwise it was a fantastic view. What we could see of the mountains was beautiful though - they looked like they were floating, and as Julia said "It looks like they've been painted onto the sky" It was also nice to see one of the other schools. This one is about 3 times the size of Ratna Rajya, with many more students (although they weren't there today because its Saturday). I couldn't see into any of the classrooms, but they looked to be around the same size, just more of them. The main difference between this school and mine is that all the subjects are taught in English, so the entirety of the teaching staff speaks quite good English, while at my school the level of English among the teachers is quite poor.
We've so far been swapping hosting with the Gorkha house every Friday night, which has become a nice ritual, albeit one that is so far only two weeks old! Its nice to be so close to each other that we can visit often.
It's hard to believe that it is four weeks from yesterday that I left Canada, and four weeks from Monday that I arrived in Nepal. The time has gone by so fast, but at the same time it feels like a long time. We were looking at pictures from the first few days in Kathmandu, which feels like ages ago. Luckily, many more months to go!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Ratna Rajya Secondary School - Birin Chowk
So now that you're all caught up on life, and I've been there for two weeks, its time to talk about my school. I am teaching at Ratna Rajya Secondary School, in Birin Chowk, a village about the size of Laxmi Bazaar. It's about 2.5 km down the mountain to get there, which Caitlin and I walk every morning and afternoon. The teachers seem to think this is hilarious, and are having trouble understanding that we like walking. Yesterday they were still incredulous, especially because it was pretty hot - they said that our faces would like like a ripe apple when we got home!
The school has kids from ECD (think kindergarden) right through to Class 10. We teach Classes 1,2 and 5 together, I teach Class 3 and Caitlin teaches Class 4. Next week we are going to start teaching Class 10 as well, which I am very excited about. The classes have between 30 and 60 kids in them; each year has its own classroom where the students remain, and the teachers move around.
The school itself is rather poor, and is apparently the poorest of those AV's are teaching at this year. The building is concrete, as are most buildings in Nepal, with no electric lights in the classrooms. Therefore we are dependent on what light comes in through the windows (glassless, just open space with bars across) and through the door. Its amazing how quickly you get used to the lack of light, and its usually so sunny outside that enough light comes in anyways. There is a blackboard at the front of each classroom, which is the extent of the teaching materials, unless we bring in something of our own. Quite the change from laptops, smart boards and projectors I'd gotten used to at Queens! Next month the school is celebrating its golden jubilee, which is very exciting. All the teachers are talking about it all the time, and the entire school is preparing. Its shaping up to be a great party!
The kids themselves are wonderful in person, but most are very rowdy in class, the younger ones especially. Class 5 is quite quiet, as is Class 3 once there is something on the board for them to work on. The biggest difference I see in those classes is that when a student has finished his/her work, they will stand up for you to take a look. Class 5 is pretty quiet about this, but Classes 2 and 3 like to call out to you to be sure you know they are finished. All very well, but when there are 40 kids all doing it, it can get very loud! Today I brought in a chart to Class 3, where they get a checkmark for doing their classwork and a checkmark for being quiet, and anyone with 2 checkmarks gets a sticker next to their name. The chart itself went over very well, and everyone was excited about finding their name, but for today I think it increased the noise level rather than decreased it! Very few kids got stickers, but I am hoping that those who didn't will want them once they see the blank spot next to their name next class.
Class 1 is by far the most trying part of the day. They have learned their letters and numbers up to 10 already. At this point it is time to begin teaching simple words and phrases, but we are finding it extremely difficult to convey the message when we they have next to no English and we have just as little Nepali. The problem arises when they get bored or frustrated, both emotions they take out in typical 6-year old fashion - lots of noise and moving about. They are getting better, but it will take time and patience! On Tuesday we played a game where I yell out a letter of the alphabet, and they have to make that shape with their bodies. They didn't seem to be getting it, but yesterday were clamouring to play all class, so we played at the end. Its very cute to see these little kids doing the YMCA, because I've taken to calling the letters in that order. I'm going to make a movie of it on my camera at some point.
School runs from Sunday to Friday, although Friday is a half day. Saturday and half of Friday are the weekend. It was odd to go to school last Sunday, it felt like Monday even though it was actually Sunday. The first 2 weeks have gone by relatively quickly, albeit with lots of frustrations, but the classes have been getting better. 10 more weeks to go, so here's hoping it keeps getting better!
The school has kids from ECD (think kindergarden) right through to Class 10. We teach Classes 1,2 and 5 together, I teach Class 3 and Caitlin teaches Class 4. Next week we are going to start teaching Class 10 as well, which I am very excited about. The classes have between 30 and 60 kids in them; each year has its own classroom where the students remain, and the teachers move around.
The school itself is rather poor, and is apparently the poorest of those AV's are teaching at this year. The building is concrete, as are most buildings in Nepal, with no electric lights in the classrooms. Therefore we are dependent on what light comes in through the windows (glassless, just open space with bars across) and through the door. Its amazing how quickly you get used to the lack of light, and its usually so sunny outside that enough light comes in anyways. There is a blackboard at the front of each classroom, which is the extent of the teaching materials, unless we bring in something of our own. Quite the change from laptops, smart boards and projectors I'd gotten used to at Queens! Next month the school is celebrating its golden jubilee, which is very exciting. All the teachers are talking about it all the time, and the entire school is preparing. Its shaping up to be a great party!
