The Happenings in the Computer Class

The computer classes have been going really well and have had their changes over the past 6 weeks. The biggest thing of course is my relationship with the children which has grown considerably and the great thing is how I have such different relationships with them all. Of course, naturally you bond more with some rather than others. And the funny thing is how you relate to the different aged children too, and how I've had to adapt to get the most out of the relationships. But the most important thing of all is trying to make a positive impact in any way I can on their life, whether that be improving their level of English or just giving them the love and attention they deserve, as any child should have. And most of all, what they have given to me is something I shall never forget for life!

I also have some sad news, I am no longer teaching in the computer class because there is no need for me. I was going to continue to help Angela for the next few weeks, as she would be on her own. However, at the last minute, 2 days before her arrival we were told that a new volunteer, Yolee, was coming to take my place, which means that there is no need for me to assist Angela anymore.

The positive thing for me is that I get more time to concentrate on learning the language and doing that admin stuff. The downside is that I'll not be seeing the kids as much anymore, though I'm still keeping up with the rubbish every Wednesday and doing the exercise with the boys!

As for what we've been up to. Apart from the standard trying to teach English with the computers. The methods of teaching have been constantly evolving, especially when Angela came along and now I'm sure they will change with the new volunteer's influence too.

I think what we have learnt so far is that the children lack the confidence in reading and speaking English. Probably due to the teaching methods in the school or maybe for some, just general shyness. But we feel it has been good to introduce as many different ways of getting them to speak, listen, read and write English to improve their comprehension as much as possible. Are we making a difference? I hope so, but I think as long as we and future volunteers show the children and the community that we care and give 100% sincerity to them and do the best we can, then it's all worth the effort whatever the outcome :o)

As for what's else has been happening, if you see the pictures above we've been having some fun too, not all serious English teaching.

The kids loved the balloons, especially the long twisting, making shapes ones. Also, we had fun making various things with the craft materials such as pipe cleaners and fluffy balls. Having creative fun with the kids is so much fun and I think an important way to express themselves, which they don't get at school.

You can even see us working with candle light, when the power cuts occur, which is happening on a regular basis, now up to 6 hours a day. It is ridiculous Ahh! I'll talk about that another time.

Outside with the Computer Class

Another important bonding time we have with the children is outside the computer class and Saturdays is a great time as it's our only day off, which we do take as rest time too, but also arrange things with the kids.

A few weeks before Christmas we went to visit a beautiful traditional village called Ramkot, famous for its round houses, actually there are only 2. Above, you can see a picture of all us guys outside one of the houses. But it's a lovely walk about 1 and a half hours both ways.

It was great to stretch our legs, especially the kids, as Bandipur is pretty much where they are all the time, so to go out for a mini trek outside their town is great for them. We take drinks and snacks for the journey. What is great though, is the local knowledge these kids have. About their plants and trees in particular, they know which fruits and berries are good to eat. You can see in another picture above, them picking for a small, stoned fruit that is very bitter, I forgot the name. It was a great day and as usual the weather excellent.

Then for the first Saturday of the western New Year, we went to Siddha Cave for the second time. You may remember, on my first weekend here I went with the previous volunteer, but Angela the new volunteer wanted to go and see it.

We could only take a few of the older boys for safety purposes, but it was still great fun. The journey their and back is similar to Ramkot. You can see in one of the pictures above all us guys sitting on the rock eating or rather sucking on a sugar cane, which one of the boys thoughtfully brought for us. All in all a great day out.

And just before Angela and I leave, we are taking 12 of the guys rafting. Which they are all very excited and can't wait, us too!

At the Local Primary School

Things at the local primary school have changed a lot since my last blog. Especially, once Angela arrived, she brought a new dynamic to the teaching. First, instead of being just me, there's now 2 of us, actually there was 2 of us. But now, like with the computer class I have left the school to concentrate on other things. You can see a picture of my last day above, the one with the kids all surrounding me. It was a great last day, we all sang together and I did some dancing too while the kids sang in Nepali.

