Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Week 8 in Sirutar :)
This week we continued working away. We finally got the last tree out and then we moved them all onto concrete so they wouldn't re-root. It basically took everyone and everything to move them. We then filled in the holes that they had left behind. When the monitor asked who wanted to do this job James said, "Gemma you can do it. It doesn't have to be done today." The whole group was like woahhhhh. We took the piss out of him for the rest of the day about it, Rory telling him I was really upset. I knew he didn't mean it like that. It was also nice to see one of the local villagers using the trees for firewood. That was before Jimmy accidently hit her with a stone. Work wise we also finished off a classroom on the bottom floor of the school. It took so many of us to carry one window frame and a door frame to the project site. They were so heavy. The trench was also cleared out and concrete was laid down as its base. We also had to dig up bricks that a previous group had lain down on the floor and replace them with new ones followed by concrete. That's the final floor finished now :)
As we no longer have Nepali language lessons on Tuesdays, we now can teach both Mondays and Tuesdays. Monday's class was not so good, Tuesday's class was good. It just depends on what class you are landed with and their age group. When we arrived at the school to teach, the children were playing a pass the parcel game. They had a student sitting in the middle of a large circle who was banging a drum whilst blindfolded. Whenever he stopped banging the drum the person holding the parcel was put out. It was such a good game. The winner won a ruler and pencil … so cute. On Monday, Alice O' D and I took a class together and on Tuesday I decided I would just wonder around and help the others out. It was so funny when I went to see the others. Half an hour after we had arrived at the school, Kweku and Thomas were still playing hangman with their class. My sister who teaches at the school game out with the best quote ever to them, "Do you not have any other games? They are getting bored." It was hilarious! It meant I got to take the piss out of the boys the rest of the day. I helped them out a bit after that with crosswords and things for the children. The boys were being like children themselves shouting out the answers. Rory and James' little sister Princess had come with us to the school on both days. She's only 8 years old and her English is amazing. She goes to a private school where lessons are taught through English. She was doing the word searches but she was doing them by finding the letters to spell the words randomly and linking them up with a line. It was so cute I didn't have the heart to tell her she was doing it wrong. While we were teaching at the school we also got to see our finished classroom that we decorated last week. The floor has been laid down and the furniture has now been put back in. It looks amazing! After school Kweku, Rory and I went for a walk and ended up finding some kids playing soccer beside a paddy field so we joined it. We totally got our asses' whipped and the children didn't' even have shoes on.
This week there was also the Nepali language contest…..Sirutar verus Lamatar, the other group of volunteers who are in Nepal. We already knew we were going to loose because the Lamatar group have a boy in their team who speaks fluent Bangladeshi, which is similar to Nepali…..so similar the numbers are even the same. Chloe, Jay and I were chosen to represent Sirutar and we revised hard not wanting to let the rest of the team down. Rory was worse than us, testing us on all our words and sentences. Alice and Charlye made blue headbands saying Sirutar for everyone. They made special ones for Chloe, Jay and Me which had eye holes. I felt like a teenage mutant hero turtle. We then all got warrior strips and made up and song……just shows how good of a team we are :)!So off we went to Lamatar. On the bus I met a man who asked where I was from. When I said Ireland he said I didn't have Irish skin, so hopefully that means I've got a bit of a tan.Although he also thought I was 15. When we got to Lamatar the group showed us around their project site and homes and then the Nepali language contest began. There were 80 English words/sentences and we had to pick the words from a hat and pronounce them in Nepali. Our team only got 3 words wrong ….. lazy, stone and tiger. I can still remember them now because I was so angry we lost L! They won't even accept the word for gravel instead of stone…grrrrrr. Still we did really well for not having a practically fluent speaking Nepali person on our team. It was nice to hear one of the Lamatar girls saying, "How are they doing this?" while we were having the contest.Sirutar we know we are the best team anyway :) .
This week there was also a day when the families celebrated the dead. Men in the household dressed in white robes and prayed. There were lots of family members making food. Most holy days/celebrations and festivals in Nepal seem to involve either feasting or fasting. On Saturday Chloe, Thomas and Kweku went on a mountain flight which they said was epic. I decided not to go because I decided I could see the mountains from the ground anyway without paying all that money. Most of the others went to Kathmandu to buy presents. I was well impressed with Rory and James' shopping when they showed us what they bought. Jimmy stayed in Sirutar and watched movies all day. I sunbathed on my balcony and done some work for me and James' presentation on food and agriculture which we have to present next week. Jazz and Charlye joined me on the roof later in the day and we made some bracelets for while. Alice J and I also bought kites this week which we have been attempting to fly ever since. On Sunday the global issue discussion was on Trade and it was presented by Rory and Kweku. This weekend I also set up skype and got to speak to my little niece Katie who now speaks. She didn't speak before I left for Nepal.My flight home next week is due to arrived to Heathrow on Thursday night at 6.30pm and my next one home to Ireland isn't until the Friday morning so Miss Sampson is coming to meet me in Heathrow airport on my way home. Can't wait for that. I also hear Alaine is organising a meal for when I get back. Can't wait to see my girls! :)
- comments