Tag Archives: Travel

In My Forties

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I turned 50 recently. Crikey, even writing that phrase feels weird. I’m still 23 in my head.

Yep. I reached the half ton (if you’re a cricketer), the half century (if you’re an historian) and I can no longer deny that I am middle aged (if you’re an anthropologist).

So I have used this somewhat significant milestone to do a bit of an analysis of the previous decade.

And?

I’ve just been through possibly the most life-altering time of my life since puberty.

In my forties… (in no particular order)

I had my nose pierced. (Since given up.)

I travelled with my husband and three boys to 15 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

FInland
Austria
France
Italy
England
Vietnam
Cambodia
Morocco
Portugal
Dubai

I coloured my hair for the first time and proceeded to dye it a rainbow hue of various colours over the next ten years.

I went back to theatre and found lifelong friends.

Bearded Outlaw

The wickedest (and funniest) outlaws ever to appear in Two Gentlemen of Verona.

I found a new community singing group and a musical home and family in the process.

I took up running and ran in three half marathons and the Scotland Run in Central Park in New York City. And I got to train with Olympic marathon runner, Steve Moneghetti.

Geelong Half Marathon 2015
Forrest Half Marathon 2015
Forrest Half Marathon 2017
Scotland 10km Run 2015

I began writing my own songs. (You can check out some on my Songs page.)

I completed two community projects with World Expeditions, building a bridge in Peru and a school in Nepal.

Rock selection
Admiring our handiwork
Tastayoq Kids
Pulling out nails
Fellow Workers and School Teachers
The Cutest Kid

I bought and learned to play a banjo and ukulele.

I took up crochet for the first time since my mother taught me how when I was a kid.

The Tenth Doctor
Ants Go Marching…
Whippet
Cool Converse Booties

I became a special education teacher, a job for which I was not previously qualified or experienced but that I found I was good at. And I love it with a passion.

I discovered I can draw. (There’s a whole gallery here.)

Acting The Fool
Living The Dream
Don’t Wish It Away
The Flying Beetroot
Rower Me
Chasing Time

I broke six ribs and punctured a lung falling off a wooden box after trying to kill a tiny moth. (That story never gets old.)

I completed the Oxfam Trailwalker 100km challenge twice – in 2012 and 2014. And raised thousands of dollars for Oxfam in the process. (That’s what it’s really all about.)

I took up rowing and then dropped it again.

I lost my father to mesothelioma.

I learnt that I can sing. No, like, really sing.

I became a Great Aunt. (Not that I wasn’t already one but now it has capital letters.)

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Joy and sadness. My late sister’s first grandchild.

I started a blog.

****

I’ve already started building a bucket list for the next decade because I know anything is possible.

****

Related posts about some of the things in this list that may be of interest:

(Re)Living The Italian Life

Living The Dream

Hope is a Beautiful Dream

When A Bad Day Turns Good

Getting a Grip 2: A Dose of Perspective in the Third World

It Takes A Village

Master of the Speaking Circuit

Move Over Etsy….

Is This The Real Life?

Delay In Service

A Popup Nomadic Community – Oxfam Trailwalker 2014

When A Night Owl Meets The Dawn

How To Get Better At It

My Dad Died Today

Saying Goodbye

Run Forrest, Run!

The Flying Beetroot: Scotland The Brave And The Fast

The Flying Beetroot: Crossing The Finish Line

(Plus any post starring the Flying Beetroot. Use the Search function.)

A Sister Lost – Remembering Keryn

Nothing ventured…

 

 

 

(Re)Living The Italian Life

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Last night I went to Tuscany. San Gimignano to be precise. Oh, the food, the wine….

Yeah, okay, so I didn’t really go there. Well, not on an aeroplane in actual person. What do you think I am, a movie star?

I did, however, buy a bottle of Vernaccia di San Gimignano and make homemade ravioli. And I listened to Italian music while I wrestled with the pasta machine. (There may or may not have also been some choice Italian swear words in action.)

