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Hey everybody!
So today is my 5th full day and I think I'm finally getting used to the ways of Nepal. The biggest thing to deal with is the noise and madness of Thamel (where I'm living) It is impossible to leave my room and not be bothered by someone wanting you to buy their chess set, brown sugar, mouth harp or get into their rickshaw or taxi. It's not a big problem but sometimes you don't want to have to walk down the street saying 'no, no, no, to everyone who approaches you.' Which is why I'm going to a place called Gurkha this weekend, where it will be nice and quiet and a lot more chilled out. Thamel and Kathmandu are like London but on speed and about one hundred times cheaper. I'm a bit worried about adjusting back to English prices because at the moment I'm paying 300 rupees for a 750ml beer, a diet coke, chicken noodles and momos (little parcels of steamed vegetables) in a nice restaurant which is about £2.40!
Teaching so far has been really great. I've got one class of 7-11 year olds and we do vocabulary because grammar would be way too advanced. They are all very sweet but shy and there are obviously a few language barriers but on the whole its going well and they understand how to say 'He has brown hair.' 'He wears green glasses.' I still haven't met my other class as they are in puja (which means prayer) Hopefully tomorrow there won't be any puja and I can meet them! The kids are all very sweet and friendly. Llama Tezing who runs the monastery is incredibly kind and had invited me to the monastery for lunch on Friday which will be really nice. Oh and on the way back I got attacked by a monkey! Monkeys are everywhere in Nepal they generally aren't a nuisance they just sit on the walls and in the trees looking at you. But today as I was approaching a tiny baby monkey fell off of its Mum's front and started to wail and I think another monkey thought I'd hurt it so jumped on my rucksack and pulled my hair. (Which was a little stressful!) However I just started to walk off and it left me alone and went back to its monkey gang.
So far I've been up early at 7.30 to meditate which was really good and I might try to fit a class in everyday before I go to teach. Last night I went to Bodha with the other volunteers to see one of the biggest Stupas in Nepal, a stupa is a funeral monument in the shape of a dome or pyramid, containing a relic of a Buddha or some other sacred objects. It's a meditation support symbolizing the formless body of the Buddha and the essential structure of the cosmos. So we went to see this yesterday and it was so beautiful. You have to walk round it clockwise in respect to Buddha. There are shops all around the stupa which means if you forget to buy something in one shop you can't go back and buy it you have to walk around the stupa again! I went inside a temple near the stupa and got blessed by the Llama there. We then sat at a roof top terrace restaurant and watched the people of Bodha go by. It's so nice in the evenings so cool compared to the day where it's just so so hot! I realise now I didn't pack nearly enough t shirts and too many jumpers!
The monsoon in Nepal was really late coming and as a result there are very severe water shortages and it is likely the rice crop will be in trouble ( thought luckily it won't affect Kathmandu) It's amazing that this country at the moment is having so many troubles but in the West people know very little about it. I suspect it's because Nepal doesn't do much for England or America so it's not considered important enough to be in the news. There are also dogs EVERYWHERE more stray dogs here than I've seen in any other country I've visited. There is a dog who lives in the hotel called Tracey ( I didn't expect to come half way round the world to meet a dog with such a Western name!) She's tiny, fluffy, friendly and so cute. She has elements of a Chihuahua, polar bear, fox and corgi. She came into my room yesterday as I had the door open and stole my ipod case which I had to chase her round the hotel to get back. It's nice having a cute little doggy about it makes me miss home less.
Right I think that's all the things I needed to cover, teaching, meditation, dogs, monkeys….
Can't believe I'm approaching the end of my first week already. Crazy!
Bye everyone!
P.S - I heard England has rain! Surprise surprise! So bad that Victoria station had to be closed!! He he.
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