Where to start?
Geplaatst op 04 maart 2019 om 05:40 uur
The yoga and Buddhism journey has come to an end by now. Karin is on her way home, together with 9 more of our group. The others are scattered throughout Nepal, enjoying this beautiful country for some more days. I am back at Boudha, where I start my volunteer work for ROKPA. These last days have been amazing! So many things have happened, that I do not even know where to start. Let’s share the highlights then. When we were at the Neydo monastery, we had one day of free time. Karin and I decided to walk through the village, and go to another village as well. Immediately after we started walking around and through the village, one Nepali man noticed us and started talking to us. He could not speak English, and of course we could not understand him either. Luckily a young woman overheard us and she translated it for him. It turned out that he wanted to show us a Hindu temple up on the hill. Of course you had to climb a million stairs to reach that temple, but I decided to go with him to watch this temple (and the view up on the hill). Karin stayed down and enjoyed the hospitality of the young woman, showing her her house and everything. The temple was very simple, but meant a lot to this man. That made the experience very special. And the view was amazing from up there. I could see all of Kathmandu, Bakthapur and Patan. I decided to take a selfie with this lovely man. So I turned my phone to the selfie-mode, and I at first showed it to the man to make him understand what I wanted to do and to ask for his approval. He started looking in my phone, and all of a sudden he saw his own face. He went backwards, because he of course did not expect to see himself. Then he started laughing, and I took the selfie. We had fun without words! We continued our walk through and around the village, and everywhere we went we saw friendly faces and smiles, and received kind words. After that walk, we decided to go to another village, but this time by taxi. We stood near the road, and I tried to stop a taxi. Of course hardly any taxi drove past us at that time, and the ones that did were already full. Then all of a sudden a car with some men in it stopped and asked me where we needed to go. I explained to him, and he invited us for a ride there. Hospitality!!We strolled around in that little city, and also here the people were extremely friendly. We stopped a lot of the times, to just have a look what is happening. Most of the times we were invited in, to watch. This is how we had the opportunity to watch a weaving mill where they produce carpets. We did a bit of shopping, had lunch there (for EUR 8 in total),and then wanted to go back. That was also a bit of a struggle, because nowhere a taxi was to be found. There were a couple of police men standing there at a checkpoint, so I asked them. They said we could also take the bus, but then some man approached us and said he could drive us also. It turned out that he ran some clandestine taxi operation J, because his car was no taxi but he asked for a fare anyway. Haha! He dropped us off near the Neydo monastery, and we decided to try and visit a primary school just opposite the road. They welcomed us with open arms and showed us the premises. In one classroom a teacher was teaching English. Interesting of course, so I took a look and started to talk a bit with the children. Lovely! They really were trying their best and were so proud of themselves. Only highlights this day!
Highlights were also the yoga and meditation sessions. The yoga was really warming up and stretching the whole body, so we could start the day perfectly. Marion is a wonderful teacher, with a lot of patience, very clear instructions, and so much knowledge! It was a privilege to be taught by her. The meditation sessions were very interesting. I did it before a couple of times, but never to such an extent as now. Sometimes I was able to focus very well, sometimes it just came and went. But after every session I felt calm, at ease, warm inside, and very good. Joost is also a very good instructor, being calm and leaving a lot of space. In his Dhamma talks he shared so much about Buddhism with us, which was so interesting. It was a pleasure listening to him.
After the monastery we went to Namo Boudha, a place to the east of Kathmandu, at 1800 metres. This place is really an oasis. A German woman set it up together with her husband about 20 years ago, and they built it up from scratch. It was bare land, and now it is a paradise with little cottages, lots of trees and bushes, a lot of vegetable gardens, and much more. The food they serve is amazing! Pumpkin pie, avocado salad, banana fritters, avocado ice cream: just a few things that we had for dinner and lunch there. All made from either their own or local produce.The first night we woke up in the middle of the night, because of heavy rain and real heavy thunder and lightning. Quite scary at 1800 metres J. When we woke up that morning, Karin said to me: ‘Look, it is snowing!’ I did not believe her, of course hahaha. But INDEED, it was! The whole premises was already covered in a beautiful white blanket of snow, and it kept on coming. We of course did not expect this at all! Later that morning I just sat on the terrace, and watched the Himalaya mountain range. The sky was unbelievably clear that day, even the locals hardly ever see it like that in that period of time. We were (again) in luck! It was just like watching television. Every 10 seconds the scenery changed. I could have stayed there for a very long time, just watching nature. In the afternoon we hiked to the village, up to the stupa and later to the monastery. Again we watched (a part) of the puja (prayers) of the monks, and we saw what the villagers call ‘the forest of prayer flags’. The way back was incredible, because the very last part of the hike was steep and up. Let’s say it was interesting! J At least I get a lot of exercise here, so that is a very good thing.
