This picture is a bit blurred I know, but so was the training we got... Anyway this is me and Anne, my closest friend and colleague here in Nepalgunj, for the first time on our very own, brand new motorcycles!
engagement party
the flowers are real heavy, still they asked me to dance...
...so I did...
...and once I get started there's no stopping me
They claimed he was at school during the days, but it was evident that he did a lot of work in the family business too
My beautiful tailor, how I miss her!
Black umbrellas are for sure the most useful item during this time of the year, protects from the heave rain as well as the mercyless sun!
The hair was part of the Swedish outfit, climbing the tree was just for fun!
Maybe not so strange that the clothes are sometimes still dirty after washing...
Bandana, LHRA of Huron
Enjoying a break from the session.
This is Sita, a Tharu girl that used to work as a maid for my previous landlord. She was planning to go to police school, and was volunteering at Huron to learn some skills while waiting for an opening. However, her participation in the youth parliament changed her future; she found a boyfriend and has now gone home to marry. Her life is typical for so many Tharu girls, being exploited at work for feudal employers and I was sad to see her leave the possibility of becoming independent.
Minsters of the youth parliament
Working on the questions to the ministers
There is always time for a song!
Khaanaa Khanubhayo? Have you eaten, the most important question of them all!
Sometimes the discussions are too much even for a nepali...
Pokhara - Phewa thal
Doing the laundry
Firewood is crucial for survival and every day they walk huge distances carrying enormous loads. More often than not it is the women and children doing this work but exceptions are seen.
Local ambulance! The lack of infrastructure makes life hard for them living in the hills and mountains. Roads are being built also in these areas now but this will probably be a never ending project since they will most likely be destroyed by landslides every monsoon.
On the way up to 5400 meters the sun is really strong, and the new snow reflects it making sun glasses and sun block the most important equipment
Above 5000 m there are not that many trees to be found so dry Yak dung is collected and used for fires. Surprisingly it does not smell at all and provides really good head
Transporting chicken up the mountain
Breaking through a bandha...
The Maoists are still active, not only politically, here students marching in their Prachande t-shirts
Ganesh and Sunita, my landlords
It was a blessing that there are wells available at many places
Giving and getting Tika with Bhupendra's parents
Starting to play at home together with family and LHRA-friends
Luckily the window stopped us from being soaked...
It's sometimes seems hard for the children to decide whether my car or the festival of the day is the most fun game...
Ram Sing in our cycle rally
Even in Kathmandu water has to be fetched by the public well, usually by the children
My landlord's sending the maid to pick fruits for achar - pickle's
Do I need to say more about the roads of Nepal?
A little girl at Kathmandu Durbar Square selling flowers
I did make it across the water, but the bank on the other side was too steep and slippery so, yes I have to admit it, I fell over with the bike back into the mud cause I was driving too slow. Apart from having to drive the rest of the day all wet (I was happy for the ski gear i was wearing as a protection against the cold) all that happened was that the bike, and I, became quite dirty...
Yoghurt can be delivered to the house, extremely convenient for lazy weekends
students often sit outside during the cold season to stay warm. Apart from no heating, or no fans for the hot season, and no toilets, this school also has many problems getting educated teachers to stay, and the children to come.
Two young girls listening to me trying to tell them in Nepali about child rights and the right to education
In Sweden it's always hard to get children to wear winter cloths, it's just not cool enough. Children in Nepal however have no problems wearing caps, even though it's not really that cold in the middle of the day
Of all the ways there could be to make a basket, this might not be the worst one...
A boat crossing Rapti river
Spot the bideshi (mzungu)...
BP chowk after unrest due to the appointment of ambassadors without inclusion of everyone in the process
A maoist demonstration after rumors that the government were buying weapons from Ukraine
It's certainly not easy to put on a Saari so we don't wear it that often. Here we are outside one of Anne's offices, dressed for another festival - food and dancing to come.
a tipical village meeting
stuck in a landslide...
Human rights training - playing a game
flat tire - change of innertube. The car is a central part of my life here...
Machhapuchhare
burning tires in a chakka jam
eating the Nepali way, at a colleague of Anne's
Anne at Teej, a women's festival.
Peace rally at the International Peace Day, behind Huron's banner carried by some of our LHRA's is a statue that was destroyed during the Janaa Andolan II
Christmas feelings in Nepalgunj
Mustard field in the Terai, or rape (raps) field in Sweden. Gives me homely feelings anyway
Resting in the Himalayas
I always thought the yellow are from the birds, or the coulor fading - turns out is safferon
Me and my car at the MS headquarter/guesthouse