“Why??”

I knew you were busting to ask that.

Two lovely friends are currently living the Tuscan life on the trip of a lifetime in Italy. They’ve been posting photos and stories on Facebook and I’ve been reminiscing.

Yes, we did once fair dinkum go to San Gimignano.

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On a seven-week European odyssey with three small boys in tow (ages 11, 8 and 5), we had wisely booked a week in a small Tuscan town at about the halfway point. We didn’t know it was wise at the time. The wisdom only became apparent when we got there after our previous stop in Nice included the line “I’m over it! I want to go home!” That was me. As chief travel agent, tour guide, purchaser, cook, washer and seemingly font of all travel wisdom, the pressure was building. The opportunity to stop and breathe in one place for a week brought sanity back to us all.

Sometimes the significant travel memories that stay with you are not about awe-inspiring art or impressive structures or spectacular landscapes. Sometimes they are about living the life, feeling a part of a community of which you are a part for just a tiny moment. That was Certaldo for us. I’d managed to book a three bedroom apartment in a former 13th century palace with a tower where you could sit and see the towers of San Gimignano in the distance for only AU$800 a week.

Home is a palace
Lucky they were short
Just chillin’
Just chillin’ even more
Italian family life
Never underestimate the beauty of somewhere to wash and dry your clothes.
The view

Of course, first impressions count when you travel and the fact that we arrived on the weekend of their annual food and wine festival may have had some impact on our positive experiences. We didn’t know it was on when we booked. Another of those serendipitous moments that make a holiday special.

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Boccaccesca Wine and Food Festival, Certaldo Alto

It was like it was all meant to be.

We relaxed, shopped at the market, read books, ate a lot of good Italian bread and cheese and made day trip forays into neighbouring tourist centres such as Sienna and San Gimignano. We didn’t have a car so these were accessed by public transport. There’s nothing quite like squeezing onto a crowded local bus to make you feel a part of the community.

Living like the locals
This is the life
Sienna
Rustic Tuscan food on a steep Sienna street
Gelati in Sienna
San Gimignano
San Gimignano

It was a favourite moment in our holiday and I can’t help thinking that its impact was greater because it came at just the right time. We headed off after our week-long stay with renewed energy and patience.

I’d love to go back but I suspect that it wouldn’t be the same.

In the meantime, I’ll find the odd bottle of Tuscan wine in the local Dan Murphy’s, drag out the pasta machine and relive la dolce vita at home.

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Certaldo Alto, Tuscany

 

 

 

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Just One Child

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He was standing there alone, as he often did; standing where he wasn’t supposed to be, as he often did.

Somehow he’d found his way onto one of the dirt mounds that would one day be the floor of a new classroom. He’d had to cross several narrow planks to get there, over the deep trenches we’d been digging for the past few days.

He stood there and silently watched as we finished off the last of the concreting from which we’d taken a break to walk back to camp and have lunch. It was lunch break at school and while the other children played in the ‘yard’ (little more than a cleared space between the buildings), he’d done his own thing, as he often did.

The concreting done and seeing the children starting to gather to go back to class for afternoon lessons, I reached out my hands to lift him over the trench to where he could join his classmates. As I picked him up to swing him over, I felt him reach to wrap his arms around my neck. Aware of my responsibilities in regard to child safety and not forming attachments that I could not sustain, I smiled at him and kept him at arms’ length as I carried him over to the other side.

He went off to class. We went back to work.

As we walked back to camp, he was there. Standing some distance away, he was shouting a word at us over and over again. From the cheeky look on his face, I’d guess it was a Not Nice Word. As we came closer, he ran towards us. Stopping still some way away he suddenly spat in our direction.

Shocking? Maybe. Disgusting? To some, I guess.

Me? It just endeared him to me all the more. I’ve always been attracted to the ‘naughty’ ones.

