Last week's outing

Woke up yesterday to drip, drip, drip, perhaps not unusual for a summer day in England but our first wet Saturday morning for a long time. Last Saturday was a beautiful day and knowing that monsoon was likely to start on 6th June, we (well I) decided we needed to get out of city for a few sunny hours. Easy bus ride, 9rupees, took us out of city south and wound up a hill past the village of Kirtipur, to the bus stop nearest to Chorbar. Walking up a winding road then took us up the hill to the village.

Great views of Lalitpur beneath us, although that day no distant views.

We were heading for a Newari farmhouse converted by a Frenchman and termed a "resort". Although not exactly my idea of a resort, it is a beautiful building, with three lovely rooms for residents and what may have been and will be a lovely garden. At present some of it is a building site for another dwelling. Leaving Roshan with newspapers and cold drink, I wandered round the village of narrow paths, I would be exaggerating to call them streets, between houses, several with tiny shops in their front rooms.


Rounding corner it was bizarre to hear a little voice singing "ABCD, EFG" to a very familiar tune. He, poss 6yrs, was sitting by his mother piling up sticks as she cut them with an axe, safety regulations not a priority here. Away from the centre, it was as if .I was surrounded by allotments, vegetables, corn, beans, tomatoes, peas, onions, so many varieties of greens, everywhere on tiny bits of land with hedges and interwoven fences. Although daily, I see this sort of veg, growing, as I travel on buses, here it was different as I was close, on sloping paths that wound through these beautifully looked after vegetable plots. Every few yards there were ducks or chickens, many of them followed by tiny offspring.


Passing women washing at a tap, a young monk, maybe 8 yrs old dashed up the path.


Seeing the prayer flags, I followed him up to the monastery wall but the wall was high and gate shut.

Re joining Roshan, we enjoyed a toasted tomato and ham sandwich, with a plate of warm new green beans and a sour cream sauce and some delicious chips ….yes the kitchen at this farmhouse definitely had a french influence too.

Wandering down the hill, we past a pickup truck which seemed to have died on the bend on the steepest part of the path, a group of monks carrying carrier bags laden with tomatoes and potatoes

and then a grave yard for lorries.

Back to KTM on one of the fullest buses I have ever been on and this was a big bus. One foot

on a huge sack of recycled bottles and the other sometimes on the ground, I had a window frame to grab when needed. As the bus began to empty a little, Roshan was encouraged, with lots of grinning from those involved, to make his way to an empty seat at the back. The seat had been vacated, although not quickly enough, by a poor girl who was by then hanging out of a front window and still throwing up!

A good relaxing sunny day before 6 busy, well by volunteer standards, days of work.

Sheila

Another good week at the office (Sheila's)

I feel privileged to have been part of the ECD team this week, busy with parental education packages, using observation to support children's learning, planning for more sharing between health and education practitioners, revising basic training for Early Years facilitators…

After planning, policy, strategy, on Thursday I went out visiting centres and Early Years classes to see some of what is really happening in our part of the valley, well in an easily accessible part. Arrived at District Educ.Office to find it still padlocked, as it has been for weeks now, due to agitation by private school teachers. Joined my colleagues by using back door and stairs, sat and listened whilst they talked about possible all Nepal bandhs (strikes, closures) planned for next week and Nepal politics in general. (As you might expect I could only follow a few words and the body language.)

Then out with a colleague to see ECD classes, all in government schools. Firstly a class of 14 children in a room in a big secondary school. Great to see, that following training and my last visit, children all busy playing with the few materials they have. One chalking on a blackboard, several devising their own games with some cards, some rolling, carrying brightly coloured plastic balls and some stacking 15-18 Duplo type bricks.



