Greetings from Nepal

I made it!

The trip was off to a good start before I even touched down in Kathmandu - the view from the plane coming in over the mountains was beautiful, then landing to a sunny, 22 degree day. I was met by Rabi who drove me to his home, where I'll be staying. My first impressions on the drive were how colourful the place is and how busy.

Rabi and Sapna have a lovely home. It's a huge house in one of the nicest parts of the city. Apparently it's very quiet, although I dread to think what the noisy parts of town are like! Their house is also very Westernised, with flushing toilets, a hot shower and all amenities. The only snag is that there is loadsharing with electricty in Nepal. At the moment, we're only getting 4-8 hours a day and at peculiar times.

This is just one way that I feel perched on the edge between Western and third world culture. Similarly, visiting the local supermarket and finding it full of Colgate, Cadburys and the like.

I will be spending three days a week at a private Montessori-based nursery school (up to age six). The school is run by Sapna and, again, sits perched on the Western/Nepali boundary. In many ways, the classrooms wouldn't look out of place in an English primary school, with art, English words and numbers etc up on the walls and the kids sitting in groups. Although primarily Nepali kids, there's also a distinct international feel. I think several of the kids are there for a year or two whilst their parents are doing diplomatic or VSO work of some kind in Nepal.

Ostensibly, I'm there to help with maths, but unsurprisingly, as in any primary school, I'll also be helping out with whatever needs doing. On my first day I participated in a Nepali dance class, much to the amusement of the kids. Today I went on a school trip to the city's heart hospital, where one student's father is a surgeon. There has been no maths yet, unless you count the fact that I've learnt the numbers up to ten in Nepali. I'm really trying to learn the language, not least because the people I'm meeting respond well to the fact that I'm making an effort. I think Sapna and Rabi are relieved to have a house guest who is so open to new experiences. This was not the case with their last one.

I have to get back to class in a minute, so I'll leave this post by saying that I'm so happy to be here and that I don't think I'm going to have any problems adjusting. I have already made a friend, Lhaden, who is a teacher at the school. Three months here is going to fly by.