Beginning of the end

Our all too brief idyll in India – a repeat of last year’s holiday, was followed by a week of workshops in Kathmandu. While volunteers from the Governance and HIV/AIDS programmes were residential in expensive hotels in the valley, impoverished educationists were billeted at the Pacific Guest House and walked to Thamel for breakfast each morning with our Nepali partners. Good to meet the new volunteers, and an excellent opportunity to share experience and successes and help shape the strategic plan for the next 4 years.

There had been few changes in Nepal during our break, but the newspaper announces load shedding to increase by 50%. 50% of 16 = 8. 16 + 8 = 24! Opportunities to watch our newly acquired DVDs will obviously be limited. The former King’s Palace has been opened at last as a museum, prompting the headline ’Narayanhiti open to hoi poloi’. Unfortunately the king took many van loads of potential exhibits with him when he left last year.

Attempts to keep us in Kathmandu until the strikes and problems in the eastern Terai are over failed; we would never have been able to come back, as the eastern Terai has been effectively ‘closed’ for 27 of the last 30 days. Lovely early morning flight in Buddha’s new big plane (48 seats); at home everything was fine but covered in a thick layer of dust. The big house opposite has been painted strawberry icecream pink, but nothing else haschanged. On our first night back, our evening was enlivened by gaudily decorated floats blaring out the soundtrack from Slumdog Millionaire followed by dancing youngsters. How dull England will seem!

Part of the new landlord’s family moved in upstairs on Wednesday. The priest came to do puja, with dramatic blowing on a conch shell all the way up the stairs and prasad (blessed food) for all of us. The plates, paper cups and other debris have been dumped outside the front gate. Chhatra and Tara have been here for a wedding so we have negotiated the removal of their and many of our belongings during next week. Durga has also been to select some furniture for his family and Karna will take everything else.

English training for a group of secondary teachers from the hills had started when I went back to work on Monday, and we now know each other well after a series of introductory games. I try to enliven some of the dire theory in the trainer’s guide with activities each day. Our rounds of saying goodbye have already started. Balkumari waited outside the training room on Thursday to ‘kidnap’ me and take me to her home – a long trek out into the countryside, where her son was waiting to show off his excellent English. I resisted her attempts to make me stay the night and eventually cycled home as the sun set, full of noodles and laden down with vegetables from her garden. David has been transporting boxes of resources to primary schools each day and enjoying his last few days in the classroom.

It’s the best time of year – warm (30^oC) days and cool evenings, but we have already shed the blanket. We are between the mosquito season and the ant season so we are relatively insect free. Fruit and vegetables still plentiful. More holidays in prospect – International Women’s Day on Sunday, Holi Tuesday and Wednesday.