Back in Australia, Angela is a music teacher and also is director of an amateur all female choir. So straight away, she added the musical element to the classroom which the kids lapped up. So it became normal that for the last 5-10 minutes of class we would sing songs. Most were simple and catchy ones, the most popular was an African one called 'Oh Malle', they loved it and sometimes we hear them singing it outside of school too.

Working together as team made the challenge of working with the children so much easier and has meant we have created a stronger bond with them. To help learn all their names we created name badges, which the children loved and felt very proud with their name on their chest. We also introduced doing a test at the end of each week, to see if they really were learning anything. It was a great way of testing their ability and to see how much copying they do, and many do, mainly because it is so prevalent in the local government schools, something I hope will change in the future. But we try our best to discourage it and let them know it's ok to make mistakes, it is how you learn.

Another great idea Angela came up with was to do some simple renovation to the classroom, as they were in a horrible state, holes in the floor and window sills and the walls were unpainted and full of graffiti, shows how much respect the children have for their classroom and the lack of it the teachers have too. So we enlisted the help of our amazing big brother Ramsaran, from the hotel, and he got a team together to patch up all the holes and Angela and I acquired some paint and got to work on the walls.

The most amazing part was that, some of the children from our computer classes who don't go to this school helped us paint without us even asking. That really made us feel lucky to be here in Bandipur with children and people like this, it makes us wonder who is benefiting more from our time here, the community or us, I think it's pretty "same same", as they say here.

You can see the difference in the pictures above, the one with the balloons was before and the one with the kids and me was after, but I think you could have guessed that!?

Anyway, I hope the children will continue to benefit from the good will of all the volunteers to come in the future, I will miss them and hopefully I will see them again one day.

Bandipur Festival

Well, we had a rather interesting festival occur here on the weekend of 14th December, the 'Bandipur Festival'. It was mainly set up to promote the town for tourism. There were lots of flags put up in the main street and many stalls in the big open space called Thundikel. But that was about it, the stalls didn't have much to offer some interesting Newari food and some very funny hygiene stalls demonstrating why people shouldn't poo in fields or water, you can see in the picture of the poster above, they get straight to the point.

I don't know how but they managed to get an elephant up here as the picture demonstrates above, it squeezing under the banners and flags, the kids loved it. Also, I had to post the picture of me walking with some of the boys, because it really makes me look like a giant, even though I should know that by now 

Angela & Lee's Trek

In the 3rd week of December Angela and I decided to go on the small trek included with our volunteering, the main reason because the schools were having exams for 10 days and we had less to do, so it was the right time to go.

We also went with another volunteer from Pokhara, Dale from the UK, a really friendly and nice guy. He had just finished university and took a year out before starting a course to become a primary school teacher.

The trek is called the Royal Trek named after Prince Charles who did the trek sometime in the 80's. It's 4 days, 3 nights with a maximum altitude of 1400m, not very high but stunning views of the Himalayan mountains. As you can see on our first day, the picture of Angela, Dale and me with the great backdrop.

We stayed in family houses and ate dal bhat for dinner and our guide brought bread and muesli for breakfast. You can see our first nights stay in the photo above, in the clay room and our breakfast the following morning outdoors. Sadly, Dale had to be taken back to Pokhara on the second day as he became ill with a stomach bug, but had recovered on our return.

It was a great trip never meeting any other tourists on our journey, just locals. It wasn't too difficult a trek either, the days weren't too long, we had time to relax in the afternoons and to take in the surroundings. You can see in the picture above, the 3 girls with the big cheesy grins. It was a very emotional afternoon when that photo was taken, because they demonstrated the rawness of what being a child should be. They are from a community that has very little, though were full of life and innocence. It was a very touching to experience, they improvised and played games and then they did a song and dance for us. It was a magical experience for Angela and me. It really brought the essence of why we are here in Nepal.

The sunrise on the last morning was an amazing experience, you can see the picture of our guide and me on the old wooden bench with the most beautiful backdrop. I never got tired of that view, I'm in awe every time I experience it, especially during sunrise and sunset. On sunrise, it feels like witnessing the birth of the very first day of life on Earth. If you ever get the chance to make it to Nepal, you will be rewarded for life!

