Last Kargyak report from the month of February doesn´t come from our pen, but from small pencil rests of our pupils from 4th and 5th classes. I haven´t touched English version too much. So you can fully enjoy a true Kargyak holidays experience together w

but first we pray, like every morning: My holidays Nyidon, 5th class During holidays I had a party. (viz 1) In the party we were dancing and playing drum. Then my party has Radim and Petra. There Is very snow. TIger Is coming and eats sheep. At the party we were eatIng momog and maggi and rice. (viz 2) Desal went to Tangzay village, I am not going to Tangzay. (viz 3) I throw the snow. I am washing clothes and hair. TIbet losarI is fInIshed, then Penpa was drinking chang. (viz 4) Then I am sledgIng. Radim Is not in my party, another girls are in the party. I am going to girl party. My party finishes on friday. Fathers are in the many (om mani pad me hum praying). Then I am going to many too. Then I am drInkIng tea and eatIng chapatI than I play with ball. I am studyIng budhI and hIndi and I am knIttIng socks. I do not LIke woLf, because he eats sheep. I am going to school. There I am watchIng movie. It Is nIce. Then I am going to sheep. My uncLe Is in many group. (viz 5) I am coming to schooL and Petra gIvesme tea. Than I am reading book. Desal [B], 5th class During holidays I WAS IN TANGZAY. I LOOK AT MY TREE. I am eating momok, I am playing criket with my brother. During holidays I am going to see my uncle´s home. In my uncle home then I am drinking milk. Then we play with Nyidon´s sister, we throw the snow at Nyidon. Sister and Nyidon´s brother and me and my brother throw the snow. Then we go to my home and we rest. We give grass to my cows. One day we are going to our school. We throw snow in my house then we are throwing at other places. I am knitting my small socks. I am reading with my sister and my brother, my sister teaches me. I am writing my homework, I am washing my scarf and my clothes, then my sister is knitting my new scarf so I am very happy. Sonam, 5th class: Wednesday I go to Sking. (viz 6) MY friends also have party. Girls are dancing. At the party we are eating momok. (viz 7) Party starts at 8 o´clock evening . Party finishes in the moning at seven o´clock. I am knitting very nice socks. Holidays I am playing with snow. I am sledging. Holidays I am reading books. We give grass to horse and sheep. We throw snow then on my foot. I am cleaning my home. I am writing my homework. One day my friend is drinking milk. I am washing my and my sister´s clothes. On monday I am going to sheep. I am plaYING With yak. My village has many /om mani padme hum praying/. Fathers are going to many. My sister is knitting a carpet. I am cooking rice. I am giving water to flowers. My flower is very nice. Boys have also party. We are going to boy party. Girls have party. Boys are coming to girl party. Girls and boys are dancing. We are eating and making momok, then we are happy. We are drinking chang. My friend goes to Jumpal´s home to see movie. Then we watch the movie. I am washing my body. Rangdol, 5th class I look Wendsday Lord of the ring movie. Radim is coming to my party and we are dancing. Snow leopard came and killed sheep. In the party we are driking sweet milk. The movie is very good. In the movie are four heroes. Frodo went to mountain throw a ring into fire. Tibet Losar is good. Sir Penpa is drinking chang. In the party we are playing cards. We are playing cricket and football. Sauron want to be king. We are dancing and drumimg. We are drinking water. We take water to our party. We are sledging. We are going to Tibet Losar. We finish party in the thursday. We come to shool to play game. I am playing cricket with my friends. We make momo in party. In the movie they are fighting. Me and my sister are going to sheep. We do dinner rice. My goat is eaten by snow leopard. I am going to my uncle. We are riding horse with my friends. We go to girls party. Boy and girl dancing together. Farthers are praying. Our school is very hot. We are making snowmen. I am making snowball. My mother is throwing snow. Chodon, 4th class Wednesday I go to Sking. The weather is not good. In party is making momok. In my party is Topjor and Penpa. In school has movie. In sheep shelter there is snowleopard. Snowleopard kills 4 sheep. Tibet losar is finished. Penpa is drinking arak and chang. In the moring I saw helicopter. I am washing hair. I am washing clothes. I am sitting in the home. The party is very good. One day we are eating rice. We are dancing. Today weather is good. If weather is not good, then I didn´t see Sking village. We are drinking soup. we are drinking tea. I start learning English, Boduck, Mathes and Hindi. I am writting project about animals. I am painting. I play football. I am washing teeth and face. In my party there are boys. we go to boy party. Then I am sledging. I am playing with marbles. (viz 8) Then I go to big girl party. (viz 9) In my party there is Radim. Notes: 1. It is quite common to see children having parties here. Me and Radim, we have participated on two of them so far, nevetherless we can try to summarize how it usually looks like here during a child party. Boys and girls are celebrating on principle separately and they are competing with the