I lift my eyes up to the hills – where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD – the maker of heaven and earth!
The sunrise from Sarankot, Pokhara
We just spent a much needed week’s break in Pokhara. We were really blessed by some fantastic mountain views and a chance to relax a little and unwind after a busy term. It was good to get away from Kathmandu after finishing the school play and moving house.
Sometimes you don’t know how much you need a break until you have one! I think I felt more tired at the end of the week than at the start as the pace of the last few months caught up with me. It was good to refresh spiritually as well as physically, and to reflect on what it means for me to abide in Christ (John 15). I listened to a podcast from our home church on that passage, and was impacted by the truth that I can try to ‘do’ lots of things in my own strength but true fruit in my life and ministry will only come from abiding in Jesus, reliant on him in all things, with his power at work to bring change and transformation in myself and others. So I guess that is my big prayer for this coming school term – for my classes and interactions with students – and for the coming year, whatever it brings.
And in other news….Zoe is pregnant! Woo hoo!! It is very exciting news and hard to believe at times too! She is due at the start of May 2011. Who knows where we will be and what we will be doing then?
T
My first monsoon
Don't let the blue sky fool you!
Lessons I have learned so far:
#1 Never ever go out during monsoon without an umbrella (even if it looks sunny, with no chance of rain).
#2 There’s really no way of getting to school dry in monsoonal rain. My solution- take a change of clothes and a towel to school.
#3 Mud guards are essential for your bike if you don’t want large splatters of brown on your clothes (you never actually know what the brown is in monsoon).
#4 Don’t eat salad leaves during the monsoon. Apparently this can make you very sick.
#5 BYO gumboots. For a country with so much rain there is nowhere to buy gumboots. I have had to get used to wet feet (I do eye off all the smart people who brought gumboots with them).
#6 When walking down the street it’s best not to look at things too carefully. Otherwise you might see what is floating down the street beside you (this can be dead rats, rubbish, food, mud…)
This could be my one and only monsoon, so I am trying to embrace the experience (even now as I sit here at my desk at school with my wet clothes hanging around me, wet feet and a fan on to try and dry me before class begins.) Despite all the wetness, I actually like the sound of the rain (when I am safely inside) and am looking forward to October when all this rain clears the skies and the beautiful snow-capped mountains can be seen again. Z
Christian Karaoke
Tom has just started leading the singing at our church. As it is such a small service we don’t have the capacity (or the talent) to have a band. So, to solve this problem our Pastor and his wife have lent us their karaoke machine. Worship consists of following the words as they light up on the screen . Definitely a different experience after coming from a service in Sydney of 200 with amazing worship. But, stripping things down to the core is not necessarily a bad thing. Z
Change of address
We are in the last few days of our summer holidays and have really enjoyed having a good break. We have recently moved into a new house. We are living in the house of a family that is back on leave in Australia for the next three months. It is a real treat, with a great kitchen and a beautiful view from the roof.
Our amazing new kitchen!
After not watching television for the last six months and having very little idea of what is going on in the world outside Kathmandu, we have a TV in our new house. This doesn’t excite Tom that much (not being a big TV watcher), but for me it was very exciting to be able to have some down time in front of a channel that almost exclusively shows my favourite type of shows, cooking shows. In addition it gets even better, my favourite show in Australia ‘Masterchef’ has, amazingly enough, just started here. Last night I had a good hour fix of the first episode.
The other thing that is bringing us both much joy is that we have recently got bicycles. This has changed our lives quite a lot and we wish we had done it much earlier. It makes getting around much easier and really helps now that we are living a bit further away from school. It has been a learning process riding on the roads of Kathmandu. There are often multiple people taking over one another and it can be quite chaotic, particularly as a cyclist you are not given much priority on the roads. The bell on my bike has a brilliant sound though, so I often have a big smile when I’m riding around ringing my bell. It just seems the right way to get around.
We are both looking forward to (although I am a little nervous) about the new school year (starting on Monday). It will be quite a busy term, particularly for Tom who is directing the school play. [T - Zo is head of english so she'll have her work cut out for her too!].
Z
Nepali Nuances
We’ve now been here for 7 months….can’t believe it! We’ve learned a little about Nepali culture – some which we love, some which…we may grow to love?
