Life on the Roof

Pretty much every house in Nepal comes with an accessible flat roof. This is where people can hang their washing to dry, access their water tanks and, as the winter approaches, it is also where more and more people spend their time trying to keep warm.

Winter here is dry and sunny, but cold. Temperatures very rarely drop below freezing, but with no heating and poor insulation houses get pretty cold, so during the day the best place to be is out in the sunshine.

We are very fortunate in that we have a nice big roof which is almost as big as our flat directly below. We are also the only ones who use it most of the time, so through the winter months the children have enjoyed cycling (although they are getting a little big for the space now), playing ball games (although it's a long trek down 3 flights to get the ball if it goes over the edge) and drawing with chalk on the roof.

While supervising the children Dan and I usually spend our time enjoying the mountain views and people watching. Our building has 3 flats so our third floor rooftop is one of the tallest in the area so we can see others around on their roof tops as well as the streets below. We often see children playing or being bathed in the sun, women combing each other’s hair, or just folk having a nap in the warm! It’s a great vantage point to watch Nepali life unfold.

Activity Week – Primary style

Last week was Activity week at KISC. This an annual event where the secondary students go on trips around the country (we blogged about this in 2008, but realised we haven't since - one for next year). However, this year Dan stayed at school to hold the fort and help out with Primary’s Activity week. This was also our first year as parents of Activity week and rather than us write about what happened, we thought we would ask Sam about the week.

What happened last week at school?

Activity week was about spies. We were learning about spies

So what did you do each afternoon?

I went to the hall and started my activities. There were games and I went to the very top of the building and just there was the art room so we did art. And then a friend of mine in my class, Naomi, her mummy taught us a bit about spies, she called them agents instead of spies. The spies were finding out about God and Jesus

What was your favourite part of each day?

The games.

Primary Staff in their Spy Costumes

What things did you make during the week?

(He goes to get them to show me) An I spy shaker, binoculars, name tag, a bookmark and a couple of drawings and a box to keep my spy things in. And it’s painted red.

How did each day end?

We went to assembly and there was a drama.

Tell me about the drama

Mr Sheenan, the year 2 teacher, we called out for him because we loved his character. His character was an officer called Inspector NoClue. And my Daddy was really funny. I laughed at lots of bits. Daddy was a bad man.

What did you have to wear on Thursday?

A spy costume. I wore a black jumper and black t-shirt and jeans and sunglasses and a hat.

Did you enjoy the week? Are you looking forward to Activity Week next year?

Yes! I can’t wait till Spy week again

(At this point the interview ends as I have to disappoint the interviewee by pointing out that the theme won’t necessarily be spies again next year!)