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 8th of January. But for expiry date it was
22nd 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 13th
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....
