Monday, April 11, 2011

玻璃杯&汤匙

上个星期五,我特地带了3 个星期天早上回去了Rasuwa  的孩子到Durba Square 一天游。 想让他们看看加德满都另一番面貌,好让他们可以记得他们在这里一些不同的画面。
孩子一早已经换好衣服,乖乖的在等出门。Pasang 还很有礼貌的把手洗干净,抹干了以后才来拖我的手。一个这么可爱懂事的孩子,无论他怎么做,我的心早就已经被他溶化了!
上了的士,孩子很礼貌的问我可不可以把 车窗搅下。 在我轻轻的点过头可许下,孩子才小心翼翼的把窗口搅下。 一阵凉风吹进,我不知道过些日子,孩子还会不会记得有这么的一天,但肯定的是 这一天必定会是我人生当中最值得怀念的其中一天。
到了目的地,孩子很小心的把车窗搅回原本的位置, 这么自律的举动让我感觉到他们的细心!
其实我们在Durba Square 上的活动 并没有什么特别值得纪念的, 大伙儿只不过是拍拍照,追追白鸽。
过后,我带了他们进入了餐厅,买了他们很想吃的雪糕给他们。每一个小孩得到一杯自己专属的雪糕。他们高兴得不得了!要知道这些住在一个拥有46 个小孩的大家庭里,有谁可以真正的拥有过属于自己的一杯雪糕呢?
当服务员送来三杯用玻璃杯装着的白开水时,孩子很小心翼翼的拿起杯子, 轻轻的和大家碰了碰杯,偷偷的笑了一下,然后才开始喝起来。与此同时,还是忍不住地互相的通过玻璃杯里的水而对望,想必是在取笑着对方因水中的折射而造成有趣的脸孔。 一个我们感觉平凡无奇的玻璃杯对尼泊尔的小孩来说可是无比的特别和有趣!因为大多数的尼泊尔人一生当中都只用铁杯子来盛水和茶!玻璃杯对于他们来讲已经是很奢华的惨剧。
我叫了一碟饺子给孩子吃。孩子轻轻的问我,“姐姐,等一下我们用手吃还是用汤匙吃?” 我告诉他们只要他们喜欢,他们可以选择用手或者用汤匙。 三个孩子异口同声地说了一声“我们要用汤匙!” 他们这个回答,让我顿时发现原来孩子觉得可以用汤匙吃东西是被看重的得对待。原来这些小小的心灵是那么的希望被尊重和拥有自己的Dignity (尊严有一点太重了,但是我找不到适当的字眼来代替)!!我赶快就服务生给我们送来汤匙, 孩子很兴奋的握着他们的汤匙他们的,津津有味的吃着鸡肉饺子。
一段小小的出门,三个小男生让我上了一堂人生课 (至少我是这样认为的)。 一些我们毫不起眼的事情,可以是对别的人有着莫大意义!只要大家细心一点的观察, 你也可以为周边的人带来快乐, 甚至是他们的尊严!
我希望,这不是我过分幻想的情形,至少我已经尝试着尽我所能的把事情做好!
回家的路上,孩子告诉我“Sister, I am very happy today! Thank you Sister!”
我使劲的忍住我那已经在眼眶里打转的眼泪回答他们“ Sister is happy if you are happy!”

Friday, April 8, 2011

Gurje Photos

   
Overview for Gurje
For more Gurje photos, pls visit
http://www.facebook.com/pages/%E5%8F%8C%E9%B1%BC%E7%9A%84%E5%87%BA%E8%B5%B0/192928537390463#!/album.php?fbid=214147381935245&id=192928537390463&aid=67391

The Thunderstorm Night in Gurje


The second night was a rough night in Gurje. Waking up by the thunderstorm, I peer at my watch which shows only 1.30am.
Heavy rain pound on the metal roof, creating a loud yet scary noise. Strong wind treated to blow away the roof and even the entire village. I start to imagine landslide might occur and swallow the entire valley. When the rain gets heavier, I felt it just falls right next to me as there are barely any sound proof on the that single layer of roof and the thins layer of stone wall.
Embrace myself more inside the sleeping bag, I try to falls back into sleep, telling myself to let it to the god as there are nothing much I can do at this moment.

Waking up in a peaceful and silent morning, hearing only the bird singing gracefully, everything seems to be in place and the whole village is still standing still fine.

Walking out from the health post, a clear view of Lantang Mt appears right in front of my eye. Thank you to the thunderstorm, which wash away the dust in the air and clear the sky, I manage to have a closer and clearer view of the magnificient Lantang Mt cover with snow.
I stroll down gentling towards the UF base camp to help preparing our dal bhat before leaving the heavenly place, Gurje.

