These are the things......

the every day things...


We ‘presume’ they’re all there in a typical Aussie home - or available at the supermarket or nearby shop


.....NOT so in Ilam Nepal


Returning to Adelaide 8 days ago has already been a trip of re-discovery and re-adjustment…

These are the things in ‘re-connection’ order -
Did I miss them?  Some….not all

• ‘half sitting’ toilet that flushes..I’m missing the ‘full sitting’..& the bucket & jug..not to mention the neighbours’ bathroom routine that echoed up the stairs every day…. I guess mine echoed down too!
• View of the backyard from the kitchen window
• Flowers in my OWN garden
• Shower with HOT and cold water ….the first one lasted 20 minutes…close to heaven!!!
• Shower gel...will miss the ayurvedic soap
• Drinking water direct from the tap over the sink…or any tap at home
• Kitchen cupboards – with DOORS …..many…. whooo hooooo!!!!
• Table lamp
• Wardrobe – with a rail for coathangers…previously hung on a piece of elastic & covered with cloth to protect from dust & mould
• Soft, soft lounge chairs and sofa
• Stereo CD player
• Dining table of reasonable height….a low wooden slat bed covered with a bedsheet was my dining and work table
• Automatic washing machine…..Whooo HOOOOOO again!!! beats 3 buckets and a large bowl, squatting on the bathroom floor, scrubbing by hand with orange soap  wringing out sheets…
• SARD!!!! I love you 
• My very own clothesline…..underwear and various other items are now secure!!!
• Bleach and disinfectant
• Sponges
• Shopping centre
• Supermarket with more than 2 aisles…TOO many choices & got lost searching for milk!!!
• Tea bags – infinite variety……. missing my daily intake of extremely fresh ILAM tea
• Milk in a carton - a choice of varieties – including flavoured
• Cream in a container other than a cow..
• Greengrocer with very shiny, high quality fruit & veg - green, red, yellow, purple, orange everywhere..and fresh herbs too …Basil….mmmmm!
• Trolleys for shopping
• Carparks with line markings
• Streets with line markings…and parking restrictions (that come with parking inspectors :-( )
• Traffic lights
• Pedestrian crossings that drivers recognise….Ilam has a couple, but drivers don’t recognise or stop for pedestrians…it’s your responsibility to get out of the way of crazy drivers
• Footpaths – paved….there are just a few in Ilam, not paved
• Fences….not so in Ilam…people walk thru your property (right past your front door in most cases) if they need to get fm A to B…
• Mail delivered to the letterbox – including bills
• Innerspring mattress
• Electric clock/radio alarm
• Weetbix
• Refined sugar
• Salt with iodine
• 100% orange juice…& many other varieties of fruit juice throughout the whole…not only mango or apple during summer...because you should ONLY drink warm fluids (or raksi) during winter to protect against colds...
• Hot running water over the sink…and a PLUG!!!
• Multi grain bread without too much sugar…that stays fresh for more than 2 days
• Butter or margarine –infinite variety
• Yoghurt in containers (various sizes) – ditto
• Plastic wrap and aluminium foil………thank GOD!!!
• Broom with a looooong handle
• Vacuum cleaner
• Iron…and a board to iron on…that was difficult after 14months of not ironing a thing...but bit the bullet & reacquainted myself with the process..
• Stove with 4 burners … typically 2 burner in Nepal
• Light over the stove
• Gas mains direct to the house….no need to buy a large gas bottle & then have the poor ol little porter to carry it on his back fm the market, up 3 flights of stairs….he looks about 75, but is probably only 35....and he used to be 5'8" but is now 4'11" ......I really felt for these guys.
• Electricity 24/7
• Inbuilt gas heating
• Reverse cycle aircon
• Organised garbage collection from your own bin….no need to carry it downstairs & deposit in the cement bags by the side of the house..then hope the municipality truck comes soon - before the dogs spread it all over the street
• Waste recycling – including disposable recyclable plastic garbage bags
• Furniture polish
• Carpet cleaner
• Crusty Italian bread, baguettes...........still warm
• Blue cheese with delicious plain wafer biscuits…demolished in one sitting!
• Icy COLD SA Sauv Blanc…4Litres in a cardboard carton … drinking from a large, light stemmed wine glass
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese
• Semi-dried tomatoes…had forgotten all about THEM…
• Verandah
• Garden shed
• Window blinds
• Insect screens…screen doors…………I think I saw more than ONE in Ilam
• Olive oil, peanut oil, balsamic
• Frozen veges from the s/market frozen food section..of course, you need a fridge/freezer at home…saves going to market every 2/3 days
• My very own car!!!!  






many, many more…and many more to come...

