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GVN Home > nepal > diaries

Nicole Doherty writes...

...about their experiences while volunteering in Nepal.

Scherie's Report: Volunteering in Nepal

Arriving in Nepal and Training
It was great to be picked up from the airport and taken straight to the hotel by GVN's partner. The hotel is very comfortable and has a very good environment with all the other volunteers staying there.

I began my training immediately. By the end of my first week I was able to have short Nepali conversations, do Tharu stick dances, and I knew all about Nepali culture; gendre issues, child labour issues, economics issues, etc. The training also included visits to local tourist sights, which was fantastic. I was completely exhausted, but I had learnt more than I could ever have imagined was possible. For my second week of training I was in Godavari to experience village life. The families there are fantastic and are used to having volunteers to stay. It was here that I had my first public shower, and learned how to eat local food and use outdoor toilets. By the end of the two weeks I couldn't wait to move to my placement.

My village: Patihani, Chitwan
My placement was in Patihani, Chitwan. The village is an hour from the nearest town Narayangaat, but is well developed for its size. The village people were very happy to see volunteers arrive, and eager to meet with us and learn about our culture. Each day it took a long time to walk through the village, with every house wanting me to stop for tea and a chat. The climate was very hot, but the village was beautiful, and on good days the snow peaks of the Himalayas were clearly visible in the backdrop breathtaking. During the monsoon season, the rain didn't cause too much trouble, as it was mostly at night. However, one week the rain was very heavy and some areas near the village were badly flooded.

My Family
The family that I stayed with was absolutely fantastic. They were not used to volunteers, but immediately adopted me into their lives. I was treated just like one of their children. I got a room to myself with a fan, which was fantastic. And my family gave me a lot of privacy. The food they cooked was some of the best I've ever had. As I lived on a farm the food was all fresh; mangoes, corn, pineapples, peaches, ladies fingers, pumpkin, fresh milk, etc, they never stopped feeding me. I helped out on the farm, which helped me bond with the family, and I helped the children study. The children spoke a lot of English, and I learnt Nepali pretty quickly so communication was not too much of a problem. A lot of my best memories from Nepal are those with my family.

Teaching and the Students
I was worried about the teaching to start off with, as I needed to design a course for the students. But once I got to know them and realized what they wanted to learn from the language classes it was a lot easier. I taught 50 students from 7am-9.30am and then from 4pm-7pm. There were 6 different classes.

The students were very motivated, and it was really rewarding to teach them. They ranged in age, abilities and profession, but were united by their desire to learn. They were very happy to meet a Western person and learn about our culture. I really enjoyed spending time with them outside of class in the village getting to know them, learning about their lives and culture. I feel that this close relationship I built up with them really made the teaching a lot easier. Classes were a lot of fun, and when the time came for the course to end I was really sad to have to say goodbye. I had made some really good friends.

Namaste,
Scherie Nicol