Saturday morning...

Another week just ran away so quickly. Time is really flying, even if the tempo here is much slower than I´m used to.

Now I just had my breakfast, delivered to my room as always :)

And soon I´ll have my one and only class on Saturdays

This weekend I´m gonna stay in Pharping. Today I´ll take a walk to an well known, legendary Monastery ( a bit outside Pharping) to take some picks. I probably will go and put of some Prayer flags for me, so far I mostly did it for others, but now it´s for me! ;) Then some Shopping in the village.
And a lot of self care time for me, that's the plan anyway... But, life is full of surprises, so we will see if that is the way it´s gonna be :)

I wish you all a lovely Saturday, wherever you are!

Wonderful Incense from Nepal

I am always looking for things that I like, and that will help me create my own harmony, good feeling & atmosphere  "my own temple" at home (ore were I am) and this, I´ll buy plenty of to bring home with me :)

My favorite Incense, Jasmine.
It´s 100% Pure & natural, handmade from inside out. The package is made of beautiful handmade paper, decorated with an Himalaya flower. And if that was not good enough, it also contains a beautiful message for the users: "MAY PEACE & LOVE PREVAIL IN THE WORLD"
For me it is just WOW!!! I like it :)

There is a lot more fragrances of this brand, some you can see at Things to Love


Simply Love!

My village life...

So, honestly, absolutely everything is different here comparing to my home town, Barcelona :) and even more comparing to mother country Sweden.

 This is on the local bus in to Kathmandu... a bit different standard from Barcelona local traffic.. :) But I love it! Everything here is exploding of color.

 In Kathmandu, as is the Capital city, don´t forget that, are  the cows walking freely all over the place, eating and doing what they want.

 Holy cows, cos it´s the Hindu religion as is largest here...

 The laundry we wash by hand and dry it in the sun, this is at the Monastery in Pharping, outside one of my windows...

 My local supermarket in Pharping, "stores" like this, is it plenty of ...

Pharping´s one and only Doughnut bakery :)

Different from the western standard perhaps, but everything is working beautifully, and here are a lot of happy  kind faces all over.

Traditional handcraft...

My interest in interior design, yoga, feng shui, and to create harmony in areas were people spend their time made me start looking for unique items in Nepal.

So on  my free time I´m out searching for genuine nice Nepali handicraft. And I´ve been finding so many beautiful handmade objects, often with a purpose, that will increase harmony and a peaceful home.

This woman makes the most beautiful Buddha figurines. All are handmade, of genuine wood. The ones I´ll show you here are made of sandalwood, with a lovely smell. The tree is light and bright, with an untreated surface.

If you want something unique, with an artistic value, you should invest in one of these beautiful pieces.  And in the same way you support the handcraft from a poor country, helping to make people take care of their own living.

This Tibetan man is living in exile from his mother country, as many other Tibetans, and lives now in Nepal. He took the tradition with him, and makes Tibetan prayer flags. 

They are all, printed by hand, with this lovely print plates from Tibet, he cut, sew and measure all by himself. There is also a tradition that the flags, depending of the prints should be made the right day in the month. 

And as Buddhist he follows the moon cycles. All flags have different meanings. We have selected some of them, and also together we design a new banner for prosperity. You can find fabric made prayer flags, but this once are a handcraft, and we believe with stronger and more genuine power.

Handmade objects from one place on earth where the knowledge of faith, harmony and kindness bloom in an ancient culture.

An art that is not well known to the rest of the world. That is why I want to highlight this craft and skills for the rest of the world. For a people living in an underdeveloped country with so much hidden knowledge.

By creating a harmonious beautiful home with items from here, will it not only give you a good living, balance and harmony, it will also benefit the people of Nepal!

Simply, things to Love!

Wanna see more? Things To Love

Momo - Yummy!!!

Some time ago the student made MOMO, If you don´t know what Momo is, I can tell you it is delicious, and a nice super good Nepali snack, and not so difficult to do. I´ll do it when I go back to Spain.

 production is one :) The kitchen were "boiling" of activity....

 Filling....

 dough working....

 Our monastery´s cook, is supervising and guiding...

 chopping dough.....

 Momos waiting for steaming....

 Dough preparing...

....and of course!!! Were should the monastery dog be, if not in the middle of the whole activity :)

A good recipe, you find here: http://www.yowangdu.com/tibetan-food/momos.html

Enjoy!!!

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.