Monday, April 4, 2011

The Greeting


Waking up at 6am in the fogging morning, I try to get ourselves ready in the limited facilities. While I am walking up back to the UF base camp on the winding mud road, I heard a little voice shouting “Sister! Namaste!” It cannot be true as there were only local kids on the hill. Without more hesitation, I continue walking until I heard another little voice calling out “ Sister! Namaste!”
I look up and see a boy, who is only 7 or 8 years old, carrying his younger brother on his back waving at me and call out again “ Sister! Namaste!!!”
I quickly response and greet them with my hand waving strongly to them “ Namaste Boys!!” I am trilled! I think the boy must had attended the English class in the school, which teach by the UF volunteer every Wednesday and Thursday during school term.

Oh boy! They just brighten up my morning with the warmest greeting and smile on their face! The boys running into the wheat farm and disappear themselves, leaving me with the echo of the greeting “Sister! Namaste!” in the air.

The 1st Night in Gurje


The temperature plunge dramatically after the sunset, we are hurrying up to get our dal bhat ready before we run out of the last ray. Unfortunately, with only two stoves and the tame fire, 21 of us have to eat in the dark although it is just 7pm.

After the dal bhat, we lit a bon fire in the tiny little compound next to the house. We gather around to keep ourselves warm. One of the boy manage to find a guitar in the store room, where the middle string gone. Yet, the boys still manage to come out with songs.

Looking up to the dark sky, there are countless stars smiling back. One of the volunteers Nainh, trys explaining to me about the astrology. She told me about The Plough, where it looks like a trolley. The Orion, where the leg and hands are form in a square follow by the belt and knife located right in the middle of the square. Right between the Orion’s hands, it lays the Seven Sisters, form in a circle in a less vivid condition.

It is very interesting as I always want to learn about the astrology since I arrived Nepal. Not sure because of I am now closer to the sky in Nepal ( the higher altitude compare to Malaysia) or we are constantly live in the dark due to the load shading? The sky in Nepal seems to be darker and clearer for the stars. Therefore, looking up for the stars has becoming a new hobby of me.

The bon fire night ended with endless laughter and songs. The 3 ladies heading toward the health post for their first night in Gurje.  ( Health Post is a local Clinic, which join sponsor by UF and we can make use of one of the room if there are not enough space in the UF base camp) where the boys stay in the UF Base camp.

Putting on whatever cloths I have, I tuck myself into sleeping bag and embrace myself with the cold but peaceful night with the clock showing only 8.30pm.

The Journey


The bus left the Ring Road immediately and turns into a muddy road. We have 2 hr of bumpy ride on a local bus, cramp with locals and goods range from rice to fertilizer. As the road passing thro villages and becoming rockier, across the winding road passing through edgeless of wheat field, we are heading north of Kathmandu towards the Himalayans.

The journey to Gurje has to go thro the National Reserved Park whereby foreigners are being charge 200 rupees. Four of us, two Irish, a French and myself, try to hide our face among the locals. Bravo to all of us, we manage to escape paying the unfair price by just crossing the National Reserve Park.

I lost count of how many times my heart almost jump out of the window whenever we pass by a canyon and I feel that half of the bus wheel is dangling at the edge of the canyon, the bus drop us right in front of  the entrance of Gurje Village. I am thrilled as I was being told that we will have to walk 1.5 hours up hill for this journey and somehow, we just got into the “very correct bus”, which travel all the way up to the hill before descending down to its destination.

Nevertheless, the magnificent Lantang Mountain covers with snow caught my breath right after we get out from the bus! The view is picturesque with little houses scatted around the mountains.

Looking down hill, I see the small little blue roof, where the Umbrella Foundation base camp located, everybody walk happily towards, knowing that we no longer need to climb 1.5 hours to reach the base camp.

The Departure ( to Gurje Village)


Waking up at 545am in the morning, I rush to the Amadablam at 630, knowing the boys wouldn’t have get themselves ready for the trip. As predicted, they just hang around leisurely eating their tiffin (snack).
As the time approaching 7am and the boys from Sugar Loaf and Solhimal Boys gathered  at the Amadablam compound and leaving for the bus, only 4 of my boys turn up and trying to pack their blankets and vegetables.

It is 21 of us, trying to get into a bus to the bus station name Bus Park in the Ring Road. Initially, the conductor told us it is 12 rupees per person but when we get off the bus, he decided to ask for 15 rupees after seeing foreigner with the kids.
We argue with him leave him with the total of 252 rupees for 21 of us.
We start searching for the correct bus to Gurje. It was buses everywhere and people are shouting out names of location. We have no idea where can we get the bus to Gurje since no one can correctly point out the exact location of the Gurje Bus.

We walk back and for , loitering on the street which is about 2km long , trying to figure out whre to catht the bus. After over an hour with 21 of us walking along the Ring Road, we finally found the location of the bus to Gurje.