Kathmandu, Nepal

Thursday 12^th January 2006.

In Kathmandu:

Last night out trekking group went out for dinner together. Ananta (our guide) led us on a half hour walk to Thamel. We had a table booked at Kilroy’s of Kathmandu. The menu listed an impressive array of celebrities who had been served by Kilroy’s over the years.

Dead Cow

I ordered a sizzling loin steak. As the waiter brought it in it really was sizzling. It was also delicious. I followed this up with apple crumble topped with ice-cream. It was also great – almost as good as Corinne’s apple crumble! Total cost, including two glasses of Sprite, was Rs800 (about $16). Try getting a meal like than in Australia for so little. One of the waiters had a great sense of humour. He kept asking me if I liked the taste of my ‘dead cow’. Ananta left the restaurant early because his mother was very ill and had been admitted to hospital that afternoon.

Rose really slept well all night but I had trouble sleeping. My nose was very blocked from the pollution and the room seemed stuffy. I also had feelings of being somewhat claustrophobic, a feeling I’ve had on a number of occasions on this trip. I think I like the open spaces we have in Australia.

Shopping in Patan

After a late breakfast we checked and wrote emails. We then went shopping in the Patan district at a shop Rose knew about from her friend Alexa. I bought some really lovely batik wall hangings showing scenes of Nepal. We then caught a taxi back to the hotel.

Kathmandu International Study Centre (KISC)

After lunch at the hotel we used one of the hotel cars to drive us to the Kathmandu International Study Centre (KISC). Rose had arranged for us to meet some of the teachers there, including the current principal, Judith Ellis. She is so enthusiastic about her mission in the school. We also met the new primary principal who hopes to open the year 1 to 5 section in August. I spoke at length to one of the current classroom teachers who is from America.

KISC provides a Christian education for the children of missionaries in Nepal. This comprises about 80% of their students while the remainder are private students. They do not have many from the diplomatic community as they are generally catered for in other private schools. Rose visited because she is interested in coming her in the future, perhaps in 18 months time. The school year starts in July. They are currently looking for teachers both primaty and secondary, so contact them if you are interested in a challenging teaching appointment.

Impressive Programme

I was full of questions and was most impressed with the programme being run. They follow a combination of American and English curricula. Both principals did a very good sales job on me, especially when I told them that Corinne is also a teacher and that we would be basically self funded. It is very attractive from a teaching point of view but it would be very challenging from a living point of view. It would also be a very drastic change of lifestyle and life goals. Lord – I didn’t need a challenge like this!

Christian Leadership

It is doubly challenging from a Christian leadership point of view. Judith said that the local Nepalese need strong leadership training. They are very good at evangelism but very weak at discipling and applying scriptural principles to their everyday lives. It was a very interesting and challenging hour of discussion. They gave me a wad of promotional pamphlets to distribute on my return home.

In the evening we walked into Thamel again. Dorgie took us to the Four Season Restaurant. Again, the food was great and we had a great time talking. We returned at 9pm but at no time did I feel in danger being out at night. I was amused to see three cows wandering the street near our hotel. I wonder where they go during the day?