Once the trek was finished we decided we had to celebrate it with a lovely juicy steak. Though, the bazaar thing was that we were in a country which deems the cow as sacred and we felt a little strange eating steak. What was even more bazaar was that are guide also ate the steak with us. But, I have to say it was the best steak I've ever had. They actually import them from India, as killing a cow in Nepal is illegal, but importing the meat isn't?!

Anyway, it was a lovely trek and mind re-energizer for our return trip to Bandipur.

Christmas in Bandipur

My first Christmas away from mum and dad, I have to say was an emotional one. Up until the day before Christmas life in Bandipur was happening as normal, and why shouldn't it, as they don't celebrate it here. Then on the Christmas Eve the hotel put up a Christmas tree and decorations and then it hit me I would be away from my family for Christmas.

Actually, Christmas Eve was lovely, Angela and I first had dinner with one of our computer class students Sanjip. Then on our return to the hotel, we found ourselves eating frois grois on walnut bread, Swiss cheese and dark chocolate finished off with a selection of French wines, red, white and dessert too! Another totally bazaar experience. The food and drink was brought in by some French guests from the hotel who live and work in Nepal and were on their Christmas break. It was a very multi-cultural affair, there were 3 French, 1 Canadian, 1 American, 2 Dutch, 3 English and 1 Australian. In the picture above you can see some of us toasting to the camera.

The 2 dutchman that were with us are on this amazing bike journey, they have cycled from Holland and are on their way to Malaysia. They said they've had the best experiences ever, and every country they passed through the people were so warm and welcoming and one of the friendliest was Iran. They were concerned about the current political climate their, but once travelling through it, they were always greeted, offered food and just invited with warm, friendly faces.

I think one of the most important things is that we should not judge a country and it's people too quickly and not believe everything the media tells us. Some times we should just experience it for ourselves, and we may be surprised of the outcome.

Angela had a great idea for our computer class, that was to find a Christmas tree. It wasn't easy, but up one of the hills near Bandipur were some fir trees, they had few branches and massive needles, but it did the job. And then just before Christmas we got the kids to make decorations for it, which was great fun and you can see a picture of the tree in some of the pictures above.

As for Christmas day, it was a rollercoaster of emotions. We still had computer classes that day, we felt it unfair not too and because it was a special day, we wanted to experience it with our kids. Also, Angela and I bought all the guys Christmas presents too. For the boys we got either a hat or a pair of gloves, and for the girls, a purse with some bangles, a shampoo sachet and a lip seal. And for all the kids some toothpaste, a tooth brush, some soap and a couple of sweets. And to top it off they were wrapped in a prayer flag, tied together with string and finished with a clip on koala. The koala, a gift from Angela she had brought from Oz, luckily she had enough for all kids.

The kids loved their presents. We also decided to watch the Incredibles movie on the computer with the kids, as an treat for us as well as them. Christmas Day dinner was BBQ chicken, creamy mash potato and veg, with a mince pie to finish it off. And what made it even better was that 2 other volunteers from another location, James and Liam were up for Christmas and James had been sent for Christmas a big bar of Dairy Milk which was offered out to us after the mince pies and went down very nicely.
The best part of Christmas day was when I got to speak to my family, I was very happy and sad at the same time, but it meant a lot to speak with them so that was my best present.

New Year was another crazy night, one to remember. It was more of a family affair. The owner of the Travel company Himalayan Encounters Tony, was here with His Nepali girlfriend, ex-wife and partner, his brother, his son from England, and many of their friends from Nepal. One family their who emigrated from Scotland a few years ago to live in Kathmandu, were a lovely people. The husband Jamie was a GP in Scotland for many years and is now working in a clinic in Kathmandu and helps with projects all over Nepal. Their son was their, a young teenager and he could play the bagpipes. And how could he not play them on New Year and so he did. It was great, he played flower of Scotland and of course Auld Lang Syne. Though once midnight came we all went straight to bed, as here in Nepal bedtime is usually between 8-9pm. So we were all knackered and not used to late nights. But it was definitely a New Year to remember.

'Keep Bandipur Clean' Update

The Keep Bandipur clean campaign had a few weeks break over the Christmas period, due to exams and Angela and I being on our Trek. But now into the new year it is back into full swing.

