Sketch 34: Life Around the Himalayas, Our Teaching Adventure

We came to Nepal to teach. And that is what we have been doing for most of our time here. Living at a lovely teacher's house with his family, we taught at the HVP Thali school in Kathmandu valley. The first striking difference to what I have been used to from Europe was that the school formed an incredibly tight community. The more affluent teachers and students supported the more impoverished staff and students, and in their free time, they invested their efforts to build the school, repair its yards, often using money from their own pockets.

Sketch of the day: The Assembly

One of the rituals vital for such a community was their everyday morning assembly shown on the sketch. Singing, praying, listening, and bowing to their teachers, students stood in lines, in all months and weather conditions. They came in uniforms, making it impossible to distinguish between nerds and trendy teenagers, often diminishing the age gaps between the students. In a community of people from different social backgrounds, uniforms seemed only fair and reasonable.