Author: dmcgavock

Joni and I enjoyed our first weekend “off” here at TGL Admittedly we have been pretty reserved in our movements around the neighborhood. We haven’t established tried and true methods of transportation or an understanding our surroundings. This weekend we began to learn about these things. We managed to “get our wheels” and see quite a bit while also having time to relax as well.

Saturday
Our first outing on Saturday was a walk to Fionnuala’s house where Joni was treated to a hot shower. The water system here at the school has been compromised due to a well problem so we have been limited to 10 minutes of flowing water per day. This allows us time to fill 8 buckets and a large trashcan with water (we just got upgraded to 3 trashcans this evening). While this has been plenty of water for dousing ourselves for a cold shower, cleaning hands, teeth, dishes and clothes, a hot shower is a welcomed event. Fionnuala lives within a 15 minute walk through the village of Chobhar so this outing was very do-able. I had already doused myself on Saturday morning so while Joni enjoyed her shower I was treated to real brewed coffee and conversation with Fionnuala and her friend Bella. Ahhh… simple pleasures.

Walking back after our outing, we were a bit late for lunch but our friends from Malaysia who we share facilities with had set aside our portion. Immediately after we finished eating, they spread the table with treats of candy and cakes and invited the Anis of the Shedra to a short reception. The 3 Chinese Malaysians (2 women and a man) have been coming to TGL for retreat ever since it has been habitable for visitors. They are great supporters of TGL and have befriended the Anis over the years of visits. The gathering was filled with appreciative smiles and laughter. Joni and I were so thankful that we got to witness the event. These Anis are grown women, not part of the TGL school. They live very simple and disciplined lives here in the dorm where our rooms are. They rise at 4:30am for prayers and study the the traditional Tibetan Buddhist Dharma throughout the day. Despite the fact that the table was filled with treats, they limited themselves to a single sample of each item. While their eating was restrained their enthusiasm for seeing their friends, talking and looking at photos from past visits overflowed.

Sunday
On Sunday Joni and I set out on our first solo journey into the city by bus. Fionnuala had invited us into Sanepa, a neighborhood in the city, for brunch at the “Yellow House”. In preparation for the trip we spent quite a bit of time talking with Fionnuala and mapping out the route to understand the roads and the bus connection to get there. Joni and I had even walked along the path to our bus stop to make sure it was where we expected. In addition we checked Google Maps to get a rough sketch of the roads. All of this may sound silly to someone who hasn’t been to Kathmandu. We ARE more conservative than we might have been when we were younger. But given the heat, the distance, the traffic and the elevations we have to climb, our preparations minimized our suffering in the end.

Our planning paid off and we made it to Chobhar Gate where we met the bus. A young man was kind enough to confirm our location for the bus stop. He told us that he was catching the same bus and welcomed us to follow him. The bus came and off we went, packed like sardines, standing room only, with a bus full of locals. The only hazard was the fact that my head touched the ceiling of the bus, so I had to crouch in anticipation of a likely bump in the road. 10 minutes later we climbed off and into the crowds at the end of the stop. Crossing the busy “Ring Road” we made our way toward the bridge into Sanepa. To our surprise, as we approached the bridge we bumped into one of the teachers from our school and enjoyed a quick hello. Amazing that among the millions we found a familiar face.

Past the cows, the people and the motorcycles on the unfinished side of the bridge, we walked the bridge into Sanepa. Guided by a screen shot of the streets on our phone, we wound our way to the Yellow House. Entering a gate we found a green courtyard full of white faces, English, German, French and Swiss language (among others) reflected the western diversity of the crowd. Below the restaurant sat vendors for a market of vegetables, fruits, cheese, honey, and to my surprise beer. A bigger surprise was to find that one of the beers (Yeti) was from Denver, Colorado.

After a time Fionnuala and her friends Bella and Helena arrived and we sat for a wonderful breakfast of brewed coffee and tea, eggs, potatoes and vegetables. It was a special treat to take the time to eat and chat. We share experiences for over an hour and a half in that little oasis. It was interesting to learn about their many years living in Nepal and their endeavors in writing and painting and travel.

After our meal the ladies took us to a local hotel and showed us a swimming pool. Once again, I was struck by a hidden corner of comfort and luxury tucked away from the intensity of the street. I expect that we will return to lounge in this oasis.

After the pool viewing, Bella pointed out a small shopping mart packed with a diversity of food and other necessities and then she showed us the studio where she is learning the art of Thanka painting. She introduced us to her teacher, showed us a painting he is currently working on and how the paint is mixed for the work. Her teacher showed us a painting of 1,000 Buddhas that took him 2 years to complete. It is hard to imagine the patience and skill that is required to complete a work that is so ornate and magnificent.

After the tour the ladies left us to go shopping at the Mustang Mart where we found a few comfort items to have at the school. After searching and wandering for a time, we stopped at a hardware store for a tub to do our wash and a pharmacy to get some vitamin C and hydrogen peroxide for cleaning.

Tired and ready to be home we decided to try a taxi for our return. After a miscommunication about where we were going, the driver made his way through the rush hour traffic and finally delivered back at the Chobar Gate. We’re guessing that we were overcharged for the fare since we didn’t ask for it to be metered but we had successfully made it home full circle.

This is a new narrated slideshow that describes the history and vision of Tsoknyi Rinpoche to provide support and eduction for girls and women.

Written and directed by Bay Area photographer Richard A. Heckler.

Enjoy.

September 4th – Today marked our first day at school. While we spent quite a bit of our time getting some orientation from Fionnuala Shenpen (TGL School Director), we were also introduced to all of the children and teachers. Tomorrow and Wednesday we will visit most of the classrooms and do observations so that we understand the process the teachers are using for instruction.

