Week 1

So Week 1 is complete and I am still alive!

The first two days I really struggled with jet lag, but pressed through by getting into the routine of being at work all day. ( I would not recommend reading the staff handbook as a means to try and stay awake!) Friday was the Elementary Sports Day... so I took photos of the event. That definitely helped me feel like I was getting into the groove of school life again. I also meet three other alumni of my high school in PNG, all teaching here at KISC! It is a small world.

Over the weekend, I scouted out the neighborhood. I discovered the veggie market, a brand-new, two-story grocery store (God knew I needed a Walmart-like store) and Restaurant Street (with it's 43 choices of "international" foods). I walked the perimeter of the zoo wall( they have tigers and howler monkeys),weaved my way through hordes of shoppers at a bazaar, and visited a Nepal palace. On Sunday, I attended the international church, which meets at the school. I meet up with a former Sunday school teacher and had lunch with her and her family.Then I attended a student recital at the British school. It was very delightful.

On Monday, I was to begin language learning, but ended up attending a leadership meeting off campus. Nothing like jumping in feet first!

I got to my first Nepali class on Tuesday and shot to the head of the class....oh wait I was the only one in the class. (There are actually two of us in the class but Mike had his day to shine on Monday, so I was playing catch-up.) The little studying I had tried to do before coming to Nepal, helped me a bit, at least in impressing the teacher. Plus it helped having listened to all those linguistic conversations around the dinner table. I was able to say things like, " So that tilde always makes it nasal?" or " Oh, this sound is a frictive." I was in rare form! Then to top it all off... while I was out and about yesterday (I got up my courage and went to the veggie market all by myself. I don't think I over paid too much), I tried to impress the natives with my new ability. Of course, asking complete strangers how they are and what their mother's name is can be a bit ackward. But the Nepalis are very forgiving and encouraging if you try.

I think the highlight of my week was walking home and seeing a flock of sheep following their very dignified shepherd down the lane. My house is just off of Sheep Lane. It just made me happy, seeing sheep on Sheep Lane.

Well that is a wrap-up of my first week