Well, this morning started off
wonderfully (no sarcasm. It's so hard to tell tone of voice when
things are written!) because I got to sleep in till 6:15 and about
two minutes into the walk to school the students who walk with me
noticed the caretaker driving up and waved him down so we could get a
lift. I was also glad that the students didn't have to carry my bag
and umbrella up the hill. They absolutely insist on helping me carry
my stuff which makes me feel very guilty. Some days I don't carry
anything up the hill! I should say that the walk to school isn't
too long but I do get a bit hot so it's nice to have a day off from
it.
The walk to school is the main reason
why I've stopped wearing my kiras to work. They were fine in the
cold north and I was even still wearing my thermals in Bjishong, but
here the heavy rectangle of material plus the two piece blouse is hot
and not practical when walking up a sometimes very muddy hill. So
it's been trousers and shirts. I've been too afraid to wear my pi
and dinosaur t-shirts because, though they are both very educational,
I worry that they might be too casual. Though if I return next year,
nothing will stop me wearing my pi shirt on March 14th.
Another thing that has happened is that
my house has become the David Attenborough Theatre. Some girls asked
if I had any movies, except they said 'pictures' which lead to a
slight misunderstanding though they still seemed to enjoy the photos,
and I just didn't think showing them Jurassic Park,
The Big Lebowski or My
Favourite Wife would be
appropriate so I found some of my David Attenboroughs. Life
in Cold Blood was a big hit,
especially the parts with snakes and crocodilians and now we've moved
on to The Blue Planet where
I spend most of the time trying to explain the differences between
sharks and dolphins, whales and fish and snakes and eels but the
children are certainly impressed with the images.
I've
also started a very small choir by accident. The kids who tend to
visit each night are fascinated with my ukulele, which the either
call a guitar or a 'laylay,' and so I've been playing them Yellow
Submarine and various Scottish
folk songs. They also take turns strumming it and singing Bhutanese
songs. The strumming doesn't always match what they're singing but
what they more than make up for that in enthusiasm. Yellow
Submarine is the current
favourite and they are getting much better. The first few times they
each had their own speed, tune and occasionally lyrics but the choir
is almost together now. A couple of the girls even brought notebooks
last night (it is currently the 18th
of May) so they could write down the lyrics. I'm hoping they'll be
able to perform relatively soon. Little brothers tend to come along
as well but instead of singing, they dance which a few nights ago led
to the cutest scene of the girls desperately trying to sing along,
the little brothers were dancing like extras from a Wiggles concert
while I was playing the occasional correct chord on my uke. I think
Will You Go, Lassie, Go was
the easiest as, though the girls kept getting ahead of the tune, it
was easier for them to slow down than to try and catch up. Sadly,
since I was playing the whole time, I couldn't get pictures but I'll
figure something out.
Now
for some incredible important information for Tom Dudgeon, Port and
Starboard, the Death and Glories and Dick (I'm sure Dorothea would be
interested too but not quite as much. Oh, and see Coot
Club if you are unlucky enough
not to know who these people are). I saw a white-bellied heron! I
was on my way to Kuru from Samdinkha and it was flying very
gracefully above us. The driver, who couldn't help noticing it after
I involuntarily pointed and went 'Oh!' very loudly tried to tell me
that it was a black-necked crane which would be a lovely thing to see
but very strange as they don't come to Samdinkha. It also didn't
have a black neck but he rightly knew the bird as something special
to see. They are unfortunately an endangered species and you often
see billboards asking you to help save them. Sadly for me, I didn't
have my camera but I'll try to next time!
The
other bird seen recently was at Andrea's place at Tashidenkha which
looked like a baby of its species so I wasn't too hurt when it
wouldn't tell me an Interesting Anecdote full of long words like
'Encyclopaedia' and 'Rhododendron' and it wouldn't spell 'Tuesday'
either. It may not have learned how to not spell it right yet. It
was, of course, a little wol (now see Winnie the Pooh,
the original books, if you are confused. If you aren't it might be
nice to read them again anyway.) Sarah Shmidt noticed him or her in
the morning being berated by some bul-buls but it just sat, a bit
more like Old Brown (Squirrel Nutkin this
time) than Wol. It did react when we walked down the stairs but it
didn't fly off and, even more surprisingly, it was still there when
we got back. We were a bit afraid that it might be ill or something
but the next morning its perch was empty so it was probably just
afraid of flying during the day (I would make a Swallowdale
reference now but I don't want
to confuse you with mentioning too many books in one blog entry).
I'm still wondering
when I'll be able to post all of these. Perhaps if I treat myself to
a night in Bajo which has not only wi-fi but a pizza restaurant too!
Hugs to all and I
miss T'eo. Hope he's not getting too grumpy in the cold weather.
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