After arriving in Lahan and the Hotel Pacific yesterday, we received a warm welcome from the local coaches in the morning, complete with scarves and photos. The call to prayer had come to the detriment of some of our sleeps, and we were off fairly early, but looking forward to coaching in a a new area. Myself, Paul and Santhosh headed to Siraha, while the rest headed to Karjanha.
Our day started at Morning Pearls (probably 2nd in the school name rankings), where we were faced with a crowd of kids and a fairly small area, but despite losing a couple of balls, things were positive! Happyland School followed (a clear no. 1 in the name rankings), and we felt like this was a clear improvement. A highlight was Santhosh coaching spin bowling in the alley entrance to the school; the 2m width made for an interesting experience! Mount Everest school was the high point of the day (how punny), with a group of eager, enthusiastic cricketers who made our day all the more enjoyable. Dal Bhat for lunch, with mine consisting of 3 portions of curd with gulab jamun (cheers Sara and Santhosh for the contribution) before moving to the final school. This was a much bigger challenge, and a reminder that there is still much to be done in terms of achieving gender equality in Nepal – 70 boys and no girls sent out wasn’t what we were wanting, but we managed to persuade the school to send us 30 girls, who participated keenly. One of the teachers told us how great the session had been, which was much needed positivity.
Next, a bumpy ride home, some questionable Arabian grill mix, and an early night. Thika Cha.
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