Faces from other incarnations II

Last weekend we also got the chance to return to Gandaki Boarding School in Pokhara, where I taught 11 years ago. Way back then, I accepted an eight-month position with United Mission to Nepal teaching computer science to high school students at GBS. I had a fantastic, though occasionally interesting, time. Much to my delight, a surprisingly large number of my students have ended up in computer science, and some of them even credit me with having kindled their interest in the area. I also wrote a kickass 3-D, networked, multiplayer game called Hawk while I was there (in a scant 580 lines of C code!), but that’s another story.

So, being back. It was quite an emotional experience for me. That piece of my life felt like it was disconnected from the rest. Indeed, no one from my life in Canada had ever met anyone from my life there, and I felt a strange need for closure on the time.

Fortunately, a few of the teachers who are still there from 11 years ago remembered me, and one even remembered my last name and exactly which of his classes I had attended. “Clayton? As in Clayton Grassick?” (followed by exclamations about how different I look now). I don’t see it myself...

The campus, with the exception of some new buildings, looks pretty much identical and I was able to show Catherine-Anne where I had taught, played badminton, lived, and even the boys’ toilet in which I camped out to prevent students from cheating.

The most touching moment was when by chance I ran into my former didi (house help) who recognized me and who had spent 8 months cooking for me, doing my laundry, and cleaning. I told Catherine-Anne about her fantastic fried rice, and she reminisced about making pancakes for me (the making of which, incidentally, visibly depleted my bottle of cooking oil).

A very strange feeling to be back. One of the teachers invited us to attend the cultural event at the school that was planned for the next day, but I felt like it was enough just to see it one more time. And to have C-A see that part of my past.

Now it's my turn (with a little luck) to see Ghorahi later this week and experience her world.