C.U.2

I'm still ticking over in Kathmandu. On Monday afternoon I have to give the first of my English lessons at NMV, followed by more on Wednesday and Friday. I'm reasonably happy with my plans for these but it is just slightly daunting that my students are more or less all teachers (from NMV and two other schools) and high amongst their stated aims in attending is "to learn some new teaching methods". What do I know?
After her Annapurna trek, Jan has been back in Kathmandu these last few days, but she left today for South Africa. Thank you for your company and your teaching advice Jan , and best of luck on the next leg of your world tour!
Chuda came by the hotel today with his family (Purna and sons Abbal and Aviral). We discussed the computer etc. options for the school and will be at the shops again tomorrow looking at refining the shortlist. Very many thanks again to all those who have generously contributed. We have exceeded my initial expectations on this. I have to confess that it will always seem that there is more to be done, but I guess that is just the nature of these things.
The high altitude cricket expedition appears to have been a big success, after the early bureaucratic difficulties, and has received some front page coverage in the local newspapers. An excellent bit of (English) eccentricity, which has raised a lot of money for some good causes as well as achieving what will have to be a very long-lasting record!
My plans for moving on to Tibet are beginning to fall into place, despite a few obstacles. More on this next time I think.
Today's picture is of Abbal and Aviral with their new C.U.J. hats. I knew they would come in handy sometime!

C.U. Aamod

Nepal schools are still officially on New Year holiday at the moment. This is equivalent to our (UK) summer holidays - a longish break which marks the start of the new school session. But the Sauraha women's school continues - with smaller numbers. On my visit yesterday I found 3 Irish girls teaching English in separate groups, including a "nursery" class for children that some of the women had brought along. As you can see, everyone sits on the ground underneath a grass-roofed shelter. The whole thing has been built by local volunteers on land which has been provided by a local farmer. The improvement plans are to make a proper mud floor and maybe to build a wall or two. The teachers are mostly local volunteers with a few foreigners at local schools giving up some more of their time (like yesterday). The main subjects are about basic Nepali literacy and mathematics, but also on matters of nature conservation - something which is crucial to Chitwan.

I don't really know yet what the best way for me to help them would be, and I haven't made any promises. Besides, I don't feel it would be right to give them a portion of the funds which I have collected specifically for the NMV in Kathmandu. No doubt I'll be giving it some thought.

I did finally find a good use, though, for one of the C.U.Jimmy hats and a red nose which I had stashed in my luggage. Young Aamod was pleased with the both and has been entertaining his neighbours even more than usual. My reward was dinner (dal bhat of course) with Ishwori and his family yesterday evening. Ishwori and Aamod came to see me off at the bus park this morning (for my return to Kathmandu). Aamod was still wearing the hat and raising lots of smiles!

For once the bus journey went more or less to schedule, and I'm back at the Encounter in Kathmandu. Over the next few days I expect to be trying to finalise how to use the funds in NMV's best interests - as well as developing some better plans for the English lessons I'm due to give next week.

Roasting hot again

I'm now in Sauraha, after a fairly trouble-free bus journey (and after some fine early morning mountain views in Pokhara at last).

It is hot, hot, hot here, and apparently hasn't rained for 7 months. So anything that moves raises a cloud of dust. Most of the traffic here is of the elephant variety, and I kept bumping in to this speccy version. and I couldn't resist another sunset picture.

I spent some time earlier with Ishwori and his family (Radha and Aamod), experiencing their great hospitality and learning a bit about the school effort here. That's them in the photo, with some of their bees! Saturday is the day of rest; so I will return tomorrow to see the school in operation. I already know, though, that it is about as basic as you could possibly imagine!

The internet connection is also pretty basic and I will leave it there for now.

Suitably chilled

I've been in Pokhara for a week now and feel ready to move on - suitably relaxed and feeling better in the healthier air. It is hot here though and my only disappointment has been the absence of mountain views - continually obscured in heat haze and cloud. We have had some rain in the late afternoons these last couple of days, but unfortunately not enough to clear the atmosphere much. I walked up to the Stupa on the other side of the (Fewa) lake yesterday - a good excursion but my photo shows just heat haze and cloud where the Annapurna range should be! I suppose that the best time for views will be around October, after the monsoon, but I can't wait that long.

