Spelling Bee

Eleven in the morning on half-day Saturday, Pema Ts'al held its annual spelling bee in the assembly area.  The audience had the distinct look of a family.

Both English and Nepali were being tested. Nepali would have to be written due to the nature of the language.

The three top students competed by selecting a number out of a jar which referenced the word on the official list with the same number.
 

 

 

Some of the Shedra monks were assisting and some were looking on from above.

 

 

 Lama Kunga-la presented each winner with a Kata scarf, a package of biscuits and a white envelope - with a small cash prize.

Katas are scarves in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. They are given to one who is leaving on a trip, draped around the neck as an honor to someone, or used to enclose an offering. Traditional katas have a subtle pattern of Tibetan symbols. 

BBD - Big Basketball Day

The basketball game that was postponed to let the paint dry on the backboard stands finally occurred. The staff and volunteers are in orange and the monks are in red.

Of course like all great events we have our dignitaries. 

 

Monastic Himalayan Basketball

And the Final Score

On a final note, there have been many firsts for me in the Himalayas, (I shall not dredge them up), but this one was beautific: this was the first basketball game that I had ever attended in my life, or viewed on a tv where every basket was applauded by the sidelines.

Post Gurkha

Having had a chat and photo op with the museum director, we headed out to Mandripul, for me to stock up on supplies and for us to eat non monastery food.  (The Maoists keep threatening a multi-day strike, like several weeks during which time no vehicular movement would be allowed) So onto another bus and a gathering of items at Salesway. They had some cup of soup, Cream of Leek & Potato, which turned out to be quite a delight at this juncture. More peanut butter and pistachio nuts for protein, batteries for the flashlight, and soy sauce for the rice rounded out my purchases. Passing on the street I was able to purchase some cardamom and fresh cinnamon for tea.

 We ended up at my favorite restaurant in Mandripul, Almond's. Located on the third floor at a busy intersection their house speciality butter chicken masala is delicious. The boys decided on cheese pizzas as they retain their vegetarian status outside the monastery. For dessert it was ND's ice cream.

It was an incredibly wonderful day. Now just a bus ride, a taxi ride and a chug up the hill to be home.

Losel asked the waiter to take a picture and then offered me his lap. The waiter happily complied.

Gurhka Museum

 It was an utterly grand day and off to the Gurkha Museum went Class 7 and myself. I had had enough of sharing my room with other creatures, so for two classes last week Class Seven swept my walls and ceilings of cocoons and webs, washed my floors and windows, removed the cockroaches from under the linoleum and hopefully frightened the little things and large things away with the smell of Lysol. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I found Lysol in town at Saleways, the local and only one of two in town, food store. Local equates to two bus rides away.

The boys were very excited and so was I. So permission granted from Lama Kunga, down the hill we trotted to begin to walk to Harichowk, hoping a bus would come along with at least one seat inside, as I do not ride on the top of the bus. This group of 4 boys do not get off the ranch much, they are ages 15-17; Kunga Lekshey, Kunga Choepel, Jamyang Sangpo and Kunga Losel. They are kind, polite, and dedicated to each other; truly brother monks.

And so we arrived. The museum was 3 full floors of wonderful exhibits detailing the Gurkha contribution to the world. Some moments were unforgettable.

No Tickee, No Laundry

Ergo, now power, no bloggee.
This has been the worst episode of load shedding with no power, no power and more no power. Last night I almost ate a cup of noodles dry. There was no hot water for tea, coffee or the invaluable best friend, the hot water bottle.
And on top of that Dariah, the volunteeer from Switzerland went into a screaming frenzy over a 2 foot spider. Manual came to the rescue and after the hullabaloo had died down, the only thing left to worry about was to remember to put a towel at the bottom of our doors so the mice would not come in at night and wake us up with their scrambling. Finding them with a flashlight and reasoning with them to leave the room so one may keep the Buddhist precepts takes patience and virtue.

                   

The ever dutiful lesson planning and the correcting of
22 essays from the Shedra college class.

Anticipation

Today was very exciting as the monastery finally got some basketball backboards. The transporting, erecting, painting, topped with the anticipation of a game of volunteers/teachers VS the Shedra college students is causing much excitment.

I informed my jr high students that I have a dilemma, because I am rooting for the Shedra class, they are my students, and I adore them all. I taught them the word "ostracize" by projecting what punishment the staff may meet out to me for abandoning them. However, teaching in context is a guaranteed win.

Load Shedding

The country has some interesting experience to share from its existing 12 hours power cuts. Nepal Police says that incidences of robbery & petty crimes go up during the dark hours. Hospitals refuse accepting emergency & injury cases due to their inability to operate such vital machines like MRI & CT. Nepali doctors are adding laurels to their professionalism and ask for extra privilege & protection for their success in “Candlelight Operations”. Nepal’s radio & TV networks have officially announced a five hours’ closure of “informing the public”. The dailies publish students’ complaint letters lamenting how their exam & career are affected by continual load-shedding.

http://drdivas.wordpress.com/2009/01/11/sixteen-hour-load-shedding-in-nepal-how-the-hell-can-one-run-the-government/

I wrote about this topic before arriving in Nepal, now I have lived it. The current weekly schedule for our area is about like this:

Hours of No Power

Sunday   5:00 -10:00 AM   5:45-9:45 PM

Monday   5:30-10:30 AM    2:00-6:00 PM

Tuesday  8:00-1:00 A/P     4:00-8:00 PM

Wed       9:00-2:00 A/P     5:00-9:00PM

Thursday 10:00-3:00 A/P   6:00-10:00PM

Friday       4:00-9:00AM     1:00-5:00 PM

Sat           4:00-8:00AM     1:00-6:00 PM

Next week will be an entirely different schedule. Of course it is not the same for all areas. Thus, you have to know the schedule for the area you are going to if you happen to need electricity for business purposes.

Talking to a friend tonight back in the states, they were commenting on how desperate we get when we are without power for a few hours. I responded with the worst case scenario which is no power, freezing cold, and total darkness. Yes, I do have candles. Yes, I do have flashlights. They only go so far. Reading under the blankets with a flashlight in a frigid bedroom...sucks.

On the other hand to all those electricians reading this blog, check these photos out and I am sure you will be amazed that connectivity is retained at all, ever.

Well the good news is, looking at tomorrow's schedule, I won't have to boil water in the middle of the night for coffee tomorrow 'cause the power will be on 'till 9:00 AM. Little things mean so much when you're far from home.