Goodbye Nepal

Namaste everyone and welcome to our last blog from Nepal.

Since the last blog, we have been in Kathmandu and Kaski. In Kaski, we visited possible areas for volunteers to work and met with some of those who will be working there. Lucky them, working in schools with views like this:In Kathmandu we've been mostly sorting out our visas, changing our travel plans, writing reports and complaining about the pollution and traffic.

Our latest travel itinerary is to fly (unfortunately) to China, due to Tibet being closed to visitors. We will however, be making the most of visiting the Chinese province of Yunnan, before taking the train towards Beijing. In Beijing, our paths will split, with Steve heading West on the Trans-Siberian railway, stopping in Irkutsk, Moscow and Berlin. He is due to arrive back in the UK on 26th April. Mel is heading East, with more polluting flying! She will be visiting her sister, brother-in-law and nephew in Los Angeles, before heading home to the UK in mid May.

After being here for two years, we thought we could reflect on the things that we will miss about Nepal ... and the things that we won't.

We'll miss:

Friends and colleagues who have shown us kindness and generosity. They have invited us into their homes and taken the Nepali tradition, that 'the guest is god', literally. Here is Harikala, below, after some persuasion, allowing us to buy her dinner for a change. Other friends and colleagues appeared on the last blog and in the albums.

The laid back pace of life in Nepal. This isn't always a positive point but the fact that there is no pressure to be slaves to the clock, results in people showing less stress. Anger is an emotion almost never shown (at least in public). Here is Steve taking his time to read the guide book, with a rickshaw driver taking a break from 'pedalling' his business:

Exploring the beautiful natural environment and discovering exciting and interesting wildlife:

Being able to communicate in another language (or so we think!). Here is Mel, sharing a joke with Ambika, the most cheerful member of staff at our guest house in Kathmandu:The abundance of fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables (especially lychee and mangoes!)

The general colourfulness and unexpectedness of Nepali life. Walking home from the VSO office, we came across this colourful display:

And most importantly of all, we will miss Nepali children. Their cheerful, contented attitude often contrasts with their surroundings:

And it would be dishonest of us to pretend that there is nothing that we won't miss. Here are a few:

Feral dogs, worrying about everything we eat and drink (one of us more than the other) and, more importantly, the hierarchical and often discriminatory nature of society.

We also won't miss the lack of logical thinking in many areas of life.

Suffering from toothache? Worried about your teeth? No need to change what you're eating or clean your teeth more carefully. Visit this old tree stump and stick a nail in. Problem solved!

Somewhat more logically, a business-minded dental surgeon has set up shop nearby to catch those who want to hedge their bets.

Reliance on fate and the gods to keep you safe affects everything. One recent, alarming example of this, was when we were travelling down a steep, windy hill on a bus. We soon realised that the bus we were on did not have any workable brakes. No fear though, because after much excitement and alarm, the bus boy found the incense sticks, which he lit to appease the gods.

Let's hope that the gods can protect this old Newari house, especially in this earthquake prone region.

Despite annual accidents including deaths, these young men are eagerly building the next Indra Jatra chariot as dangerously as ever.
It's certainly been interesting for us to learn about a different culture and world view.

We won't be forgetting our two years in Nepal. We're grateful to the Nepali people for making us feel so welcome in their beautiful country. Dhanyabad!

We'll try to blog on the way home. So watch this space!

Celebration and Ceremony.

Welcome to another blog entry,

Since our last update, we have been busy visiting other districts in order to write reports for VSO and the new education volunteers who are coming out to start placements. The biggest event for us, however, has been the finishing of our own placement in Mahendranagar (which seems to have more or less reverted to its old name since the Maoist government left power). As can be imagined, this was a hectic time with over 6 years worth of volunteer furniture and possessions to sort through and move. It was also a time of partings and sad goodbyes to all of the friends, aquaintances and schools with which we have worked and socialised for the past 2 years. We were lucky enough to receive 'Goodbye' ceremonies from some of 'our' schools, at which tikka (red powder on the forehead) and malla (garlands) featured prominently:
This brings us to the theme of this blog, which is about the ceremonies, celebrations and religions that make Nepal such an interesting place to live. When we think back to our time here, it is these that will, no doubt, be amongst our strongest and fondest memories. Ceremony, religion and ritual are inextricably linked here. Beautiful, colourful, fascinating and frequently all three, a hundred blog postings could not do justice to the subject. Here then is a mere taster and more photos can be found in the accompanying album.

Celebrations, Ceremonies and Religions in Nepal

The two main religions of Nepal are Hinduism and Buddhism (especially Tibetan Buddhism). This over-simplifies the matter however because there are hundreds of local variations of each. One religion dominates in some areas whilst the other dominates in others, with the two frequently being merged together. Buddhism has incorporated many of the images and ideas of Hinduism, whereas Hinduism has incorporated the Buddha (as the ninth incarnation of Vishnu). This vast range is reflected in the variety of sacred places. Some can be very humble, such as this small linga shrine to the Hindu god Shiva: Whereas others can be much grander, such as this Buddhist temple, built at Lumbini, the location of Buddha's birth, with German funding:New temples are being constructed and dedicated (with the relevant statues) all the time, often to earn respect or divine favour for the sponsor. On the other hand, almost everywhere in Nepal can be found ancient and unique sites. For example, amongst the hectic traffic in Kathmandhu, we came across this Shiva temple, built within the living roots of a Pipal tree, :We couldn't work out which came first, the tree or the temple. Incidentally, the Pipal tree is an excellent example of a living thing sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists (it was under such a tree that the Buddha was said to have gained enlightenment). Again at Lumbini, the exact spot where the Buddha is supposed to have been born is still marked by a stone, placed by the emperor Ashoka the Great, over 2000 years ago:
The rituals and ceremonies that accompany these religions are as varied as the temples. Almost every week seems to mark a festival of some type, with some being national (or international) and others being very local. In Mahendranagar, we came across this procession through town, featuring a brightly decorated elephant (no doubt on loan from nearby Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve):Some days are of special significance to schools, students and teachers. In particular, almost every school in the country will put on a grand show for Saraswoti puja day, where the image of Saraswoti (goddess of learning) is paraded, propitiated (given offerings) and tikka'd:Indeed, many schools give the impression that it not so much the quality of teaching or the curriculum that influences how well children learn but, rather, the amount of honour shown to Saraswoti.

Whatever the festival, two things that they all seem to have in common are colourful fun and as much tasty food as possible! Here is a Mahandrenagar Mitai (sweets) shop, specially re-enforced for the important festival of Tihar:Sweets, fun and days off work. You can't say fairer than that. Whatever your religion!