Finally we are trekking!

Visiting friends from Norway has made Easter 2012 a fun and unforgettable experience! After enjoying a few days in the city with Einar and Cecilie, we traveled to Pokhara and started our four day trek to Ghandruk with Asbjørn, Anette, Alva, Frede from Hyggen and Karen and Jonas. We went up thousands of steps, 800 meters from Kimche to Ker and Downey's super lodge at 2000 moh. The kids loved it although it was a pretty tough hike. They impressed us all.

This is our last holiday in Nepal during our four year stay, and there is still so much more to discover. It was great to get out and see (..) the Annapurna range from up close, although we could have used some clear skies at Himalaya Lodge. We will miss these opportunities and probably be coming back for more hiking and biking. -Thank you for coming and sharing a bit of Nepal and great memories with us!

Pictures

Inspirational Karnali visit

Schools are struggling to provide quality education, especially in the remote mountain areas in Nepal. But with the efforts of dedicated teachers and contributions from the whole community and agencies such as Unicef and Save the Children and their local partners, we found that they are also making important progress.

We took the trip in preparation of the joint annual review of the education sector program to monitor the status of reforms and the general situation facing students and teachers. Ada joined me and the team to Kalikot district which is in the Karnali zone. This is part of a region which is the hardest to reach and where poverty and the lack of basic infrastructure is affecting pretty much everything. Together with government representatives and various development partners we learned more about the real situation on the ground, including all the challenges that people face every day in this part of the country.

Child clubs continue to impress me big time! Involving children is no doubt one of the best ways to promote local accountability and promote every child's right to education!

Here are some pics: Field visit to Kalikot

School theater at Lincoln - One Planet Future

Ada had one of the lead roles together with her two best friends in the lower elementary school play -One Planet Future. She has been practicing being "Bulky Waste", a red sofa, all semester along with a lot of songs for the play.

The show and all the kids were really impressive. A lot of work paid off as they proudly presented the play to their families today with a clear message to take care of our environment! The Bulky waste girls did great, they remembered all their lines, which were the funniest ones in the whole show, and sang beautifully. Filip and Kristine also made it back from Norway just in time to see the show. She couldn't be happier that Holi came in the way for the original show time.

Good job Ada!

Pics from the show: https://picasaweb.google.com/lasse.storholt/OnePlanetFutureMarch2011#

Christmas and new year celebration in Kathmandu

We enjoyed a very nice holiday season in Kathmandu this Christmas, for the second time in Nepal. Although we missed Norway and our family and friends there, it was a good for the four of us to enjoy the holiday preparations and Christmas eve together. We were also lucky to have Lasse's parents and Nazli come and visit from Boxing day until 3. January. Winter break at Lincoln School is three weeks, and Kristine was working, so in the end everybody kept busy and especially loved having Kari, Olle and Nazli around.:) Being with the grandparents again meant a lot to Ada and Filip.

Here are some pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lasse.storholt/JulOgNyttar2010#

Super Siri and magical Max

I have had the best break in a long time. My best friend from when we grew up in the woods of Kraft came to visit as a last stunt of her maternity leave. That's how it should be. Don't leave anything undone, and make the most of it I say. And so she did. We had a wonderful week together, and we are all so pleased to get to know the cutest 10 month old (since Ada and Filip were 10 months old,.. I guess) so much better. Max will reach far with his amazing smile and positive attitude.

Wish you the best for the journey back home, although very sad to see you leave. And best of luck on going back to work the day after tomorrow.:-) Reality bites. But do come back, and bring Mina and Steinar next time.

Here are some pics for all of you childhood friends and everyone else: http://picasaweb.google.com/lasse.storholt/SiriMaxINepal#

Kristine

From Muserud to Kathmandu

We have been so lucky to have friends from Norway with us for the past three weeks (almost three months actually counting Kristine's brother as well)! Lise, Øyvind and the twins came before easter and spent a week, updated us on all the gossip from home and got a sense of our life in Kathmandu. Thank you all for a great time together!

Here are some glimpses of what it's like to be a tourist with Lasse as a guide. If you can't spot Kristine in any of the pics, it's because she is at work! Somebody's gotta do it..
http://picasaweb.google.com/lasse.storholt/BesKAvLiseYvindMagnusOgAndreas#

Easter in the Jungle

Merete and Tor Frode are visiting from Norway (good friends and sort of in-laws). We went to Chitwan National Park during easter and it was fabulous! Check out the pics.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lasse.storholt/ChitwanEaster2010#