You can see from the pictures above our incinerator where the rubbish is burnt, as there are no rubbish collections where we are and no facilities to land fill. So for the meantime they burn their rubbish. Though here in Bandipur, Himalayan encounters have upgraded their incinerator site, a smaller, compact burner for increased temperatures and better burning.

In my last blog, I mentioned the kind donation of 1000 rupees by Andrew from London. Well, that money has been spent on 16 pairs of gloves, so a BIG thank you again for your donation. You can see Angela buying the gloves in a chemist and they are actually post mortem gloves, but that's all we could find, but they are very thick rubber so should last a good time. You can also see the kids waving with their gloves.

We were worried that after the break the kids would be lacking the enthusiasm, but they actually still have enough to turn up, even if some do turn up late, they do make the effort. The one thing here in Nepal is that they don't really grasp the concept of punctuality, well actually I just think they are used to there long lasting culture of being very laid back. It can be frustrating at times, but has helped me get closer to the quote of 'Patience is a virtue'.

Anyway, it's still going well and I'm still attending while I remain in Bandipur and actually last weekend we had a rather bazaar festival, a sanitation festival, I've never heard of one of those before, but yes it did happen here. The next blog is all about it including pictures.

Bandipur Sanitation Festival

Yes a sanitation festival, and to me and the other volunteers, a rather bazaar weekend. But fun!

We had all the children lining the streets to welcome 1 lady from UNICEF and what an experience that was. She and her daughter were greeted like a royal family, with flowers, gifts and the children and people lining the streets. Just take a look at the pictures above.

There was a stage and lots of talking, of which I couldn't understand, but in the evening it was great as they had lots of Hindi and Nepali dance music being played and lots of young teenagers dancing on stage. It was a fun night, I was dancing with lots of the kids too, but not on stage. And had many hanging of my arms too!

The main purpose is to try and educate and inform the people about proper sanitation methods and disposal of dirty water and even toilets. Still in Nepal, approximately 40% of Nepali's don't have a toilet and just use the land, a crazy statistic, so things like this are very important. Though sometimes it seems like a lot of talking and not much action, my slightly pessimistic view, but I don't have enough knowledge on this subject, so I can't really make too much of a judgment. Though it was a great photo opportunity! And hopefully made a few people think.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Just a quick blog to say a big Nepali Happy Christmas and a happy New Year to you all. Sorry I haven't blogged in such a long time but it is still very busy here and access to the internet is difficult.

I have just finished a 4 day small trek and I'm in Pokhara now, the second biggest city in Nepal. It was a great trip, quite relaxing not too strenuous with amazing views. I shall be updating the blog properly within the next few weeks with lots of pics and stories.

But for now I wish you all a great festive period and look forward to seeing you in 2008. My best wishes to you all!!! :) Ho Ho Ho!

The picture is from my recent trek!

More Wonderful Views from Bandipur

Hi All!! Sorry for the delay in updating my blog, but I have updated with loads of blogs at one time, plenty for you to read over the next week. There are many reasons why, first I've been very busy sorting out new schedules for the children's activities from the computer class and second the internet café here has been having problems. But please read the blog below for more details of what I've been up to the past few weeks and please view the blog beneath it, which is dedicated to all those people who have donated money for creative bits for the kids and for those visitors to the Bandipur Old Inn who have donated the colouring books, pens, toys and clothes, the children have loved them all!

6 weeks since leaving British soil!

On one hand it feels like time has stood still, then on the other it feels like it's gone very quickly. I think because I have seen and done so much, England feels like a long way away and my mind has been absorbing so much in the past 6 weeks. But I do miss home, my friends and especially my Mum, Dad and big Sis. I'm missing you lots and lots! Xxxx

So where shall I continue?? since I last posted, much has happened. I'm now on my own in Bandipur the other 2 volunteers left over 2 weeks ago and it's just me to hold the fort. I was nervous to begin with, but as the days have passed I've felt more and more at home. My relationship with the people and the kids has grown considerably and they are making me feel part of the family even more and I'm starting to become attached. I have even been given a nickname at the Hotel where I eat, 'Bhok lageyo', which when translated means, 'I'm hungry' and for those of you who know me, you will understand that interpretation :). If there's food I'll eat it!

