Name : Anna, Carlota, Clara, and Ariadna (Spain)
Sex: Female
Program: Teaching in Monastery
1. What did your average day look like?
We woke up at 6:45am, had breakfast at 7am and went to Zumba lessons at 7:30. After the lessons we taught English at women's concern, the class used to start at 9am until 10 am. Then we had free time until 13:00pm that we went to Himalaya Deep Jyoti boarding school, we went to monastery and we taught to the little monks from 16:00pm to 17:00pm. Friday's we had the day off in the monastery and Saturdays also at school so we went to do sightseeing.
2. Other things I did on my placement.
We went to the monkey temple, Bouddanath, Bhaktapur, statue of Shiva, Thamel…(sightseeing and hiking)
3. What are some of the issues or challenges you faced?
The language barrier was challenging, sometimes it was hard to communicate with the teachers and the kids and also getting used to the traffic as well as the pollution.
4. Advice to next volunteer going to your placement?
Prepare the lessons because children really appreciate the effort and you will feel more secure while doing the class. Try really hard to fit in as soon as possible so that the culture shock is not too over whelming
.
5. Would you volunteer at this placement again?
Definitely
6. Would you volunteer at this organization again?
Definitely
7. Suggestion or problem?
To have more information about the program before the placement even though once there you are really helpful.
8. Please write a Journal-type entry of you experience now. This will be for our monthly newsletter & also for our future Volunteers. It will be better roughly one full page.
For the three firsts days we stayed at hotel lily and in the morning we had Nepali lessons with Durga and in the afternoon we did sightseeing. The first week we did the monastery program and we stayed at Durga's with two other volunteers from Israel and other from Sweden. The second week we went to another placement, an orphanage NCHPS, we had a really good time there but the living conditions were harder. For our last week we came back to Durga's and taught again at the school, monastery and the women's concern center.
Name: Linnea Petersson (Swedish)
Sex: Female
Program: Teaching English in School
1. What did your average day look like?
I got up at 6:30 went to Zumba class at 7:30 after breakfast. Then at 9 I had English class with the women. After that I went to school to have English or some other subject with the children. I usually come back around 13 and then had lunch. On the afternoons I prepared for the next day and just do whatever I felt like, just chilling or going sightseeing.
2. Other things I did on my placement.
I went to the KAT Center in Kathmandu where the rescue stray dogs. It was very interesting to see their job and what they do for the animals.
3. What are some of the issues or challenges you faced?
Getting used to not having electricity at different times, especially if my phone was out of battery should have brought a flash light.
4. Advice to next volunteer going to your placement?
Bring flashlight! And books if you are alone.
5. Would you volunteer at this placement again?
It's possible but there are still many other countries I want to go to, but I recommend it.
6. Would you volunteer at this organization again?
Yes.
7. Suggestion or problem?
Maybe the possibility to work on a public school is the children are in more need of help with English. I liked the school and the children very much but they were already very good with the language and they had help from the teachers at all time.
Name: Christina Manriquit (US)
Sex: Female
Program: Teaching English in School and Monastery.
1. What did your average day look like?
Class with little monks(grade 1) or tutor older monk from 8-9am. Substitute for science teacher at Himalayan Deep School 9:45 – 11:55am (grades 6 7 and 8). Class with older child monks(level 4) 4-5pm. Dinner at 7pm, lunch at 12pm, breakfast at 7am. Bed time at 9pm. Sunday – Thursday I volunteered. No afternoon class at monastery on Fridays.
2. Other things I did on my placement.
Hike to White Gumba, but closed for 1 year for earthquake repairs. On Fridays and Saturdays, I went sightseeing in Kathmandu, Thamel.
3. What are some of the issues or challenges you faced?
There were bugs in the apartment- cockroaches in my room. I had to buy bug spray. The bathroom was not as clean as I would have liked. Electricity + Internet outages were challenging because I used the internet and printer to prepare my lessons. There was little to no instruction by staff at school or monastery what to teach and what the children already knew and needed to learn. But overall it was a good learning experience in how to be flexible and creative.
4. Advice to next volunteer going to your placement?
Be flexible – rigid lesson plans don't work. Make teaching as fun as possible- just as much play as learning.
Little monks love to draw and play with little cards. Lessons incorporating these activities were very popular.
Children are very wild and unruly at first but they settle down once they get to know the volunteer more and you make the lessons fun and engaging.
Don't be afraid to be very creative in your lesson plans or to take risk! (safe risks of course…)
5. Would you volunteer at this placement again?
I would like to volunteer at another Bhuddhist monastery possibly but live there instead of living outside the monastery.
6. Would you volunteer at this organization again?
Yes- Durga and her family are very nice, friendly, helpful, and reliable and they genuinely care for their volunteers and the Nepal is who benefit for the programs.
7. Suggestion or problem?
Ask volunteers to keep a reward of the lessons they taught and the materials they used. This will be helpful for next volunteer and the children too. Make a bathroom cleaning schedule.
