Our "Spacio" (the car)

My favorite part of the day by far is our ride to and from school in the jeep loving called the "Spacio."  The reasons are many-fold:

1. I am not the one driving, so I am not responsible for whether we arrive on time or late or even arrive in the right order.
2. The view out the window is fascinating.  There are all types of people walking down the road or driving in vehicles going in the other direction. There are Army trucks and "Goods Carriers" and taxis and lots of motorcycles. Anyone who notices us takes a good long look at the white people in a Sikkimese jeep, and I enjoy staring back. 
3. The clouds play with the car, sometimes engulfing us to the point where you can barely see ahead, sometimes dissipating to reveal the mountain on the other side of the steep gorge.
4. The treacherously bumpy road can be a source of great enjoyment as we are jostled out of our seats or into each other.  Seatbelts are non-existent, so we float around in the back seat.
5. The driver, Bempa, is an object of observation as we are driving.  Is he in a good mood--is he humming?  Is he impatient -- constantly pressing to pass the car ahead?  Is he in a bad mood -- sucking his teeth when he sees another driver trying to make a move detrimental to our progress? Is he a speed demon, enjoying the short stretches of smooth, clear road or is he being cautious as he carries all of the full propane tanks for the kitchen at school?
6. Grace and Corrina are for the most part silent either because there are other people in the car or because they are tired or because they are taken with the scenery out the window.
7. Thanks to #6, I can contemplate things like my next blog entry while riding in the car.

Here are photos from the backseat:

A jostled photo of the view from the backseat. That's
Bempa driving on the right side of the car.