I am still completely lost about the day of the week or the date; I think it may be 24th October today. I am finally finding my feet at the retreat and enjoying it very much. I hadn't quite realised that some tasks can take as long as the whole day. The locals are very laid back about how they work. We notice that the girls in the office tend to stroll in around 9.30am, work a little bit and then have a tea break, then a little more work before having lunch between 12.30-2.30pm. After an hour of work it is yet another tea break at 4pm and then by the time you know it is 5.30pm and time to go home. Work becomes a social aspect as well as financial. So today after breakfast I went to the retreat to ask Santosh, our house keeping manager, to set up two rooms for me to take photos. He said it will be as quick as 15min but an hour later I was called in to take the photos. I don't think he could have prepared the room any quicker. It was more the understanding of time and how long something may take. I think I'll be very cautious particularly if someone tells me that a shop is 15min walk because it is bound to be very far….There are somewhat very interesting personalities here as well, that includes the pets as well as the workers. As Theresa, the director of Purple Valley, has spent a few years here and knows the staff very well, it is always fascinating to hear the dramas or the stories of the individuals from her in the evenings. I had lunch with the staff yesterday so I could get to know them a bit better. The Nepali chef was very talkative and interested in hearing my stories from Nepal. When I asked about the lunch he told me that it was dal-bhat and instantly that brought a smile to my face. How could I not smile, the dal-bhat competition I had with Muk in Nepal where I managed to shove 3 plates down my throat and feeling very sick afterwards…I didn't think I could face another dal-bhat ever again but it was very delicious, although a little too spicy. Most of the male staff didn't talk to me much, which is because some do not speak English and some only say hello due to cultural reasons. I have to admit that I'm beginning to enjoy being called "madam". Two interesting characters are the girls in the office, Regina who is 5months pregnant. Apparently she started to work here last year as a house keeper but soon worked her way up as she really enjoyed interacting with the guests. First I wasn't sure whether she was being unfriendly; but perhaps it was again due to not knowing how to act around me, then she did warm to me and perhaps asked a hundred questions some of which were very private things. Then there is Deepa who is maybe 22year old, fresh from her studies of accountancy, very sharp and bright, and definitely not a push-over. Then there are the boys, Santosh who is very efficient in what he does, very bright and reliable; and Sanjay who seem to manage the entire dialog between the workers and distribute work. I can't say that I have sussed him out much, very hard to get passed his sarcasm and jokes. He can be very entertaining but with all the comments people pass on to each other in their own language you cant help but get a little paranoid that they may be talking about you. Oh I have to add in my great experience on the scooter today as well. It's been 5 years since I even sat at the back as a passenger on a bike/scooter. The roads around where we live are pretty calm so I had no worries about other drivers' capabilities but I think it was more to do with my own. I was very wobbly initially, very nervous and felt that I was clutching onto the handle bars but once I rode up and down the road a few times my confidence seem to increase. Only funny moment was Adam's face when I told him to hop at the back, he seemed to reply with a smiling yes but in a very tentative nervous way. It was great to see him slowly relax as I managed to get around the cows in the middle of the road and the dogs chasing our scooter. I can't wait to get back on it again. I'm really warming to this place; I can see how difficult it will be to leave in April. But then there is still much more to come I thinkJ