This week marks the end of our Nepal travelers’ time in their host community, but their service work never slowed! Take a look at what our trip leaders had to report!
These past few days, the group has been exposed to the wide variety of tasks involved in building a school in rural Nepal. Earlier this week, the group helped harvest bamboo from a grove a 1/2 kilometer from the job site. The villagers felled 40 foot trees, we worked as a team to pass them up steep terraced hills, and then we carried the material back to the job site. It was very tough work, but free and renewable scaffolding can’t be beat!
We also finally learned the art of brick laying. Gom – one of our host fathers, and the general contractor for the project – instructed us and supervised our group as we started work on the two of the rear walls of the school. It’s a slow process – mixing mortar, dropping line-levels, and placing bricks – but our group received many a head bobble of approval from our instructors.
Speaking of instructing, these past two days our secondary project has shifted from teaching children to teaching adults! Through discussions with our local guide, Ratna, we learned that the local laborers on the job site really wanted an opportunity to improve their English, so we arranged for a nearly 2-hour break in their work day for formal English classes. If you think a classroom full of children is intimidating, try addressing a classroom full of students nearly 50 years your senior (our students ranged from 14-65)!
The English classes were a total success, and we have since been greeted by many more shouts of “Hi! How are you?” As we arrive at the work site. As we look forward to our last days in our host community, our group is making an effort to savor every moment and experience. We have a feast with families and friends planned as a send-off, which our group will help prepare. We are anticipating a heartfelt goodbye, and will leave satisfied with the knowledge that we have made a positive impact on this community.
Our leaders are also loving working with all of these amazing students! Here is just a little bit of what they have to say, as their time with the group winds down. Mary is a stellar problem solver, and not only created a crossword puzzle for kids to practice their English, but helped figure out a masonry problem, too! Nina is making connections left and right in the host community, and is spreading the art of bracelet making! Lauren also shines in the community, and is endlessly curious about Nepali culture. Always ready to bring lightness to our days, Christian is friends with everybody and loves the community. Renee P is an amazing brick-layer and brings brightness to our days, too. Like Renee P, Blair is also a brick-laying pro; she is also a driving force with Josh on the English teaching project! Josh works with Blair to rock the language classes, and has picked up an amazing amount of Nepali himself! Mason – as his name betrays – is solid as a rock; his curiosity and positivity is infectious! Ben is also always pushing for mindful positivity, and even brought a card trick to his host family! A force to be reckoned with, Cassius’ maturity and humor was critical to our group dynamic! Like Cassius, Renee B is always there to bring a dose of humor and social connection; she also rocked the arts and crafts program in the community!
Since we don’t want to close without letting our students speak, too, take a look at what they each had to say about their homestay!