We were all, workers, students and teachers alike, heading home at the end of the day. I saw him and he came, wanting to be picked up. Perhaps against my better judgement but unable to resist, I picked him up and carried him down the hill to the turn off where he went right to go home and we went left to go back to camp. As I put him down, he grabbed for my hand, wanting to follow. A teacher arrived and intervened, shooing him away. I watched as his big sister dragged him back along the path to home.

Our last day and I asked a friend to take a photograph of me with some of the kids but most particularly with that one little boy. I wanted to pick him up but I resisted and instead knelt down beside him for the photograph.

Later, after a beautiful and emotional farewell from the village, we were walking out of the school when I passed him and his family. I reached out my hand to say goodbye to him and he grabbed it and held on tightly. My resolve broke and I leant down and gave him a hug. As I released my arms and went to straighten up, the tiny arms around my neck tightened and his feet lifted off the ground. Several times I tried to set him down and each time he held on tighter.

“Pick him up and carry him down to the corner,” suggested our guide.

So I did, walking down the hill back towards camp for us and home for him, chatting to his father with his mother and sister close behind. As we reached the point where our paths diverged, I felt his arms hold even tighter. I said goodbye and then turned to our guide who reached up and took him from me. I quickly walked away, not looking back.

Halfway back to camp, our guide caught up with me and said, “He is still crying for you.” I stopped and looked back only to see his tiny frame running along the path towards us, his mother in close pursuit. It took all my resolve not to run back to him. I stood there and watched as his mother finally caught up with him and dragged him crying back towards home.

Many tears were shed in camp that night.

In a post I wrote last year about Voluntourism, I questioned the ethics of volunteering for short periods of time in orphanages. I felt it must be cruel to bond with children and then leave them forever.

I didn’t mean to bond with him. Against all better judgment I did.

And it tore away a piece of my heart to leave him.

How anyone could volunteer in a situation where it is part of the job to bond with not just one child but many children and then to be able to just walk away at the end of it is beyond me.

It’s still there, that piece of my heart. With a tiny boy in a small village in Nepal. Just one child and my life was changed forever.

 

 

 

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Nepalese Food Quiz Answers

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Breakfast with a view of Mt Everest

Breakfast with a view of Mt Everest

Winners are grinners and losers are boozers. (I couldn’t find anything else to rhyme with losers. And let’s face it, they probably need to drown their sorrows.)

Here are the results of “Best Black Tea – A Nepalese Food Quiz” posted a couple of weeks ago. Check out the answers along with a few tidbits about my experiences and then the winners will be revealed.

D

1. Tato Dudh – Hot Milk (or as one of our Sherpas called it, Hot Millick). Powdered milk never tasted so good. Offered at breakfast (into which one could mix instant coffee powder – shudder – or hot chocolate powder – that’s more like it) and also after dinner for that last warming drink before beddy-byes.

I

2. Anda Tarkari – Egg Curry. Admittedly, probably my least favourite of all the curries we were offered but still highly edible.

B

3. Saag – Spinach. But like no spinach you’ve ever tasted. Usually plucked fresh from one of the village gardens, I could eat this by the plateful (and occasionally needed to as my inherent low iron levels struggled with the lack of red meat on offer).

H

4. Alu Paratha – Flat bread stuffed with potato. One member of the group reckoned this tasted just like her Irish grandmother’s potato bread. I guess some food is universal.

E

5. Suji Ko Haluwa – Semolina Pudding. We were constantly spoilt with dessert after our evening meals – pineapple slices, chocolate pudding, apple pie – but the semolina pudding was the most Nepalese offering. One member of the group couldn’t bring herself to eat it as she was force-fed semolina pudding at boarding school as a child. Food has memories.

G

6. Chayote – Spiky Gourd. Our meals were a vegetarian’s delight (luckily for the one vegetarian in our group) with a multitude of different vegetables, most of them familiar but with the occasional new introduction. Chayote tastes a bit like zucchini (courgette).

