Visiting Tansen

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

First thing in the morning a whole crew from the workshop showed up at the door! Four men along with two didis to clean up after them. They installed a new gas shower, patched several holes in the plaster, fixed a toilet seat, painted a bathroom and a few other things. I felt a little bad because I think I inadvertently shamed them into action by asking about “the list” and working on some of it. It was good that it was all done though.

Later I worked on school’s Internet issues. They had a wireless repeater network set up that had problems because of antennae placement. In the before picture below the repeater was over a metal roof, on a rotten bamboo pole, and didn’t have line of site to the source. The blue blob in on the wire is the wall-wart power supply that was twisted on to bare wires, then wrapped in plastic and tape; left to hang on it’s own wire, no messenger, and it would have lasted long between the extreme heat, rain, and wind. In the after picture it’s on a higher metal pole, and moved 50′ to the side to where it got much better reception, and the power supply was connected with a connector and shielded from the elements under a roof.

The other project I was working on was getting our trekking route set, and getting appropriate information and maps together. I poured over blogs, maps, and government websites to figure out where to get permits, where to trek, what to take, what it would cost for guesthouses and meals, and tried to get some idea of the distance we should cover each day. The information available was quite varied, so I had to take some best guesses. I was able to get a taxi lined up to take us to Pokhara on Sunday, where we would check into a guesthouse and leave bags while we trekked for nine days.

Monday, April 6, 2015

After breakfast I went up the hill to help in Nora’s classroom. When I got to the schoolhouse I looked out over the playground and for the first time saw the Himalayas! This picture does not convey the amazing presence and grandeur of this mountain range! I had to stop and just stare for a while… Those are NOT clouds!

I spent some time helping with tasks in the classroom, then worked on the computers in the school. They were old and in various states of repair.

My goal for the week was to get them running, printing, and connected to the Internet, if possible. There was an interesting mix of modern technology and third-world solutions in use, as I would find out more in the next few days.

Later I went back to the house to start working toward getting maintenance to do some needed repairs, or find out how I could assist them with it. I really enjoyed meeting and working with them – Nepalis and expats alike. I was able to help them with a few small electronic projects and was constantly amazed at how they were able to make due with whatever they had on hand.

Meanwhile back at the house I met the didi (housekeeper), Mina, who was paid to come in a couple days a week. Fortunately Nora taught me how to say “Nora is me daughter” and “My name is Pete” that morning, so that when she saw me she wouldn’t freak out, because she didn’t know I would be there. Mina cooked, cleaned, did laundry, and maintained the flower and vegetable garden outside.

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Mornings in Tansen were the best, and this Easter morning was no exception! As the sky lightened toward the east the birds would start to sing, then the dogs and the people would start to move about and make noise. Nora’s place was a nice two bedroom and bath house, perfect for her and her roommate, a doctor who she stayed with. She was gone for a few weeks which allowed for me to have the open room while I was in there. The sun would come in through the windows that overlooked the nursing school below it, and the Tansen valley below that.

In the center of the house was a common living/dining room with the tiny kitchen next to the front of the house. Off of the common room in both directions was a alcove that made a perfect office or study, and then a bedroom and bathroom were off of the alcove.

After breakfast Nora left for language class. She studied Nepali all of the time she was in Nepal, and though she felt she didn’t do that well, I was pretty impressed at what she accomplished. Nepali is a hard language, and the script is difficult as well. I was only able to pick up a few words and phrases during the month I was there. One interesting phenomenon that I observed in myself though was that for the first few days I was there, listening to the Nepali language sounded like strange chaos, but after about a week it started to sound like something that made sense, even though I couldn’t understand it. By the time I left I had become so accustomed to it that I knew I would miss hearing it, and I was correct.

While she was gone I attempted to repair her laptop that died while she was there, but unfortunately it was a terminal case. The electrical power in Nepal is not great with frequent outages and rolling blackouts. Any time there is a storm, and they come often, the next few days tend to have unreliable power and internet service. Those voltage spikes had taken their toll.

Students at nursing school had Outdoor Week while I was there. Each day there were various activities for them which they seemed to greatly enjoy, if the noise level was any indication. Later in the week they had a carnival/fundraiser of sorts, which we enjoyed. The school is separate from TMH but being as close as it is works well for both. This day I was treated to some pageantry.

In the afternoon we went to the bazaar (a 4 mile round trip) and bought food and other supplies. We couldn’t get an ATM to work, not matter how we tried. They may have been down because of the storm, though they appeared to work – just hated our cards! This was becoming a concern because we needed to get money together for our upcoming trek in a few days.