I have never seen those before in government provision in Nepal. Here was good individual learning by motivated children. Whilst I watched, played and made notes my colleague gave further support and advice to this committed facilitator, who is still only paid 1,000 rps the equivalent of £8 per month

Then winding through the Newari streets to a dark old wooden building that would make a good historical film set but not a primary school in 2007. Through a low door only just wide enough for me and my bag, up a few steps, through the middle of a very dark room with desks and about 20 children who told me they were grade 4, out on to a narrow walkway? ledge? with a very strong smell of urine and up a steep wooden staircase to a room that was the staff room. Another staircase led up further. We did not go up to see the ECD class which apparently is at the top of this scary building as the facilitator had not turned up that day. For 1000 rupees, I am not surprised! but I am unclear what had happens to the children, whether they were with another class, gone home or not on role at all.

Then to another secondary school which has 2 classes for ECD These are both reasonable sized rooms, recently painted with some carpet and attractive low tables, a high blackboard, and tatty narrow lined notebooks and a pencil are the children's only materials and a teacher was holding one three year old's hand and very firmly establishing that he would copy from the board! Back to the staff room, with tea, ugh, of course, where my colleague reminded staff that last year one of them had attended training. I showed the new curriculum for ECD and talked about young children's learning. I agreed to leave my copy (Nepali script ) and when staff agreed to read it, that I will go back!

Next to another big school with one very large room possibly built as a hall. At one end in a curve facing a blackboard, on high old benches with empty desks sat 24 children. 3 asleep, heads on desks. The teacher was sitting talking to another adult who did not seem to have anything to do with the children. We asked some children their age etc but although some would say their names, few could give their age and certainly not link age to nos of fingers. Off to another long session in the staff room!! This time with lots of interest and questions re my photographs of children learning and locally found low cost materials and of course more tea and also for me some slightly strange coloured but thankfully recently boiled water!

Then a school where training and support, nagging?, had led to a separate room being given to the smallest children. Previously they had sat on the floor next and just watching the grade 1 class. Now they have a room to themselves with mats, 3 shelf units, a few toys. Some good wooden bricks and a metal trunk full of equipment are waiting in the staff room for their use.

Next time one of us goes there, will the equipment be with the children or still in the wrapping?

Then after quick meeting in another school, back to KTM. I made the wrong decision in choosing to sit in the front next to the driver. This seat was not fixed to the base, so made for part of an interesting journey. Luckily this driver was not a boy racer and we rarely went out of 2nd gear. When we got to ring road, all buses stopped. A protest, following an incident earlier in the day. So had to get off, leave my interesting seat and walk a bit before finding that this time the blockade was small and I could get a very full tuk tuk back in to centre.

Friday, back to office, the unlocked one, where I am so spoilt with working computer, clean new desk etc, and very occasional views of Himal,. Here to finish some work from earlier in the week and write up notes from Thursday etc and sort some of my photos. With captions added in Nepali, hopefully thanks to the lovely team in the office, I can then use them for visits like the ones this week and other training. I might be able to manage bartering for shopping in pigeon Nepali but talking children's learning is a no no!

Another great week

I love Nepal,

What will I find to do next summer?

See lots of you in July

Love Sheila

Well it feels like monsoon's arrived

Although the weather boffins assured us last week that monsoon would not arrive until 6 June, it feels like it's here. The temperature in Kathmandu after a couple of steaming days in the mid-30's (apologies to my friends in the south who consider anything less than 40' is cool) has dropped a few degrees and we had some pretty heavy rain last night and today. I'm happier with the cooler weather and the rain doesn't really affect me, I have a short walk to work and only a few puddles to dodge. Poor Sheila on the other hand has a mud bath to contend with at the bus stop she normally goes to plus a bit of a walk at the other end. As you've seen from her earlier posts, she does actually enjoy the bus and tuk-tuk rides – most days.

