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James Conole writes...

...about his experience while volunteering in Nepal.

Introduction
It was my final year in school and I wanted to do something exciting for the summer. Although supermarket work can be appealing to some people, alas, I just couldn’t have done it again. So, after careful consideration --mostly regarding prices-- I decided to go on a volunteer placement in Nepal with GVN. I must admit, that I initially found it difficult to raise the necessary finance but through perseverance and with a little bit of luck I managed to get it. I have never looked back since.
‘‘Why Nepal?’’ you may ask. Basically, I feel that it was the culture, the scenery and, maybe even, the demi-mystical nature of the country that attracted me. I wanted to experience a different way of life and I also wanted to get involved in that way of life. In my opinion, it is through volunteering, and not much else, that a foreigner can truly get accepted and involved in the local community. In hindsight, I have been proved correct in this opinion because I certainly did have a unique insight into Nepalese culture; one which would have been hard to replicate had I been a tourist.

Journey, arrival and training
I arranged my flight for the 26th of June; my Training was to begin on the 1st of July. Here, I feel obliged to inform you about the merits of arriving in Nepal early i.e. before the actual date when your training begins. One can only imagine the suffering associated with a person who, having travelled for over 24 hours, arrives on the first day of training only to go straight into an intensive class of Nepalese! It does take at least two days to get acclimatized, and I do feel that an astute mind is essential for the language training.
Anyway, I must get back to my journey. I left Dublin Airport and then I flew to London, then Doha and finally Kathmandu. I have seldom seen such splendid scenery as I saw in the plane while I was over Nepal. The topography, in my mind, resembled a crumbled up piece of paper with each crumple representing a huge mountain. In between these, were small valleys with vast forests, rice paddies or sometimes a small village with its telltale redbrick dwellings. On entering the Kathmandu valley, an amazing contrast was then offered due to its level and fertile ground. As the plane landed, I knew that I was somewhere special but I couldn't even imagine how my first day in Nepal would go.
After collecting my bags, I went straight towards the arrivals area, dearly hoping to see some sort of banner with my name on it. And, there it was, written in bold capitals, held up by some rather young-looking males. I was delighted and also incredibly relieved. They brought me to a van and helped to carry my bags. Straight away they began to ask me for some tips. What I had thought was that they were with Serve Nepal, the GVN partner in Nepal, but I soon knew better. The driver told me not to give them anything, not that I could have anyway since I hadn't yet changed my money. We then drove off. I later learned, from the driver, that this was how these teenagers survive and if you are to give them something you should give no more than a dollar.
I can still vividly remember the journey from the Airport through Kathmandu. In fact, I will find it hard to ever forget! The roads were not exactly in the best shape and competing for space with the cars and motorbikes were countless pedestrians, bicycles and even cows! The ubiquitous sound of car horns was, at first, startling as were the exhaust fumes emitted from all the vehicles that I was obliged to inhale. Along the road I witnessed many squalid buildings that housed excesses of people as well as many shops and street vendors selling things from fruit to charcoaled corn. Even though I had seen similar sights on T.V, it was just completely different to witness them first hand. I then reached the hotel, got my bags, and went up to my room.
The room was very agreeable and as I sat down to gather my thoughts, with all the travelling and new experiences, I felt absolutely exhausted. I then heard a knock on the door, and on opening I was met by both the Serve Nepal Co-ordinator, Emma, and another volunteer. I was then welcomed and, later that evening, we went to Thamel, the tourist centre of Kathmandu, to have a meal.
The next day I was shown around Thamel and on seeing all the money changing outlets that accepted Euros, Sterling and many other currencies and felt annoyed that I had changed all my money into dollars before I left my country. The whole area of Thamel is primarily aimed at tourists so there are a plethora of restaurants serving many dishes from the famous Nepalese 'dal bhat' to Indian, Thai and Italian foods. There are also many Internet cafes, clothes shops and English language bookshops. All these places are extremely cheap, by Western standards, but if you want a true taste of Nepal and its culture I would suggest leaving here as soon as possible to explore other areas of Kathmandu.
As the days went by, up to and including the day on which the first day of training began, the other volunteers began to arrive. I enjoyed this period tremendously because I got to meet so many new people. My group was composed of a multitude of different nationalities. Out of the seven members, including me, five countries were represented from the US to Germany. We all got on exceptionally well and each evening we would either go to into Thamel for a meal or for a general exploration of Kathmandu.
Our training then began on the first of the month with a Nepali language lesson in the Serve Nepal office. We would have a language class for two hours, a break, another language class and then a cultural class. Each evening after training we would go on a trip to some important landmark or area within the vicinity of the city. I found the language class to be informative and challenging, and most definitely enjoyable. The cultural class was a good introduction in Nepalese culture detailing the do’s and don’t pertinent to the foreign volunteer. My favourite part was, of course, the evening excursions. We went to places such as Swayambu, the famous Buddhist monkey temple; Boddha, the home of many of the world’s Tibetan refugees and also of the world’s second largest Stupa and Nagarkot, a tranquil area in the valley were one, on cloud-free days, can catch a glimpse of the Himalayas. After four days, we left the office and the city of Kathmandu to begin stage II of the training: cultural contact.
The other volunteers and I were placed in a small rural community, about an hour from the city of Kathmandu, called Bistachap. Each of us stayed with a local family so that we could experience their way of life. For food, each day we received two meals of Dal Bhat that we ate with the family. This is a rice and lentil type dish: the stable diet of the vast majority of Nepalese. In Nepal you will be eating this all the time but, fortunately, what I found, was that as time goes by you begin to get more and more used to it until, one day, you actually start enjoying it! In the mornings we would go to a local house for some Nepali language lessons and afterwards we would often go on walks around the beautiful countryside or to the teashop. I found my stay in Bistachap to be quite a unique experience into rural Nepal; it is something that I will always remember. After four days there we then went back to Kathmandu, our training was complete!

