New home

The dheraa is becoming more like a home. Last weekend was spent with BANG! (great at removing dirt and skin) making one bathroom acceptable. The living space has high ceilings and marble floors, with 3 ceiling fans. There is a good kitchen with marble worksurfaces – wonderful for rolling out rotis. We have an efficient gas burner and a small electric oven. There are frequent power cuts. The bright blue Whirlpool fridge with summer, winter and monsoon settings acts as a good store against ants as well as keeping things cold. The Indian shop nearby provides most of our needs, although 2kg bags seem to be the smallest of most staples. Its good to cook our own food, after eating out for 10 weeks. David’s banana ice cream is wonderful! Most of the washing goes to the dobi manche on the corner, and comes back clean and pressed on the back of my bicycle in the evening.
We have collected several new pieces of furniture in rickshaws and on handcarts. A sofa and two chairs will come from Dinesh’s cottage industry project next week. We have just put up the posters that we bought in Kathmandu – my favourite is a print of painted goats of the Terai – especially as there were painted goats in the garden today – white goats with fuchsia pink stripes for identification.
There are mango, banana, papaya and lychees in the garden; the mango tree attracts brilliant yellow birds, while mongooses play in the bushes – a good protection against the snakes that are supposed to appear with the rains!
There is also abundant wildlife inside the house – a paradise for entomologists, and a plentiful food supply for the delightful geckoes that chirrup loudly and wag their tails. Fireflies twinkle helpfully when the power goes.

I have found a back way to cycle to work, and pass a mixture a large houses interspersed with tiny mud and wood dwellings with cows, buffalo, goats and chickens. Many have small vegetable stalls in front selling onions, potatoes, aubergines, beans and squash. The equivalent of farm shops.

A varied week at work. I have spent 3 days observing trainee teachers in a primary school a 10 minute bike ride away from the city. I’ve enjoyed being in school and have met lively students – mostly girls, as all parents who can afford to send their sons to private school. There are classrooms, desks and books, and small classes. The situation in rural areas is much worse, with classes in excess of 100. Teachers and teaching were haphazard. I watched 4 lessons on Thursday morning, which lasted as long as the teacher wanted (not long). In the afternoon they decided to have ‘physical activity’, chasing around the field in excessive heat, avoiding the fresh cowpats. When the children were tired, they went home. Frequent bandhs do not help. None of the trainees turned up on Friday, and only 2 of the ‘regular’ teachers came. I joined Durga for a day at a UNICEF funded primary training course, with some excellent trainers from a Kathmandu based NGO that is doing innovative work in remote areas. There are good structures in place, a sound curriculum, good training, but no evidence of implementation, and no support for trainees in school. Hmm. Watching, listening and planning intervention…… Work seems to be starting to move for David at last, having spent Friday with the Resource Person responsible for the schools in which he will work. He will visit ‘his’ schools next week. I am expected to be a computer expert. We have bought a new laptop and had the internet installed; as I was leaving on Friday in an attempt to beat the storm brewing, Rudra called ‘tapaai malaai laptop chalaaunu deknos!’ from the window, so I returned to help him set up the laptop. By the time I left it was pouring, and I rode home through torrential rain skirting small shrieking children playing in puddles in their knickers. It rained hard all night. The frogs are very vocal.

Saturday – the market is open but the shops are closed, so we load our bikes with fruit and vegetables and cycle precariously home (today, shedding plums on the way). We also have internet access all day, so can read the Guardian online and catch up with The Archers. Small pleasures! Joseph is coming for supper, and tomorrow we plan to catch the bus to Dharan, about 40km away at the base of the hills.