1) Yocking spit in the street and blowing your nose so that the snot sprays out onto the road. It is a common experience to be walking along the road and hear the sound of someone sucking back their phlegm in their throat and spitting it out on the ground. Sometimes you see them, sometimes they are behind a wall. The worst for our unaccustomed eyes to this cultural habit is seeing ladies do it. A beautiful young woman in a brightly coloured sari looking great in the morning sun, until…suck it back and spit it out! Or walking towards an old lady, looking cute and cuddly in an old woman kind of way as she walks slightly bow-legged down the road, makes a sound which you think could never come from such a small frame, and spits out a big golly beside her. On a cultural note, many Nepalis believe that they need to get rid of the pollutants inside of them – and it is definitely better out than in. As part of Hindu culture many people get up each morning and get rid of their phlegm as an act of ritual purity. A side note to the fact that many Nepalis do not use handkerchiefs and tissues for their snot is that the idea of keeping dirty body fluid in your pocket is wrong….I can see their point kind of…in the west we politely blow the snot into our tissue and then leave it in our pocket for the rest of the day (possibly even reusing the same tissue)…maybe there is something in just getting rid of it from the body once and for all? But I won’t try it…Zoe would kill me!
2) Time for relationships. Nepalis have more time for each other. The pace of life in Nepal is much slower than back home. Perhaps part of it is the work ethic. But people seem to have much more time for family and friends. It is common at all times of day to see groups of people sitting outside a house or shop sitting and chatting. Saturday is the Nepali ‘day off’ and most shops are shut, the streets noticeably quieter, and there is a sense of community as people mill around their houses together. It is something that we have lost in Australia by not having a ‘day off’ in common without work. Quite apart from God giving us a day of rest to enjoy fellowship with Him and others, it makes heaps of practical sense to slow our pace of life a little so that we can stop and smell the roses in bloom around us. The pace of life in Sydney is manic, and I too often had many tasks to do, but not enough time for people. Will that change when we get home, or will I slip back into the culture of busyness?
3) The place of healing in church culture….In Nepal there is no question of whether God heals today. Since the beginnings of the growth of the Nepali church in the 1950s there have been many cases of healings going hand and hand with the preaching of the Gospel. In many cases, as it was also with the early church, healings have been a tangible witness to the in-breaking of God’s kingdom into the world, and a sign of what is to come at the end of this age. Our pastor shared with us today about a man who has become a member of our church who was paralysed in hospital and who died – was wheeled to the morgue – but the church was praying for him to be healed…a nurse noticed his hand twitching, wheeled him back to the ward, and after our pastor met with him and prayed for him, he was fully restored with all paralysis gone! Healings have been a sign that Jesus has power and in a nation of many gods it is a clear witness to his sovereignty, causing people to give their lives to following Him. This is a positive thing. Western medicine is not a bad thing – in fact it is means that God has provided for healing, but maybe we should follow the example of Nepali Christians by being more expectant and active in prayer for healing? Maybe as we share the good news of what Jesus did through his death and resurrection we can share the good news that healing is also possible in his name? (But what of those who are prayed for and not healed…I don’t have an answer…but praying for healing is better than no praying for healing).
Anyone want to play chicken?
4) Driving…DO NOT MAKE EYE CONTACT! That is the rule. If you make eye contact then you have to give way, and you shouldn’t have to give way! People will literally pull out from the side of the road without looking, and you have to dodge them. People will do a u-turn in the middle of the road, blocking all traffic, without regard to what is happening around them. If you need to pick someone up a short way down a street, afterwards you reverse all the way out of the street. If you need to stop your car to get something from a shop, stop it and just leave it, don’t worry about parking properly, everyone else will go around you. If your taxi’s tyre blows, no need to move the car to the side of the road, leave it where it is, get out your jack, change the tyre and everyone will go around you. The pecking order in terms of right of way is truck, SUV, car, motorbike, bicycle and pedestrian. Bicycle and pedestrian are pretty much on the same level. Coming to an intersection, the idea is not to make eye contact with anyone and get across. Luckily most of the time you are doing a maximum of 40km/h so braking quickly is not too hard. There are no working traffic lights anywhere in Kathmandu. That is not to say that there are no traffic lights – there are – probably donated by some well-meaning European country with visions of precision. But they don’t work. Instead small groups of traffic police armed with whistles and white gloves direct the mayhem as best they can.
5) Nepalis are friendly people! We have found that most Nepalis are very welcoming and happy to help you. When we first arrived we thought the opposite. The natural way for a Nepali to hold their face is impassively or even to look unhappy. But when you make eye-contact and smile at a Nepali they smile back! I had a day after being in Nepal for about 2 months when I was starting to think that Nepalis were not friendly people. In fact I was thinking about that as I walked up the road to the shops. Next thing I know the guy who works at our local DVD store rocks up next to me on his motorcycle with a big grin and asks me if I want a lift up the road. I got on the bike and on the way thanked God for the lesson he had just taught me! Nepali looks can be deceiving! Nepalis are sweet people underneath the hard exterior enamel.
