Day 8 DSA: Sunday Best

Today we attended mass at the only Catholic Church in Kathmandu with Maggie Piper. It was great to attend the service which was in english and join in singing with the congregation. This was also the first time all week that we actually stopped and drew breath so it was a welcome departure from the rendering and painting.

We were then taken on a short tour of the old city quarter Dunbar Patan, made up of a maze of narrow streets and alleyways that opened out onto massive squares that housed shrines and carvings of the many deities. Truly amazing structures indeed.

A short visit to a photo gallery that documented the atrocities of the ten-year long civil war was a very grounding experience. The war tore the country apart and only ended in 2006. The country still wears the scars of this horrible event, as do some of the DSA children who were affected both physically and emotionally.

Lastly a quick visit too a small vendor of singing bowls proved to be a mesmerising experience. We each wore a bowl on our head as it was sounded with a soft mallet by the vendor. We all found it surprisingly peaceful and calming and no one walked away empty handed.

It was back to work at midday with much more of the same. Plenty of painting, rendering, mixing concrete and lugging of furniture saw us working through to darkness again.

With only one more day to go, tomorrow will certainly present it's fair share of challenges.