Hello Everyone!

I’m lazy. They use this expression many times even when I don’t see that they would be lazy, cause they are working much harder then what I’ve used to see. I prefer to say I’m tired. But now I can honestly say I was lazy to write blog in the last few days.

So now I’m in Kathmandu ashram again. I had to come to the city to extend my visa. I’m already here for more than 3 month!!!  It flew away soooo fast. Though if I think about how many things happened already it makes sense that it’s 3 months. (And after 3 month a few days ago I could have my first hot shower, I can manage with the cold now, but I still prefer the hot one.)

So what happened after getting back to the ashram from the elephant-riding fun. I had to take local transport back. That means I had to change 2 times, so I was really proud to find my way back home. Home. I wrote that in my diary accidentally. But if I think about it it does feel like home. J I became so attached to everyone and the place. After I got back it turned out we only have one week until the final exams of the year. So I was busy revising the book with the classes and trying to create a fair exam for them. I didn’t want anyone to fail on “my subject” so that then they have to repeat the year. I wanted other subjects to be the judge on that thing. So my aim was to create an exam where everybody can reach 40% which is the pass mark, but the ones who studied harder will score higher. I wrote little texts to all classes to read and then answer the questions, there was a writing part too, questions about the stories in their book and some grammar. And it worked, nobody failed. So I’m happy. They can’t know the results yet, but after the exam the next few days I became really popular, the children were trying to break me. It wasn’t easy, but I held my mouth. The system is, that class 4-5-6 studies at Terai ashram, so class 6 will so to Kathmandu if they pass all their exams, and class 3 will come to Terai. They had 6-7 exams: maths, science, nepali, English, social, population (only for class 6) and general knowledge. This last one is about the ashram and Sriaurobindo and the Mother. They had one exam every day from 12 until 3 pm. In the morning and evening time they could study. It was a hard week, mostly for them.

 /writing an exam/

On the English exam day it was a really nice festival day. Holi. They paint each other with paint powder and sometimes add waterfight too. So we looked very colorful at the end, I really enjoyed it. J They are having different colours of paint-powder in their hands and they chasing each other. The colours are made from natural things I think because the red paint what I got to my face tasted like berries.

/Holi festival/

After the exams were over we started to cut wheat. At first I was really careful, because 2 days before I cut my finger really badly with the sickle while cutting grass for the cows, and I promised Ama (=Mother), when she gave me a sickle for the wheat-cutting not to cut any fingers. So I was helping with the wheatcutting for 3-4 days every day for around 3 hours. It was tough, at least for me. I started at 8 am, but at 11 it was already really hot on the sun. They started around 20 minutes before me, and when it was finished some of them continued to cut grass for the cows. So they are really hardworking. I managed not to cut any fingers! J But some of the children were not so lucky. They could cut soooo fast. I seemed like a snail next to them, but I could see the development in my technique and speed in these few days.

 /cutting wheat/

The afternoons were free, because of the heat we could not do anything. So we played in my room. Or sometimes when they are allowed they jump in the well in the middle of the garden.

 /having fun on a hot day/

One day we went for a picnic to Narayni river. I really enjoyed it. We took ricepudding with us what we ate on the riverbank. And on the way back under a big tree we played a funny game. They had to imitate each other, certain habits of each other. I didn’t understand most of it, but sometimes they translated, and there were a few which I could get myself. (By the way my nepali knowledge is still nowhere… I’m not a good student… So I guess I won’t learn nepali this time. I will have to come back to practice more.)

/group photo on the picnic/

They already told me not to leave and that they will miss me so I should come back soon. But I had to leave to extend my visa. And I was hoping to see some friends in Kathmandu ashram also. I left with Kolhuwa tiger, the same microbus which took me to Terai before. We left around 3 am and I was in Kathmandu around 9.30 am. I took some organic vegetables with me for the market. As I got off the bus I was busy getting all the luggage and I had to buy credit for my phone to call the ashram that I arrived so they can send someone to help me. I didn’t know that there is a taxi already waiting for me, he accidently put someone else’s bag into the car, and when I tried to explain that is not mine he didn’t understand. So in this confusion I forgot the tomatoes by the road, the tomatoes which I kept safe during all journey. But when I came back to the junction from the ashram to my surprise the tomatoes were still there by the road, so there was no problem about it.

I’ve received a warm welcome from the people whom I’ve already known. The same day in the afternoon I left to do my visa business. A boy offered to take me to the immigration office. This was my luck. He not only took me but he decided to come inside. The problem with my visa was, that at the airport the man who put the 90 days stamp in my passport wrote the expiry date in 15 days. So it was written 90 days from the 8^th of January. But for expiry date it was 22^nd of January, which is not 90 days. I noticed it at the airport that something is wrong, but it was already at the luggage claim and the only official person I’ve seen told me it’s fine so I proceeded. They sent me up to the overstayed visa department, the guy from the ashram came with me. In the office they told me to go was empty, later an arrogant Italian guy and his lawyer came. He had to spend the previous 1,5 days in chastity because he was trekking without permit (he says he lost it). So now he is waiting for the decision whether he will be officially departed from the country or not. If he is, then he won’t get a visa next time to Nepal… I was confident that I have no problem I had my recite of the 100 dollars I paid for the 90 days and I had my plane ticked to prove that the date of arrival is good on the stamp. Here comes the luck part, the man in charge of the overstayed visa issues was out of the building and was not coming back that day (lesson learned: don’t go to extend your visa in the last moment). But the guy from the ashram went to the next office and met with someone he knew from before and that person called the man in charge who gave permission to someone else to decide in my case. J So it was a successful story. I got 45 days extension instead of 30. So I only have to come back around 2 weeks before my flight to extend with 10 more days.

