So another milestone - today we have been here for 9 months! It has gone really fast and its hard to believe but still another year and a bit to go.

Its December and i'm writing this blog sat outside on the terrace in a t shirt so there! That's the one thing I will definitely miss when we finish, the constant blue skies, though it has been a bit foggy in the mornings recently and pretty cold at night though we're OK in our house. Its just in the office that we have to wrap up and periodically go out on the roof for a heat. No rain since october though so can't be bad! Right, that's the compulsory weather update done with!

I am back from my first trip into the field. Hopefully it will be my last if I have anything to do with it, but unfortunately probably not. Anyway, after it was finally decided we would go - see last blog for that chapter! - we had to fly to Nepal Gunj which is a 6hour bus journey from where the workshop was to be held as there were no flights left to the nearest airport. Never mind, but then there was a bandh - local strike with roadblocks - in Kailali, the neibouring district to where we needed to get to. So we ended up getting stuck overnight in a rather dubious hotel in a rather dubious small town. But it was OK as there was plenty of dahl baht. The next day we walked through the bandh at 5am - half a dozen teen age boys with a stick across the road - they were quite polite and lifted it for me so I didn't have to crouch to get under it but why on earth don't the "authorities" stop this type of thing. Nepal routinely grinds to a halt when one group or another has some sort of minor grievance and calls a bandh. I'm all for power to the people but here it is anarchy! Anyway, enough of the rant, after we walked for half an hour we found a chap with a jeep who was going to where we wanted to go so that was alright and we even got there in time for the start of the workshop. Which was more than most of the participants did. this is the routine Nepali lack of respect for time. they will often turn up two hours late for training and everyone will wait for them. But never mind, there was more dahl baht for lunch, and then for dinner. There is a theme emerging here!

Anyway, everything continued in this vein for the three days of the workshop. The town itself was quite nice, with two nice hotels. Unfortunately we were staying in the other one! But I did get to catch up with two volunteers who are based there which was fun, and even had one meal which wasn't dahl baht. Then there was the big panic for leaving on whether we would get back in time for our flight from Nepal Gunj. We had to get the first bus at 5am to have any chance so we got to the bus station in plenty of time and sat on the bus for 10minutes while they checked the horn was loud enough. I was very smart and got the middle seat at the back as it was the only one with any leg room. But when we set off i discovered the down side to this as we had a lunatic driver who wasn't going to slow down for man nor beast and let alone for annoying little bumps in the road, which with the standard of Nepali roads there are quite a lot. And for every one of them, I was thrown up off the seat almost hitting the roof. But I wasn't going to complain as we were certainly making good time - what was usually a 6 hour bus journey actually took 4.5 hours albeit a very uncomfortable 4.5 hours! I don't think the goat liked it much either and he didn't even get a seat! But we made it back so alls well etc. It was all an adventure but I'm glad its quite a while before the next one.

One other negative of this trip was that the camera managed to get broken so it may be a little while before we upload any pictures. I'm trying to claim for it on insurance but I'm not holding my breath!

Gordon is off playing football with the hash against the UN today and then we hash this afternoon, the normal Saturday activity. Last night was the first party of the Christmas season here - its not quite as intense here as at home, eg no shops are playing slade or wizard yet! This was at the British Army barracks, which was a very different environment for us, All dinner suits and cocktails, but great fun. This week we get to go to the embassy for a carol service and some mulled wine. Gordon gets to wear his kilt much to the delight of our landlady! Anyway, we'll fill you in on Xmas in Nepal in the next installment.

And as we're not sending Christmas cards - we are poor volunteers after all! - we hope you all have a fantastic festive season and all the best for 2010!