We're Going on a Picnic!

Beautiful students, beautiful view!

I would never have considered going on a picnic at the beginning of December back in the states (a frost-covered Ballard Park in Ridgefield isn’t exactly conducive for lounging in the sun while sipping lemonade…) But yesterday I joined the primary school students and teachers for a field trip to the beautiful village of Prasimkali for a picnic.

Playing on the ping!

I also would not normally consider wearing high heels [especially with the hour-long walk to get there –but some of my students thought differently. When I arrived yesterday morning at the assigned meeting place, everyone was dressed to the nines (I almost didn't recognize one of them without her blue uniform and signature braids with ribbons!)

The students got a bit carried away giving tikka...

  

The front gate of the teacher’s house where we waited couldn’t contain their excitement and they scampered back and forth, practicing their singing and dancing. An hour and half after I was to arrive (another reminder of operating on “Nepali time”) we began the trek out to our picnic spot.

Instead of a simple basket and blanket, all 30 students marched like ants in a line carting heavy loads of rice, chickpeas, and onion above their heads. I swear we brought everything but the kitchen sink, although the cooking pots were bigger than the tap at home.

After visiting the local temples for puja and getting my face was splattered with tikka, it was time to eat. The advice to “come hungry” was appreciated as the teachers filled and refilled plates for seconds and thirds. One brave sixth grader even attempted fifths. Phew. 

Nepali dancing

And after all that eating, what better way to burn off energy than by dancing and play games? In between rounds of hot potato and duck, duck, goose, my fourth and fifth graders showed me how to shake my hips, roll my wrists and jump around in time to the song they dedicated to me (there’s nothing like a personalized song to stroke your ego…) This crazy jump ‘n’ jiving, rock ‘n’ rolling was a reminder of the simple joys that put a smile on my face –and really, how can you not smile when your students' smiles are contagious?