This is the end

On 3rd June, covered in mala, scarves and tika, clutching two enormous bags, surrounded by 500 students and teachers, we climbed into the waiting jeep and drove, if not into the sunset, at least as far as Burtibang.  After a utterly bizarre, at times sombr but pretty much wholly fantastic 6 weeks, our final term in Bobang is complete.

The observant among you may have noticed that it is not yet August 6th and may well be asking what the hell we are doing leaving.  Sadly we have had some visa issues the result of which being that we have to leave the country on June 10th.  As consequences of the earthquake go, the reduction in visa office staff is a minor one, but we are devastated none-the-less.  Still, now is the time to reflect on the last 5 months, and to look forward to what is to come (I'll get to that later).

After my last post, and a grim 20 hour slog in a jeep, we arrived back at the project, excited for getting back into valley life.  2 hours in and we were sitting in our room, kids picking through our holiday purchases and showing photos of an ill-advised bungee jump to a horrified audience.  Suddenly there was a shout and we noticed the walls shaking and, as we ran outside, the whole school building swaying.  Despite slight apprehension amongst the more worldly in the village, most people were more entertained than frightened and, after two more small tremors, the topic was entirely forgotten.  It wasn't till messages from outside started dribbling in that we realised anything had happened at all.

It was a dramatic way to return to the valley and we thank god that Bobang escaped unscathed.  Our thoughts have been and continue to be with all those affected, particularly the poor people of Langang in which we had spent such a happy time 2 weeks before it was buried under rubble.

The after affects of the earthquake were far less serious in Bobang and consisted of an excuse for all my students, half way through a lesson, to start shaking their desks and shouting "bobcumpa auyo"- earthquake coming.  It also meant that we spent several days sleeping in a tent outside.  We shared this with our host family and next door neighbours, making us 16 in total.  Cosy and entertaining the first night, uncomfortable and annoying the second and third (particularly as Nepalis get up at 5 am).

2 weeks in and we had settled back into a routine.  All the teachers had managed to return from Kathmandu and Pokhara and the students from their farmwork in Dhorpatan.  We knuckled down to the only half pleasurable task of teaching a syllabus of our own to classes 1-5.  We did 1 jointly to start with, then 5 for the last 2 weeks.  Meanwhile, as usual, I taught 4 (2071s class 3) and 5 (2071s dreaded huge class 4) solo.  Topics started with describing yourself, moving on to talking about families and describing other people.  I finished with transport and body parts.  Casting off the shackles of the textbook was a great relief and I had good fun designing my own games and writing my own questions (my thanks go to Jonnie Mudge for being the unwitting main character in many of class 4's favourite silent comprehension lessons.)  In addition, we were told that we have first dibs on absent teachers lessons which we made frequent use of (classes 6 and 7 being firmly on our radar).  In these we often taught the same topics as with the younger classes but souped up for higher difficulty (the addition of belly button to our list of body parts for example...)

A few weeks in and we decided to celebrate, on the wrong day of course, World Environment Day.  We thought this would be a good idea in a village unused to plastic packaging where foreign imports are causing a growing litter problem.  We began the event by sponsoring the school for some bins, now inscribed with the words 'phour malai'- give me rubbish.  We followed this up with a day of lessons geared towards the prevention of littering.  We made posters from the reasons why littering harms the environment with the older kids, made slogans with individual letters from each student with class 4 and played a game with the smaller classes involving picking up litter from one end of the class and dropping it in the bin at the other.  I reckon it went pretty well, at least now whenever I ask, "phour kaha"-rubbish goes where, they all at the top of their voices reply "baltima!"- in the bin!
  
We spent six happy weeks cooking, playing and chatting our evenings away.  We have now mastered samosas, Indian potato bread, momos and of course, dal bhat (it is really really good now, we swear).  As the weather became hotter, swimming and fishing were added to the agenda and we spent several weekends in the river to escape the intense heat.  Fishing in Nepal is an interesting affair.  To do it, 10 strong men and a whole day are needed.  By moving huge rocks and filling gaps with sod, the river is channelled into a tiny gully from which you simply grab the swimming fish.  The delicious curries we sampled were evidence of the effectiveness of this approach. 

As our end drew nigh, more suddenly than we would have liked thanks to visa issues, our minds turned to departure preparations.  The camera lived with us and our visits to the village tailor became an everyday occurrence.  I am now the proud owner of full Nepali garb and look, it's fair to say, pretty darn awesome.  We spent our last weekend camping on top of the mountain saying goodbye to the other volunteers.  Despite my coming down ill, it was an entertaining evening in an unbelievably beautiful location.  Our last night was spent, as all good last nights are, drinking raksi (barley spirit) and eating bread and meat, sitting on the as yet unlaid floor of a newly built house.  7 glasses of the local brew down and the emotion of leaving really set in.  My memory of that dark smokey room filled with intoxicated teachers and builders will be one of my abiding memories of Bobang and of Nepal.

The morning came and we were packed by 7 am.  I taught only class 4 before our leaving ceremony, my lesson consisting of singing, badly but eagerly, heads shoulders knees and toes and drawing pictures of themselves, pictures I have made sure to take away with me.  Our leaving ceremony soon began and what a send off it was!  500 students gathered around a desk and megaphone where we and the other teachers sat.  After speeches from teachers and pupils alike, rapid and monotonous in the Nepali manner yet touching in their content, we stood up and spat out a few badly conjugated words in Nepali.  We were presented with certificates and Kukris each (Nepali knives).  Finally we were given about 10 'mala', garlands of flowers, each, silk scarves and had our faces smeared with red tika by students and teachers alike.  Finally, as a ceremonial dance performance in our honour began, we could not help joining in and, as usual, our hopeless antics received uproarious laughter.  Then, bags in hand, we began the 100 meter procession to the waiting jeep.  The sea of sombre little faces made me feel like I was off to be executed and being quickly bundled into the jeep didn't help matters. 

As we rolled off I felt truly upset at leaving a village that had so warmly received us.  It has been a fantastic, exciting and truly unforgettable 5 months and we owe so much to everyone in Bobang for being so kind and so keen to get us involved.  All I can say is that I will be going back at the first opportunity and I would recommend anyone else to do the same.

8 hours of jeep travel and 3 dal bhats later and we were saying goodbye to Yamsir in Baglung.  As our host, headmaster and friend, Yamsir has been the centre of our lives in Bobang.  He is an unbelievable host with a kind heart and a childish sense of humour.  We have spent the last two days on the road with him, chatting, drinking and eating and have realised just how much we will miss him.

I am now an emotional wreck as we sit in Pokhara and wait for news on what comes next.  The current plan is one week in Bankok where we will get visas for India.  Once there, we will soon find out what we're doing.  Whether it's a project or travel, I challenge it to live up to my last 5 months in Nepal.