My first destination: Nepal.

The 14th of February finally arrived and after six months of saving and working hard, I was more than ready to head off to Asia.

After a long trip, a few taxi dramas, and hauling far too many kilos of luggage, I finally arrived in Kathmandu. Within hours I was invited to a wedding and welcomed in by a local Nepali family who showed me around. I was there with another volunteer, Barbara, and we both absolutely loved it. The next day I went straight out to visit the project.

The following day I visited the school. The kids were full of energy and excitement and even with the language barrier we managed surprisingly well. With the little Nepali I had learnt, the small amount of English they knew, and plenty of hand gestures, we really made it work.

I created flashcards with animals and body parts and wrote the English words on the back. We played hangman, which they thought was brilliant, clapping games for counting, fill-in-the-blank English sentences, maths exercises and plenty more. It was so much fun. The teacher often spent time in her office, so I was left with the children on my own which made me feel genuinely useful and allowed me to really get involved. At times it was definitely challenging, especially when I had twenty shouting, running kids and a teacher who was not stepping in.

You quickly notice that the school culture is very different from what we are used to. The teacher regularly sat on her phone during lessons and sometimes while I was explaining something she would suddenly call out “picture, picture” and ask me to take photos of the children which of course distracted them again just after I had settled them. There is also the fact that the children are sometimes smacked and they copy this behaviour. Whenever there was a disagreement they would grab a broom or a pencil to defend themselves. It was confronting at times but also part of the local culture.

Overall I had an amazing and eye-opening time at the project and I would recommend it to everyone. You do need to be open-minded because things will not always be exactly as described on the website or in brochures and that is simply because everything in Nepal changes constantly. Your project may turn out differently than expected but if you clearly explain what you want you will always end up in the right place. So my advice is to pack your bags and sign up because it is truly an unforgettable experience.

Volunteer Worldwide is an affordable and honest organisation with people who genuinely want to help. I think every project they offer is fantastic, so go for it.

- Emma