J

7. Dal Bhat – Lentil Soup with Rice. This is Nepal’s national dish and is eaten in copious quantities. My absolute favourite dish of the trip. For our meals, the dal was poured onto the rice. One member of the group got most distressed when one of the Sherpas put some vegetable curry on top of her rice so there was no room for the dal. One must eat dal bhat as it is meant to be eaten.

F

8. Phini Roti – Fried Roti (also known as Tibetan Bread). We ate many different versions of bread but I think this would be my favourite. It is soft and slightly chewy with a hint of sweetness.

A

9. Rajma Tarkari – Kidney Bean Curry. Probably my favourite curry, this was absolutely delicious. And yes, we all know what happens when you eat a lot of beans but we were all in it together. Sharing is caring.

C

10. Momo – Dumpling. We were always served vegetable momos but they can also contain chicken. The first night these were offered, I was not feeling well and so was able to eat only one. I had to wait more than a week for them to reappear on the menu. (I was beginning to despair that they would not reappear at all.) I ate six.

So, how did you go? Here’s the results:

15 Points to Lynn at Life After 50 for being the first to provide all correct answers. However, she loses 5 points for not answering in numeric-alpha format (Rule #1). “But you said nothing would happen if we broke the rules!”  Yeah. I lied. Don’t upset my system.

10 Points each to Joanne at My Life Lived Full, Cynthia at littleoldladywho.net and Sue at Travel Tales of Life who all managed to correctly identify every food item in the correct format.

5 Points to Bun at Bun Karyudo for providing answers to every item and getting two correct.

5 Points to Barbara at Barbara Pyett for her very creative answers. However, she loses 2 points for listing Dal Bhat as her least favourite.

1 Point each to all those who had a crack at identifying at least one dish and also to all those who commented at all because you know I love to hear from you even if you don’t want to play.

Congratulations to the winners. As soon as we’re all located in the same city, I will present you with your very large, very shiny trophies at an elaborate awards ceremony.

Now, I must leave you all to go and make suji ko haluwa for a family dinner this evening.

Namaste!

 

 

 

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Finding Happiness In Bhutan

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Paro

The one thing that most people will tell you they know about Bhutan is that it is the country of Gross National Happiness.

In 1972, Bhutan’s Fourth King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, declared that the country would no longer measure its success by the standard Gross National Product but by a measure of Gross National Happiness. There are four pillars to the GNH –  Good Governance, Sustainable Socio-economic Development, Preservation and Promotion of Culture, and Environmental Conservation.

For more information and the latest report on the GNH Index, visit The Centre for Bhutan Studies & GNH Research website here.

Good Governance

Bhutan has two kings. In 2006, the Fourth King decided his son was old enough to become king so he abdicated the throne and Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck became the Fifth King of Bhutan. (I can think of another royal family that could take a lesson from that.) The Fourth King still retains some power (I guess the Fifth King became a King-in-Training) and is still greatly loved as evidenced by the year-long celebrations of his 60th birthday in 2015. The Fifth King appears equally revered so I guess he isn’t looking over his shoulder either.

Poverty is still evident but for that part of the world, there is very little of it in Bhutan.

Bhutan is tiny. Approximately 755,000 people live in a country 38,394 km² in area. The capital, Thimphu, has a population of 50,000. I live in what is classed a “regional city” in my country and even we have five times that number of people.

Bhutan Map

Thimphu, Capital of Bhutan

Thimphu, Capital of Bhutan

Being able to cross the road easily makes me happy.

Sustainable socio-economic development

Bhutan has a thriving handicrafts industry which is actively supported and protected from cheap imports by the government. Textiles, pottery and handmade paper are popular choices.

Painting at the Art & Craft School in Thimphu
Embroidery at the Art & Craft School in Thimphu
Sculpture at the Art & Craft School in Thimphu
Textiles at the Art & Craft School in Thimphu
Carving at the Art & Craft School in Thimphu
Fly making
Furniture builder
Not so sure about these particular handicrafts

Home-based workers (predominantly women) are encouraged to start businesses promoting traditional handicrafts. One craft market in Thimphu will have you wondering just how much room and weight you have available in your suitcase. (Can I possibly get that magnificent teapot home?)

