angusmccoll

Another lazy day. I’m a bit chesty from cold and smog I suspect. I’m taking it easy for a few days to try and get right before I attempt a trek to Anapurna Base Camp. Anapurna is one of the peaks in Nepal over 8000 meters, from memory 8,050 meters but don’t quote me. One of the most popular hiking trails here for trekkers is the Anapurna circuit but I plan to do just a part of it. Because I’m on my own I’ll hire a guide to take me there. Raju will arrange a good deal for me.

The girls are heading to Pokora soon and it’s possible we will meet again there.

There seem to be more tourist around than when I was first here two weeks ago. Things are looking positive for the tourism industry again, since the earthquake and fuel embargoes shied tourists away. The India-enforced embargo seems to have stopped for now and essential fuel is flowing once again into Nepal. Landlocked Nepal is so reliant on India for fuel, especially during the winter when it’s physically difficult to get fuel from China. Earth tremors are still on people’s minds but for the locals, tremors are part of life. Some experts seem to think the ‘big one’ is yet to come and could happen anytime. Not very comforting. But life goes on here. When I first arrived I woke with a start from my 5th-story room from a crashing noise that seemed to be getting closer and closer. My first thought was a quake approaching but it was just a very rattlely noisey truck going along the road. I’m a bit on edge but where I am staying has survived a fairly big earthquake so I shouldn’t be worried. But being five stories up does make me wonder what I will do if things start to shake.

A lazy day in Kathmandu started with a great hot shower. Kathmandu is still very much in the grip of power sharing. Locals have access to a sophisticated schedule on their phones when the power will be on in their area. The little man working the switches must be very busy. I’m told that in a few days there will be more power, which means a couple more hours per day for everyone. It’s still cold here although I’m told it’s getting warmer. I don’t feel it. 

Talked to Raju about doing an 8-day trek to Annapurna Base camp. Sounds good and I will aim to do that from Pokora. Found a nice place for lunch at a community-conscious restaurant where some of the profits go to community causes. Even the monks go there.

For dinner the team gets together one last time. Chloe flys home tomorrow. Jayde, Madeline, Jess and Bek stay in Kathmandu for a few more days before heading to Pokora. I might even catch up with them there. Jayde, Madeoline and Jess are school teachers, who have taught at yarrabah near cairns. Their help with Batase school was amazing. They created many resources for the school and introduced a phonics program that will be idiot all classes. The also introduced a behavior management program that the teachers can use to manage the students. Bek is a professional photographer and videographer. She put together a fantastic short video to help promote the scheme that organises volunteers to come to Batase. 

School as usual. The original school was completely destroyed by the earthquake. Fortunately it happened on a Saturday so was empty of kids. I would hate to think of the human cost if the quake hit on a school day. In its place a temporary school of wood and corrugated iron was established on the same spot. It was important to get the kids back into the school environment as soon as possible, not only to progress their education but also to recover psychologically from the trauma. CARITAS is a Swiss charity and they are going to rebuild the school with completely new facilities. I understand they are doing this throughout regional Nepal in areas they deem show a quality level of teaching. Batase school is recognized by CARITAS as one of these. Construction will commence around October this year. The temporary school will have to be relocated during construction. 

Meanwhile the school is introducing a lunch program where a kitchen will prepare lunch for all of the children. They previously had such a program but for the lower classes only.

Students will be able to study to year 10 here at Batase. Year 11 and 12 is done at college if they want to further their education – such is the system here. This means going to Kathmandu. Arneil is currently completing his final year at college in Kathmandu.

We rest for a bit then got involved in helping the men move rocks up a hill at the new hostel. We got into the line and physically passed the rocks from one to another. We then collected firewood for later tonight. Around 5pm we walked up to sunset hill to get some pics. It’s breezy and cold. 

We have a bonfire and the kids from the hostel come around for songs and toasted marshmallows curtesy of Chloe. Rajan played guitar. It came out turn to sing and we had to scratch our heads to find an Australian song we know. We decided on a song and Maddy had to download the lyrics. We sang badly but the kids thought it was great. They have so many beautiful traditional songs to sing but we struggle to think of any significant Australian songs to choose from. Why is that?

Today is a special day on the Hindu and Buddhist calendar so there are celebrations happening all day at the school. In the morning we take part in a Hindu ceremony, which involved us all getting tikas (red dot on the forehead). Some of the locals come in to take part. The views today are the clearest they have ever been. The Himilayas are brilliantly visible in the distance.

We have lunch then revisit the school for a Buddhist ceremony. A stage is set up where we are invited to join community dignitaries and a monk. There are speeches and dancing and the monk performs some sort of rite on anyone who lines up. We join in. The proceedings drag on and there is some disorganization. It’s getting cold but it’s fascinating being part of the ceremony. Jayde speaks on our behalf of us to thank them for welcoming us here. We have been treated as very special visitors for the whole time we’ve been here.

Life is very simple in the villages of Nepal. Food is grown on the layered farms that hug the sides of the mountains. Cows, goats, buffalo and chickens supplement the diet. Kids entertain themselves with simple hand-made toys, or communal games that I’ve not seen before. 

Electricity is lined in from Kathmandu I think, on precarious lines that transverse this rugged landscape. A pole was found to be down this morning so the men had to go out and fix it. Electricity is limited at the moment because it’s the dry season. Reduced water flows weaken the hydro power plants. 

Schools are available in most villages. In Batase the school provides for up to grade 9. The government provides some teachers while friends of Himalayan children (FHC) charity provide teachers as well. Some of the men own serious trail motorbikes unlike the smaller ones in the cities. Batase village had one truck, provided by FHC.

