Friday 22 June 2012

I Just Can’t Get My Feet to go to Gedu!!!


I've been here nearly 6 months now and I still haven’t used my feet to get to Gedu - a mere 12km away down the gravelly road - so I decided to do it last Sunday! I woke early – 7ish, did some washing up from the night before, which naturally led on to a complete clean of the kitchen before a hearty breakfast of porridge and a cup of tea. Then I dabbled with a song I’d recorded on the laptop the night before (such rudimentary recording – internal laptop mic, no decent effects, no mastering – I love it). This naturally led to me having a read of the recently written prologue to Jacks (novel), which needed attention as it was one of those ‘wake up in the middle of the night with the answer’ prologues. Time was ticking… but the Sunday was going well thus far…

Me and My Support - when he moves I fall over

Around lunchtime a couple of boys came in asking for the chess-board, which I gave to them to use outside, but they were back in moments, the elder of the two complaining about the other fellow's complete lack of understanding (the kid in the picture above). They lingered for a while looking at stuff, and then they started to tidy! Out came the brush. The rug was lifted. The clothes that were strewn on my bed were folded. Recycling was stuffed into bags (to be disposed of in unsegregated waste dumps – not sure why I persist with this, but I can’t allow myself to stop… ). The enthusiasm of the two boys swept me along and I joined in, gladly giving them gifts of half-wanted objects that we found along the way. In no time at all… we were done. It hadn't escaped my notice that I hadn't yet left for Gedu and it was getting close 1pm. So...

At this moment, in came Prem. He’s in Class IX and I like the lad, partly because he’s got an endless supply of infectious enthusiasm and partly because he’s just plain funny. He often appears at my door seeking water (we still have an issue with supply). The boy either has more thirst than a whole hostel of his peers, or more gumption to just keep knocking and asking. He has a tendency to tarry sometimes and I have to be firm and send him away. Living in the middle of two hostels demands a certain stern vigilance in maintaining one’s own private space! But as the Sunday was going so well, I thought I’d tarry myself, allow him to play guitar for a while and play a few games of Chess with him.

Prem - Playing My Guitar Badly But Enjoying Himself Nevertheless

Like most teenage boys (and Hawkish American Secretaries of ‘Defence’), he tends to charge in with bluster and gusto and then realize a little too late that his preparations for the outcome are ill-thought out. Imagine his disappointment when he finds his Queen standing alone in a field of angry pawns! We played 3 or 4 quick games and I gave him some advice about balancing risk with caution, attack with defence, which felt a bit like teaching a kitten to meditate. By now it was gone 2pm, and I still hadn’t left. Prem left for study, I hastily packed a bag and finally set off.

The Prayer Flags at the School Entrance

They call this season the Season of the Fungus. The school is almost always lost in diaphanous fog, and the air is laden with moisture all the time. Nothing dries here. My down sleeping bag seems like a silly choice now, as I can’t wash it for fear I’ll lose it to mould, and it needs washing. There’s a flip-side to every downer, and in this instance, it’s the environment. This is the season when everything comes alive. The trees go nuts with growth. Fireflies animate the nights like twirling fairy lights. (I found one on its belly yesterday, it's bottom blinking fluorescent green flashes, it's batteries slowly running out.) Birds, crickets, beetles, bugs and monkeys sing all day. The smell is intoxicating. It's sub-tropical! In a word, it's lush.



Off I went, marching through it all in my slowly dilapidating but still just about trusty enough boots (that have carried me up many a mountain). I stopped occasionally for water or to take photos, but leaving at such a late hour gave me little leeway so I powered along the road determinedly. I will reach Gedu! 4Km along the way, Mr Rinchen beeped his horn and opened the car door for me, whereupon I gave up the dream and took the ride. Ah well – the road isn’t going anywhere except Gedu, and neither am I, at least for the next six months.

Next up... Gedu and the Tale of the Unexpected Tailor.

In the Unexpected Tailor's

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