Handicrafts Market, Thimphu

Handicrafts Market, Thimphu

Buying beautiful handmade souvenirs makes me happy.

Preservation and Promotion of Culture

The first step Bhutan takes to preserve its culture is to make it difficult to visit. With the exception of Indian nationals, foreigners are not permitted to wander about the country willy-nilly. To be granted a visa for Bhutan, you must book through an approved travel company and your trip must meet a minimum daily cost. (A portion of this is allocated to health and education programs.) Therefore all accommodation and meals are pre-booked and your itinerary will be included in your visa as an approved route.

Bhutan Visa

In case you thought I was joking

You will also be allocated a guide and a driver who will accompany you for the entire stay. (Although, once I did manage to escape them in Paro to have a coffee in solitary peace.)

My driver Aita and guide Chab Tshering

Once you experience some of the roads, you’ll be glad of the driver. Trust me.

IMAG0620

One of the better sections

The advantage of this approach is that Bhutan is not a very busy place to visit. You can also sit back and relax because everything is taken care of for you.

Lunch in Thimphu

The disadvantage is that there is no flexibility to stop longer somewhere or change your route. It can also be difficult for those of us of a shy, introverted nature to be in the constant company of a guide (even while trying to shop).

You also have a tendency to bump into the same people at various points as most visitors are taken to similar places. This can be either an advantage or disadvantage depending on the people you keep bumping into.

Punakha Dzong
National Memorial Choeten, Thimphu
Tiger’s Nest Monastery
Rinpung Dzong, Paro
Druk Wangyal Choetens, Dochula Pass

But it works. From the moment you land in Bhutan, there is no question as to the nature of its culture. Almost everyone wears national dress (it is expected for work and school) and the buildings have a distinctive style.

Paro Airport
Main street, Paro
Wangdue Phodrang Dzong, destroyed by fire in 2012, now being rebuilt mostly by volunteers
Archery – National Sport of Bhutan
Even the haystacks seem to be culturally appropriate
School, Thimphu
Roundabout, Thimphu
Boys on their way to school, Thimphu
Office building, Thimphu
Royal Government Building, Thimphu
Window detail, Gangtey Gompa

Experiencing an untainted Bhutanese culture makes me happy.

Environmental Conservation

Bhutan got on board the environment movement before there was one. Clean water and energy were seen as important parts of promoting happiness but it was also recognised that a beautiful landscape could in itself provide well-being. The country is more than 70% covered in trees and there are reminders everywhere to care for the environment.

Tiger’s Nest Monastery
Waterfall near Tiger’s Nest Monastery
Outside my hotel room in Wangdi
Yak

Spending time in a stunning natural environment makes me happy.

Should I visit Bhutan?

Are you kidding? Sorry, yes, yes, go to Bhutan. You won’t regret it. And although it may seem an expensive place to put on the itinerary, the flight into Paro will more than justify the expense before you even get there.

Everest!

MOSY travelled to Bhutan with World Expeditions (Essence of Bhutan trip) courtesy of her own bank account. She has no reason to lie.

 

 

 

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Best Black Tea – A Nepalese Food Quiz

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One thing you will do when you travel in Nepal is drink a lot of tea.

The teapot first arrives around 6am outside your tent with a cheery “Black tea!”. You struggle out of your sleeping bag or, more often, struggle in your sleeping bag to unzip the tent flap and grasp that boiling hot tin cup of tea either sweetened with three large teaspoons of sugar (the Nepali way) or not.

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Early Morning Cup of Tea

One of our Sherpas often called out “Best black tea!” We thought he was proud of his tea until we returned to Kathmandu and realised the stock in the supermarket was called just that – Best Black Tea.

The teapot will appear again at breakfast, then at lunch, then afternoon tea and lastly as a final note to the day after dinner. (While we were working in the village, the pot also appeared at morning tea time but in this case it would have ‘juice’ in it (otherwise known as hot cordial).)

