Another fortnight, another multitude of unforgettable experiences in Nepal

Sunset in Dulal

Elliot & Michael contemplate life.

It’s funny, but on discussing returning to Dulal after a weekend of travel, it’s become instinctive for us to simply remark “going home”. As our familiarity with customs and comfort in the village lifestyle develop, that really has what it’s become for us – a second home. While the allure of a nice westernised meal (most importantly, not consisting of dahl baat) draws us away from our village at the end of the week, the arrival back to our host family, to cups of hot herbal tea on the balcony in the morning, walks with local children in the afternoons and disjointedly translated conversations at dinner, is always a warm feeling. Visits to the local temple have been regular lately, due to an ongoing festival. 

Locals gather there in the hundreds, cramped under tarpaulins to shield off the thick (seemingly never ending) rain, singing, dancing and conversing as a community. Having been forced in front the masses and simply instructed “you dance”, Michael, Virginia and I gave a few awkward renditions of Nepali moves we’d seen, but they seemed well-received amongst our 400-strong audience. With our schools’ exam period looming ever-closer, pressure has been augementing to ensure some of what we teach sinks in – not pressure from the teachers, who seem as relaxed as ever, but from us striving to prevent the sense of guilty responsibility that comes from most of your students failing their tests. 

Will's star pupil, Susanna

For instance, I ran a practice set of questions last week, with a question reading: There is ___ (a/an) aeroplane While most were able to pick/guess the correct answer of ‘an’, a few slightly more abstract responses, such as ‘apple’ and ‘7’ came back, so I quickly thought to step up the pace. But nonetheless, upon inquiring on the contents of the upcoming exam and receiving the reply “you write exam” has meant I’ve only included concepts I’m confident my students have mastered, giving me a little more hope in the issue. 

Michael was also challenged by one our school’s teachers to consume 10 packets of noodles (around .9kg of fried pasta) in one sitting. What seemed like a joke initially was, after a long culinary struggle, eventually completed by Michael, earning him quite a respected status in our village.

The noodle warrior

Last weekend, our trip to Bakhtapur was fortunate enough to coincide with one of the country’s biggest festivals, Gai Jatra. From the early hours of the morning, the festival made its loud and colourful presence known, with thousands marching through the streets, dancing and carrying tall, vibrant shrines in honour of recently deceased family member. 

The Gai Jatra festival in Bakhtapur

We were invited back to a teacher’s home to meet his family and enjoy the household’s feast for the occasion – delicious marinated chicken, savoury snacks and home made beer, before he gave us a guided tour of the celebrations and even arranged for us to take part in one of the dance marches – very confusing trying to keep up with the steps, but a lot of fun. We now begin our 2 week vacation in which we’ll be working in a Kathmandu Valley orphanage for a week, before travelling to Chitwan National Park, Lumbini and Banakpur, so expect another blog in a week’s time with updates on what will no doubt be a great experience for us. Until then, Aidan. "