Our Goodbye Picnic

This was a wonderful day, the last full Friday in Bandipur, on 25th January. The great staff at the Old Inn prepared momos (meat & veg filled dumplings, very tasty), dhakas (fried balls of veg, also tasty) and lots of mini pizzas. These were for all the computer class kids and us to eat at lunch in the Ke Garne café in the main bazzar opposite the Old Inn.

We choose the Friday instead of the Saturday because on Saturdays the big playing field Thundikel, the only large flat space in Bandipur, is full with Nepali tourists having picnics. So we chose Friday, also, it’s half day on Fridays at local government schools, so the kids were off in the afternoon.

Once all the kids arrived we brought out the food, and like vultures, it was quickly devoured. Although, that was by the boys and most of the girls were incredibly civilized, as the members of the opposite sex always are! :o)

Once the food had quickly disappeared, we decided to make our way to the large open playing field, Thundikel, armed with balls, Frisbees, a large skipping rope and refreshments for later.

Once there the fun began, everyone split into groups and with their choice of instrument let loose. The only reservation was that I had an Aerobie (a kind of Frisbee, for those of you who don’t know, that can be thrown up to 500m) and the slight issue is that on one side of the Thundikel is a pretty sharp drop of about 600m. So I guess you can understand what was going through my mind.

So of course I warned those who were using it, “Be Careful!”. And low and behold 20 minutes into our fun, wheeee!!!!!!! Off it went never to be seen again. The kid, Sujan, whose throw was the nail in the coffin, tried for ten minutes to see if he could find it, but to no avail. So I had no other thing to say than “Que Sera”, though Sujan was very sincerely apologetic, which I appreciated a lot.

Luckily, the other Frisbees (standard old school ones) that were being used, which Tim bought, a volunteer from another organization, a lovely Canadian guy, did not disappear over the edge. Tim is here with another volunteer, a friend of his, Remy another lovely guy from Canada, both are 18. They are so mature for their age; we’ve had many deep and cool conversations. They have both taken a year out before they go to University, and have already been doing volunteer work in the Caribbean and Central America and after Nepal they are going to volunteer their time in Uganda, before then moving on to South Africa to be with friends and finally returning to Canada. What an amazing experience, something I’m sure they’ll both benefit from in the coming years, and I now have a reason to go to Canada :o) Thanks guys!

Back to the playing field, and skipping, what fun I had their! You may be able to tell from the picture above. It was so good to see the kids having fun, running around and enjoying themselves, the last time we'll see it, apart from those going rafting, which ye shall see later!

Just before our return to the bazaar I was mauled by the children when trying to hand out refreshments, and this time some of the young ladies were not so civilized! See you can’t always follow stereotypes, oh I’m cruising for a bruising :o)