My Placement in Trishuli
It was the monsoon season while I was staying in Nepal. This meant that many of the placements were inaccessible due to landslides, floods etc. So, due to the limited number of placements available we were all put in a town, about 70km to the North of Kathmandu, called Trishuli. 70km might not seem to be much of a distance to you but I should inform you that, in Nepal, this journey would take a good four and a half-hours to complete.
Trishuli, or Trishuli Bazaar as the town is better known, is a developing town situated on the River Trishuli. It has two main landmarks, a bridge crossing the river, and a Hydro-Electric Power plant. The latter is heavily guarded by the Nepalese Army, which has resulted in a strong military presence in the town. Here, I stayed with a local family along with another volunteer, a small distance from the town itself beside the Government school where us volunteers were to teach.
The family the other volunteer and I sojourned with was generally fine. Our rooms were very good and we were always served the best of food there.
My group was only the second group of volunteers to be sent by Serve Nepal to Trishuli. So, quite understandably, we drew a lot of stares from the locals. The school I was to teach in was a large structure that had unfortunately become quite derelict. It served over 800 students and one of our main priorities was to refurbish it.
When I first arrived in Trishuli, it was during the monsoon school break. However, I did get a chance to teach in an extra class that was being held for Class eight and nine. My first ever class of teaching English was a wonderful experience for me. I can remember being slightly nervous at first, but, witnessing the sheer eagerness to learn from my students, I quickly got over it and just taught. My first few classes weren’t exactly great but after a while I got continuously more accustomed to teaching. An important lesson that I leaned from my teaching was that the more effort I put into preparing a class the more enjoyable and productive the class would be for the students. One thing that I would most definitely recommend for everyone who is teaching English, a thing that I managed to forget, is to bring a good English grammar or teaching book along with you. It will help you a lot.
At most I would teach only two classes a day. For the rest of the time I would be either painting the walls or desks or doing some general classroom refurbishment along with all the other volunteers. We all had a great time working together and it was great to see the active transformation in the state of the classrooms.
In Trishuli, the only thing I would spend money on was fruit. Everyday, I would go down to the market for some bananas, mangoes or pomegranates. I absolutely loved them and they were just so cheap! After work at the school, we would often go to visit one another. The host families would always be hospitable to us and we would always be offered some ‘Chiya’, a spiced and sugared tea drink in each house. It was with the locals that I had some of my best experiences in Nepal.
The local children always wanted me to go on walks with them or for us to play football with them. They would be constantly asking me questions yet I never tired in debunking all the stereotypical myths that exist about the West to them. They would also love to introduce me to their families. I used to like visiting all the Hindu shrines and also hearing all the views that these children had on religion and life. It was certainly quite different to most children in the West.
If there is one thing Nepal is renowned for, it is trekking. So, considering this, I decided that I had to participate in some trekking while I was there. Along with two other volunteers, we went trekking in an area called Langtang. To get there we had to take a six-hour bus ride from Trishuli, while sitting on the roof! Certainly of all my times in Nepal, the trekking experience sticks out as one of the best. Although it was quite strenuous, the scenery was astounding. I would most certainly recommend trekking for anyone who is coming to Nepal; you just shouldn’t leave without doing it!
On the return from my trek, I was informed that many new volunteers had arrived. It was once again great to meet so many new people. The school started to benefit further with the introduction of more teachers and a lot more progress was made in the renovation of the classrooms. The school year soon started again after the monsoon break and more classes were thus available to teach. I soon found myself teaching a class of eighty-four students! Yet, I got to enjoy the challenge, because the students were so rarely misbehaved.

Homage to Nepal
After a two and a half months stay in Nepal it was then time for me to leave for my own country. Yes, it was very sad to go and on my last day of teaching I was presented with many drawings and cards from my class. I was also covered in the customary ‘Tika’, a red powder dye that is rubbed onto one’s face when they leave, as well as given many flower necklaces by the female students in the class. I was also extremely sad to leave many of my good friends that I had made among the volunteers.
Overall, I had a great experience in Nepal and I would say to anyone else who is considering coming here to go for it. I can almost guarantee that you will enjoy yourself. Even today, as I am writing this I still think back on my times in Nepal with regret- regret that I didn’t stay a little bit longer!

James Conole