After we came home and I made tortillas from what I could improvise for ingredients and we had buffalo meat and yak cheese tacos for dinner. Then I pulled out the treat… blackberry pie from America! Now I get to brag a tiny bit because Nora said both were best she’d had in 8 months! Yes, I brought two pieces of homemade pie, that I froze and vacuum-packed before putting them in a small box in my suitcase. It survived the trip quite well, and this was day 8! So it was worth the effort…

To end the day we watched a Christian movie this time, after last night’s cinematic disaster. LOL All in all it was a cool Nepali Easter!

Saturday, April 4, 2016

I was still waking up early in the morning, mostly because I went to bed so early and don’t usually sleep more than 7 hours. I was still having headaches from the dust, but otherwise feeling pretty good during the days. When I was getting dressed I heard something behind the dresser. I used the flashlight on my phone and looked behind it and I found a lizard on the wall. He looked like a happy little fellow and I took his picture.

In Nepal, Saturday is the traditional day for Christians to meet for church. It’s not an Adventist thing, it’s just the way it is there. The other six days of the week are work days. On the way to church we passed by some homes being built. I was so impressed with the artistic facades of mortar work! It’s all done free-hand, but it looks like it was done by a machine. Whatever they lack in structural materials they make up for in the beauty of their work. Notice the bamboo scaffolding, which I have seen as high as 10 floors!

We went to the nearby Nepali church and it was good to be there, even though I understood almost none of it! Nora introduced me in Nepali, we sang songs, and then listened to a message. One thing that I noticed was that the offering was so joyous! What a special thing to see in a country that is so very poor. Often they sit on the ground inside the building, though this one had chairs. As in other Asian cultures, shoes are left at the door in a rack. After we were dismissed people grouped outside the door, putting on shoes and visiting. As I stood there a wild haired man came up and greeted me, then before I knew what was happening, he bent down and kissed my foot! I was a little surprised but somehow it just felt ok. On the way home Nora said he does that to guests often, and that she had tried to shield me from it, but I was glad it happened.

On the way home from church we bought sugar at a local shop and made scones for a lunch after church. It was a going away party for someone in the group. It began as an outdoors meal, but the threatening weather cause us to quickly move it inside. The weather can change there very quickly. So we all, about 30 or more people, crowded into a small house – more a Hobbit house, really, with low doorways and ceilings.  …and then it poured, hailed very hard, and we had a huge thunderstorm! It’s was pretty cool.

After the lunch we watched a DVD with Jessie, a friend of Nora’s, then later that night we watched a very cheesy action movie. How fitting for here, but it wasn’t Bollywood this time – it was US made, so I had to own that. I don’t remember the name but we decided that though we would never get those two hours back and that wasn’t worth it, it was a fun way to end the day.

Friday, April 3, 2016

I started my first full day in Tansen with a Skype call to Eileen. It was good to be in contact after only a few messages while traveling and in Kathmandu. I also messaged with my son, Adam, who lives in Hawaii. Later in the morning I went up the hill (everything is up a hill in Nepal) to the schoolhouse and helped with a few projects there. The school is a one-room school (technically two rooms) and had students from Germany, Australia, America, India, and Nepal (about nine students in all). The parents of the students are medical staff at the hospital.

Somehow I managed to not take a picture of the front on the schoolhouse. After school Nora and I walked to some nearby shops to pick up some things she needed.

That evening there was a Good Friday stations of the cross celebration attended by about 100 Nepalis and expatriates. We walked to various locations around the hospital compound singing worship songs reading scripture. One Nepali hymn was so beautiful! I wished afterward that I had recorded it with my phone but I was so mesmerized by it that the thought never crossed my mind. The English translation of it was just simple praise to God, but it was truly awesome!

For a special dinner we walked to a bideshi (Nepali for foreigner) restaurant in the local bazaar. It specializes in serving meals prepared for foreigners, either the menu item available, or how it is made. It was very good, but I must confess that my favorite places to eat turned out to be the family owned house-front places that served Nepali food prepared in the traditional manner.

Below are pictures of what I know as the pink polka-dot plant (a favorite of my mom’s in the US) that I was surprised to find growing all over the hillside near Nora’s house. Below that are pictures of rock walls that are found everywhere. Terracing the hillsides is a necessity in Nepal and they are masters of stonework, some with mortar, some without.