We’re up and into it early this morning in a desperate attempt to make up time from yesterday’s unproductive afternoon. By the time we step back into the pit at 6:30am there’s already a dozen locals in there laying out the next cages. This interaction with the locals and working side by side with them has been a real highlight of the trip. Initially there was a curious unsureness to our working relationship. We weren’t sure of what we were doing and they weren’t sure what we could do but after three days we’re starting to feel like a well-oiled retaining wall building machine. It’s something I hadn’t expected to fit into so quickly. It’s a bit like a mini version of living in a community rather then just travelling through it. Despite the language barrier we still communicate and joke along through the day.
Now that all the loose rock has been cleared one of the joys is to find a good size rock beneath the soil. When one comes up everyone has a look and a nod of acknowledgement as if to say ‘yep, nice rock that one’. Smoko is other pastime that has transcended cultures. I’m not a smoker and I have no idea what it is we’re smoking but it’s great to sit around on the rocks passing the mystery cigarette around.
By mid morning we succumb to our time frame and realise we’re not going to complete the entire retaining wall. It’s disappointing but we have to be realistic and work out the best way to spend the little time we have left. We’ve completely laid the six foundation cages along the bottom and half the near layer on top. We figure if we can complete this layer thus leaving the top ones to go it’ll be a good way to having the wall done before monsoon hits. The locals are adamant they’ll complete the final section and our guide Rinzin will be returning in a month and will take a photo of the wall for us to proudly admire.
The painting is almost done and the crew is putting together the finishing touches, fancy borders for the blackboards, the English and Nepalese alphabets and a roughly accurate map of the world.
By the end of the day the school looks completely different from the one we walked into four days ago. The rusty tin roof of the main building now sparkles bright blue and the classrooms and exterior walls are a clean, stark white.
With the sun fading and the temperature dropping we have a game of cricket with our group and the locals. We get about an hour of play in before the inevitable ball down the mountain ends the game.
Tonight feels like the end of the trip even though it’s another two days til we get back to Kathmandu. After dinner we have a party in one of the ‘new’ classrooms. We’re taken through the basics of Nepalese dancing and learn the words to a popular Nepalese song, which seems to be something about a donkey and a monkey.
