He has risen!

The first thought this morning upon waking up, was the song, " Christ the Lord has Risen today!"
 It is Resurrection Sunday and a joyous one at that!
I have to say it is very strange celebrating this memorial in this foreign country. There is nothing to remind you as you walk around town that the biggest event in history is being celebrated this weekend. You truly need to meditate on it yourself, being conscience of all that God has done for us, or else it would just pass by like any other day!.

So may you have a joyous celebration in the Living Hope!! Christ has Risen, Hallelujah!

Botanical Gardens

 On Good Friday, I went up the side of the valley into the hills to Godvarai Botanical Gardens.  There were not a lot of ‘colorful” plants, but it was up and away from the city. The birds  were beautiful to listen to and it was a joy to watch all the butterflies flit about.

Here are some photos from the trip:

a dainty butterfly

First Day of Spring Break!

I am enjoying the first day of Spring Break!  Ahhh!

The Sound of Crunching

In the still of the morning as you walk into  classroom... you hear the sound of crunching. Crunching on wood actually. And if you look around at the chairs that are pushed in under the desks, you might just find evidence of that crunching in a pile of sawdust.
Yes, now that it has warmed up again, the termites are busy feasting at the desks of education. The students complain that the crunching is very loud....I tell them...don't lay your head on the desk then. But each morning, after recess, and when they return from lunch, we have to get the trash can and sweep another pile of dust into the bin.
Oh, the adventure!

Seder Dinner

Rabbi 

The Hall 

Matzot and Bitter Herbs

Monday was Passover and I went along with some friends to the Seder . It was a culturally-stimulating event! There were about 350 people there…mostly Israelis... security was tight and it was all in Hebrew. I did scrounge an English/Hebrew copy of a Haggadah, which was helpful in allowing me to follow the narrative. 

Next Year in....? 

The most interesting thing about the whole celebration was that in the past, the Seders I have attended are all solemn, quiet affairs, but this one was loud and quite jolly! The Rabbi stood on a podium in the middle of the banquet hall and conducted the Seder. He had a table of about five burly guys right at the foot of the podium that if he pointed to them, they would all yell out in Hebrew, “Be Quiet!” but nobody really listened to them. He didn't use a mic as the power kept going out.   There was lots of singing and even a raffle during the actual dinner.  After about four hours of festivities (and we still had not found and eaten the Afikoman), and all the matzot I could eat, I said, “Next year in Jerusalem” and took my leave. 

Holi Festival

The neighborhood has been alive with the sounds of kids screaming, dogs barking, and water balloons bursting. As I sit here and write this blog,  I have a front row seat, behind glass panes, of the water and color powder wars being raged. It is the Hindu festival of Holi, a time to celebrate color and spring. 

A group of high schoolers from the school just passed in front of my house on the way to do battle with a group of teachers who had gathered together further up the road. They were attacked by a group from the British school, who are playing across the street from my house. Now I can hear the din of the teachers versus the students battle at my house.  Just glad I decided not to take part.

The neighbor kids have been battling and attacking passer-byers all morning. I went out on the porch to see their tactical battle formations, but made sure that I was unobserved. I know I would be a target if they saw me. 

So I am locked up tight in my castle today with plenty of provisions and a couple books to read. I am quite content to watch all the action from my high-perched, living-room window and stay nice and dry. 

One More Week and Counting

Well it is one more week ...actually four days...actually with the Tuesday Hindu holiday.. it is really three days until Spring break!  I am so happy!!!!!  I am real tired and ready for a break. But we have Monday... then Tuesday is a Hindu holiday -Holi- I am staying inside as I do not want to get wet or splattered in paint.
Then on Wednesday we have school as normal... or as normal as school can run before a holiday. Thursday is our whole school Easter program.  I am in charge of that... Should be interesting.
Then I can collapse for a couple days!

 If you come looking for me... I'll be the heap of purple in the corner....

Being Innovative

The other day, the G1s were headed out on a field trip, but as they were getting ready to go to the bus, which was at the end of our long drive, the heavens opened to some much needed rain! It really poured! 

With no umbrellas, the staff dashed around looking for options. They finally found a long, plastic table cloth and gathering all the children in tight formation with an adult in the front and one in the back, they headed down the drive in giggles!

