31-year old Cindy
went to Nepal for three months to teach in the little village Parsauni, nearby
the Indian border. The schools were shabby and the classes stuffed with people
from the village who were mostly from the lowest castes. Cindy gives World
Portraits and exclusive insight in this special adventure.
Nepal
"Nepal is a beautiful
country with an exceptional and diverse nature. I was stationed in the
lowlands, a 100 meters above sea level. When the weather was clear you could
see the mountaintops of the Himalaya; impressive stuff! The people from Nepal
sure conquered a piece of my heart. Mostly they're very poor, but that doesn't
keep them from welcoming you with open arms and sharing the little bits they
have. It may sound strange, but the Nepalese really laugh with their eyes.
Beautiful!"
Cross Borders
"I came up with the
idea to go and do voluntary work during a backpack holiday in Thailand", Cindy
explains. "I had a look around a school there and the idea of going abroad for
a longer period of time appealed to me." But it turned out finding a good
project was hard to find. Eventually she chose Crossing Borders. "The money
paid by the volunteers goes to various projects and not into the pocket of some
kind of big shot. That's an assuring thought. Next to that they work on a small
scale and also support existing projects."
Parsauni
"I experienced a lot of special moments in Parsauni. Living in an authentic
Nepalese village, washing and showering at the water pump, getting your food at
the market, playing with the kids from the village and going down the telephone
shop to ring your parents. You're invited in the homes of the villagers and you
invite them back - they really become a part of your life there. This also
makes certain things difficult though. Like my neighbor who wanted to give me
her child to give it a chance on a better life."
Poverty
"Obviously you're
also confronted with the less nicer sides. In Kathmandu you see a lot of
strayed children and mothers, most of them addicts and begging on the streets. That's hard
to look at. In our village most
of the people were poor too. They were from the lowest castes possessing little
money and having little opportunities to improve that. Sometimes the children
wouldn't show up at school because they had to help their parents on the lands.
Or they would show up in the middle of winter wearing nothing but shorts, a
worn out shirt and bare footed."
War
"During my stay in Nepal I was
constantly reminded it's a country at war. The people live with a certain
degree of fear. The curfew, the revolting, the censored Telephone and internet
traffic, bandas with all shops closed and so on, and so on. It makes you stop
and think for a moment about how you are able to book a flight back home while
this is the life of the villagers, your new friends. Theres is no
way for them to escape it."
Cultural differences
"There are a lot of differences between the Dutch and Nepalese culture.
Something that struck me was the lack of privacy there. We the Dutch are far
more reserved, while in Nepal it's hard to find a moment for yourself. The
Nepalese are less direct than us, so you really have to read between the lines
because 'yes' often means 'no'."
Nepalese
"I often found the Nepalese very
friendly people. They are really interested in other people and make contact
easily. They're open minded and invite you to their lives quickly to spoil you
with tasty food. When you show them you're interested in them as well, by in
example say a few Nepalese words, they very much appreciate that. They are very
proud of their culture and don't mind sharing that with you."
Future plans
"I most definitely want to return to
Nepal. It's a very pretty country and I'd love to see my old house, the school
and the kids again. But I don't think I'll go abroad to do voluntary work for a
longer period of time anymore. I'm 31 years old now, studying and working. It's
time to settle down in Holland. Although ten years ago I hadn't thought I'd go
and work in Nepal either, so you never know..."
