Current Views

Greetings!  We hope everyone reading this is having a lovely day!  Here it is the wheat harvest time and everywhere you look you see busy people working hard--and in very hot weather with a water shortage!  Therefore, I'm devoting this post to pics of what we are looking at now, and will bump ahead (again!) Part 2 of "Eating Out in Kathmandu" to another post.

These days it also seems like summer is already in full swing--it's been stinkin' hot!  I have felt like we were back in Curacao this past week--and that means it was HOT!  Once a newcomer to Curacao hopefully said to me, "You get used to the heat, right?"  "Well," I said, "it's not so much that you get used to the heat, it's that you get used to walking around covered in sweat!"  Five steps outside here and your back was covered with sweat!  A couple of days ago it spouted rain and the temps felt refreshing.  Last night it rained, and it actually seems cool at the moment.  Maybe it will stay this way for a few more days...I can hope!  Anyway, as I was sweating just walking around, I felt for those out working from sunrise to sunset out in the fields.

You can see that most of them cover their heads to help keep the hot sun off.

Imagine bending over like this and not only being really hot, but also getting a back ache!

Here is a lady in our physical therapy department receiving treatment for just that.

A student volunteer from Canada is getting instructions from our physical therapist.

Everywhere you look you see people carrying heavy loads!  

They don't let something like a heatwave slow them down either!

They walk long (sometimes very long) distances too!
See this lady--

You can tell she's walking fast.  Here's where she came from (the far distance) and then she headed towards us.  She never slowed down.  Can you see the little red dot at the "crossroad" on the right?  That's her!

If I was sweating just from walking from one building to another one close by, I can only imagine how hot and uncomfortable these ladies must have been.  You know something though?  You never hear them complain.  Ramon says they are good patients who take everything that happens stoically.  Here is a lady toiling, but she smiled at me!  The way they work is inspiring!

There's also a water shortage, like there often is.  However, the following scene at a community water spigot is common any time of year.  Here are some ladies washing their dishes, clothes, and children all at once!

  I think the children were happy to cool off!

Here are some ladies we saw the other day heading to their closest water spigot.

The next time you turn on your faucet, think of these ladies!

Did you see the post about water that I wrote a few years ago and a couple of months after we arrived?
If not, you can check it out here.

Well, to end for today, I'll show you some super cuteness that I get to see with some shots from my Sabbath School class!

Ramon took this shot.  I love the looks on their faces as they look and listen to me!  :)

Here they are marching around as we sing, "Angels are Watching Over Me.  I am Glad!  I am Glad!"

Ramon and I are glad that we are here!  Thank you for visiting with us today!  I hope you enjoyed the views!  Have a nice day yourself!

Chandeswori Jatra

Hi!  Hope you're having a fun and blessed month of May.  May is the month of an interesting Hindu festival here in Banepa, called Chaneswori Jatra, so I'm going to repost about it in this post and do Part 2 of "Eating Our in Kathmandu" later.  I hope you don't mind that I'm reposting, but it's the same every year!  I didn't post about it last year, so it's time to show you again what happens.  The post I'm going to link to is from 2012, and it actually has a little video as well as links to the Chandeswori Jatra from 2011!   

Things to note--this May we thankfully have not had the road strikes, called bandhs, that are mentioned in those past posts.  This is very good news!  Also, in the May 21, 2011 post, I say that I didn't know what the flying flags are.  Now I know!  They are part of the "Buddha Purnima" celebrations that take place on the middle day of Chandeswori Jatra!  It's the birthday celebration for Buddha.

OK, if you missed these past posts, I hope you enjoy seeing what happens around here in May!  Here's the link from 2012:  http://himalayanhappenings.blogspot.com/2012_07_01_archive.html   

I'm going to close with a picture and video I took the other night during the Jatra (procession).  I haven't figured out how to take good night pictures yet, (sorry--don't like reading manuals!) but you can have an idea of what the dancers and the band in the picture looked like and hear what they sounded like in the video, although you can't see anything! Enjoy and have a nice day!  More later!

Eating Out in Kathmandu--Part 1

Hi!  I hope everyone reading this is having a nice day!  We're enjoying exceptionally beautiful spring weather after a mild winter.  Of course, the sky is hazy these days and the spring rains have started.  This means you can't see the mountains these days. 

It doesn't even look like they could be there, does it?  But they are!

Here is the same field (see the same white house) a few months ago.

If you're planning a trip to Nepal, try to come in the winter.

Yes, it's colder, but you can be pretty sure you'll get to see the mountains!

Anyway, this post is going to show you some of the places we eat lunch at when we go to Kathmandu on our days off.  Kathmandu has some lovely restaurants and many varying kinds too.  Even though we've been here almost four years already, we have hardly even scratched the surface of where to eat!

One place we like is the Roadhouse Cafe.

This is the branch in the tourist area of Thamel.  There are at least two other locations that we have been to.  Maybe there are more!  Anyway, their menu has a nice large selection, including hummus (that's delicious!) which I usually order to take home!  Yum!  The decor is cute too.

The bathroom has a cute mosaic theme.

