OMG worst sleep ever! I had to get up at 5AM this morning,
as Jo and I wanted to go to Kopan to see a Puja at the Kopan Monestary. This is
the second time I have had to get up early and both times I hardly get any
sleep because I’m worried about oversleeping. I am going to buy an alarm clock
today so that I can settle my overactive brain! The Puja if you read my earlier posts is a puja is
a ceremony (by monks) in which prayers are offered to the Buddha’s to request
their blessings or invoke their While there the monks offered us breakfast,
pulau, it was rice mixed with raisins, coconut & nuts and then some kind of
tea which was more like a broth of some kind. Afterwards we looked around the monastery,
took a tour around the prayer wheel then slowly made our way back to the house.
Tomorrow we leave for Mahadebbesi it is about 40Km away. We
will be staying there until Thursday morning. This is a rural posting so that
we can experience what it is like to work in the hospital and school in the
rural community. We will not have access to Internet.
We were going to leave first thing in the morning but
apparently it is a religious holiday again which means there is no school and
therefore no real rush to get there to teach. There seem to be a lot of
religious holidays and festivals here and as a result the schools get closed. I
can’t remember what this one is and I’m not sure why nobody seems to know about
them in advance?? Actually I think this time the question is whether it is on
Sunday or on Monday, I guess it changes every year??. It is the Muslim Eid. Muslims all
over the world mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan on Saturday. It is a
festival of sacrifice to commemorate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice
his son as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him
with a sheep to sacrifice instead. Now having read a bit I realize that this is
marked on the lunar Islamic calendar which I would imagine not everyone is
familiar with.
Six of us went into Thamel for the afternoon to spend time
together, pick up last minute things for the people that will be leaving etc.
Charlie and I totally mastered the bartering routine. Shop barter, get your
base mark then shop some more, eventually you will get what you want without
feeling totally taken advantage of. We got some more mindi (also spelled mehndi) and experienced
a small flood after yet another rain storm.
We are having a little celebration tonight to welcome the
three newest arrivals (Alex, Cashem?, and Thomas) and say goodbye to those that
are moving on. Michael is leaving to go back home tomorrow; Amelia, Joanna,
Charles and Thomas are all going trekking. Hailey and I are heading to the
rural community until Thursday and Rachel leaves on Thursday.
Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is
just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing
is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day. By Dalai Lama
That Dalai Lama!! I think he's really figured out the meaning of life.
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