From Darkness, Lead Me to Light

With yesterday’s storm, overnight the temperature dropped dramatically and I got to snuggle under this amazing thick, super heavy blanket, what I imagine would be perfect for winter nights in Kathmandu.

Then I once again opened my door to this sight. This would never get old. It was looking out at this view, that at 6:45am, 11am Melbourne time that I had a minute silence in honour of Anzac Day.

For the last few days, I had been talking to Jill about Anzac Day and trying to work out if I could cook Anzac biscuits without an oven. The only issue with my conversations with her was I kept referring to Wednesday the 26th. It was only last night where I realised I was mixing my dates up and Anzac Day was today.

When I told Jill this morning I had mixed my days up, she already knew, as she had been talking to a Nepali friend living in Australia and when he told her it was today, she kept telling him it wasn’t because of me being Australian and I would know! 🤦‍♀️

It was good to be up early though, as I had a Guide coming at 7:30am to talk about a trek I am planning to do this weekend. 7:30am Nepal time turned out to be 8:30am, but they talked about the trek and what it involved and I locked it in, sending him off to organise a trekking permit.

I’m super excited as it is my first trek in Nepal and we would be on snow by the end.

By the time he left, I needed to head off to school, arriving just at the end of assembly. Today I heard different mantras, including, “From darkness, lead me to light.”

This resonated so much with me as I imagine it would with many bereaved parents or siblings. When we lose a child, it is like the light and joy in life is completely stripped away, with no concept of how it would ever return.

Somehow, we forge a new life and while our hearts always have a piece missing, we find hope that we will see a light in the darkness again.

My first class was teaching Yr 8 students and I really enjoyed this lesson. In their workbooks, they had six pictures depicting a girl’s day. They had to think of questions they could ask based on the picture.

When they started, they asked the most obvious question being “What time does Neetu wake up?” I was able to get them to start thinking of other questions such as what she did when she woke up, what colour was her shirt etc.

By the time they had finished the exercise, they had grasped my teachings about describing the picture and for the last picture, were incredibly creative, even asking if Neetu made sounds in her sleep or if she had dreams.

Their next exercise was to write about an excusion and what they learnt. One boy even impressed the Nepali teacher with his description.

The high I was feeling was quickly deflated when I was moved to my next class, a Yr 5 class. I was on my own as they did not have a teacher available and no matter what I did, they were completely out of control.

At one point, I had two boys who had been wrestling with each other come stand up, off to the side at the front of the class. I discovered this was a well used tactic by Nepali teachers, because they walked to the front, put their hands up to pull their ears out and stood in that position until I told them they could return to their desks!

After lunch, I looked at my schedule and discovered I had Yr 5 students again and another teacher heard me groan. He asked if I was ok and when I said the Yr 5 students were monsters, he just laughed.

My last class was also Yr 5 students and again, they took advantage of my status of not being a Nepali teacher and would not listen. I know this because at one point, they went deadly silent for the first time ever and I discovered it was because the Nepali teacher from next door had put his head in due to the noise.

When it came time towards the bell ringing, one boy at the front kept telling me to stand beside his desk. I had no idea why until the bell rang and the students literally stampeded out the door! He had saved me from being crushed.

At the end of every class, children swarmed around me, wanting my autograph. They were each clamouring for my attention, shoving their books and pens at me. I realised this is how celebrities must feel and felt ridiculous being in that position.

I was waiting for the end of the school day as much as the children as Pramilla was taking me to an orphanage for girls to fulfill my dear friend’s request in memory of her son James.

Pramilla had placed an order for 36 boxes of momo’s last night to be ready by 4pm. Momo’s, a type of steamed dumpling, are the national dish of Nepal, and the children had not been given lunch in anticipation of them arriving.

I had a bit of trepidation, (ok a lot) as we were getting to the orphanage by scooter. All I kept thinking about was the crazy traffic, the steep hill up to Sarangkot, the appalling roads in sections and the fact that I have not been on the back of a scooter in a very long time.

Fortunately, Pramilla drove very calmly and as we slowly drove up the mountain and I could see the amazing views below me, I felt myself relaxing and simply enjoying the view.

Pramilla soon parked the scooter and then we needed to walk for 5mins down the mountain, before we finally arrived.

The children came quickly to the dining area for their share of momo’s. A spicy sauce had been included with the momo’s and it was incredibly funny watching all the children and teachers feeling the spice, trying to cool down their tongues, but still happily eating the treat.

The orphanage is being set up to try to be self-sufficient and not to rely solely on donations. They have chickens and cows, as well as greenhouses to grow vegetables and beehives for honey to sell the produce.

Pramilla had pointed out two trees when we arrived, telling me her mother had planted the trees and they were known as birth trees and were always planted together.

It was here I left James photo, looking over the valley, with the sun setting as I thought how special it was for these trees to always be together, just as our beloved children and siblings who are no longer with us, will always be a part of our lives.

As we made our way down Sarangkot, I was treated to the most amazing views of the Annapurna mountain range, far more than I’d ever seen so far.

I ended the evening going to Lakeside and enjoyed a couple of cocktails. They had the cutest garnish I think I have ever seen on a cocktail!

The bar was my type of place though, with a very relaxed vibe and a performer with an incredible voice singing mellow tunes. It was a lovely way to end a very special day.

For James x