Month: September 2017

September 4th – Today marked our first day at school. While we spent quite a bit of our time getting some orientation from Fionnuala Shenpen (TGL School Director), we were also introduced to all of the children and teachers. Tomorrow and Wednesday we will visit most of the classrooms and do observations so that we understand the process the teachers are using for instruction.

Among other topics, Fionnuala gave us an overview of the system of education here in Nepal. Though this is a Gompa (monastery) school, they are expected to follow the general guidelines of the Nepal system for levels, assessment, curriculum and the like. In this system, just as in the US, educational legislation and policy are out of sync with the realities faced by schools. Testing mandates appear to be pushed for symbolic reasons inconsiderate of the practical application. This sounds all too familiar to me, having dealt with Colorado’s mandates and all the repercussions it had for students, teachers and overall instruction. Every good teacher appreciates assessment, when it informs instruction. Teachers should be treated as professionals; empowered rather than inundated with institutional requirements. </end soap box>

The Routine
While it is too early to tell what our responsibilities and routines will look like here, the ongoing pace and activity of the students, teachers, monks, nuns and administrators is incredibly busy. There is the activity of the school, with 120+ students, providing 7+ levels of instruction, housing, and the 24 hour welfare of all the children. The Gompa, providing a Buddhist education (Tibetan Language and ritual instruction) for the nuns enrolled in school and some that are not. There is a regular flow of visitors (including Joni and I) from all over the world visiting the school and the Gompa who also require consideration. On top of this activity, there is the ongoing construction of the Main (new) Shrine hall rising up in the middle of the grounds. This means that workers and large trucks of sand, brick and water come and go. The noise of workers yelling, concrete mixers, lifts, horns, and tools bang about. Like the rest of Nepal, we have to become accustomed to multiple things happening at the same time – polyphony (not exactly Bach).

Fortunately there is an ebb and flow to the activity with some very peaceful and sweet moments. For instance, there is sound of early prayers. At 4:30am Nuns gather in the old Shrine hall to recite prayers and perform traditional rituals. Amid random sounds of distant (and sometimes close) barking dogs, the nuns quietly gather in the hall at 4:15. At 4:25 the sound of the gong calls all to come and soon the room is filled with their beautiful voices. While the dogs and the hum of the city are ever present, their voices settle it.

September 9th
I have been here at TGL for only one week now and have just begun to adjust. Despite all the inconvenience, periodic discomfort, and shortage of english speaking companions, I feel at home here. Though she just returned from the US and is recovering from jet lag, Fionnuala has gone out of her way to help Joni and I get our basic necessities together and get the layout of the town of Chobhar. While we don’t speak Tibetan or Nepali, the Anis smiles are a treat. Slowly but surely their shyness is melting and they try to speak English.

Today is our first day off after a week of orientation, observation, familiarization and scheduling. Next week we will begin our regular schedules in the classroom. The schedule appears pretty demanding to me now. We’ll see.

 

Sitting on the highway by the Trishili River Bridge on our way back toward Kathmandu via Nuwakot. We expected to have a 4 hour drive to Nuwakot but have spent an hour here already.

Fortunately we have stopped in a scenic place.

We have just left Bandipur where we had a very wonderful stay with friends of Namaste Shrestha (our host). Bandipur is his ancestral home. We were fortunate to eat in the home built by his father. For 2 nights we were treated to wonderful meals prepared by his nephew’s wife. Namaste was born in the house. As we parted in the afternoon, they offered us Kathas and marked our foreheads.Update: It is now 6:05 and though we are moving, we are still connected to a long line of traffic. In one small town it was a competition to get to the head of a line. Everyone is a “loser” but everyone has the hope of moving faster than the next vehicle. Cars, trucks buses and motorbikes spread out on the wide, potholed and muddy side lots where shops and restaraunts sit. This traffic is the definition of gridlock. The 2 lane road was turned into a 6 lane river of gridlock with cars in jumble, pointing in multiple directions. In an attempt to get ahead, vehicles made paths around one another but when it was time to merge back into the narrow 2 lane roadway they came to a face off with one another (literally face…to…face. The hot sun and moist air wrapped the people sitting by the side of the road; some had taken a break, some were local observers, some jumped in and out of buses and minibuses. I saw children sleeping in their mothers arms, babies being changed. Some trucks had given up and were sitting by the side of the road, the drivers lounging in rear compartments.

It is a mass of people trying to move from east (Kathmandu) to west (Pokara) and west to east. Some are trying to get to connections to China and parts south, India and the Terrai.

End of the day.
We ended our day at 10:15pm in Nuwakot. The sun had set on us as we were released from the traffic snake. The cool air was refreshing and we kept our windows down. Finally we took time for the bathroom and an evening snack by the side of the road. It felt so good to be sitting still.

The last hour and a half of our long day was taken on the northern cutoff where the traffic promised to be less – toward China. While there was some traffic relief, we immediately came head on with a entourage of large trucks coming from China. The line of trucks wouldn’t have posed as much challenge on a US highway. But here the road was narrow (think Independence Pass) and rough (think Forest Service road to a trail head). Finally, we happened upon a dump truck going our way and moving fast. We stayed on his tail, tucking in behind when trucks approached. He became our protector. Ironically his tail gate said “Good Luck”. And he was.

Through it all, we got to our hotel (Hotel Satanchuli Nuwakot) safe
and sound and ready for a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately we arrived so late that the place was completely dark and locked up. After 20 or 30 minutes we raised a local to go and fetch the proprietor and he took us to our room. Not such a clean room but there is air-conditioning and a place to sleep. Ahhhh… I’m learning that Nepal is full of surprises. One should minimize expectations and take things one day, one minute at a time. It’s all good.

The next day at breakfast I found out the rules of the Hotel. I tried to resist any hooliganism.