We called Mark this morning;  here's a summary of our approx. 20 minute call:

Mark actually answered the phone this morning.  He reminded me several times to send email. Tomorrow is his last day of practice teaching.  The 4th grade only got worse--there were 90 in the class, and not enough seats or room.  The kids came in late, and  the other teachers talked to them through the windows.  He will miss the 7th grade and a few of the younger ones.  He tried to teach 7th grade negative numbers, which was a new concept to them.  He used his credit card as an example.

Most of the PCVs know where their posts will be;  most are pleased.  Mark sounded satisfied with Janakpur--he had said that facilities were his top priority.  Geoff has a "good" post--not only near a city (Nepalgung, in the west) but also in the hills, where the climate is good.  Mark's city is one of the hottest in Asia (no air conditioning there).  The lowest temp. is about 40, but it stays around 100 in the summer.  There is an airport and a train station there.  He thinks he will live in the city, hoping to share an apartment with PCVs who are already there.  Possibly, he'll get a bike to ride to the school, 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) outside the city.  The school has 10 classrooms, about 50 students to a class.

He has not seen the web page, but he says people who write to him have and comment on how much they enjoy it.

He met Jill Chaskes at training in Dharan, talked to her briefly, and told her that we read her web page. (Jill has been a PCV in Nepal for the past few years.  She, too, has a web site documenting her experiences: Jill's Adventures in Nepal.)
 

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