Today, we fully explore Bhaktapur. After a quick stop to feed the chicks (Côme even managed to pet one today), we have decided to pass by every pond in the city to motivate Côme. He is excited every time we reach one to check if there are any fishes and fishermen. There are fishes in most of them but we don’t see any fishermen. On our stroll, we share smiles with old ladies after saying hello (namasté). They are looking adorable and we ask them if we can take pictures. They happily agree and invite Côme to join them in the shelter. One of the old lady even styles Côme’s hair. The majority of people here (if not everyone) thinks Côme is a girl because boys are not allowed to have long hair at school.
In the afternoon, we walk by a Montessori School, so of course, we get in and talk to the headmistress and school director. They are really nice and are happy to share their knowledge and methods of teaching. They are also eager to ask Julia questions about Montessori in France. We chat a long time. They even offer us some tea and food for Côme, and then they tell us the school will celebrate a festival on the 29th and invite us to come. We are really happy to be invited and tell them we will come (unfortunately we have not been able to keep our promise…:(.
Our stroll then leads us to another beautiful temple square where we decide to unwind. We stop a few minutes at a wood shop to watch the woodcarver carve flowers from wood planks. And we are off to pottery square. A place where potters create ceramics in front of you. We watch a very skilled potter create pots in seconds and we ask him if Côme can try. He agrees. Côme is delighted to try the pottery wheel but funnily enough he doesn’t want to get his hands dirty at first. We tell him that’s ok (for once). The potter is very gentle with him and guides him as he creates his first jar. We are all very happy and thank the potter giving him a small something for the experience. We might have given too much because he offers a huge pot. We tell him we can’t take it (it was like half the size of our bags) but ask if we can take Côme’s pot. He agrees but he seemed embarrassed to give us an unfinished product. We are delighted to be able to bring Côme’s first clay creation (5 days later, it is still drying and we hope it will survive the trip).
In the evening, Côme goes playing with Swopnil, Hari’s boy, and the kids in the street. It takes courage because they don’t speak the same language and Côme is a bit shy. They all play in the street. They play tag, soccer or even to whom will throw his flip flops the highest. Then, we have dinner with our family. The dinning room is full of life! The baby, Shivansh is dancing on the table. Côme is playing with Swopnil who has been great with him despite the language barrier. Hari’s wife is preparing a delicious dinner and Hari is telling us about child rearing in Nepal. He will teach us the most important Nepali word for our stay: babu, which means son. It will be most helpful to tell the Nepali people that Côme is a boy and not a girl.
Today, Côme:
Did not understand: why there weren’t any fishermen by the ponds.
Learnt: how to create a pot.
Loved: to be able to pet a chick and to create a pot.
Julia:
Did not understand: what was the use of those ponds.
Learnt: how to say son in Nepali and many things about child rearing.
Loved: to exchange about child rearing at the school and at home.
Doo:
Did not understand: why the turnstile or teeter-totter did not move in the playground.
Learnt: that the majority of Nepali people had two religions (Hinduism and Buddhism).
Loved: the family dinner.