Orla's travels in Nepal

I’ve now been in Nepal for almost two months, and we’re about to start our month long holiday on Wednesday. I think the initial newness of being in Harpe and Nepal is now wearing off a little, so it’s starting to feel more like home. I have definitely found the last few weeks more difficult than maybe even when we first arrived because it’s sinking in that we’re here for a whole year. Even so, whenever things get hard here or when a day of teaching has been really draining, there’s almost always something that makes me feel better, or something that makes me smile. It’s always good to have something to look forward to here, and I’m really excited for the month long holiday. We’re setting off to Pyuthan to meet the six volunteers who are teachers in that area, so we’ll set of for the six hour walk at about 7am (with a guide) and stay there for a few days before heading to Pokhara. In Pokhara, we’re planning to meet the Jhimpa volunteers (they start their holiday a bit later) and th...

Sitting here now, with some unexpected rain as background noise, I feel so grateful to be living in Harpe and to have had my 19th birthday in such a beautiful place. This past week has been crazy and it’s so strange to think that Teej was just over a week ago. In the past week we’ve danced, walked to Burtibang to meet the other volunteers, gone on a walk that we thought was a walk to some great views of mountains (it ended up being a walk that lasted eight hours until it got dark) and we’ve done some more days of teaching. I wanted to start writing this post (even though it’s quite late and I should be sleeping) because I’m feeling so grateful for everything, Ashvi, my family and friends back at home and also the lovely people here that are so welcoming. To celebrate my birthday, all the Project Trust volunteers had decided that we would meet in Burtibang. Most of us had a week off for Teej anyway, so instead of coming to Rajkut (the plan for the day before my birthday), they decided...

It’s now Tuesday 11th September and I left for Nepal on 13th August, so almost a month has past already. Everything’s settling down a bit more now, and we’ve got much more into a routine. We found out yesterday that this week is holiday (holiday never seems set - we always ask and the teachers’ say they don’t know, then suddenly we have a week off). The reason for this holiday is Teej, which is a Hindu festival celebrated by women to bring an end to the monsoon season. Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva are worshipped at this festival (I did have to look this information up online but I wanted to find out more). Ashvi and I bought clothes on Saturday when we went to Burtibang at the weekend, so tomorrow we will wearing our saris. We got our blouses tailored at the tailors in Devisthan, so hopefully we will get those too before tomorrow. I still haven’t quite managed the Nepali daily routine of getting up early and going to bed early. Sun rises at about 6am here, so to maximise daylight h...

Ashvi and I (Urmila - उर्मिला) have now almost taught a whole week at Annapurna Basic School - Sunday to Thursday. It’s been so busy though, and it feels like we never have a moment to relax; it’s only the monsoon and the pouring rain that gives us some rest. Even in the rain sometimes we have young children at our door shouting “guitar!” (they want us to give them the guitars to strum on the untuned strings). Although it can be a bit much at times, it’s really lovely feeling so welcomed (even if it’s hard to catch a moment of silence). The first week was results week so luckily we got a week to relax and settle in a bit before teaching - the other teachers at Jhimpa started straight away. When they visited us at the weekend they arrived really exhausted, telling stories of noisy classrooms and tiring days which I know I would have found hard to deal with when we first arrived, especially since there are so many different things to learn here. There’s making food twice a day (dal bhat...

Our plane from Doha arrived in Kathmandu at midday today. It was a really tiring journey and none of the volunteers slept much - we arrived in the airport feeling a bit groggy but ready to start our journey. Kathmandu so far has been great - the vibe of the city is completely different to any I've been to before (having been to only European cities). Driving in a taxi to the hotel it was amazing to see the chaos and noise; a cacophony of beeps and revs of motorbikes. There seems to be no order on the streets here; cars driving into the middle of the road to dodge people on bicycles and motorbikes weaving in and out of traffic being some of the common sights. Walking on the streets can be quite scary at times too, as I found out later, with loud beeps making you jump to the side of the road in fear of being run over. After arriving at the hotel located in Thamel, we went out for Dal Bhat in a local restaurant. We all ate with our right hand as is done in Nepal (eat with your right, ...

Hi! I'm Orla, and tomorrow I'm leaving from Heathrow airport to go to Nepal for a year. I'm going with the charity Project Trust and I'll be teaching in a little village called Harpe, in the Baglung district. I'll be posting updates on here whenever I get the time, so read if you want to find out more!