Dinner ....fresh crunchy bread, cold Sauv Blanc with pasta - topped with fresh basil & parmesan

The Good Lover...!!!

This essay was written by a Laxmi, a 7 year old Class 2 student in response to an exercise I set during English Conversation lesson to write about a picture of a dinosaur - it's name, life, what made it happy, sad, it's family etc. 

We all knew she had a great imagination, but this amazed us all!  She has a HUGE imagination and definite writing talent!!! 

It made us all laugh for quite a long time, and continues to whenever we mention it .... now we're wondering where the surprise ending came from..???
She'll receive a book as a prize for her great essay....

Enjoy! 


(If you can't read her writing, scroll down)

                              Laxmi (left), Roshna, Sandhya, Prashna

It is a prehistorit it name Salaman

Once upon a time long time ago it is live in Australia.

He have 7 6 3 wife, 7 6 3 wife name is

First name is skeleton seconde is Chameleon third ocean. Some time he

live in skeleton some time live in Chameleon

and some time sit live in ocean

One day 3 wife are marriage and he

is bean alon and he cry loudly



and he is going far way and agan bring

new wife and other girls not marriage

and they were sitting in same house

not fighting and that wife name

is tidler and tidler will cook food

and prehistoric will bring water.

They well eat in same place.



The good lover



OMG!!! is THAT the date already???

Michelle C. inspired me to check my blog, and now realise that I haven't written a thing in here for exactly 4 months...THEN I realised that my Nepal visa expires in 3 months & 5 days....OMG!! what to do...

The last 4 months have been full of yet more unforgettable experiences for me and the time has just flown by...

 It included a special visit to Ilam by VIP Nat from Adelaide and then to Itahari by bus for a great overnight stay - so she could experience Nepali daily life at least for one day..then Everest build in beautiful Pokhara, meeting up with a huge mob of Adelaide Habitat people..the time went so quickly and was still experiencing negative vibes. The gin & tonics & margaritas helped (thanks to Robyn for that). Then back to Adelaide for a quick slightly hectic but rejuvenating schedule and spent some wonderful time with my grandson and many friends. Back ...(I just typed 'home'???) to Nepal & Itahari again where I ceremoniously adopted a new younger brother during Tihar...it was a fantastic experience and I feel very priveleged to be 'officially' welcomed as part of the family. Ilam again and back to school for the completion of Term 2 and COLD weather... kids just trickled in after their 4 week break but by the end of week 1 most were back in class, followed by school picnic day which was just fantastic.

Lots of visitors from down in the Terai since I got back; a special invitation for Christmas Day; a very special visitor to kick start the New Year wonderfully...and now?

I have to decide what to do with myself after April 13.


The head says return to Adelaide, get a job, save some money and THEN think about returning to Nepal...but the heart's telling me that I'm going to be feeling quite bereft if I go down that path. So I should make serious enquiries with school about continuing for another year and about the difficulties I might encounter with an application to extend my visa. I'm great at procrastination and this is the perfect opportunity to further develop that skill ...


So many questions:
What do/will I miss? What don't/won't I miss? Why should I return to Aust? to Nepal? What can I accomplish for others? for myself? WHY does Nepal keep insisting that I need to be here? What makes me love this country so much? Why does everything here always look and feel so beautiful, when I know the underlying state of things? Why am I able to accept the dust, dirt, litter, power cuts, 20th century style internet speed, low quality goods, women's lack of emancipation, obvious widespread HUGE health & safety issues everywhere I look, government corruption etc etc?


Why don't I miss home as much as I thought? Why did I miss Nepal so much when I was in Aust for only 2 weeks? What will I do with all my 'stuff'? How will I manage my finances? What about my gorgeous little family? my house? my health? my Nepali family/ies? my very special Nepali friends? the students at school? Will I be able to age (dis)gracefully in Nepal? Can I cope with another wet season? or continuing the bucket baths each morning? 3 flights of stairs? 2 burner gas-stove? teaching in what feels like an igloo at the moment? If I return to/stay in Nepal, should I stay in Ilam; continue teaching; look for another job; a different location??


And more....


Major dilemma and major procrastinating....I think a visit to the local temple/astrologer consultation might be in order ....