The kids themselves are wonderful in person, but most are very rowdy in class, the younger ones especially. Class 5 is quite quiet, as is Class 3 once there is something on the board for them to work on. The biggest difference I see in those classes is that when a student has finished his/her work, they will stand up for you to take a look. Class 5 is pretty quiet about this, but Classes 2 and 3 like to call out to you to be sure you know they are finished. All very well, but when there are 40 kids all doing it, it can get very loud! Today I brought in a chart to Class 3, where they get a checkmark for doing their classwork and a checkmark for being quiet, and anyone with 2 checkmarks gets a sticker next to their name. The chart itself went over very well, and everyone was excited about finding their name, but for today I think it increased the noise level rather than decreased it! Very few kids got stickers, but I am hoping that those who didn't will want them once they see the blank spot next to their name next class.
Class 1 is by far the most trying part of the day. They have learned their letters and numbers up to 10 already. At this point it is time to begin teaching simple words and phrases, but we are finding it extremely difficult to convey the message when we they have next to no English and we have just as little Nepali. The problem arises when they get bored or frustrated, both emotions they take out in typical 6-year old fashion - lots of noise and moving about. They are getting better, but it will take time and patience! On Tuesday we played a game where I yell out a letter of the alphabet, and they have to make that shape with their bodies. They didn't seem to be getting it, but yesterday were clamouring to play all class, so we played at the end. Its very cute to see these little kids doing the YMCA, because I've taken to calling the letters in that order. I'm going to make a movie of it on my camera at some point.
School runs from Sunday to Friday, although Friday is a half day. Saturday and half of Friday are the weekend. It was odd to go to school last Sunday, it felt like Monday even though it was actually Sunday. The first 2 weeks have gone by relatively quickly, albeit with lots of frustrations, but the classes have been getting better. 10 more weeks to go, so here's hoping it keeps getting better!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Welcome to Laxmii Bazaar! - January 12, 2010 -- where I live
I have a home in Nepal!! We were supposed to move in on Sunday (10th) but the house wasn't ready yet, so we (me, Caitlin, Amy and Kirsten, my housemates) weren't able to actually move in until Tuesday (12th). We'd been staying up in Gorkha, a town about 10 mins by bus, since Sunday. Don't bother trying to find Laxmi Bazaar on a map, it can't be done. I tried many times before leaving Canada. Gorkha is there though, and Lazmi Bazaar is about 4km south. The only internet is up in Gorkha, so I go there fairly often.
The house is tiny but we love it. There are five rooms including the bathroom, two of which are bedrooms, one kitchen and a living room. Everything is painted pink, which will take some getting used to, as I am not usually a fan of pink. Furniture wise it is pretty spartan, but we do have a table in both the kitchen and living room, and four chairs to go with each. There is no hot water, so it is either a cold shower or a bucket bath. So far I've opted for the bucket bath. We don't have an actual toilet, but what is known as an Asian squat toilet. It's essentially a porcelain hole in the ground. We even have to burn our toilet paper!
The stove is gas powered, which is nice because we experience power cuts many times daily. The only thing we need for cooking that takes power is the rice cooker, but it is possible to cook rice on the stove (I don't do this, because I have a bad history with rice turning out horribly when I attempt it on the stove). All our water needs to be boiled for 5 mins before we can use it, so the stove is on pretty much non-stop while people are home.
The best part of the house by far is the roof. We have a 360 degree view from it, which includes the valley and Gorkha on the other side, with Himalayas on the other side of Gorkha. On the other side is more valley with forests and farms. It is gorgeous, I'm hoping to get some pictures of it up on here soon. On clear days we can see very far, including the sunset over the moutains, which we try to watch most afternoons (mostly because the roof in the sun is a wonderful place to relax). It's been foggy a few days though -- we tend to wake up with the house enveloped in fog, but its usually gone pretty quickly. On rare occasions the fog lasts until late in the afternoon, which it did twice last week. My school, which is about 2.5km down from the house, is enveloped in fog every morning. Its actually quite fun to walk down into a cloud!
That's all I have time for now, so I'll talk about my school next time!
The house is tiny but we love it. There are five rooms including the bathroom, two of which are bedrooms, one kitchen and a living room. Everything is painted pink, which will take some getting used to, as I am not usually a fan of pink. Furniture wise it is pretty spartan, but we do have a table in both the kitchen and living room, and four chairs to go with each. There is no hot water, so it is either a cold shower or a bucket bath. So far I've opted for the bucket bath. We don't have an actual toilet, but what is known as an Asian squat toilet. It's essentially a porcelain hole in the ground. We even have to burn our toilet paper!
The stove is gas powered, which is nice because we experience power cuts many times daily. The only thing we need for cooking that takes power is the rice cooker, but it is possible to cook rice on the stove (I don't do this, because I have a bad history with rice turning out horribly when I attempt it on the stove). All our water needs to be boiled for 5 mins before we can use it, so the stove is on pretty much non-stop while people are home.
The best part of the house by far is the roof. We have a 360 degree view from it, which includes the valley and Gorkha on the other side, with Himalayas on the other side of Gorkha. On the other side is more valley with forests and farms. It is gorgeous, I'm hoping to get some pictures of it up on here soon. On clear days we can see very far, including the sunset over the moutains, which we try to watch most afternoons (mostly because the roof in the sun is a wonderful place to relax). It's been foggy a few days though -- we tend to wake up with the house enveloped in fog, but its usually gone pretty quickly. On rare occasions the fog lasts until late in the afternoon, which it did twice last week. My school, which is about 2.5km down from the house, is enveloped in fog every morning. Its actually quite fun to walk down into a cloud!
That's all I have time for now, so I'll talk about my school next time!
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