In the last few days I visited Kathmandu a little bit. Both with local and tourist eyes. I’ve been in a hospital as a visitor. I was expecting worse conditions, though I still don’t want to be treated there, the hygienic standards are a bit different, but it seemed organized and cleaner than I expected. I’ve visited a lawyer’s office, which was nice; big bookshelf with thick serious-looking books, carpet on the floor, carved wooden ceiling, nicely-dressed gentlemen, the table full with papers, so it showed the signs of work too. Then I was walking a bit in Thamel, which is the tourist area I could not say no when I’ve seen a European style bakery. Yes, what I’m really missing beside the people close to me are sweets, cakes, chocolates. So I wanted to eat a “chocholate snail” but there was only a cinnamon version, which turned out to be with peanuts, so it was not the taste I was hoping for but it was good anyway. I’ve tried some nepali food also: mo-mo. These are stuffed cooked pasta balls covered in an orange sauce, I’ve tried vegetarian and chicken version, I like both. I’ve visited a carpet factory where they make handmade carpets, so I could see how the women and men are making the knots.  They worked incredibly fast, and they had to follow a pattern. I was amazed. Some of their beautiful children were hiding between the rows. But once they got familiar with the camera, they really enjoyed it. J There were different techniques, some had to cut the threads and comb it after each line so it becomes thicker and softer. As they make more and more from the carpet they raise the bench they are sitting so that it’s not uncomfortable to work. I mean for me it would still be. And the place was not too bright, I would need more light to do work like that.

And I’ve also visited Swayambu, which is a Buddhist temple on a hill above the city. It is really nice, with the huge eyes looking over the valley and with all the colourful prayer flags.  There are many monkeys who might even attack you if you have anything to eat with you. But those I’ve seen were nice and calm, though they moved enough that I had difficulty capture them on the camera.

 /Swayambu (maybe its misspelled)/

As for work I helped out in the mill to do the Cinderella work, sometimes I get the right movement, but still not too many times, but I’m ok with picking out the seeds which were not cleaned by the machine. And a few days ago we went for washing carpets in Trishuli river. It was FUN. I woke up at 4 in the morning, helped in the kitchen to pour milk into plastic bags, they deliver it like that, it’s an every day job, but I’ve only did it once, usually I sleep until 6 am. So we left a bit before 6 we supposed to leave at 5 am, but in Nepal time is really flexible. Or you have to be flexible when it comes to time. We went with the truck, I’ve got a first class ticket to sit inside, while most of the others were sitting on the carpets in the back. It took around one hour to get there. Then we carried the carpets to the water, where competitions started who can through a stone across the river and the other one was to make the stones jump on the surface before sinking. I don’t know the right English expression, it’s called “kacsázás” in Hungarian. J A few minutes they started to put the dirty carpets in the water weighting them down with biiig stones. When all the carpets were in the water they started to brush it and clean it one by one first in the water, then they brought it out where we put washing powder on it and rubbed it with torn up plastic sacks. The skin came off from my fingers but besides that it was an amazing they with lots of fun. 

 /the amazing place where we washed the carpets/

There were 3 people responsible for cooking, so we had really good food. They even brought sweets (yes sweets, sometimes I eat sweats, but far less than at home, at least now I know that sweets are important for me) which I like. I thought I understood a part of a nepali conversation about knife, I thought they mention it because it is difficult to break it into pieces the little melted sweet, but chaku is knife and cháku is the name of the sweet (or something similar, it might be the opposite way). So there were no mention of any knife… J But I’m learning slowly. When we had some break some of us went into the river. It was extremely cold, but I enjoyed it. I even tried to teach some swimming, but in cold fast flowing water it’s not too ideal. After work we crossed the hanging bridge and walked a bit in the village and on the hill. The view was beautiful. The way back home was really slow, while we were washing the carpets some locals filled the back of the truck with the sandy soil from the riverbank what they need for the construction (they are building more floors over the dining room-kitchen building). So we were heavier and we had to go up the hill, and the truck was fighting hard, working hard but going slow. It was so hot inside that I changed my first class ticket to an outside one and sat on the carpets with the others.

/the method of carpet washing/

Today I’m leaving to Pokhara, which is another big city. And I will see the Himalaya from closer. I would like to do some trekking, but I have no group yet. If I can join one I will do a 7-8 days of trekking if I don’t find any, then it might be only a few days of hiking near Pokhara. In the first few days I plan to enjoy Pokhara, and celebrate the nepali new year’s eve there which is on the 13^th of April, after that it’s already 2070. You see, time really flies in this country! J

Hope not to be lazy and write again after the excursion to Pokhara, so maybe in 2 weeks.

Namaste from the sunny Nepal!

Eszter

PS.: Can someone tell me how to rotate the photos? Before uploading the standing ones are standing, but here they are not....