Work for me is currently extremely varied as I'm supporting several colleagues doing completely different things. Today was another example of doing something I could not possibly have envisaged doing 15 months ago. I was sitting on the floor in a room with 12 gay and transgender colleagues, some of whom are HIV+, trying to explain the objectives of the Care & Support (for people living with HIV & AIDS) project that they work for, and how these are going to be achieved and monitored. I did frequently make the point that I really didn't know what I was talking about, I just tried to explain in plain speak (English I'm afraid - my friend, the Project Director, then translated into Nepali) the jargon the development world does love to use. A particular challenge today was trying to describe what positive living counselling meant – my colleagues wanted to know what they had to teach people. I desperately tried to remember what my mother and friends had told me about counselling not being giving people solutions but helping them find their own (is that right?) and ended up giving some waffle about a counsellor not being a teacher but a friend who can listen. Of course my instinct is to fall into the trap of becoming an overnight expert by looking up some website which tells you in 12 easy steps how to become a qualified counsellor. The trap is that my colleagues are very happy to believe that because I am a bideshi (foreigner), I must be an expert on everything. Those that know me well (as a congenital smart-ass) will be surprised to hear that I resist this badge. I feel that part of our job here is to explode the myth that foreigners have all the answers and saying "I don't know" helps achieve this. So ke garne (what to do)? My guess is that our field staff are natural counsellors, they just don’t know that's what they are doing. I'll have to work out how they are going to discover this for themselves.

Another early night missed with both of us doing e-mails. Still it meant I stayed up long enough to find out that Team New Zealand are 4-0 up in the Louis Vitton Cup. C'mon Kiwis, 1 more win and then you've got your chance for revenge on Alinghi.

Cheers
Roshan

P.S. Went to Chorbar, a nice village just south of the city, on Saturday. Sheila has promised to do a blog with photos about it.

Happy holiday w/e

Having spoken to Josie from a cold, wet and windy Felpham this afternoon, it seems cruel to mention that it is pleasantly hot here – too late I said it. Hope this does not spoil your bank holiday BBQs.

 

Apologies for the lack of postings recently. Been busy and no real news to tell you – the latter never stopped me before you may say. So what can I ramble on about? Various teachers unions have closed down schools and most District Education Offices for the last 10 days. Teachers preventing children getting an education is a sensitive issue in any country and it is particularly bad here because the dispute is heavily politicised. It has not been helped by the Minister of Education referring to the unions as "terrorists" and the police getting stuck into a crowd of demonstrators (some of whom probably were teachers) on Friday, injuring 70 including 12 seriously. Sheila got stuck at her office for a couple of hours on Friday because they had a 2 hour transport strike and today, in protest against the police action, the whole of Kathmandu was more or less shutdown for the whole day – no transport and most shops closed. A couple of friends were due to fly out today and I'm not sure how they managed to get to the airport. Either they managed to get a tourist bus (identified by special licence plates and big signs in the windows saying "Tourist only") which are normally left alone by the pickets or a cycle rickshaw. I'm sure the cycle rickshaw wallahs pray for transport strikes because they do great business and can pretty much name their price.

 

Of course the other thing you'll want to know about is our latest plumbing news. Our toilet has become increasingly temperamental to flush in recent months. This does encourage us to save water by collecting our washing water in bowls/buckets to chuck down the loo. Fine for "short toilets" as we politely describe them here but not always effective for "long toilets" so Sheila asked the landlord if he could fix it. As has been mentioned before, the Nepali language doesn't have many of its own plumbing terms and he quickly confirmed he understood "cistern no flush". The plumber was meant to come this morning but didn't, presumably because of the strike, and turned up this evening just after the power had gone off for our twice weekly 2 hour load shedding. With our landlord holding our rechargeable torch to illuminate things there was much banging and crashing and the bathroom floor was covered in more parts than I knew existed in a cistern before they proudly showed me a seriously knackered washer. Shortly afterwards, now working by candlelight as the torch had run out, it was all back together again and we have a smoothly flushing loo – fantastic! Yet again it reminded me of the benefits of renting, with the landlord on the spot, as opposed to owning. In the UK, I would have been stupid enough to try and mend it myself which would have involved at least a whole day, several smashed knuckles, multiple trips to B&Q to get parts/tools and water everywhere – DIY I do not miss!

