Beautiful students

Sept 17th, 2013
Beautiful students! I have 30 third year students, and 29 first year students.

Did you know that Tibetans don’t have family names? Many children are named after a day of the week plus one or two syllables from a small bank of names. Fortunately I don’t have any duplicates in my class, but 2 Bai, 2 Ci, and a few Dan Zongs. They speak very quietly, and gently giggle when I massacre their names. They really aren't as unhappy as the photos shows - they are just shy.
The overhead projector is unfortunately not useable, but chalk board is large! This class has all their subjects in this room - the instructors come to them. They stay in the same class for 3 years, so know each other quite well, often better than their family.

These 2 boys were in a ceremony to dedicate a statue of Confucius.

Ten Things You can do with Duct Tape

Sept 14th
Yup, we have extolled the wonders of duct tape for years. One year ELIC Camp China did a skit on duct tape...
Well, I've found 10 ways to use it in my apartment!
Duct tape held the window above the door together, until they fixed it this week - no more flies! Yeh! (The duct tape still holds the internet wire, though).

 Bathroom sink no longer leaks!

The original, inside door has a broken lock, so duct tape keeps me from getting locked inside. Fortunately there is a strong outside metal door - very safe!

Laundry day. Actually it looks better now with cute towels.

Yup, the hose broke apart on the washer, but it now works fine!

 Duct tape keeps the water from leaking onto the hallway floor. (In case you haven't used squatty potties before - this is also my toilet.)  I'm looking for a new nozzle for my hand held shower.....

 Duct tape holds the wires together outside my window. (Do you see the purple exercise equipment used as a clothes line?)

Yeh! now I can keep my kitchen floor dry, with a little duct tape on the drain!
Last night the hose from the propane tank to the burners came loose (with a loud hissing so I asked Chris to ask a neighbour to look at it - the neighbour was happy to reconnect it and check with a match!) so now it is held in place with a piece of duct tape too!

Another piece of duct tape also holds the hinges on my bed, but I'm not tempting fate by opening it for a picture..
How many ways can you use duct tape???

Aug 26 My Apartment

Aug 26 Lhasa Teachers’ College.
Welcome to my residence!

My 3^rd floor apartment is cozy and interestingly furnished by years of teachers. This morning I bought bleach, unclogged the vacuum cleaner and filled a pail with cement dust. The squatty potty is so narrow I can clean it and the sink while I shower! The kitchen has 2 propane burners, a small fridge, a microwave;  and the wide window brings in beautiful south light. I think I’ll spend a lot of time reading on my bed in the sunlight. You can see the Potala in the distance.The last picture is the view as you step into my front door (yes, that's plain cement - easy to sweep and the water from the shower sits in puddles there. The WC was added quite a few years ago (hence the sliding glass doors which are thinner than 10" cement walls)- there are still outside washrooms next door which were used before they installed inside plumbing!

Each morning I awake to marching music over the loudspeaker of the middle school across the canal. I make oatmeal or eggs each morning, then have lunch in the teachers cafeteria.  I'm getting used to the propane stove and have made a few dinners; often Chris and I go to one of the tiny restaurants outside the gate.