International Trip G
Nepal October 2019 October 2019 saw two teams of students head off to Nepal with four members of staff to go on an adventure we will all remember for a lifetime. On our arrival in Kathmandu we hastily checked in to our hotel and jumped back on a bus to visit the WWF Headquarters for the Asia region. Although extremely tired from our travels we listened to a fascinating talk about how WWF distributes its resources in the area, particularly focusing on reducing plastic waste and protection of endangered species such as the tiger. Some members of the team who want to study conservation in the future asked probing questions to drill down into the information further. After a well-earned rest, the next morning we set out to explore the bustling, chaotic city of Kathmandu. We headed to Boudhanath Stupa, one of the largest in the world, to learn about the rituals and culture of the Tibetan Buddhist Monks and have our own blessing inside the temple, where we were each presented with a yellow protective cord placed around our necks to keep us safe during our travels. I am still wearing mine one year on! After having time to explore the area we left the serenity of the stupa and headed out into the busy streets of Durbar Square, the religious centre for the Hindus. We explored the temple complex and saw the damage inflicted by the earthquake in 2015. We went to the living goddess’s temple in the hope of capturing a brief glimpse of the current Kumari, but we were unlucky on this occasion. We headed back into
the narrow alleyways crowded with mopeds and people rushing around to buy everything from vegetable to copper pots, interspersed with the small Hindu shrines scattered throughout. The next morning, we set off on a very long bus journey on very bumpy roads to Pokhara, our base for the next part of the trip. Here the two teams headed off in different directions, one to start their trek to Poon Hill and the other to teach at Shree Bhagawati Primary School. My group headed off to the school first. I was very excited to be going there as I discovered it whilst trekking in the region many years ago and have kept in touch ever since. I couldn’t wait to see St George’s students work with the children from the area teaching each other and having fun. On our arrival the students of the school lined up to present us with garlands of flowers and then quickly St G’s students split into small groups to teach the children songs, games and ceilidh dancing! Before long any nervousness disappeared and both groups of students were having a great time together. The next few days flew by, we taught English, maths, science and geography to the students as well as helped some older students tidy up the coffee plantation belonging to the school. The coffee helps to fund equipment for the school, and we bought a lot to bring back home as presents. Our other main task was to help move rocks for the local people to build a platform at the side of the school to create an outdoor nursery area, which was a tough job in the
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