Some many events..

Busy week... but all good!  Had friends come for a week, it was so good to hang out with them.  Then on Friday... the Primary had it's school picnic.. it was a spy theme and the kids really seemed to enjoy it. Fortunately it had rained the day before, so the temperature was a bit cooler, but we still put up the tent.  They had to race around, honing their spy skills while collecting clues. The problem was that someone had stolen the house flags!   The kids came back happy, the teachers came back wiped out! So glad it is the weekend!  Oh wait...the high school has their turn tomorrow! It is an in-house basketball tournament! Rah! Rah! Rah!
I'll try and put some photos on of each event..

City Touring with Friends

Walking in the square

In KTM.

Looking at magnets

Should I really buy that?

At the coffee shop

At the Durbar.

Two very good friends flew in yesterday and today we took a tour of some of the sites of the city.  Here are a couple photos for the tour.

typical

At the Stupa

High Tea in the Hall

With Style

 Large Hats

Jams and Cream

Setting Up

Tea selection

On Friday, the staff had it quarterly staff social and the theme was a British Tea. Many of the ladies made and wore hats. The men donned ties and ascots. We had scones, jam and cream, cucunber sandwiches, and an assortment of teas. The student council serves and one of the students serenaded the gathering with his wonderful piano playing.  It was a grand time!

Aha, a cup of tea!

A Cow Tail

Yesterday I was hit by a cow tail! I was just walking down the road and this cow swished me with it\s tail. I was quite shocked. As I approached, this bovine was busy fighting with a parked motorcycle. It was butting the handle bars of the bike with it's own horns and I thought it was so attentive on that, that me having to scoot around it, because it was standing in the middle of the road, could get by with no detection...but oh no! As I passed it walloped me with it's tail!  But no fear, I was not really harmed, though I am sure I heard the cow giggle.
And that's my cow's tale. MOOOO!

What?...Again?

So today across Nepal, there were major exams for the high schoolers as school is about to finish for the year and everyone needs to know what they are doing next year.  So all morning the students tested... then at 11 AM when the testing was done... a number of groups in the political arena called a ...you guessed it.. a Bandha! To start at 1PM and go until 5. Why? Well the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was sworn in as the interm Chairman of the Prime Minister's Office. The elections will be held in June.
So, we in the meantime, had parents scrambling to pick up their kids before the roads closed.  And  now it has gotten quiet at school. I was thinking of going home for a nap!

Another Bandha?

Yes but it is a short one.  only from 6 to 10 this morning and only in KTM. I think this time it is the public transportation folks.  Oh well! Glad I having nowhere to go today.

In other news.... Yesterday I led chapel. I really enjoy doing it, but was a bit disappointed in the quality of my video. I did a newcast about a man named Jesus bar Joseph roaming the countryside performing miracles.  As the reporter, I talked to Mrs. Jarius, a man giving away free bread, and Zaccheus, who was up in a tree again looking for people to give away money to, to find the real facts about who this man was.  But it was hard to hear, so next time I am hiring a sound man!  I think the message got across, and really that is all the matters.  May He be glorified!

Shivaratri

Today is a Nepali festival day, Shivaratri or Shiva's Birthday. We were warned about this festival, because it is similiar to Halloween or Guy Fox day.  What happens is that during the day, groups of children take rope or string and hold them across the road to stop cars, bikes, and pedestresians and demand money from them to pass.  As I was approaching one group of kids, they let five Nepalis pass free of charge, but when I got close they moved in front of me, to force me to pay. So I started to cross the road to go around and  they also moved to put the rope in front of me, and one kid said, "Give me money."  I grabbed the rope and ducked under it, and just kept going.  
At the next stop, I continued to walk forward and the kid pulled it tight, causing the rope which was tied to a pole on the other side to break and I was able to walk over it.  At the two other stops I encountered,  a car had pulled up and was haggling with the kids, so I just scooted by quickly. 
I was ready, if I was stopped to say, " I am a Christian, and do not worship Shiva, so  I have no money for you," in Nepali, but I did not have to use it. 

But the verse " Train up a child..." seemed to apply today, because putting a barricade across the road and extorting money is a very common and frequent practice throughout the whole country.