Another thing you will do when you travel in Nepal is eat. A lot. Provided you’ve chosen your trekking company well, you will be suitably nourished in order to lift that hammer, shift that rock or climb that mountain.

Breakfast in the Sunshine

My friend Sue over at Travel Tales of Life likes to conduct a food quiz of the unusual delicacies she experiences on her travels. With her permission, I have pinched the idea for a Nepalese Food Quiz.

There’s just one teensy problem.

Sue is a highly regarded and experienced travel blogger and as such knows to take photographs of the food she eats just in case it comes in useful for a blog post. (Like this one.)

My first instinct when presented with a delicious plate of food is to eat it.

Sue also appears to travel in a slightly higher economic category than I and often has beautifully presented restaurant-standard single-named dishes with which to conduct her quiz.

My meals were presented on metal plates in a tent with up to eight different dishes on the one plate.

Like this one:

Food Plate

Actually, you’ll notice I had started to eat this one too.

That’s it. That’s the only photo I’ve got. (Well, that’s not strictly true. There’s one more I took when we picnicked beside a river during the trek. But I’ve already used that one in another post.) And you only got this one because I happened to have my phone in my pocket.

So I’m having to improvise.

Most of the images in the quiz are sourced from the Nepalese Cook Book I purchased in Kathmandu but am yet to tackle in an attempt to replicate in my own kitchen what our cook achieved over a two-burner kerosene stove in a tent.

Culinary delights await

But however the images have been sourced, I promise you I ate every single one in Nepal.

So. Rules.

  1. Each food name has been assigned a number and each photograph has been assigned a letter. Please list all answers in numeric-alpha format. This is to sooth my OCD Mathematician tendencies. Danke.
  2. Googling is permitted within reason. You may also Yahoo or Bing if you want to add an extra challenge. If you’re feeling radical, try DuckDuckGo.
  3. If you break rules 1 and 2, nothing will happen. We’re not playing for sheep stations, people.

I will publish the winners in a couple of weeks. Or, you know, when I feel like it. Get in early to avoid disappointment.

Ready?

Food Names

  1. Tato Dudh
  2. Anda Tarkari
  3. Saag
  4. Alu Paratha
  5. Suji Ko Haluwa
  6. Chayote
  7. Dal Bhat
  8. Phini Roti
  9. Rajma Tarkari
  10. Momo

Food Photographs

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

 

Good luck and remember it’s supposed to be fun.

 

 

 

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The Ups And Downs Of Trekking

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When it comes to trekking, the up is a down and the down is an up but sometimes an up is an up and a down is a down.

What?

Walking uphill, particularly at altitude, is hard work.

And we weren’t even at very high altitude (under 3000m). But uphill is uphill.

So you would think downhill would be preferable, right? Wrong.

While walking uphill hurts the thighs and the lungs, walking downhill kills the knees. Going downhill can be just as bad as going uphill, particularly if the track is narrow, or rocky, or muddy.

So you would think a nice flat, wide road would be a trekkers dream, right? Wrong.

The flat, wide roads may be easier but even they have their downside. Boredom.

But as much as you might grumble, you always keep in mind that things could be worse.

You could be a porter.

They’ll overtake you, you know. And fast enough to have camp set up for you by the time you get there.

Ah, camp. Both an up and a down.

Who wouldn’t want to spend a night here?

Or here?

You would. But bear in mind you’ll also be sleeping on the ground (or on a thin mat or, if you’re smart – unlike me – on your own thicker thermarest), washing yourself, your clothes and your hair in one tiny bowl of water and the ‘facilities’ will be a hole in the ground in a small tent.

“Washy washy!”
Hair washing day
Pray for sunshine
Bonus washing day with a BIG bowl
They always wisely pack away the toilet tent last

And if you are camping at higher altitudes, there’s always the chill factor. Even at less than 3000m. Let’s sing: “Early one morning…..”

Of course, trekking comes with other bonuses.