T
Book review
It’s school holiday time. Yay! And that means time to read some books. I just finished a book called “Fatalism and Development in Nepal” by Dor Bahadur Bista. Written by a Nepali, the book gives some very helpful and interesting insider perspectives on the potential for development in Nepal. First published in 1991, it is now getting on in years, and it would be interesting to hear if things have changed greatly in recent decades. Nevertheless the book provided me with the following really useful information:
The young and old workers of Nepal
- It is a mistake to assume that Nepal is like India in terms of culture and religion. Nepal is historically and culturally unique, and while there are some in Nepal who like to make much of historical links to validate certain claims to power, the reality is that Nepal is ethnically, culturally and religiously diverse.
- Historically, Hinduism in Nepal was much more of a “cocktail” of belief than the strict caste form of Hinduism found in India. Hinduism in Nepal is traditionally characterised by animism, shamanism, worship of Shiva and ancestor veneration. The migration of Hindu Brahmans from India, and the appeal of the hierarchy of the caste system to the rulers of Nepal (as a way to validate their position), has however meant that since the middle ages caste Hinduism has made increasing inroads into Nepalese society.
- The author argues that caste Hinduism, rather than moving Nepal forward, has served over the centuries to cause stagnation, inflexibility and a resignation to fate that stand in the way of economic, social and cultural development.
- For example – high caste Hindus believe that manual work is the lot of those further down in the caste system. According to the author, high caste Hindus believe that with higher positions should come less work and not more. Education is seen as a means to increased status, but those who take a degree rarely desire to actually put that degree to work in Nepal’s development. For example many people study agriculture at university and attain bachelors degrees but will never actually get their hands dirty with any agricultural project. Rather that degree will be a means for them to gain employment in the government bureaucracy, and even then positions are given on the basis of connections/caste rather than qualifications. The fatalistic belief that caste is determined by the deity and that the outcome of any action is predetermined is argued by the author to be counterproductive to engendering a strong motivation for change or progress. People try to make the most out of their present position for the benefit of their family and “afno manche” (“our people” – those in our circle) because everything has been predetermined anyway.
A Nepali village washing machine
- The author argues that high caste Hindus have the most to lose in changes to the system as they currently hold the positions of political, religious and economic power in the Kathmandu valley and industrial centres in the Terai. The caste system is not so rigid in other parts of the country and the author sees smaller ethnic groups as the key to change.
- Inbuilt into the Nepali mindset is a strong sense of paternalism – dependence on a benevolent father figure. In the past this was the king (though since 2006 there has been no king). The author argues that foreign aid is often seen as a form of paternalism to which Nepal has a right, but this combined with a sense of hierarchy and fatalism encouraged by the caste system often leads to misuse and misallocation of resources.
- Ultimately, the author argues that the way forward for Nepal must be a move away from a rigid caste system that serves a powerful minority, and towards inclusion and co-operation with the less caste driven ethnic groups outside of the Kathmandu valley.
I found it to be a very interesting read and a helpful insight into how Nepal works. I found the information about the religious development of Nepal to be fascinating, as I tended to think of Hinduism as much more homogeneous in Nepal than it actually is. From a Christian perspective I found it really helpful to reflect that all humans are made in the image of God, all with inherent dignity and worth, all created to care for and cultivate the earth (Gen 1:26-28). Perhaps the author of the book “Fatalism and Development in Nepal” is really calling for a rediscovery of what it means to be made in God’s image. T
What I’ve been learning lately…
What were my expectations when I came to Nepal? Something along these lines: To work at a mission school supporting the kids of Christian workers, alongside a strong community of Christian staff members, to contribute to the RE program at the school, to see some of the work that is happening in the name of Jesus in Nepal and to learn some new things about God. Looking back on these expectations six months down the track I can see how different some of my expectations are to the reality, but also how God teaches us in ways that go far beyond what we can picture.
God has been teaching me lately that he is not interested in how much we know (even though sound doctrine is important) nor in where we go (like Nepal) or what we do for work as ends in themselves. He’s not interested in externals. Rather I’ve been learning how much God wants my heart to be more of a reflection of His and that He wants me to live a life that actively lives out a commitment to learn from and grow in relationship with Jesus. I’ve been learning more about my character and things that God desires to change. God always goes above and beyond anything we could possibly hope for and imagine and refines us in ways that are sometimes not pleasant… but He does it for our good that we might be more fruitful for Him. T
Bandh Blues
Coming to Kathmandu there have been many new experiences. Some of them great, some of them not so great, some of them just weird. Over the last week we have been experiencing what the people of Nepal have experienced a lot of over the many years. We are now in the sixth day of a nation wide bandh (strike) called by the Maoist political group. They are seeking major changes in Nepal and have called this strike until the prime minister agrees to resign.
