Dear teacher...

...this one for you.

From day to day, I get some drawings and small messages from the students in the monastery. It is always so nice: I guess we all get happy when someone shares a good word with us. And it is neither less worthy if the person can or cannot draw, write good or not, it is the taught, and time they put into it that counts.

but this one I really wanna share with you, cos it is both well drawn, and so nice thoughts behind the messages. 

Lotus

Lotus denotes the freedom from all the stains of non - virtues of tree, body, speech and mind Blooming of hundred pedals of all white virtues and fine production of the essence of honey and ultimate happiness: Liberation.

Sincerly, your student Sherab Gyamtso

Thank you!
I am very grateful for your help.
Teacher, I will never forget your kindness.

Best wishes for you.

Time is flying...

... and as soon I reach half time in my journeys it start to go so fast. So sometimes I have hard to live in the moment. I am thinking about how it will be to come home, to leave this Monastery and all the kids behind....uhh...

LittlesLamas at our front yard, with Himalayas and the monsoon in the background 

Local bus to Kathmandu

I don´t know, but it feels like it is so near to go to Barcelona from here, but more far away to go from Barcelona to Nepal again...

Cow all over the place in Kathmandu...

Ahh you hear, I'm in the future with my thoughts... So STOP , here and now!!!


Last weekend I was i Kathmandu,  I found a new super great hotel, low rate, perfect situated,

My hotell is on Freak Street,as is next to  and Durbar Square 

 a great roof terrace

Great breakfast at the roof terrace, Nepali tea, fruit salad and more goodies... 

 with a view over Kathmandu valley... So tomorrow Ill go back again.

View from the old Palace on Durbar Square

Hanging out on Durbar Square, as in an World Heritage Site

Candles, coconuts, flowers... you can buy all the holy things you need here... 

Protected...

I had a dream to go to Ganges, were she starts... But everybody tells me it is impossible this time of year... So we will see how i best use my last month here... I have some ideas :)

beautiful handcraft in the old Palace

Amazingly Kathmandu!!! 

By the way, last week I got a roomie, A Taiwanese woman that lives in US, she is here teaching for 2,5 week only, and we share room. She been here before, and she is a Buddhist so I get a lot of answers from her. She is very goodhearted and funny, giggling all the time, so sometimes we laugh so much so maybe the Abbott that lives in the room next to us, want to throw us out hihihih... But nice with a roomie after 2 month without any fluently English talking person in the monastery :)

Bus back home, see the police van.. :)

time for rice planting...

Right now, all around the monastery are the activity high out on the fields, its time to plant the rice.,,

 ...here are the plants, just waiting to come down into the water....

... mostly women work on the fields, barefoot in the water...

 The plateau plantations are  now filled with water after all the  heavy rain, so perfect time for planting ..

I am so amazed, that i walk around here, and live here, and can see all this beauty right outside my door!!! 

Morning walk to Seshnarayan Temple

This morning I took a walk to  Seshnarayan Temple, it´s just outside Pharping village. 
The temple is known cos Guru Rinpoche have one of his two meditation caves there.

 A statue of Guru Rinpoche...

 ... and here we have his feet...

The Temple, and cave is almost melted into the mountain, you have to clime up some stairs to reach it...

 As in whole Nepal, there are so many beautiful deitals, coulours, symbolism...

 This pic, is a very true "Self portrait" of me! I am sooooooooo white (most) & black in my taste & style. And right now I am in the middle of an explosion of colors!!! So this  is exactly a good pic "Of me in Nepal" :) Surrounded of colors.

 Here is the door into his Cave, if you go in here you can take you to the other cave, that is near my monastery. But now it is locked, cos people actually disappeared in here, and never were found again.

I lighted candles outside the cave, it´s suppose to give light to the once lost in the cave, and luck to the one that light it. (and of course, money to the once that sells it :) hihihihi... )

 Yepp, this is a goat! not a dog!!! And this goat started to chase me! It really scared me for a moment, but people started to laugh and talk to me... so I relaxed, BUT with one eye on it, and one ear for the sound of the bell on its neck.

A view down on parts of the garden & fish pond...

A woman sitting near the entrance to the Temple, selling rise and color....

while a boy washes up in the water at the fish pond....

 There are beautiful details all over, I could take so many pics here... and I did. I do all the time...

Down, on the street, you have a local bar... This is very much how it looks like here... This is Nepal.

 On the other side of the road, were lots of monks doing their morning washes... almost on the road, and from a water stream, no larger than a ditch.

 This road is the road between Pharping and Kathmandu. It´s super narrow, and I think is scary as hell from time to time to walk here...

 Look!!! No sidewalks, no nothing, and here are lots of traffic..as well as people & animal...

Just jump up on the sand piles or right out in the vegetation.... It is heavy traffic, driving fast, and honking the horn ALL the time. I'm not joking!!!

 But, it is working... they know how to deal with it... i don´t... :) I'm terrified!! But, I do it!

The entrance of Pharping! <3

Saka Dawa ceremony

For some days here at Jonang Monastery it been a busy scheduled to arrange a great prayer ceremony, Saka Dawa*. 

 Good prayer for world peace and may our all  have a good prosperity, happiness, successful and long life.

We have been given special meals, and the Lams is very busy doing their paying, the sound of music, mantras, prayers sounds throughout the monastery from morning to night. As I told you before, I don´t have a religion (I do have my faith)  but I´m very happy to be able to be a part of this! it´s very beautiful and filled with happiness, good energy and vibrations! I´m grateful!!!