Tonight is the big birthday party at Shiva's main temple. The government legalizes marijuana for the day, as it is one of the main enjoyments of Shiva, and all the sadhus, holy men, gather at Pashupatinath  for ritual bathing, hash smoking, and celebrating, all at the government's expense.

The waste of it all. 

Trekking - My style!

During our school break last week, I went with a friend for a hike around the valley. There is a narrow gorge that I wanted to find and get a photo of because there is a legend about the area and I love legends!

So we set off and crossed the Ring Road to the outer parts of the city.  We walked for a bit along the road and then took a turn off that headed out towards the river.  We had to scramble across dried up rice paddies, jump a couple streams, and go around some villages, but we reached the river. Success! We then climbed up one of the cliff sides to snap some photos and plot our adventure home from a high vantage point.


On the way back to civilization, we saw cows, goats, ducks, water buffalo, and a sudden influx of curious villagers. We tried out our Nepali a couple times and learned the word for 'cow' and 'water buffalo' from a local herder. I found out later we were walking in an area called, Place of the Water Buffalo!

Don't fall in!

Celebration

On the way home, we came across another river and not wanting to wade through the water (for fear of losing toes), we hunted for a way to get across further upstream. A helpful young man on a bicycle, who kept riding away and then coming back to check on our progress, plus a very friendly elder man, who greeted us with a exuberant "HELLO!" before we could get our  "Namaste" said, pointed out the way. We finally found stepping stones and successfully made it across. A steep push uphill through narrow streets and we were back to the Ring Road!  It was a great hike and we ended with a celebration of lunch at our favorite Korean place!

Now that is trekking - my style!

Week Wrap Up

Inspite of this being a short week, it felt extremely long!  I have spent a lot of it in meetings…my favorite activity in any job...NOT! But it has been good to be doing my job…finally. At the moment there seems to be a lot of it…but I am trying to stay on top of the details and be proactive. 

How to keep the street light from falling down.

In other news I have uploaded some photos to show what has been happening in the surrounding hood. ROAD CONSTRUCTION GALORE! A couple blogs ago, I talked about a bulldozer digging a huge hole across the main intersection of my street. Well, for the last three days, work has been at a standstill as we have experienced the ever-effective national strikes.  So the gaping hole has lasted a lot longer than normal and watching the traffic is quite humorous. There are no warning signs at the previous intersection to tell folks that the road is closed and even if there were… no one would think it was a reality.  There are signs about 50 meters prior to the hole, but everyone drives around them and gets right up to the edge of the hole, sits there for a moment (maybe they are wondering if they can jump it!?!) and then has to turn around. Today, it was the school buses. I saw two buses head up the road and then have to turn around and head back.  But did they tell the other school buses? Nope! So as I continued walking, another bus drove up to the edge of the hole. I had watched the first two buses do the whole routine and as they turned at the previous intersection, this new bus turns the corner and heads down into the construction. It is so funny to watch and yet so pitiful too. I know that about two days ago, they had signs at the previous intersection, but no one was paying attention to them so they have been removed. Oh well, such is life! 

In my yard, the tulips are blooming. It is warming up and short sleeves are coming out of the closets.  Today, I had to kill one of those deadly catipillars that had found it's way into the house. So I know spring has come.  We got a little rain last night, so that has helped my tulips bloom. Wonder if we will get an hour of extra power tonight.  Hope so, cause it is the little things in life here that bring joy to the soul. 

Not much planned for the weekend. I have my best chunks of power on Saturday and Sunday, so will try get some wash done and charge all the gadgets. Sounds like an exciting weekend!

Pray Them In!

Last week, I started praying for our need of four middle school teachers, three primary teachers, one middle school principal, and one curriculum director  for our school. I cut out little paper people and wrote the positions needed, then hung them on my wall, so that I could remind myself to pray for these positions specifically. 

Recruiting staff is hard in an international school because most of it is done remotely, it takes a while for them to be able to get here, and getting people to commit to being long term staff is rare.  But I know it can be done! I mean it is only nine teachers,right?! A breeze in the hands of the Almighty!

So please join me in prayer for those who God is calling to be a part of the work here, that they will answer the call and be able to get here in His timing. 