Interaction with the locals:

Fun bridges:

Photo by Emma Carlos

A fully cooked picnic lunch beside a river:

My favourite part of trekking? The mountains. Whether climbing them or just admiring them in the dawn light, coming from a country whose highest mountain is only 2228m high, I will never get over the majesty of a mighty mountain range.

In the end, even the downs are enough of an up to make the whole experience worthwhile.

What else do you do when you’re in sight of the highest mountain in the world?

 

 

 

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The Children of Lura, Nepal

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By the children of Lura, Nepal….

On the last day of our community project, we spent the morning playing with the children at Manju Shree Primary School. They loved having their photos taken and were fascinated by my camera so I slung the camera around the first child’s neck, showed him how to push the button to take a photo and let him go. And then child after child after child.

These are the photos they took of their friends crowding around to have their photos taken. They’re better than mine! Enjoy the slideshow.

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It Takes A Village

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“It takes a whole village to raise a child.” ~ Nigerian proverb

Manju Shree Primary School students

Manju Shree Primary School students

The village may be physically located in a poor area of Nepal but the residents now include people from Australia, New Zealand and Scotland.

I’ve just recently returned from a Community Project trip to Nepal with World Expeditions. It was an opportunity to help in the post-earthquake rebuilding of one small corner of Nepal unlikely to receive government help.

Seven Aussies, one Kiwi and a couple of resident Scots (actually, Sheila is Irish and John is English but they live in Aberdeen) dug, picked, shovelled, carried, hammered, pulled, shaped, bent, chipped, cut and ran their hearts out for nine whole days to provide a solid foundation to a new school building in the village of Lura, Lower Solukhumbu, Nepal.

The Lura School Project Team - Sheila, Emma, Pic, Jenny, John, Simon, David, Heather, Judy & Carolyn.

The Lura School Project Team – Sheila, Emma, Pic, Jenny, John, Simon, David, Heather, Judy & Carolyn.

 

An Experience in Gratitude:

For the warm welcome we received from the school and wider community.

The children waiting to offer us prayer scarves and marigold garlands on our arrival at the school.
A welcome of marigold petals
Welcome Ceremony
Prayer scarves presented by the Headmaster
Welcome Ceremony Day
After the welcome ceremony

For sunny days and the satisfaction of hard work.

Digging out the foundations with picks and shovels. Oh, for a bobcat.
Digging out the foundations
So many walls to break through
That’s another wall gone
Steel benders
Rock Chippers making gravel
Bending rebar into squares for the concrete pillar frames. With a few nails and a bit of pipe.
Bending wires for the concrete pillar frames
Making frames for the concrete pillars

For the things we take for granted back home.

Like a truck full of gravel.

The Rock Chippers. Making gravel with rocks and hammers.
The “Flintstones Cart”
Three person powered

Or a cement mixer.

Mixing concrete
The concrete chain (took all of us when we got up the other end)
Concrete delivery
Pouring concrete

Or a wheelbarrow.

Nepali village wheelbarrows
Nepali village wheelbarrow loaded and ready to be taken away
This is how you use a Nepali village wheelbarrow

Or for the easy availability of supplies.

Hammering nails out of wood to be reused. With a rock.
Pulling nails out of wood to be reused
First hammer the nail back through the wood
Then pull it out the other side
Master of the Crowbar
A bucket full of nails pulled out of all the wood and ready for straightening and reusing.
Where they get the big rocks (down the hill)
Breaking the big rocks into smaller rocks
How do you get the rocks from down the hill to the school?
Strong boys

For the smiles and fun of children.

For new friendships.

New friends - Project members and school teachers

New friends – Project members and school teachers

For the fulfillment of achieving more than expected.

Solid foundations

Solid foundations

A Story

Based on my previous Community Project experience, I was expecting a lack of access to electricity and mobile phone reception while working in the village so imagine my surprise to have access to both of these luxuries. (What I hadn’t counted on and much worse was the lack of access to chocolate. Tough days…)

Our trekking crew successfully jerry-rigged a powerboard and electric light in the dining tent, feeding off a line from a nearby house.

