After 2 months of cautious observation, protection, training and coddling, this week i our first week of work.
The cautionary tales of not expecting too much, being patient, and taking everything that might happen in stride had worn us all down. In fact, our expectations were so lowered that I was thrilled to walk into my office and have a desk, chair, and binder of reading waiting for me.
Much of the week was spent reading and studying documents related to child-friendly schools, inclusive education, valuing teachers, teacher training, and complex, tedious and often circular debates by large donor agencies about just how important education is to alleviating poverty (I absolutely can agree with their arguments but let me tell you these documents do not stimulate any creativity or inspire ideas that will help to achieve their lofty goals).
Today I got my computer started up and was able to dig a bit deeper into the specifics on my job which is to provide support and advocacy advice to the Nepal Global Campaign for Education, comprised of local NGO’s and some INGO’s that are making efforts to coordinate their advocacy efforts towards the Education for All goal of 2015. It is complicated…and more so given that I am not familiar with all the development lingo, acronyms, and agencies…phewwww!
The highlight of my day happens twice = once at 9:30am and once at 2:30pm. This is chiyaa chutti (tea break) and lunch respectively. The whole office gathers to chat and read the newspaper during chiyaa – a lovely start to the day. Then at lunch, we all flock to a corner of the yard to eat our curry, rice, and dhaal for lunch. We pay ahead for a month of lunch (about 50 cents Canadian per day) and the fabulous kitchen team lovingly prepares us lunch…very very tasty! No more brown bagging when I can have a hot and fresh lunch each day!
I have yet to sort out my best mode of transport to and from work. So far I have been walking 1-hour each way which in the morning is lovely – tea in a travel mug and BBC World News through my headphones makes the time pass quickly. But the afternoon walk is just chocked with exhaust, dust, noise, people, traffic, dogs, garbage, street vendors, honking, and the odd cow that it is almost too much stimulus after a long day of work. Today I hopped the bus and it was heaven, and by heaven I mean a jostling and bumping ride full to the brim with people, with bags smacking you in the head (much like a crowded 99 bus in Vancouver but with more chaos and twice as crowded) – and still…it was heavenly compared to the walk home.