other group about the better party. The party quality can be made better by the kind of chosen entertainment, by the kind of food that is being prepared there and then, in particular, by the presence of teachers (Czech or Tibetan). It happens that when one groups captures a teacher, that group runs fast to the party where there is no teacher to inform them that they have succeded in capturing one and triumph like that over the other group. The cross group has now the only chance : run to the party with teacher and try to persuade the adult to go over to them. We once changed sides like that to boy´s party, because we couldn´t refuse their dinner menu containing the all over the Zanskar famous momok. That´s children who are taking care of everything during the party. They are cooking by themselves not only tea, but all the meals, they are preparing their beds, taking care of the entertainment etc. Every gender has a different kind of party amusement. Girls are usually dancing, singing and playing on drum /I have seen drumming only Desal A so far/. Sometimes, they are also playing a game that I call "stone skill". I am not sure about my explaining capabilities, but I try to describe how this game works. Every girl is always having 7 stones with her. There are many variants of the games, but I am describing you the one that I have not only understood, but that I have also managed to learn. You take the stones into your hand, you shake it and you throw it apart on the floor. Then you take one of the stones, you throw it up into the air and meanwhile you have to gather up at least one of the 6 stones that are remaining on the floor and after that also catch the stone that has been thrown up. If you manage to catch the stone from the floor with catching the thrown one ten times, you can go on to a second level. In that one, you have to catch two stones from the floor by the time when one stone is being in the air. Try it, it demands bit of practicing. Boys are also dancing, drumming and singing, but they spend more time by playing cards. They have their own special card games that we haven´t known, but we have already succeded in teaching them how to play for example Carcassone or Digit. To make the party picture complete, I have to mention that apart from children parties, there are regularly also women, men and doksa parties. 2. "maggi" means chinese noodle soup, in most cases with the taste of garam masala. 3. Desal B is not from Kargyak. This means that by going to Tangzay village for holidays, she went actually home. Way to Tangzay from Kargyak takes about 3 hours. Desal B is staying with her relatives in Kargyak during the school period. 4. Tibetan New Year celebration Losar was celebrated during our school holidays. Tibetan Losar is celebrated about one month later than Zanskari Losar. That is why only Penpa and Topjor, our Tibetan teachers, were celebrating it. I guess that New Year celebrations are similar nearly everywhere in the world, so here it was full of villagers coming to wish good luck with a bottle of chang or arak... 5. There are all the men from village in this "om mani padme hum" praying group. At the beginning I thought that men would gather for praying and women would cook for them, but it is actually much more poetic. Praying takes place every year in house of a different person. Every year, the villagers name four men as cooks for the praying period. This foursome is changed every year as well as the house in which the praying takes place. That is a really nice teamwork! 6. Sonam is from Ski village that is about half an hour walk far from Kargyak. 7. Momok seems to be the most favourite food in the whole Zanskar. I asked 4th a5th class to describe their favourite recipy so I can now give you a true Zanskari momok recipy written by Desal (B) from the 5th class. Try it, it´s worth it! MOMOK by Desal [B] My favourite food is momog. Momog has many things. onion, masala, water, flour, and egg, I like momog very much. momog is very tasty. momog has many names. potato momog, meat momog. we make momog with my aunt. onion and garam masala are important flour and water this two very important of momog. (From that, you make dough, you can also add egg in it.) I make momog. I like momog very much. Note: Momok is something like dumplings with a salty filling. As writes Desal, there can be a spiced minced meat, mashed potatoes or whatever comes to your mind. Onion and garam masala are 2 very important ingredients that you cannot forget whether you are making meat or vegetarian variation. Tell us then how you enjoyed it! :) 8. "Marbles". That´s the local name for the "stone skill" game that I was trying to describe in the first note. 9. There are ladies from doksa at the big girl parties. Doksa girls are from 18 to 25 years old and these girls will soon take yaks, goats and sheep from the whole village and they will leave Kargyak for a better pastures higher in the mountains. For about 5 months they will lead a nomadic life, going from pasture to pasture and ensuring like that milk and dried cheese for the whole village. These supplies will remain during the whole winter. Dried cheese is in most cases used in "thupa", local substantial and salutary soup.

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