Anu was abject in her apologies about the incident yesterday, but I tried to reassure her. It was absolutely nothing to do with her, and in any case I was fine about it; all in a day’s work. But no classes today – it may be related to yesterday, but in any case there are exams going on.
Apekshya helped me buy some things I have been wanting: some of the little square pieces of towelling that some of them (all right, some of the girls) use to mop their sweaty brows, which I could definitely use; found them in a clothes shop. And some plasters for my toe, which were sold loose in a sweet shop. Good job she was there.
I rewarded her, and me, by having homemade mint lemonade in a delightful café with a shady courtyard that she recommended, and we chatted pleasantly for a while.
Other highlight of the day was to meet up with Aparna in the staff-room – she’s back! Hurrah! – and being introduced to three senior members of the Sports Club committee (I think) who will form the team helping out with a lot of work for the production: organising, informing, shifting chairs. They were great, very smiley, though nervous about their English – Aashish, Chhatra, and Pawan. They immediately set to work designing a poster, using their phones, with quite sophisticated results.
Difficult to get them off the idea of sweet romance – it is Romeo and Juliet, after all – and they started with a variety of hearts. Verry hard to shift them on to more what I wanted: edgy, modern, Nepalese. (I don’t think Nepal does edgy.) Eventually we seemed to settle on a close-up of holding hands, which I reckoned was about as little Disneyfied romance as I was going to get.
Aparna directed me to Rhino’s for my dinner: a good local Nepalese restaurant. Took a tuk tuk (can’t get over saying that); as coached, said Rhino restaurant to the driver. He looked at me and shrugged. I was just getting out my phone to call Aparna, when something seemed to twig. “Rhino?” he said. Result! But all in vain; it was shut. Back to the Burger House, third night running.
Walked back afterwards; dark, but I felt perfectly safe. Walking around Dhangardhi, I feel perfectly safe. Occasionally get some curious looks, but when people make eye contact, I nod, namaste, say hello, whatever, and usually get a friendly response – a smile or namaste.
Another aspect of the streets that I wanted to commend was the general cleanliness. Partly, it’s cultural: in India, there are piles of decaying rubbish everywhere, but in Nepal, the streets are swept. They have also banned plastic bags in Dhangardhi, except for carrying milk, yogurt, etc. Instead, there is universal use of a sort of woven paper bag for all purchases. Can’t say whether they are entirely “green”, as I don’t know how they are made, but they must be better than plastic, and are never seen blowing around the streets.
