Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...

Me and Buttons on Christmas

We're now in the middle of winter in Nepal so it is getting pretty chilly here! You even need your coats on when your inside. Winter also means that we have seen a decrease in the amount of electricity and we are now power cuts of up to 14 hours a day which is always good fun. All past volunteers will tell you one of the most vital things you need to pack when coming to Nepal is a torch! I had a few weeks with no volunteers so it's great to have Orla with us here for the next two weeks (and the school and Street Kids are even happier than I am!), and a few new volunteers join us early in January which is brilliant. 

 

BJ and the dye

This week Orla has been busy working at Annapurna Primary School during the day and the Street Kids in the afternoons, and because on her induction day she found it so hard to choose between her placements, she's also been spending an hour in the afternoons (on her walk home) at Ward 6 day care center. We had a great afternoon at the Street Kids the other day, as we brought a Batik teacher to the Center who taught them all how to make batik paintings. Most of the kids opted to make Buddha's eye's which looked beautiful with all the different colours. Here's a few photos of the process, we're still waiting for the finished ones as they've been taken off to be ironed. We always love doing new things like this with the kids and it's great to see them get into it and learn a new skill.

Out in the sun to dry

We've also celebrated Christmas this week. Although a very small amount of the population is Christian, in Nepal they will celebrate everything!! The streets have been lined with flags, lights and Christmas trees and all the bars are blaring out Christmas tunes (we had a bit of a dance to 'Last Christmas' in Busy Bee the other night!). Orla spent Christmas day with Bindu and her family at the church service - a totally different Christmas than she has had before but it's sounds like they all had an excellent day dressed in their Sari's. And I spend the day with my partner, his family and some friends, kayaking, having a massage and enjoying a roast dinner at Moondance restaurant, I even managed to have Turkey for the first time ever in Nepal!

Happy New Year from Annapuran Primary School

After Christmas was over the whole town got  ready for the New Years Festival. The children will be at school throughout this as they do not have winter holidays which means we are still busy working in the schools, but the whole town turns into a week long street festival. We enjoyed the main night at the festival with Janice from the guest house and a few other local friends - a good night was had by all!

I'm looking forward to 2014, hopefully welcoming lots of new volunteers to Pokhara! If you would like to join us in Nepal, then please contact Gemma on gemma@podvolunteer.org. Happy New Year Everyone!!