 And yesterday evening, some kids knocked on my door, and handled over a bunch of candy. I asked them why do give me all this? And they just pointed out  to the courtyard, and there were huge sacks, filled with lost of sweets...

 Here are all lined up,  waiting for their part of goodies.....

 Happiness is complete...

 Viewing with each other what they got ...

Everyone gets more than enough, even our little dogie  Dorjee, he became so excited, "tailed around"  all the goodies, (smelling good of course) he got some as well :)

I can just say, Thank You!! I´m super grateful to be a part of all this!!!

*Saka Dawa- fourth month according to Tibetan calendar - is the month remembered as the one in which the Buddha Shakyamuni displayed the deeds of birth, enlightenment, and Parinirvana. But this month of three important deeds is important for Buddhist all over the world. On this special month, all Buddhists, lay or ordained, observe it with the practice of accumulation and purification. It is said that any merit made on this day is multiplied 100 million times and negative emotions, thoughts and actions should be avoided.   / This explanation comes from on of the  coordinator : Cynthia Chao at  Little Lamas org.

Not only nice to know...

... but also good to know :)


Practicalities...

When I decided go to Kathmandu / Nepal, I had no idea about what I would bring with me, including the dress code, etc, it is after all a completely different culture ( Hindu / Buddhism rules here), and I'm a woman, working in a monastery for monks.

Amazing culture, and deserve respect....

Now I will try to reproduce what I think is most important to bring / think about for a volunteer assignment.

What I can not do without!

A Kettle!
Absolutely the most important gadget for me.
- I boil water, so there is  no bacteria. (water in Pharping is okay to boil, but the water in Kathmandu, I would never use)
- I boil water for my shower and hair washing.
- To wash my clothes (there are no washing machines)
- To be able to boil my own tea, coffee, soups possible if you want, etc.
(electricity plug same as we have in Europe 220v)

Lightweight travel towel

Since we wash by hand, and let everything dry naturally,  this is almost a must. It is easy to wash, and it will dry quickly. As well as minimizing its weight in your suitcase.
A "terry towel" would never get really clean, not rather dry.

Medicine.

You must of course make sure you have all vaccine that you need for this area etc, Your doctor will also tell you what's good to have with you. But basically everything is available here, and cheaper. In Pharping is a pharmacy.
I brought with me, antibacterial hand wash, both liquid and napkins, this I have not found here. It is really needed! If you keep your hands clean, you minimize the risk to get sick.( A thing to think about is the money, here are some of the money super dirty & smelling = full of bacterial! )

dress code

This was my main concern at home, but once I got here, it's not so big deal. But be aware that you must have covered shoulders and legs. So jeans and t-shirt works, but not too tight and "naked." But even loose linen trousers,harems trousers (baggy pants) exc .. Use common sense, respect the culture, deselect short shorts for example.


Stores

Most products are available to buy here, shampoo, shower gels, washing etc. And in Pharping are several shops, supermarkets, electronics stores, pharmacies, greenery,stores with phone cards, they are open 7 days a week, so it's no problem to buy what you need here. So it will not drag on, it weighs quite a lot. Even bookstores with English books are included in Kathmandu.

Nepalese telephone number.

Are super ease of purchasing, and cheap. However, you must have with you, passports, visas, and give your thumbprint :) hehehe. it's true!
You also have  internet included with the number, which is fantastic and necessary cos it's power outages several times a day here, and no wired internet connection, but works usually on mobile.

Boudha, the area I use to live in when I´m in Kathmandu...

After a bumpy, scary, hectically ride on a scooter from Pharping (I´ll never do that again!) and some shopping in Thamel I arrived to my hotel in Kathmandu.

I surely can recommend this Hotel if you are nearby. It´s near The Boudhanath Stupa, but it is so quiet here comparing to the rest of Kathmandu. Hotel Norbu Sangpo.

  You find lots of fruit & vegetables, this is the backstreet...

.... between my hotel and the Stupa.

 For dinner I went to an neighborhood restaurant, and it was not even a "hole-in-the-wall- restaurant",  I felt I was in a private families backyard  There was their scooter, only 1 tables for guest (like a garden table set), and one ordinary dining table for them, an a TV they were watching :) Behind that curtain is the kitchen.

And for the first and only time since I arrived I had meat, or to be exact, chicken. But it was probably one of the best chicken I ever tasted. Yum!

 Other vice, this is typical street views from the main street in Boudha... Colors...

 Cows, they are all over, usually in the middle of the streets, or among the garbage...

The trucks and buses are so nice decorated! I love them!!

And not to forget  the sleeping dogs! They are everywhere, sleeping! They don´t care about, people, cars or noise.  This dog for example, didn't move a bit even when this lady started to ring in the bell!

Another thing about the streets are that they are in so bad shape. This is normal as you see on the pic above, and much worse. When you go between the areas in Kathmandu,this is how it looks like. It is so bad roads  with large holes and pits, one time I thought the taxi were gonna turn upside down! Not to mention the dust, sometimes you can not see more that a couple of meters ahead of you. As well as bumpy, after a ride it feels like the body been through  a combat. And this is the capital city :)
Everybody tells me, now when the monsoon is starting... It will be big problems!  Yeah yeah, we will see...