Awesome Nepal...

Today I went to Kathmandu early, cos I had no lessons. And I was gonna meet up to see Pashupatinath Temple and their morning ceremonies. Here the Hindus burn the dead and send the ashes out on the river.

Here we start before 6 in the morning..,

In Kathmandu, ladies selling Tea on the street.,,

The day was rainy to start with, this is outside the temple, do you see the monkeys claiming in the wires :)

Breakfast today was hot curry, fried bread and some sweet after...

Yeah, this huge bull walked around in the area..,

And some smaller cuter ones as well..,

Woman in their colourful clothes, it feels like I am walking around in a film.,

Double working women..

After that I went in to town again ;)

 Today I got som blessings of a Hindu man, fist he pored water over me, then I got this ribbons on my wrist. Then he wanted to paint my forehead, but there I stayed NO thanks,  so next step was to throw flower over me ;) I liked that. In Thamel I found a book store with lots of English books, and there I found some about Tibetan wisdoms. I'm mixing all, exactly as Nepal is - a mix that goes hand in hand, with lots of respect for different believes. I love it!! 

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!!! 

Help where you are!

You don't have to cross the glob to help, as  I did! Do it where you are. All countries / cities have poverty / homeless / stray dogs/cats, etc... People & animals  that may need a bit help!

And some "helper" don`t trust the huge organisations, that keep most of the money for themselves etc... But there are so many goodhearted people out there, that want to help, but don´t know how!!!

I just found out about this group, A Packet Of Rice
A mini project with a thought to distribute meal box to low income needy residents and senior citizens in Singapore. So please,  read about how they started, and see what you can do,  Talk to you friends, neighbors, family, school, work etc  Inspired them to help the ones that need a helping hand. We can all make a different!  

So, why don't you get inspired of this example, and create something in your neighborhood?? 

Be a self initiated volunteer you too. 

Outside my widow...

Early this morning was full activity outside my window. The Monsoon started for real! WOW, our whole front yard is overflowing! And it´s threatening to enter the building.

 Everybody are up, looking at the mess the rain is creating... But I´m lucky, I can stand in my room and take my photos...

 The smallest ones are most fascinated of all the frogs that starts to pop up... hmmm... I don´t want frogs in my room. I have a huge gape under my door, and this is 50 -60 cm from it... And I remember from Thailand when that happened..

 It´s a dirty work, but some has to do it...

 and all do, without complainings. It´s very near that the water flow over...

The guys were working hard, fast and energetic. After a while they were able to concur the water masses...

 Look at the sky... wow... I guess we will have a couple of month of this now...hm... This is only the beginning...

 ...everybody were soaking wet, from top to toe... (I don´t even wanna think about what this can do with the health and fever that started here)

 Dancing in the rain :) when the water was beaten ( for now anyway) everybody started to play and have fun instead :)

And right now....... activity stopped, the rain lost a bit of its intense & power... and outside my room is silence... But the water made huge holes in the ground... that must be taken care of, otherwise we will have real problems.

Fever rules in the monastery..

Oh my gosh, I got fever and so did some of my students. As I heard its that time of the year now, rainy season is starting. 

But yesterday came a local doctor and checked us up, and I got antibiotics and something more. So in a couple of days I hope I'll be fit for fight again. 

But unfortunately I must cancel my planed weekend trip to Kathmandu. 

So it's just to 'go with the flow' take it as it comes and listen to the body. 

there is always a solution...

so, if you are to short for the whiteboard,... stand on a chair :)

Amazing kids - Our future...

This text is from one of my students, something he wrote in the end of a test we had, like a "signature" (actually many of them write small message like this at the end of the test tasks)

If you can see beyond the wrong spellings and see what he is trying to express, what he has inside him, you will see something else -Hope!

First of all, he is in one of the new beginners class, he has not been here much longer than me, the others in his class, just learn to write the alphabet, and can not spell yet, so he is very good.

His thoughts are about doing good, to be kind... I think it is amazing! And gives hope to all of us, cos kids are our future!! And I mean ALL kids in this world. So we better take care of them in the best of way, and guide them good.

I´m blessed to be able to work with these kids for a while. Every single one of them are special, with a remarkable inner, thoughts and ability.  In this "monastery school" they are learning,  Tibetan language & script, as well as  English  and Chinese. And of course, all the Buddhist practicing that is mandatory. Humanity of our future!

Just amazing!!!! 

Nepali Tea

I just love the Nepali Tea!
(Chiya/Chya/Chai )
And it´s super simple to make.

what you need for two cups

Milk – one cup
Water – One cup
Sugar – 2 t-spoons
Tea Powder– 2 t-spoons

(You may add: Cardamom, Cloves, Ginger, Black pepper, etc. If you want to spice it up, but it´s not necessary)

Boil water with tea power in it for 5 minutes
Put sugar in boiling water and stir it, add, if you want, Cardamom, Cloves, Ginger, etc.
Pour a cup of milk and let it boil for a while
Watch the color. Make it darker for strong ones.
Add some black pepper, if you want for flavor.

Yummy!!!

from Things To Love

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