If you order the bruschetta, you'd better be hungry!

For Chinese cuisine, we recommend the China Garden at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Here you will find good food and friendly service.

The Crowne Plaza also has an Italian Restaurant named Al Fresco that we really like.

 

(This picture is from their website, as I can't find ours!)

 

For Mexican food fans, there's The Lazy Gringo!

 It was started by a couple from Arizona who lived here for a number of years.

We met them at a Thanksgiving "party" at the American ambassador's house.

They have since left Nepal, and someone else has taken over.  We haven't been there

since the new management started, but now I think we'll have to go soon as this picture

has me thinking about the homemade tortilla chips that are to die for!

Once in a blue moon we go to the Everest Fast Food Cafe, which is a chain all around Kathmandu.

Their cheese naan is delicious--really delicious!

To give you an idea of prices, here is part of their menu.

(The exchange rate is about 100 to one, so for example that plate of cheese naan was about $0.75!)

Yes, Kathmandu has a Pizza Hut and a KFC.  

(Actually there are more than one--not sure exactly how many!)

It's nice inside and the food is good too!  We go there now and then for fun.

They usually have American music playing, so it's homey for me!

The KFC has several vegetarian options, all good, but a little spicy for me!

I do have a funny KFC story.

Soon after we got here, some of the kids asked me if I knew what KFC stood for.

"Why yes.  It's Kentucky Fried Chicken."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW?!" they asked incredulously!

(Maybe they hadn't actually met anyone who knew what it was yet!)

"Well," I said, "I've BEEN to Kentucky!"

"SHE'S BEEN TO KENTUCKY!  SHE'S BEEN TO KENTUCKY!"

They were so impressed!

(Smile!)

To end this "Part 1" post, here's a restaurant we haven't tried yet!

Stay tuned for more good places to eat in Kathmandu!

Have a lovely and blessed week!

In Between Our Days Off...

Hello!  We hope you had a great week!  We did and we're thankful!  

I'm taking a break from the "Days Off" posts to report what's been happening in between our days off--yes, when we're working!  (smile!)

Ramon has been busy since teams of medical volunteers from Sydney Adventist Hospital have been (and still are) here.  The first team, an OB/GYN team, performed 82 uterine prolapse and other female surgeries!  Prolapse is a difficult and unfortunately common problem here that many women silently suffer from--sometimes for many years.  Frequently carrying heavy loads like this contributes to the problem.

Finally having an end to their discomfort is an amazing occurrence for them.

Here are some of the visiting doctors helping the women.

The second team (here now actually) is a burn contracture reconstruction team.  They're also from Sydney Adventist Hospital and Open Heart International.  We're glad they're here since (according to the World Health Organization) burns are the second most common injury in rural Nepal.

What a blessing this team is to patients who have been very badly burned (and some even deformed) and didn't think they could ever get help.  Imagine their faces when they see the results of their surgery!  Working with the team are two plastic surgeons from Kathmandu, who will also do any follow up procedures that may be necessary.

At school, we had final exams, because the school year has ended! Then we practiced for and had the annual program which formally ended the school year of 2070!  Yes, in case you don't know, Nepal follows an ancient Hindu calendar called the Bikram Sambat calendar and New Year's Day 2071 will be on April 14.  If you missed it, the post about our first Nepali New Year is here.

Now, for some pictures of the cuteness I get to see at school every day!

These two precious sweethearts got in a little extra choir practice with my karaoke machine.

Here's a Nepali dance practice.

After practice, the older ones made New Year's cards,

and the little ones had fun coloring,  (Aren't they adorable?!)

and just playing.

(For my family and friends--let me know if you'd like to make a donation
so I can upgrade their toys!)

Finally it was the day of the program, and the rest of this post will show you that.
These handsome young men entertained themselves while waiting for the program to start.

This group just sat around being cute!

Finally the program started.

The Nursery and Kindergarten students sang a sweet song in Nepali.

As they exited the stage, some of the Playgroup students peeked under the curtain.

"Is it our turn now?"

"Yes, now we can go on stage and sing for Mommy & Daddy!"

"Good job Sweethearts!"

Next it was time for my Primary Grades Choir.  Since I was directing, I only have a picture of them during practice.  They sang "Hearts Courageous" and it was wonderful!

The older ones, with the signs of the main words (also written in Nepali underneath the English--after this picture I did trace over the letters in black) sat on the front of the stage.
 They wore whatever clothes/costumes they were going to wear in their next part.
They did such a good job and I'm so proud of them!

The older ones singing stayed on the stage and sang "Smile, Smile, Smile" next.
(You can see their nice outfits.)

Next it was prize distribution time.

"WHEN will it be my turn???"

Next we had dancing,

a play,

and more dancing.

"I LOVE this one, don't you?!"

Next we thanked our student missionaries for all they have done.
It's hard to believe, but they are leaving very soon.  We will surely miss them and wish them all the best in their future!

Then there was a beautiful culture parade and song.

As all good programs do, ours ended with food!
"Hmmm, what's in here?  Yum!"

Well, I hope you enjoyed our program!
See you next time, and...

Happy 2071!