In terms of where I'm volunteering, things have changed, something I'm becoming part of here in Nepal. It's not good to make long term plans here, the life is just living day to day, which I'm really beginning to enjoy, although still find it hard sometimes, due to my organisational nature, but it's good for me, I'm sure of that.
I am going to stay here in Bandipur for the remainder of my volunteering. You may remember in my last blog I said I'm looking forward to be sent to the other place, Trisuli. However, 2 things have occurred, first, a volunteer who has been their for the past few months is possibly staying their till January, meaning as there is no one replacing me here, then why should I leave, and the second is personal, because since the previous volunteers have left, I've really got my head into things and have set up a completely new teaching structure for the computer class and much more, see the blogs below.

Also, my school teaching schedule has changed. I dropped the teaching in the morning at Thudikel Primary and kept the afternoon Grade 5 at Dill Primary. Though, at the beginning of this week I was on the verge of giving this school up too! I just was not having luck, a lot of the children could not understand me fully and they could not keep attention and misbehaved. I felt so low on Sunday, really down, but on Monday I had a chat with an amazing American woman who was staying in Bandipur, for the second time this year. She gave me inspiration and most of all sincerely listened to me which was what I needed, especially because I'm on my own here with no constant natural English speaking people. I can't have an intimate conversation with one of the locals, because of the cultural and language barrier.

But after that warming chat, I was convinced to give up the school and concentrate on my other bits. But I would do one more lesson and this time I was adamant to have a Nepali teacher with me in the room, so that happened and all was different, I had some extra word games planned to use and because the Nepali teacher was their they were so much better behaved and the lesson was excellent!

What a difference a day can make and today I have started doing a Class 3 (8-10year olds) English, on request of the Nepali teachers. So I have to say a MASSIVE Thank You to Jane for listening to me and being there just when I needed it, I shall come and visit you in California! Or we may even meet in the UK?!

Well, I have written a hell of a lot today plus I have more to write more below, so I hope you are still with me and I look forward to hearing from you guys. Lots of love, the Tall guy! x :)

Thank You for Your Donations & Gifts!

As mentioned at the top, this blog is first to say Thank You, to all you guys who came to my leaving dinner in Luton and the money you donated, which enabled me to buy and send a 10kg box of goodies for the kids, you can see some of the stuff in the picture above taken in my bedroom. I will be updating with more pictures in the coming weeks, when they use there craft sets.

This blog is also to say Thank You to those tourists who have been to Bandipur and donated anything from pens to pencils. And a big Thanks to the Spanish guests from The Old Inn who donated lots of colouring books, pens, crayons, toys and even some clothes, they are greatly appreciated and the kids have had so much fun with the toys and especially the colouring books, I can't keep them away from them! :)

I also want to say a last big Thank You to Andrew from Radlett, UK who not only donated 1000 rupees to our 'Keep Bandipur Clean' campaign(please see blog beneath), but got up early to join us on one of our rubbish collections as well, Thank You!
All your help and donations mean so much to the children and people of Bandipur :)

'Keep Bandipur Clean!'

With the help of Ramsaran, the amazing manager of 'The Old Inn', the hotel which looks after my dietary needs and general wellbeing including the use of the showers and the most important of all their great company and friendship, I have set up a 'Keep Bandipur Clean' campaign.

Well actually Ramsaran and I discussed it a few weeks ago and it's only just starting to develop, but I'm hoping for it to grow and have an impact, I'll at least try my best. The idea came when I mentioned to Ramsaran that Bandipur has one of the cleanest High Streets in Nepal(See picture above during the recent Tihar festival), but as soon as you leave the High Street towards many of the different scenic routes, rubbish litters the paths everywhere. So I said can we get the kids involved, and he said yes. And when I looked at their computer class schedule and saw they were in their 6 days a week, I thought it would be a great idea to break up the week. So Wednesday, being the middle of the week, has become the 'Keep Bandipur Clean' day.

