This little village was the first we saw that boasted any educational infrastructure; it had a school, but it had not a school teacher nor school child to fill its seats. It was built through funding of the government and private interests (Nepalese interests, not jesuit interests...) but there was simply no further infrastructure to start an actual school. So, it lays bare witness at this point to a revolution of education that lost its toehold early on in its life. For now, at least. The village was not unlike the others in its construction and plan view. Structures built of rock and yak dung, with much more wooded furniture and structure that I though possible from the lacking of forests at this altitude. It was true to needs, not to wants. The village was rather large through the perspective lenses of other villages we passed, and probably had the largest year-round population. The temperature was dropping noticeably, but we were still able to find heat in the completely cloudless sky.
Us, sitting on the crest of a hill overlooking the village. This was taken just before sunset which allowed a great clarity of distant mountains and interesting shadow plays of the crags and folds of said mountains.
This is the school that is yet to operate as such. The village was 'Langtang Village', hence the school name. Inside the school were wooden row-desks and concrete chalk boards painted black. It was a beautifully constructed school, as this picture can attest to, in the stone works.
Himalayan sunset; frigid and beautiful.
This is a daytime view of Langtang Village. All of the visible houses/teahouses/stores (of which all houses were a part of) were field stone constructed with yak dung. In the far distance is a ghastly 7200 m.a.s.l. snow covered peak.
Yaks. The integral part of the Tibetan (Nepalese, now) lifestyle and stark reminder of the intricate symbiosis of nature. Yaks provided strength, milk, cheese, dung (construction and fires) and the high mountain villages were replete with them; and their succulent and decadent cheese.
Me, thinking. And watching a baby yak.
Tibetan Buddhism is the normality here - as pleasant as it is (whenever possible) to avoid christian mythology and hatred, there are some 'strange things done...under the sun' in the name of Buddha. However, and this is a huge and dramatic caveat, there is no internal comparison between Buddhism and christianity. None. The Buddhist thought of life is filled with self betterment and peaceable actions. True to nature and to best interests. This is a prayer wheel where you pass along and spin the wheels in hope of bettering your, and others', future.
This is a boy playing on the roof in Langtang Village; we watched him and his friend play along the pathway, chase each other along the rock wall and up and over the roof. I couldn't imagine how a western authority figure would have reacted in haste to such 'horrible' activity. Perhaps there is a commandment against it that Jesus tried to tell us about but was unable to enunciate clearly. Hmm...perhaps.
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