This is me in the classroom trying to look as if I am working! We were making shapes out of clay
Tug of war in the playfield was great fun.
Lakeside was beautiful (half of Sue in a sari!!)
The balloon seller at the end of our road, Ram Bazaar

This is the view from school!!!



















Chrissie, Chris, Sue and I having a meal out at Lakeside.

Look no hands On the cable bridge over the gorge to Bhalam village. very deep gorge, very moveable bridge!!!








Nepali way of making a stack of straw!!!

Some of the beautiful costumes which we saw at the Christian festival at Nepalgunj. Each village/ethnis group has it's own style, but all are really colourful

Nepali wedding

I went to a lovely Nepali wedding. For this I had to be dressed up in this gorgeous sari. It is all rangichangi(coloured) and gillymilly(glittery) The ceremony was very moving as the girl is somewhat subdued. This is the day she has to say goodbye to her parents and church and move into the bridegroom's parents' house. We had a wonderful feast of daal rice, various curries and generally had our fill. Then we went by bus, following the happy couple, to the grooms home which he shared with his parents. There was another ceremony there when the bride was welcomed to the home and to the church. The grooms father is an elder at our church here in Nepal. More food followed and then dancing and singing. I feel very privileged to have been part of this. Actually I was the only bideshi (foreigner) left standing at the end of the day and was escorted home by my women friends from the church!! (No nothing alcoholic passed my lips!) What fun it all was and I felt so welcomed there. No sure about wearing this lovely sari all day though. I managed to keep it all in one place, but there is a special way of having the folds fall and it took 3 people to put it on me, with much laughter. At any point a nepali lady will come up and adjust ones folds as it always has to be just so. In this picture you can see the big tureens of rice, curry etc. Delicious!!

Rickshaw ride in Nepalgunj

This is Sue on the verandah of the house where the Chhahari schools vision began

Lovely little Obidan with his mother Camila in the porch of the house in Nepalgunj

The music group at Surkhet church which I visited for an early morning prayer meeting. They sat and sang and played drums for me. Here I am trying to play the portable Harmonium!

My first attempt at wearing a SARI!! I don't really know how to put one on, but was helped by our landlady Gunga. I think it's very easy to wear, but one has to remember to walk like a lady and with small steps. This was taken in front of the house as we set out for church.

This is the front of the church at Naya Gaun which is where I go for morning worship on Saturdays. The service begins at around 10.am with singing and praise and really gets going at 10.30. We usually end at 12 noon. As many as 400 people attend and there is a lively children's work

Do other people get beasts like these eating the grass outside the front gate? My street in Ram Bazaar.

Trying to assess wind strenth in the grounds at school. We did a project on the weather. Interesting that it has become sunny every day so soon after the monsoon end. It is lovely weather now, just right for the holidays which we begin on Friday next.

Views from my roof!

This is the view at 6.am from the roof of my house. How beautiful Fishtail looks with the sun just rising onto it. Annapurna is a lovely range. It was worth getting up early to see them, as I had waited a long time for this particular moment. We talk about the mountains coming which means appearing from the clouds. Early morning is the best time to view them as during the day the clouds often cover them up again.