There are no conventional medical facilities available in Batase. There are some traditional healers that can provide some non conventional remedies but to get to a doctor, you have to trek to another village. More serious cases have to go to the hospital in Kathmandu, where families have to provide food for the patient. A serious illness can seriously inconvenience the entire family.

Today we are back at school after two days off. Classes are busy and all of the volunteers take English classes. I also sat in on a Nepalese science class and got some nice photos. 

The afternoon is lazy for all of us. No walking, just reading in the sun. Arneil has gone to Kathmandu to organise his study for the year so Mane and Phulmaya are looking after us.

I discover at breakfast that today is another holiday. A past Prime Minister of Nepal died yesterday so the nation has a day to mourn. 

I use the free time in the morning to finish making wickets for our cricket. I found some bamboo strips and nailed them together with solid wood bases to help them stand on their own.

We spend the day making up teaching resources, photocopying, coloring and laminating.

As usual we do a bit of a walk. This time we wander through a part of the village. Anil and I walked there the other day but this time we’re all doing it, including Mani and Phulmaya. There are plenty of opportunities for people photos, and great light as the sun goes down.

After dinner we set up the projector again for a movie night. We pick Avatar, thinking the kids will get a kick out of it. It’s fun watching them watching the movie. This is such s rarity for them. Interestingly they, and the adults, asked if the movie was real! The power cuts out about 15 minutes from the end. When the power goes off here its instant pitch darkness.

We just settle into bed and another tremor hits. This time it’s very brief and no noise like last time. It felt like an elephant had bumped into the building. It instigated some banter amongst us all but no evacuation this time. Perhaps we are getting used to it.

It’s Tamang New Year’s Day today and it’s a holiday. No school so Phulmaya and Arneil take us on a walk up to the lollipop trees. It’s a reasonable walk with great views. We get back just before lunch. While resting after lunch, Manni walks into Batase. He ran all the way from Kathmandu in 4 hours! Amazing effort. He has done marathons very successfully in Nepal, coming second in the Kathmandu marathon.

We get back from our walk and hear that Jack the dog had died. He had been despatate for days, not eating. He finally succumbed to injuries sustained from fighting wild pigs we think. The locals say it was from other dogs. We tried to help with keeping him walk and wit some antibacterial drugs. He’s famous. One of the elders initially rescued him from the mouth of a tiger and that’s how he came into the village. He was s bit naughty so the tried to dump him in Kathmandu thinking he could look after himself there. Within a day he had walked back to the village. They buried him on the side of a hill.

Wifi comes on and we all rush to use it. It’s been out for days.

Another game of cricket. Some of the kids are so enthusiastic, including the girls. I’m making some wickets, hopefully ready for tomorrow.

It’s raining! We wake up to a light drizzle which happens sometimes despite this being the dry season. The girls have a yoga session before breakfast so I join them for part of it. Today is the eve of the Tamang new year. It’s also the eve of the Chinese New Year. I suppose they’re connected but I’m not sure. Because of the celebrations planned for tomorrow, there are fewer children and teachers turning up at the school. We head down in the light rain, in time for the morning assembly and the songs. They sing a school song written by Ekkehart and the national anthem. I love their national anthem.

Today I teach grades 6 and 5. We have fun in grade 6 playing scrabble. Using teams brings out the competitive sides to the kids. They have fun.

School finishes early at 12 because of the holiday tomorrow. We head back for lunch and a break. The kids come out near our house to play a game. Then some more cricket. We go for a walk up past sunset hill and around. This is such an extraordinary landscape. The mountain ranges are so steep but communities have literally carved out existences from the up and down. The kids are so adapted to living here. A ball goes over the edge and they scamper after it like mountain goats with grace and agility. No losing their balance or twisting ankles. Medical help from here is difficult. Debilitated patients have to be carried out, then onto a car or bus to another village to visit a doctor. If serious it’s onto Kathmandu hospital where whole families have to provide for them because the hospital doesn’t provide anything but medical expertise. The need for a hospital here is such a huge imposition for the whole family. 

A thunderstorm rattles around the mountains surprisingly. It’s unseasonal for rain. We get back in time but big rain doesn’t eventuate.

It’s school today because Saturday is Nepals one day off per week. So we do school again today. I take class 9 and 7. I then observe Jayde work with class 2 doing jolly phonics.

After lunch, Dinesh and Manni go to Kathmandu on the bike. Manni will return tomorrow but Dinesh will stay in Kathmandu. We rest and the go for a short walk up to the damaged new hostel. It had just been finished when the quake struck. It’s a beautiful building that will take a lot of work to recover, if possible. It was to board and feed kids from far away or from families to poor to keep them, so they could go to Batase school. There is a makeshift hostel that is currently housing about 10 students, many fewer than before the quake. After the quake, many families took their children home.

I hear one of the kids has a cricket at and ball. So we set up a game of cricket until dark. Boys and girls were very enthusiastic. Even some of the adults joined in.

The breakfast discussion was all about the tremor last night. Lots of laughs and joking. We hear Taiwan was hit hard and lives lost but surely that is a separate incident. We hear there were injuries in Kathmandu with people jumping out of Windows and having heart attacks but little damage. News has reached Australia because there are concerned messages on Facebook. I post our situation to allay any concerns by family and friends.

Dinesh, mani and Arneil take us for a walk down to a flour mill. It’s water driven and there is a family there working the mill. He converts the grain to flower for the local farmers. The mill is in a tiny shed and we all crowd around to see how it is done. Then we climb up to the top of a ridge for spectacular views before making our way back around to the village. Probably 15km in the entire trek. Padmayer and friend meet us with very welcome tea and biscuits on the walk. We get back in time for lunch. 

On the walk we realize that Bek and I have met before. Bek was the photographer at Sal’s wedding. Minutes later I learn that Madeline and I know people in common. Dave lacks family bought her parents farm in Clifton. Small world indeed.