Major Bandha

Today there is a nationwide strike. This is the fourth day of strikes this week.. but this one is a major event. So please pray.  It is reported that tomorrow we are to have another one.

Journey

Yesterday, I headed to the British Embassy for some British dinner, only to find that they are closed on Mondays. We  had been on a mid-term break and through that a jaunt into town would be fun change of pace.
So with no ideas of what to do, we started walking. Then I remembered a little Israeli place in the tourist part of town. I had not been there, but I heard the humus was excellent. So we decided to head there and make it a progress dining...humus at the Israeli cafe, then chicken and salad in another place and finally dessert/ coffee at the Java. However upon arriving at the cafe and perviewing the menu, we decided just to eat there! It was delicious!  I had the chicken schwarma, I think that is what it was called, and mint tea! Heavenly!
We decided it was our new best eatery in our fair city!
After that we did go to Java and have coffee.
It was a lovely day..
But now we are back to work at a staff development day.

Spending time with the Didis

The house that I am staying in as two didis. A didi is actually the word for 'older sister', but is also used from the ladies who come and clean, cook, and wash clothes for you. I happen to have  two didis and a gardener to look after. I actually do my own washing and I really don't like to leave dirty dishes in the sink, but I am loving the idea of having meals prepared for me. And both of these ladies love to cook.  I have to keep inviting others over to help me eat it all. I really don't decide on the menu... they just arrive and say, " How about this tonight?" I say, "Sure" and end up eating that meal for three days in a row.  A lot of times, I pack it up for lunches, which is a huge blessing.
 Well anyways... having these two ladies around has allowed me to improve my Nepali quite a bit. Speaking and listening!  So that has been a bonus.
Today I sat down for a cup of tea with the lady who came and we had a talk about families with her.  I was surprised want I remember from language class. I have a whiteboard hanging in my dining room (go figure) and so when I can't think of a word, I draw a picture ( I know, I know, I am such a teacher). But it has been good to connect with these ladies. On Thursday, I got to see the other lady for about 20 minuted. ( I rarely see her, but since I am on holidays , I was home).
I still have not seen the gardener...talked to him on the phone.. he wanted to make sure I left money to pay the bills. The most I know about him, is that I always have to have milk for him, as he must have milk with his tea.
So that is news from my estate.
Boy does that sound strange.

Walking into Church Today

So as I rounded the corner and approached the main intersection between home and school, I saw a group of men sitting in front of a huge pile of freshly dug dirt and a silent bulldozer parked next to a large hole that stretched across the whole road. I thought, 'Oh no! Will I have to jump?" ( which I was not keen on doing as yesterday while walking out of a store, I misstepped and twisted my ankle...same one as last time... the store owners and workers all rushed out to assist me... which was kind of them!)
Back to my today story....so as I approached this mess, I could feel the angst rising. I really did not want to tackle this obstacle as I was carrying three very heavy bags and a purse.
Fortunately upon arriving at the bulldozer and the group of concerned citizens ( who always gather to watch construction work)  I was able to get around the back end of the bulldozer...it had not dug a hole there yet!... and safely weave my way around all the irritated taxi drivers and motorcyclists who would have to find another way around the construction.
 I love this country! There is an adventure everyday.

What is That?

The other day, just as mom and dad were getting ready to leave, one of my Nepali friends stopped by to give us a treat. She had made some of these delicacies for her husband's birthday and had promised me a couple to try.
I was able to share them with my mom and dad as a farewell treat. I am not sure what they are called.. but this is a photo of them after dad nuked them because we were told they tasted better warm. However in the nuking most of the insides ran out. But we all had a taste.

Funny Sight

On Wednesday, while riding in a car through the streets of KTM, on the way to a champion basketball game that our boys' team won the first place trophy at, I saw the most interesting of sights. There was a 22- passenger bus pulled off on the side of the road and about eight guys were trying to lift a mo-ped up onto the roof of the bus. They had it about half way up the back of the bus...but there was no one on the roof of the bus to help in hauling the bike up the rest of the way. The front tire was turned sideways and not cooperating.
Of the eight guys working on this project, only about three of them were actually doing any of the grunt work. The rest of them were pointing and calling out suggestions.  It was my humorous sight for the day!