Learning Review

For three days all those who are working in different UMN clusters and in Kathmandu have been gathered in Kathmandu for the so called "Learning Review". It's an opportunity for people to share what they have been doing in the clusters and also a chance to discuss the future.

This time the future was certainly in the focus as we were discussiong the new Strategic Plan. In smaller groups of about 12-15 people we were introduced to different aspects of the Strategic plan and then we all ahd a chance to give our opinion on certain questions in even smaller groups. Everybody really had a chance to give theri input. I think it was great! It was also a good for me to get to know both the new UMN and the people working in UMN.

We also had som time to sit down in groups according to our different "areas of work". In the Education group we were listening to reports from the different clusters but we also discussed more general things like report writing, what is quality education etc. For me, who is going to work as an Education Advisor, it was very good to get to know the Education Officers from the clusters and to hear about what is going on in the different clusters. I was given some time to share my experiences from Dailekh and Syanja as well.

The Education Group

We all left the Learning Review in a very happy mood, the last point of the programme being a rather hilarious power point on the "could be-future" of UMN. It included things like the present Visa officer becoming the PM, Desmond Tutu thanking the present Programme Director for what he had taught him on Integral Mission and our Conflict Transformtion Advisor, Bal Kumari, becoming the next General-Secretary of UN. Great fun! And why not???

Pokhara

In Pokhara again after four years! It's really nice to be back! I came to have my driving licence renewed and thinking that would take a few days I decided to stay for three full days. As it turned out it was actually done in an hour and that gave me almost three full days to spend here!

The first day I went to see the place were I was staying 2003- 2005. The neighbours were still there and I spent some time talking to them. The dog looked the same, but was not, the kids had grown and looked very different! I also went to see the lady in the Luv-Kush Dairy, where I used to buy my yogurt. It might seem an odd place to "revisit" but it was one of the places were I was often spending time chatting to the "shahuni" and the "sahuji".

Yesterday I borrowed a motorbike and went to GBS. It was great! (Photos to be posted later). The school has grown so big and there were so many new teachers, but it still felt like coming "home". There were still many staff members that I knew and it was so good to see them all again. Being there also made me feel like getting started with my work. There are so many challenges!

Today I think I'll spend most of the day down at the Lake and then, in the afternoon I'll be going to Chipledhunga/New Road to do a bit of shopping together with Manju, my friend with whom I'm staying here in Pokhara, and her daughter. Tomorrow I'll be heading back to Kathmandu on a tourist bus.

Monsoon Sunday

Today it has actually been raining almost all day. The skies are grey and I'm sure there won't be any hot water coming from the solar panels. Luckily enough the guest house where I'm staying has got a gas heater as well. I do need a hot shower to wash my hair tonight.

The monsoon was late and they say some parts of the country have only had some 30% of the normal rainfall. In the Mid-Western and Far Western Regions they say there will be a food shortage this winter because of this. Combined with all the bandhs and strike that different groups are calling, that disrupts the food distribution, it might actually be a hard winter for many people living in Kathmandu as well.

I have now been here for about four weeks and I'm feeling very much at home. Nothing much has changed- except the traffic is even worse than it used to be and almost everyone has got their own mobile phone. After three weeks I decided I needed one as well.

At the moment I'm staying in Kathmandu, doing language, but after Dashain I will move down to Nepalgunj. By then it is probably slightly cooler down there as well. I was there three weeks ago, and it was very hot, especially as I had just arrived in the country from a cold Sweden.

I will try to update this blogg every now and then and hope that you will enjoy reading it.