The next day no more snow, but still this amazingly clear sky and great view on the mountains. We did not want to go! If you ever have the privilege to be in Nepal, you should really pay a visit to this place. You will not regret it for a moment!After walking to the stupa and back in silence together, we had a farewell ceremony. This ceremony was so moving and beautiful! In silence we wished each person, individually, a positive intention. Tears kept running down my face. In such a short period of time you build up something as a group, and you grow fond of each other.
We went back to Kathmandu, and spent the last night in Thamel. A lot of tourists stay there, and it is full of little souvenir shops and little restaurants. A completely different scene and atmosphere then in Boudhanath, where we stayed the first few nights. Here they really want to sell you their products, so all the shop owners call you in and want you to have a look at their goods. It is also quite crowded, and you have to watch where you go because otherwise you get run over. It is a totally different experience, but also a very nice one. And sooooo many souvenirs, really amazing! You do not know where to look or what to choose. Karin did some real good shopping over there, she bought really nice things. I did not buy anything yet, because I still have time and I did not have room in my backpack at that time. My time will come J.
The next day it was time to say goodbye to the whole group, as some of them were flying back to Holland and some went on to another place in Nepal or even India. And of course now it was also time to say goodbye to Karin, my dear friend. We had such an amazing time together, so many laughs and also tears (of joy), so many special experiences and so many feelings. That was a tough moment, but I knew that she was also happy to go back and be with her family again. For me it was then time to go back to Boudhanath, and start the second part of my journey. I went to the guesthouse of ROKPA, and was welcomed with open arms. As soon as the taxi drove up to the gate, I saw Gerrit walking up to the gate as well. What a coincidence! It was very special to see him here. You realise it is something special, to meet each other so far away from home. But then again it immediately feels so familiar. After some time catching up, Bijay came up to us. He is the manager of ROKPA here, and Pema already introduced me to him when I was still in Holland. Bijay introduced us to Loic and Jessica, two volunteers who studied at EHL Swiss Hospitality Management School in Lausanne. After their studies they decided they wanted to volunteer here, and share their knowledge and also gain experience. They are two very nice people, with a lot of knowledge of this place already and so much enthusiasm. We discussed the training we had set up prior to coming here, and it turned out that we have to adjust the whole training. I was told that we could train the students here for a couple of full days, but it turned out not possible. The guesthouse and restaurant/bakery is being operated by the students, so they have to also work here. During that time we cannot train them. So yesterday (Sunday) we adjusted the whole training, and made it fit to the time we now have. We talked it over with Jessica, and she was very enthusiastic about it. Let’s do this then! J
Later that day we met two teachers of the Mukot Himal Basic School from Tiling, Upper Dolpa. Have a look on the map to see where Upper Dolpa is. It is the region where Pema also comes from, about 30 kilometres from the Tibetan border, up 4000 metres, and extremely remote. No tourist comes there, there is no telephone line, no electricity, and so on. The people in the village lead a very difficult life, especially in the winter. There is a school there, but they are fully depending on support from outside. Gerrit and I already decided to donate school supplies, so we bought backpacks for the little children (we did that in Holland already), and I stacked them with pencil cases, pencils, pens, pencil sharpeners and so on. I brought all of them here with me, and I handed them over to Dolma (Pema’s sister). She made sure the supplies were taken to the teachers, who then take all the materials that are donated up to Upper Dolpa. The two teachers wanted to thank us in person, so they came to ROKPA yesterday. They brought gifts: a beautiful bag and a blanket, both made by the women from Tiling. Such a nice gesture! We started talking, and we asked them how they get all the materials up to the village. They said it needs to be carried up by horses and yaks, and after some questions from our side they explained that this is very costly. They also still had no sponsor for that. Gerrit and I looked at each other, and we knew we were thinking the same thing. We decided to donate the money for the transportation costs to them. To give you an idea: transportation for all the materials they have costs around 40.000 rupees. This equals around EUR 320. We decided to each sponsor 10.000 rupees, and ask our colleagues and friends for a small donation in order to be able to raise the full amount. They were very, very grateful! (I think our friends and colleagues not so much, hahahaha, being asked to donate!) After meeting here at ROPKA guesthouse, they wanted to show us the storage of all the materials, so we walked with them there. They received a lot of items, all from different sponsors. After that they treated us to a cup of tea. Such a nice encounter, and we were and are so happy to do a little something for them and the children up in Tiling.
Today the training actually starts! And the day started with SUNSHINE! Such a welcome weather change, and so nice to be able to sit outside during breakfast already. I take this as a good sign, and I am sure that this afternoon, when we start our training, it will run smoothly. And if not, we will just improvise and go with the flow. I am ready and excited for it!
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