Dinner at Bhojan Griha in Dillibazar - PAHS International Community

Last night we went out for a wonderful dinner, hosted kindly by PAHS.  It was such a nice time and there were so many people there from all over the world!

Canada
USA
Sweden
Norway
Korea
Nepal

Everything was traditional Nepali, and it was one of the best meals I have ever had.  The place was called Bhojan Griha in Dillibazar http://www.bhojangriha.com/

We ate and drank from brass traditional plates, bowls and cups and watched traditional Nepali dancers and musicians from all over Nepal perform.  What a great night.

There was mushroom curry, chicken curry, fried fish, fried wild boar (!) dahl, and note the ceramic elephant mug to the left of my place setting!

Arjun, Vice Chancellor of PAHS, welcoming us

Arjun, Annie and Will

Stephanie, Peggy and Sabita

Annie and a Nepali dancer

Nepali musicians

Thanks so much to PAHS for hosting such a nice night with great food and great company!

Bhaktapur - The Cultural City

Today we also ventured out to Bhaktapur for a more peaceful tourist experience.  We hired a taxi to take us there, to wait for us and to drive us home.  This cost Rs. 1500 and was well worth it.  I love Bhaktapur.  The squares are so beautiful and clean and it is very peaceful there.  Far less people and so much to see.

We had a quick snack and then we ventured through the Golden Gate.  It's so beautiful and I had assumed that non-Hindu people were not allowed through it.  We went in to check it out.  It turns out that we can go through the gate, but we cannot enter the Hindu temples within.

I love these temples here in Durbar Square.

Siddhi Laxmi Temple

This is such an old city.  It used to be the capital of Nepal at one time.  There was a major earthquake that destroyed many buildings here but much has been restored.  You can see the age and damage in some areas.

Fish market...

Chicken!

Women filling water containers at a well.

We made our way over to Dattatreya Square to see the famous Peacock Window.  A beautiful Newari wood carving from the 16th century.

Peacock Window

We went into the Peacock Shop that is found in the same alleyway and where the beautiful Nepali paper that is found in many stores is made.  We bought some beautiful things and then we went into the factory to see how the paper is made.

LOVE THIS!  These are for intellectuals..."You will know more"!!

Finally, we made our way back to Taumadhi Square where Nyatapola Temple is - the tallest temple in Nepal.

It was such a great day.

Pashupatinath...revisited...

Pashupatinath is Nepal's holiest Hindu site.  To be cremated at the ghat here means to escape the death and rebirth cycle.  Stephanie, Peggy and I made a trip out there this morning to see this beautiful place. 

For me, this would be my first return since the 'monkey incident' last year.  I was actually pretty nervous.  I was 'attacked' by a very deranged and aggressive monkey last year when I was visiting Pashupatinath with Katie.  My blog followers and friends will remember that this was a fairly traumatizing and humiliating incident where I just yelled for Katie's help until she came and got rid of the monkey for me.  This was a big step for me to go back to the scene.

This is where the monkey was sitting before it came after me - right on top of this arch!

After paying our 500 Nepali rupees (the tourist price for entry), we made it through unscathed!  I had Peggy's umbrella in hand just in case but all was well.  There were so many monkeys!

Last year, I did not see any cremations at the ghat.  This year, a body of a woman was being prepared on the cremation site by the Bagmati River by her family and friends.  Two other bodies were almost completely burned on the two pyres next to her.  It was very unnerving and we felt that maybe we were intruding on a very private moment for these people.  A guide assured us that this was not the case.  He told us about what an hour it is for a person to be cremated here because it is such a holy place.  It still felt strange.  He also told us about another type of cremation called a "sky cremation" where bodies are cut up and fed to birds that take the body up to the sky.  I'm not sure how I feel about that.

I am glad that I returned to this holy place to get over my fear and to see this beautiful place again.

Something More Positive - Yoga and Pilates in Nepal

On a lighter note, after sitting in on PBL and visiting with everyone at PAHS, Peggy and I went to Pranamaya Yoga here in Patan - only about a 10 minute walk from Shalom - and did a Pilates class.  It was fantastic and just what I needed to help get over jetlag.  The yoga studio is in this little oasis of a square, and the instructor was great.  We will be back there for sure for yoga and other classes!

There is some interesting art in this little square.  Most intriguing is this wire mesh Buddha statue that is stuffed with pastic bags.  It seems that its purpose is to be a place where these plastic bags, that are such an environmental problem here in Nepal, can be disposed of and look nice!

There is also a vine of green plastic bottles climbing up the balconies, and a cactus of the same green bottles.  Very unique.

Constitution Deadline Passed - no agreement

So midnight last night was the deadline for political parties here in Nepal to agree on a Constitution.  They failed to agree.  The Prime Minister has called an election for November, but who knows what that means in the interim?  I don't know what that means for me here right now.  I woke up early this morning to the sound of multiple gunshots repeatedly and we are outside of Kathmandu, in Patan, where we would expect things to be much more calm.  Oh well, it's a holiday today anyway and I had planned to lay low here in Shalom.  I'll keep my fingers crossed that things will quiet down.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/295312/nepal-calls-fresh-elections-as-statute-talks-fail

I will keep in touch.

I missed an elephant in the alley...

A friend staying at Shalom Guesthouse as well asked if I noticed the elephant in our alley when I left this morning to head to the hospital.  Somehow I missed it.  An elephant.  I missed an elephant.  Not only does that seem impossible due to their size, but I also love elephants!

Apparently this elephant was on loan from the zoo to help a small local school take a tree down.

I missed it.

PBL at PAHS - Batch # 2

I am back in a PBL tutorial watching the 2nd batch of PAHS 1st year students work their way through this case. It's like déjà vu! I guess this is how it is at home too. There are 5 female students and 4 males students, the tutor, Dr. Prasai, a UBC student named Adam and me. The case, "A Bit Late" is the same one as last year. It's a tough one and there is a lot to learn and know. There is that same attitude of 'knowing' everything from the students, even though they clearly do not know. The tutor is asking great questions but the students just give one word answers or use the dictionary for definitions that are far too difficult to understand that way.

Someone has written, "I love being a Republican." on the whiteboard. The political situation here is on everyone's minds. Today is a dangerous day - the last day of protests and demonstrations. Sabita has to rush out after PBL in order to get home at all. She was stuck here until 8 pm the other day due to the situation that is going on here. I'm glad I had a chance to see her. It is great to be back here at PAHS and to see my old friends and colleagues. I have seen Satish, Bibek, Sabita, Shambhu and others already! It feels almost like I have never left. I feel at home here.

We are having a PAHS hosted dinner on Thursday night to thank those people who are leaving for their contribution to the teaching and learning here. It seems as though almost everyone is leaving on or around June 1st!  I will just be getting started my teaching then.