In the Midst of it all...

Well its been three weeks and you all are probably wondering if I have run back to NZ, but since I have a little idea which track heads out of the mountains, that option was lost the day I got here. So what’s been happening here? well I have a good understanding how the school is run now, the students often come and talk to me in my hut, they all seem mighty impressed by my collection of Hindi music and like to sit and listen to it.(Whatever gets me into their ‘cool’ zone, I shall provide.. I feel 17 again, well I pretend to be one of them anyway!)

Other than that I have gotten used to the cleaning, cooking, washing and now it takes only half a day instead of the earlier efforts of an entire day. I spent three weeks teaching English and learnt a lot about myself, including some words that I had no idea what they meant, and had to make up answers to keep my face. The students seem to enjoy my style of less book more talking, one student even said ‘he’ loved my voice , I told him thanks and made him sit next to a girl. Unfortunately an English teacher has been appointed and I have been put on standby, sad but I guess I can go back to doing what I had come to do.

Note -Do not judge my teaching skills based on this picture :-)

Things I am currently involved in:

• As I mentioned internet access is paramount in this region as means of communication are non-existent other than that. So I have been firstly trying to setup wireless access around the school compound, which I have done, but I want really is that the villages I see on neighboring mountains also are able to have access from there, instead of the 3 hour walk up to our village. So I am planning on setting up a high gain antenna that will allow access to our wireless network faraway, as much as 10km. Of course there needs to be people with wireless access at the other end. That’s why I am thinking of providing laptops to each of the village, that will be able to utilize this signal. Still working on getting the parts, which I need to go to Kathmandu and get, but the idea is in function. It might seem strange why so much emphasis is on computers, afterall its a village in the himalayas, but these children have to compete with the rest of the Nepal/ World at some level, so they need to be aware of the uses & benefits, and if they are to make a difference, technology is going to guide them.
  

• I am also working on a database to manage the school student & staff. Currently there is only paper documents with student details, this I am going to turn into an ‘Enrolment database’, that provides up-to-date report. The staff can use for the years to come to keep track of various aspects of the school. I am already well into creating the database, just collecting the essential ingredients that will allow to be most useful to the school. It will help manage the scholarships currently handed out, the student demographics, and provide a useful way of giving facts when demanding funding. I might even make another database to manage their inventory (Computer, networking equipment, etc.), depending on how they mind this one first. So far they seem pretty happy with what I have shown, so that’s a good start.

• I am taking some of the fund money to improve the facilities for the students and villagers here. As I said there is not much to do in these hilly terrains, so I thought of adding a sport that can easily be setup. Table Tennis! I am sorting out the creation of one or two tables to be crafted by the local carpenter (gets him some decent income), and again the other racquets and balls I will have to get from the city. They have only 2 sports at the moment Volleyball & Basketball, this will add another way for children to burn that energy, instead of drinking and smoking marajuna (which is unfortunately common in these areas).

• I am looking at other things as well, like the water supply is pretty bad here, and rubbish is just thrown into a hole, I am thinking of finding an alternative for both of them, lets see what if anything I come up with.

Other than that I will be heading to India to pick the additional laptops and phones I had bought for the school that my friends kindly transported for me. So will be away from the village for a while. Hmm I just realized I have to climb backup this uphill mountain on my return, damn! Why cant the whole world just be going downhill, and still take you to the top, physics is always holding my dreams back!.

Here are some pictures from a recent festival that took place, they had dancing, sports, sacrificing of 300 goats, sheeps and pigeons. I sat their and watched the massacre, but atleast they aren't killing human beings in the name of god, unlike many other places... In anycase who am I to judge, I eat meat, so someone has to kill them, can't be a hypocrite now can we Anukool.

Thanks again for all your contribution, without which none of this would have happened.

Anukool

Here is a little poem to describe my time here...

Walking in Mud

Walking in mud I see me smile,

The dirt over me seems worthwhile,

So long I had fought to try and keep

An image of someone I was trying to be,

Now I watch the world with a welcome sign,

It feels strangely peaceful, I feel unendingly fine.

I often see the truth when I take a shower,

There seems to be joy even in cold water,

I always needed things that somehow defined me,

I even needed others that pretended to annoy me,

I have none of those no more, and I can tell you a fact,

It all was my mind playing a joke,

and I fell for that.

Awake I walk with freedom in my eyes,

Whatever I see, seems to wave back and say hi,

How I had missed noticing the scent of grass,

When I had walked through it, I seemed to just pass,

All I see now is nature in full bloom,

Even when I sit with my computer in this room,

If you asked me now to define god in one line,

I will tell you,

It is this moment right now, and it is every time.

- Anukool Sathu Aug 2008