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. As were we. I’m getting to that.

One night, Sheila asked our guide the question that had been on all our minds. “Shouldn’t we pay someone for the electricity?”

Bikash shook his head and explained. “Everyone in this village is so grateful you are here. They are so thankful that you have come to help them. They ask all the time, ‘What can we do? What can we offer them?’ They want to do whatever they can to say thank you for what you are doing.”

There was silence around the table. I think all of us were deeply moved and felt both proud and humbled. The people of Lura have so little and we were the ones to be thankful for the opportunity to do such a simple thing to help them.

Farewell Ceremony
Farewell Ceremony
Our building supervisor (in the mask) at the Farewell Ceremony
Farewell Ceremony
Farewell Ceremony
Guests of Honour at the Farewell Ceremony
Sherpa people offering thanks with a song and special drink of raksi. The look on my face is because I was trying not to cry.
Traditional dance from the Tamang people
Dancing at the Farewell Ceremony
Dancing at the Farewell Ceremony
Sherpa dance and song
Farewell cake – enough to make you cry
Handing out the cake

Changing the World

In a physical sense, we have changed the world of the community of Lura and the children of Manju Shree Primary School, helping them on their way to a new and sturdy school building.

More importantly, however, our own worlds have changed in ways we are still discovering. We may never see our lives in quite the same light again. And a part of us will always be living in a small village in Nepal.

Manju Shree Primary School, Lura
Proud to put my name to this

 

 

 

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Going Off The Air

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NEWSFLASH: MASTER OF SOMETHING I’M YET TO DISCOVER WILL GO OFF THE AIR FOR FOUR WEEKS

The MOSY Network apologises for this break in transmission. We will resume regular broadcasting at the end of November. In the meantime, reruns are available via our Blog-Post-On-Demand service. (The BPOD service can be accessed via the ‘The Old Trades’ dropdown box.)

Image courtesy World Expeditions

Image courtesy of World Expeditions

The Background Story

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, I will board a Flying Metal Bird for parts unknown. Well, unknown to me. I’ll be gone four weeks – three in Nepal and one in Bhutan.

I will not be gracing the blogosphere for much of the journey (if at all). For the ten days I will spend in the village of Lura followed by the six days of trekking in the Lower Solukhumbu region, I anticipate a lack of access to electricity. Forget about internet. The week in Bhutan will be on a more civilised standing (in that I’ll be sleeping in a bed rather than on the ground and the toilet won’t be a hole in the ground) but I suspect I will have better things to do with my time than surf the WordPress wave (no offence).

Lura, Nepal

Here’s where I’ll be working for ten days with nine others from Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom to help rebuild the village school:

(All images courtesy of World Expeditions)

Lura Talk 1

Lura Talk 2

Lura Talk 3

Lura Talk 4

Lura Talk 5

The school has been demolished and work has begun on the new building. The first group from World Expeditions has already started on the foundations and we will pick up where they leave off and groups will come after us to continue the work until it is done.

Bhutan

Bhutan? Well, that’s just for me. It’s been top of my bucket list for years so when The Husband told me to take more time if there was something else I wanted to do while I was in the area, I took him seriously. Called “The Essence of Bhutan” this private tour will be just a taste of this fascinating country. It’s not private by choice but no one else booked for that date. I will have my own one-on-one guide and driver for the eight days I am there. Introvert Me is hunched in the corner breathing into a paper bag.

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I am nervously excited for the adventure ahead. Traveller Me can’t wait to get there but Shy Me – whom I usually manage to keep busy in the kitchen during parties – keeps sticking her head out the door with questions like, “What if they don’t like you?”. I’m trying to ignore her.

See you all on the other side.

NOTE: If you can’t wait four weeks, fairly regular updates on the project are available here. You might even be able to spot me in a photograph if you’re really lucky.

 

 

 

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