Actually, we start at around 7am armed with big empty rice sacks and go and find a route to clean. I am amazed with the turnout, some of the children are very enthusiastic. Today was the 3rd time of trying and so far we gone from 12 children on the first, 15 last week and 21 today out of 29 children I teach daily, which is great. As a thank you, they are served Nepali tea, some bread, a banana and a chocolate éclair afterwards :)

You can see a photo of today's gang above, just finished cleaning a beautiful hill spot called Thani Mai, it has a small Hindu temple on top and has panoramic views, where most of my view pictures have been taken.

Finally, I'm hopefully going to make a website for the campaign and start trying to raise money to buy more bins, create signs, buy gear and keep the children happy :) I will give you more details sometime in the future and hopefully you guys can contribute :)

Getting and keeping the children fit!!

I have yet added more things for the children I work with to do, this time it involves something I really enjoy, not that I don't enjoy teaching the kids and picking up litter :), and that is, Exercise!!

There is no school or computer classes on Saturday, so I took advantage of this free time and asked if any of the children would like to do some circuit training on Saturdays mornings and the response was pretty good, especially from the teenage boys and we all know why, and is one reason why I decided to start this with them. They don't really get to do any exercise at school, there just aren't the facilities, that is in the local schools. It's a totally different matter for the private schools.

So I've started this activity morning and their eager, those who want to do it, we start at 7:00am. We have only started it last Saturday, but it went very well. We did it on one of the most beautiful spots around Bandipur, with 360 degree views of the Himalayas and surrounding valleys, beats a smelly gym :) You can see 2 pictures above, one with us doing press ups, the other with the boys doing a Tug-of-war, which was great fun.

As Saturday went so well and there are now no computer classes on Wednesday afternoon, I thought I should fill the gap with more activity, which the boys happily agreed with. So we are now training twice a week, no complaints their!

Finally volunteering :)

Well I have finally arrived in my first destination the beautiful village of Bandipur situated on a hilltop with a view of the Himalayas(the Annapurnas). I arrived here last Sunday after a great weekend of rafting, which was so much fun. Our guide Dill, the one in the picture above was so much fun and he kept pushing everyone in and in the end we were diving off the raft in between rapids.

My first week has been a great one, luckily there are 2 volunteers already here, so they have showed me what's going on here. The daily schedule is generally as follows. Get up about 6.30am have a cup of tea then opposite where I'm staying is a small room in an old building where there are 2 computers for teaching computing skills with English to some of the local children. It is here at 7.00am I have my first class, young age mixed boys and girls. Then at 8.00am another class of about 6 students mixed but older, in teens. Then between 9-10am I have breakfast and at 10.00am I go to one of the local schools to teach English, one class level 5, 10.15-10.45am, the other level 6, 11-11.45am then break for lunch and at 2.00pm I do an hour teaching at another school. Then 2 hour break and between 5.00-7.00pm 2 more computer classes. Dinner at 7.30pm and bed at 9.00pm.

It's so funny here everything is all shut up by 9pm, they are all in bed, well most that is. On the other hand most people are up between 5-6am.

The kids have a lot of energy and are a mixed bunch but are affectionate, which I think is part of the culture here. I'm starting to bond with a few already, but some of the children I'm working with are not as under privilged as I was expecting. Though it looks like I'm only here for a few weeks and they are sending me to a place where I'm more needed, which sounds good!

The people in the Hotel where I live next to and eat are fantastic and I get on really well with them already. Again all the men are really touchy feely with the men and same with the girls with the girls, but not the girls with the boys. But again I have no problem with that and have fitted in really quickly, so I'm hugging all the guys and stuff, a very friendly ambience.

Well I must go for now, will hopefully be uploading next weekend. Oh before I go, I have to rub it in, but the view is amazing and since I've been here I've not seen the mountains until this morning. The mountains have been hiding behind the clouds for the past 3 weeks, but there was a stoem last night and it rained and the locals said when that happens you get to see the mountains. And this morning at 6am, what a sight, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I walked up a hill at 6 this morning and took the photo of myself, the one you see at the top. So if any of you decide to come to Nepal some time in the future then please visit Bandipur, it's very beautiful, as the locals say...

...Ramro Sunda!!!