8. Please write a Journal-type entry of you experience now. This will be for our monthly newsletter & also for our future Volunteers. It will be better roughly one full page.
I arrived at airport al 4am May 7. Durga arrived with a taxi to pick me up. I stayed at Hotel Lily for next 3 nights. There were 3 days of Nepali Language classes taught by Durga for 2-3 hours each day. The lessons were just the right amount of basic information to get around Nepali. There was sightseeing in the afternoon after classes with Divya, Durga's daughter for 2 hours. We went to Monkey Temple, Bouddhanath, and Durbar Square. I went trekking for 2 weeks and did a meditation retreat, then came to stay at Durga's apartment in Raniban, Kathmandu. The monastery and school where I taught were a 10 minute walk from Durga's house. I ate all my meals at Durga's because she is a great cook! Dinner time her two children were there too. Weekends(Friday and Saturday), I would take the microbus or taxi to Thamel and other parts of Kathmandu. Two Spanish volunteers arrived my last week and we went hiking in the nearby forest twice. Days were relaxed and there was plenty of time to prepare for lessons. I stopped going to teach at the Himalayan School because they had exams and there was no class. The last night the volunteers and Durga and her children went out to eat at restaurant nearby. It was very good.
Overall, had a lovely experience Durga and her family are very kind people. They are welcoming to foreigner and accommodating to their different needs and cultures. I really enjoyed talking to them and getting to know them.
Name: Linda Cutler
Nationality: British
Gender:Female
Program: eco-village and teaching english
1. What did your average day look like?
Eco-village, Chitwan National Park
Our day began with "breakfast"at 7am - a cup of tea and popcorn - served with a smile by Bishnu.
The day begins early due to the heat and also because it is a working a farm. Bishnu's mother, Amah,
loved to come and speak to us whenever we were eating, she spoke nepali and we spoke english and we
communicated beautifully. Work on the farm begins about 8 am (although I understand this is earlier in
the very hot months) and everybody tucks into dal baht and vegetable curry at 10 am. Your time is your
own during the heat of the day - going for a walk, sitting under the mango tree writing your journal...
Work begins again about 4 pm and continues until 6 or 7 pm, when more dal baht is served. Most people
retire early due to the heat and also the regular power cuts.
My day was different due to the fact that i was not working on the farm. I did not want to do physical work
so I spent my day cooking the meals and teaching some basic english to a group of local women. Their level
was quite basic, there were some resources there (eg flash cards, abc books etc, but there is nothing for a
higher level of english. I guess when the library is finished this may change.
In Kathmandu I taught English at a local school. The school was a 15 min walk and the day begins at 10 am, unless it is a festival (day off) or school holidays, and continues until 4 pm. I taught three classes of 45 mins each, spaced out during the day, each class a different level and with a varying number of students,
one class having only 3 students! I understand this changes from day to day.
2. Other things I did on my placement.
In Chitwan I went on a jungle safari on an elephant to see the black rhinos (we saw 2 that day).
In Kathmandu I went with Durga to a Hindu temple early on the morning of their New Year (April 14). It has a large prone statue of Vishnu on a pond.
3. Issues, challenges faced.
This was my first time in Nepal, although my daughter had visited a few years ago. I am quite a bit older
than many of the volunteers and perhaps more set in my ways and less adaptable; that being the case, I found
the lack of water (and showers) a challenge; the diet takes some getting used to, not the dal baht specifically
as I am a vegetarian and love indian-style food, but eating a huge portion of rice and curry at 9 or 10 in the
morning was difficult to adjust to as was the lack of variety.
4. Advice to other volunteers.
None
5. Would you like to volunteer at this placement again?
Yes.
6. Would you like to volunteer with this organisation again?
Durga is very efficient and runs the organisation very well; she is very flexible and helpful, and you really get
the feeling that she cares for all her volunteers, like one big family. So if I were to come to Nepal again as a
volunteer I would certainly use this organisation.
7. Suggestions
Nepali culture differs so much from others, particularly in the western world, that it is difficult for Durga and
Bishnu to understand that the volunteers may have different expectations from their placements. Things that may concern volunteers would not necessarily be important to nepali people. As an example, on my placement at the school, I have spent a considerable amount of time sitting waiting for a class to take place, or for a book to be provided as a resource for teaching; to me,this is a waste of my time, and that of the school too, but for nepali people it is a way of life. We are much more used to being busy and our time being filled. This is not to say that I am criticising the nepali culture, it is simply an example to highlight where difficulties can arise. When I was in the eco-village again I felt that my time could be better used; I appreciate that most of the work in the village is physical but I would have appreciated more direction and guidance.
8. Additional comments
Whilst on my placement in Kathmandu, Durgu very kindly allowed me to stay in her apartment with her family. This was a great privilege for me: I was treated like one of the family and made to feel very welcome. I would like to thank Durga, Diwash and Dibya for their kindness. I hope that they have benefitted from the extra English lessons and the exchange of culture. I am sorry if they did not appreciate my cooking!!