Among other topics, Fionnuala gave us an overview of the system of education here in Nepal. Though this is a Gompa (monastery) school, they are expected to follow the general guidelines of the Nepal system for levels, assessment, curriculum and the like. In this system, just as in the US, educational legislation and policy are out of sync with the realities faced by schools. Testing mandates appear to be pushed for symbolic reasons inconsiderate of the practical application. This sounds all too familiar to me, having dealt with Colorado’s mandates and all the repercussions it had for students, teachers and overall instruction. Every good teacher appreciates assessment, when it informs instruction. Teachers should be treated as professionals; empowered rather than inundated with institutional requirements. </end soap box>

The Routine
While it is too early to tell what our responsibilities and routines will look like here, the ongoing pace and activity of the students, teachers, monks, nuns and administrators is incredibly busy. There is the activity of the school, with 120+ students, providing 7+ levels of instruction, housing, and the 24 hour welfare of all the children. The Gompa, providing a Buddhist education (Tibetan Language and ritual instruction) for the nuns enrolled in school and some that are not. There is a regular flow of visitors (including Joni and I) from all over the world visiting the school and the Gompa who also require consideration. On top of this activity, there is the ongoing construction of the Main (new) Shrine hall rising up in the middle of the grounds. This means that workers and large trucks of sand, brick and water come and go. The noise of workers yelling, concrete mixers, lifts, horns, and tools bang about. Like the rest of Nepal, we have to become accustomed to multiple things happening at the same time – polyphony (not exactly Bach).

Fortunately there is an ebb and flow to the activity with some very peaceful and sweet moments. For instance, there is sound of early prayers. At 4:30am Nuns gather in the old Shrine hall to recite prayers and perform traditional rituals. Amid random sounds of distant (and sometimes close) barking dogs, the nuns quietly gather in the hall at 4:15. At 4:25 the sound of the gong calls all to come and soon the room is filled with their beautiful voices. While the dogs and the hum of the city are ever present, their voices settle it.

September 9th
I have been here at TGL for only one week now and have just begun to adjust. Despite all the inconvenience, periodic discomfort, and shortage of english speaking companions, I feel at home here. Though she just returned from the US and is recovering from jet lag, Fionnuala has gone out of her way to help Joni and I get our basic necessities together and get the layout of the town of Chobhar. While we don’t speak Tibetan or Nepali, the Anis smiles are a treat. Slowly but surely their shyness is melting and they try to speak English.

Today is our first day off after a week of orientation, observation, familiarization and scheduling. Next week we will begin our regular schedules in the classroom. The schedule appears pretty demanding to me now. We’ll see.

Sitting on the highway by the Trishili River Bridge on our way back toward Kathmandu via Nuwakot. We expected to have a 4 hour drive to Nuwakot but have spent an hour here already.

Fortunately we have stopped in a scenic place.

We have just left Bandipur where we had a very wonderful stay with friends of Namaste Shrestha (our host). Bandipur is his ancestral home. We were fortunate to eat in the home built by his father. For 2 nights we were treated to wonderful meals prepared by his nephew’s wife. Namaste was born in the house. As we parted in the afternoon, they offered us Kathas and marked our foreheads.Update: It is now 6:05 and though we are moving, we are still connected to a long line of traffic. In one small town it was a competition to get to the head of a line. Everyone is a “loser” but everyone has the hope of moving faster than the next vehicle. Cars, trucks buses and motorbikes spread out on the wide, potholed and muddy side lots where shops and restaraunts sit. This traffic is the definition of gridlock. The 2 lane road was turned into a 6 lane river of gridlock with cars in jumble, pointing in multiple directions. In an attempt to get ahead, vehicles made paths around one another but when it was time to merge back into the narrow 2 lane roadway they came to a face off with one another (literally face…to…face. The hot sun and moist air wrapped the people sitting by the side of the road; some had taken a break, some were local observers, some jumped in and out of buses and minibuses. I saw children sleeping in their mothers arms, babies being changed. Some trucks had given up and were sitting by the side of the road, the drivers lounging in rear compartments.

It is a mass of people trying to move from east (Kathmandu) to west (Pokara) and west to east. Some are trying to get to connections to China and parts south, India and the Terrai.

End of the day.
We ended our day at 10:15pm in Nuwakot. The sun had set on us as we were released from the traffic snake. The cool air was refreshing and we kept our windows down. Finally we took time for the bathroom and an evening snack by the side of the road. It felt so good to be sitting still.

The last hour and a half of our long day was taken on the northern cutoff where the traffic promised to be less – toward China. While there was some traffic relief, we immediately came head on with a entourage of large trucks coming from China. The line of trucks wouldn’t have posed as much challenge on a US highway. But here the road was narrow (think Independence Pass) and rough (think Forest Service road to a trail head). Finally, we happened upon a dump truck going our way and moving fast. We stayed on his tail, tucking in behind when trucks approached. He became our protector. Ironically his tail gate said “Good Luck”. And he was.

Through it all, we got to our hotel (Hotel Satanchuli Nuwakot) safe
and sound and ready for a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately we arrived so late that the place was completely dark and locked up. After 20 or 30 minutes we raised a local to go and fetch the proprietor and he took us to our room. Not such a clean room but there is air-conditioning and a place to sleep. Ahhhh… I’m learning that Nepal is full of surprises. One should minimize expectations and take things one day, one minute at a time. It’s all good.

The next day at breakfast I found out the rules of the Hotel. I tried to resist any hooliganism.