This evening I managed a reunion with Tika-Ram (ABC guide last year), just back from an Annapurna Circuit trek which was cut short when one of his clients had to be helicoptered off from Thorung Pedi because of altitude sickness. Tomorrow morning I'm leaving for Sauraha, on the edge of the Chitwan national wildlife park, and will stay a couple of days before heading back to Kathmandu. Chuda tells me that his brother Ishwori has established a very basic school for women there and I'm keen to have a look at this.

A very special thank you to all who have donated to the cause. I am acknowledging these with personal notes rather than here. I'll tell you about how we are doing another time, but there is always room for more!

Finally, I had a call from Dharma, now well on the way with the cricketers along the Everest trail after the whole group were initially refused entrance to the Sagarmatha National Park for two days. They have spent a day teaching cricket at Khumjung school (an excellent way to acclimatise I think) and are now around Tengboche. Apparently they intend to donate all their equipment to the school on the way down. Good stuff!

Happy New Year - again.

Today is the first day of 2066 in the Nepali calendar. There is a relaxed holiday atmosphere here in Pokhara, and I'm enjoying that. I think I've shaken off the lurgy and I've been spending the last few days doing a lot of reading and strolling - occasionally eating with some of the folks from the bus journey. Yesterday I think it is fair to say I found one of the best garlic soups so far, at the (very unstudenty) Student Restaurant. I've moved hotel - to the (also inappropriately named) Holy Lodge, a peaceful place which is also a bit nearer Lakeside.

The weather is hot and hazy, which is a shame because it obscures the mountain views. I'm keen to take some walks in the hills around Pokhara, but would like some clearer conditions. I guess we were lucky on that first day here, after some rain had cleared the air for a while. It is still a great place to chill. Here's a picture of yesterday's last sunset of 2065 over the lake.

Back in Pokhara

Well I made it to Pokhara yesterday, but only after a very tortuous journey. The bus trip was scheduled to take 7 hours (which is bad enough) but ended up taking 14! There were several police road blocks on the way, where we were held up (with everyone else) for indefinite periods which added up to the extra 7 hours. The reason given is that this is all because there were some by-elections being held in certain parts of the country, including Pokhara. I have no idea what the connection is. Maybe it was because of some fear of disruption. The papers today are content to say that the elections took place without trouble!
Thank you to several of my co-passengers (especially Alex, Wim, Megumi) for helping to lighten the experience.
It added up to a long tiring day, but Wim, Megumi and myself found a perfectly acceptable guest house (in Riverside rather than Lakeside for a change) near where we were dropped off and finished the day off with a good meal and a couple of beers. We met Gerry at the restaurant, and he deserves a mention. He is from East London, and has been in Pokhara for the last 15 years. His mother is from Gourock, and I think the Scottish roots show through pretty well in his inclination for the Raxi (strong rice wine).
It is good to be back in this place, which I find a lot more relaxing than Kathmandu. The air is good and we can see the mountains (Annapurna range) from here today. The papers also report that the Everest cricket teams have arrived in the country yesterday. You saw it here first!

New Year break

Yesterday Chuda and I were all over Kathmandu getting alternative quotes for the equipment the school wants - and I now have a better understanding of the way the computer market here works, as well as some slightly better offers. It is frustrating that hardware seems to be a bit more expensive than at home - but I'm convinced that any argument for doing our own importation is outweighed by the benefits of local support and software pricing. I won't say any more about this for now, except that I'm reconciled to the position that we might have to drop the projector for the time being. These are a bit more expensive than I had imagined!

I've decided to head for Pokhara for a few days and will travel there by bus tomorrow - largely for a break from the pretty unhealthy Kathmandu atmosphere. As it happens I'll be there for the Nepali New Year celebrations on the 13th/14th for the second year in a row.

Earlier today I was at the British Council for a while - still trying to come up with some material which will be useful in my teaching efforts. I can tell you that it is helping me understand even better just how much of a constraint it is to be faced with a school and classrooms with zero facilities other than a small whiteboard!

Today's picture is of Bimita and Bipika - two very charming young ladies who live near my hotel and who invited me to meet their mother and father - and several other relatives. Their mother Tara and her sister were both very interested to hear about the work of the NMV and will enquire about enrolling. Tonight I'm invited for dahl bhat with the family.

Can we do any more?

I joined the British Council learning centre this morning and spent a bit of time there studying some the materials which might help me deliver a few English lessons at NMV.