 

On the sporting front, I've managed to get Americas Cup results on the internet. I'm rooting for the Kiwis although it is worrying that they let the Spaniards win a couple of races and if the Cup stays in Europe I'm more likely to get to see it next time round. Good on the Spanish for getting to the semis – goes to show what a new team can do. I watched some of the early stages on a DVD my brother-in-law sent and apparently he has recorded hours more for me – Reg, if you read this, no need to send me all of the semis but if you can record the LV final and the AC final that would be wonderful. Saw a couple of interesting rugby results earlier, Wales, who had been accused of sending a 2nd team, nearly beating Australia and South Africa thrashing a very weak England. Need to start seriously investigating where I'm going to be able to watch the Rugby World Cup later this year. If I could have been bothered to find a bar showing it, I could have watched the Monaco Grand Prix this evening. I'm not sure whether its my little TV tuner box or the cable shared between 5 households that is the problem but I can't pick up Star Sports which showed it. Will check the internet when I send this to find out if Lewis Hamilton managed to get his first win. Apart from being an amazing driver he seems like a nice well brought up boy – always thanks his team and doesn't slag off the other drivers. Obviously not trained at the Jensen Button School of Communications.

 

After my opening gloat about the weather, I should mention that I'm just shaking off the last of a stinking cold that I've had for 2 weeks.

 

Cheers

Roshan

 

P.S. Almost forgot, we will be in the UK in the 1st 2 weeks of July so hope to catch up with many of you then. Normal note to the Ktm criminal fraternity – our landlord, his 5 brothers and his fierce dog will be looking after our flat whilst we are away.

All aboard!

After the excitement and unpredictability of tuk tuks and buses to work in Bhaktapur, travelling in UK will never be the same again – here’s a few of my travel tales from the last week to give you an idea of what I mean…

- Enjoying the luxury of a seat but then being joined by 3 large goats and then 3 lorry tyres which had just been retreaded and still had wet rubber

- Getting a seat behind a woman with 2 large live (well, only just for one of them) chickens sitting on her lap

- Standing squashed next to four poles 4" by 4ft that kept falling on me

- Getting caught up in a sack of greens (coriander?) nearly as big as me and that were then later carried dragged off the bus by a girl smaller than Josie!

- Having a bit of a seat (Nepalis insist on getting even a 10th of one's bum perched where poss) surrounded by 5 of the dirtiest small kids you have ever seen and the littlest one scratching her head hard!


- A bus that went off in the totally opposite direction than expected, something that happens regularly here with traffic jams etc. But somehow I still ended up at correct place in the end?!!

- Getting a seat behind the driver and sitting on left side of bus that, unfortunately, ultimately gave me to much of a view of us hitting or being hit by a motorbike right under my window. After much shouting the bike rider jumped on the bus (leaving his bike and bus completely blocking one of the busiest junctions and rush hour…oh well), pushed past me and all other passengers and grabbed the bus driver’s keys and continued to argue. There was a huge crowd in road and petrol everywhere from bike so I decided to walk a bit and look for another bus...


And today my 1st bus had another live chicken, this time loose and just dumped on floor near driver and owner. On the 2nd bus I was surrounded by family who laughed and pointed at me! And half way home the 3rd bus stopped by road block where just all buses had stopped. We were fairly near airport on the junction of the city ringroad so I got off for the long walk home.

I saw some taxis running but all werefull except for 2 who would not use meter and I would not negotiate silly fares. More than half way home from (walk was not too bad as less traffic and so fewer fumes) a bus on a different route came along packed. I joined a string of students and managed to get just up steps and inside and stood on one foot holding bar with 2 very sweaty hands! 500yds further all stopped again and the bus took a u-turn as whole of the next road was also blocked with a sit down protest and red flags. So finally, I got on no. 5 and had the fun on a very bumpy narrow, winding up hill track on the fullest bus I have been on yet until I reached an area I know and pushed, squeezed my way through until I finally fell out the door and walked the last 10 minute home, very hot and sticky!

Apparently there is halla (rumour) that the Department of Education office will be locked again tomorrow, this time by striking private school teachers who are demanding permanent contracts. The trouble for me is that I won’t know until I get there so it could just mean another day of entertaining travel tales rather than actual work!

Each day different - I love Nepal!
Love S