Swimming in the rain

We are continuing to visit the pool most days inspite of the rain, much to the amusement of Suresh, the pool manager. The filtration system has broken, so sometimes he joins us in the pool with a pair of goggles and a scouring pad in a somewhat futile attempt to remove the accumulation of algae. Frogs, ranging in size from smaller than my little finger nail to larger than David’s fist, have invaded the swimming pool, and Suresh tries optimistically to net them while we swim serenely up and down. The frog noise at night is now deafening, with occasional loud bellows followed by eerie silences. Giant snails have appeared in the garden and our friendly gecko population indoors increases daily.
The house has become increasingly full and busy, with even more workmen painting and making furniture. Whitewashing in the rain seems particularly pointless, but it keeps the painters in permanent work and our windows permanently paint spattered. Our porch has now been painted a delicate shade of pink; David has named it ‘hint of carnation’. Tanka’s (World Service correspondent) friends and family seem to have moved in upstairs, and Karna now stays downstairs. He is a delightful young man, who arrived looking for work soon after we arrived. He is 16, from a very poor Dalit family and his father cannot afford to keep him in school. He has decided to try and become independent, as he is desperate to finish his education. He will take his SLC exams (School Leaving Certificate) this year. He speaks some English, and we find some time for him every day for ‘conversation’ to help him develop his vocabulary. He is always cheerful and very helpful with our Nepali homework. Chattra employs him to do odd jobs and has now given him a room to stay in.
Rudra, the head of the ETC is to be transferred. This seems to happen frequently to government officials, often for political reasons. He is well liked, organised, efficient and a good manager. He is being sent to the DEO in Sagarmatha – the Everest region, very difficult to get to, and two days by plane and bus back to his home and family in Biratnagar. His replacement, Tulsi Narayan Adikhari , from the DEO in Dhankuta, a hill region 4 hours by bus to the north of here, arrived on Wednesday to join us. He is smiling and charming, with limited English, never having had the need to use it. He is very keen to get better and has decided that we will have ‘conversation’ for an hour each morning, in both English and Nepali. There is a real contrast with our former colleagues in Ethiopia. Most of the Nepalis we meet are much less ‘westernised’, speak little English, but love to chat. Many of our Ethiopian colleagues had studied in Europe, so had some understanding of life in the west. I am something of a curiosity for them, being female and old, with a lot of professional experience – and no children. The atmosphere at work at the moment is pleasantly relaxed – it seems that this will continue until the new budget is released, training allocated to different ETCs and participants selected by the DEO. It could be months. There is no culture of forward planning, and given the uncertainty and the current political instability, it is understandable. Although they have 54 days annual leave, they only take the 6 days for festivals, as they can accumulate the rest and be paid for it. Current activities (ie not much to do) they describe as ‘informal work’. This week I have helped Govind prepare a newsletter, written some articles, and taught Ram (a student who comes in to prepare printed documents in Nepali) to use Publisher. Anil and I have exchanged music files – he has written some music for Nepali films on his keyboard, and has been entranced by Glenn Gould playing the Goldberg variations. Durga and I have started to plan a workshop session for VSO in Kathmandu next month. In the afternoons he likes to have time to ‘make fun’. Not a lot of progress on achieving 'strategic objectives'!
Meanwhile David stays at home most days preparing for his work with schoolteachers and developing ideas for monitoring and evaluation for the DEO. He has been offered the corner of Rajendra's sofa from which to work at the DEO. His nose is much better, although he claims it is now permanently bent. He joins me three afternoons a week for Nepali lessons. This has now become a focal activity at the ETC, and yesterday afternoon all the trainers came to join in, with Khagda from the school next door also providing input.
My new all-enveloping raincoat is much admired. Even some of the cows are wearing plastic sheets this week. The potholes near the hospital have been filled in. This has the advantage of not falling into deep holes hidden by puddles and the disadvantage of having to cycle over piles of rocks. We remain permanently damp and are uncertain if our laundry will ever reappear.