This means that essentially the country is closed down. Businesses and schools are closed, shops are only open for a couple of hours a day, there are no vehicles allowed on the road and the streets are often filled with men with sticks parading down the streets. For us it means that school has been very limited this week with very few classes running and we will start teaching from people’s homes if it continues on into next week.
For us, boredom is probably the biggest factor. We have to stay at home a lot and we’re running out of movies to watch. But, for Nepalis it has far more significant consequences. Small businesses have had to be shut for a week now, meaning for many there is no income. The scarcity of fruit and vegetables have meant that prices have dramatically risen, which is fine for the foreigner who can afford it, but for the average Nepali creates real strain.
Despite the way the streets look, police officers in riot gear, and groups of men with sticks, the atmosphere in our area is often really not that bad. The lack of cars means that the roads can now become cricket pitches and soccer fields. There are a lot of people walking out on the streets because really there is nothing else to do.
We, as foreigners are somewhat removed from this political situation, but it must be a hard time for people who are waiting to see what happens to their country in these very uncertain and unstable times. We know that Nepal doesn’t often hit thee news in the west. If you are interested in reading about what’s going on you can find information on http://www.nepalnews.com. Z
Justified Paranoia?
On Friday evening we had an unexpected visitor.
Photo from a Kathmandu newspaper
We are currently in a bandh. That means we are in a general strike where no motorized vehicles are allowed on the roads, shops must remain shut, and bands of young men with large sticks roam the streets to enforce these things. This bandh is “indefinite”. It has been called by the Maoists who won a 30% vote at the last elections. They want the current government to resign, partly due to the failure to produce a constitution (which was one of its mandates).
On Friday we were told by our school to lock our front gates and remain indoors over the weekend. One of the reasons, apart from the general volatile situation, was that in the past, groups of Maoists coming into Kathmandu to demonstrate have turned up at houses and demanded accommodation. Last week, the Maoists called for all private Nepali schools to be closed, and then groups of Maoists took over the schools to use them as accommodation. So…Friday after school we locked our front gate and settled down to see what would happen over the weekend.
At about 6.30pm while we were in our living room there was a loud banging at our gate. I looked out through the large windows of our living room to see a young man peering over the wall at me. Zo and I discussed what to do and decided not to open the gate – after all, those were our instructions from school and they would know best.
The knocking continued. “Bang, bang, bang”. We moved away from the living room windows. Zo decided to take a shower. I went downstairs to observe the man from our bedroom window. He kept banging and trying to look over and under the fence. A few minutes went by.
Then there was knocking at our front door and I realised that he had jumped the fence. “Bang, Bang, Bang!” I started to freak out. “What are we going to do? What is he going to do? Is there a band of young Maoist men ready to come in and take over our house? Should I just open the door and find out what he wants?”
I ran upstairs and told Zo to get out of the shower and get dressed. I told her to get our passports and money together while I called our deputy from school (I didn’t pray which would have been the best response). I called our deputy and he said thanks for letting him know, but that there was nothing he could do. You can’t just pick up the phone and call the police here. Meanwhile Zo had got a little bag together and we began to discuss what we would do if this guy forced his way into our house.
The phone rang. Who could it be? I picked it up. The voice at the other end said that it was our water. I put the phone down. Our water? Have the Maoists got our water supplier to call us to open up? The phone rang again. “Your new water bottle is being delivered, would you please open up”. Then I remembered that I had ordered water the day before but it had not been delivered because of a rain storm. “Is this all a trick?”, I thought.
I opened the front door. There was no-one there. I went to the gate. The young man told me he had our water. I opened the gate…and…sure enough there was our water bottle being delivered a day late. The young man seemed bemused. “Were you sleeping?”, he asked. If only he knew what was going on in our heads. Justified paranoia?
T
Time with the Turnbulls
It feels like a long time ago now, but over Easter we were blessed to have my parents come to visit us. I had been anticipating this visit for some time (I think actually since we arrived) so it was so exciting when they walked through the exit terminal at Kathmandu airport (I had tears in my eyes). Ever since I arrived I had been scouting out places that I thought they might like to visit. When they got here, it didn’t really matter what we did or where we went it was just great to be together.
For the first week of their stay we went to Pokhara. This is often a starting point for the Annapurna trekkers. What a lovely place. It is so much cleaner and quieter than what we are used to in Kathmandu. We spent much of our time drinking coffee, going for walks, bike riding, reading and eating….not to mention our nightly card game tournaments. My parents are so easy to hang out with.
The second week they got to experience more of our day-to-day life. They visited our school, walked around our neighbourhood and did some of their own exploring. I have to say they adjusted to life in Nepal amazingly well. I was very proud of them.
We loved spending this time with them and feel we now have people at home that know our life over here in Kathmandu.