Chuda called to tell me he had some quotations for the sorts of equipment they need at the school; so I went off to meet him to review these. The bottom line is that I'm a little disappointed that it looks like something will have to give. Their main requirements are a decent laptop, multifunction printer and screen projector. With the electricity supply as unpredictable as it is here a UPS ( uninterruptible power supply) is also an essential. A simple digital camera would also be useful.

Today's quotes add up to the best part of 1200 pounds - without the camera. And as of today the bank account stands at 955 pounds! Thank you so much to all those who have contributed. I just need to hang on and see if my pleas will deliver a bit more! I'd really like to get beyond the 1200 figure sufficiently to fund an internet connection for at least a year, as well as some supplies.

In the meantime we are heading for the two Dell distributors in the country tomorrow to see if they can do any better.

In the evening I met up with Gyan, our Annapurna guide from last year. He arrived on his new motorbike (see pic) and we enjoyed a fine reunion meal at Kilroy's - another Kathmandu institution. Like a lot of young Nepalis his big ambition is, rather sadly, to leave the country. But he is making a go of things and now runs a small shop with 2 of his 7 brothers.

Not enough garlic soup!

It is a week since I came back from the hills and I have been suffering from some kind of lurgy - which I probably caught up there somewhere. Every other trekker seemed to be suffering from something or other - and I guess I didn't have quite enough of the garlic soup.
I've had a few meetings with some of the WDT trustees. While I hope (with your help) to be able to assist them in a fairly significant way, I need to be cautious with expectations since I don't know exactly what funds I will have available. I can't look at the bank account just now but I know it has grown some more and I'm grateful for your support.
I seem to have committed myself to giving some English lessons at the school, mainly for the teachers, and I'm keen to do a decent job of this. Jan has been a huge help in discussing it and in giving me some materials from her memory stick. I've discovered that the British Council has a decent library of materials, and I'll be along there tomorrow to do some work on this.
Jan is off for an Annapurna trek, for which of course I wish her well. I spent Saturday evening with Dharma and his family - a very pleasant reunion, and dahl bhat of course. Last night and tonight I've been to the movie shows at he the Kathmandu Guest House. Not very great movies, but a good place to meet some other temporary residents with common interests. Gorgon is from France and is part of an international expedition about to head for a summit trip to Cho Oyu (no. 6 peak in the world) from the Tibetan side. The border has apparently just reopened. It will be some weeks before I plan to move that way, but he has alerted me to the fact that I need to start doing some serious planning!

PS. I've added a couple of pictures. The Garden of Dreams at night, and myself + Jan at the Encounter.

Namuna Mahila Vidyalaya: Help please!

Yesterday afternoon I went along to the NMV school to attend a meeting with the principal and some of the trustees. I had managed to persuade Jan D (also at the Encounter) to come along too. She is coming to the end of a year-long world tour, and has a background in teaching English and IT to adults. Her presence was extremely useful, but she will be continuing her travels elsewhere very soon.
The trustees are aiming to get more support from local people in the Nayabazar area, and this subject was part of the agenda. The principal gave a very heart-felt plea that the school is in a fragile position. She and the teachers are effectively volunteers working for something like 3000 rupees/month. That's about 27 pounds and is a pittance even in Nepal. Classrooms are bare and staff morale is a serious issue.
I informed them that I have managed to raise some money for the school, and that the donors want to ensure that it is spent in the most effective way. Current thinking is that this will likely be for some IT equipment - but we have requested that the teachers are canvassed for their individual views (specifically excluding salary supplements).
I can reveal here that I am very pleased with the sum achieved so far in what has been a very short space of time - a total now of 855 pounds. But I'd like to take this further - ideally by another 50%. They need e.g. books, basic science equipment, and some funding for an internet subscription.
I know that I said I didn't want to make this a fund-raising blog, but I'm going to make an exception now for a week or so and invite any of my readers who have some sympathy with the cause to make a small donation. If you feel you can give something, however small, it will be genuinely appreciated and put to good use.

The UK (Nationwide) bank account is sort code 07-02-46 and account code 04057662 - and I again promise that 100% will go to the school.

On another front, the school want me to perform a short series of English classes. Maybe we will look on this as a pilot for further volunteering opportunities in case anyone out there is interested.

The first photo is of the meeting attendees (minus Jan, who was acting as photographer). The other shows the biggest and best of the classrooms.