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• You are here: Home | AV Ventures | Nepal Venture | Itinerary

Itinerary - Africa and Asia Venture

Itinerary

ARRIVING IN NEPAL

The group flight departs from London Heathrow and will be seen off by one of the AV team. You will fly into Kathmandu, where you will be met by Gaurav Chhetri, our Nepal representative. That night you will stay in a small hotel in Thamel, Nepal's backpacker HQ and we will visit the Rum Doodle, a local bar frequented by those who have climbed Everest. The following day you will visit Kathmandu: the Pashupatinath Temple, the Boudanath Stupa and the ancient city of Pathan. The following day we will travel on to Shivapuri for the orientation course.

BRIEFING AND ORIENTATION

We will climb most of the hill to Shivapuri in a bus, but walk the last couple of hours to the village, which is in a conservation area, where leopards can still be seen. This is a chance to settle in, unwind after the hectic few days leading up to your departure, long journey and an opportunity to get to know your AV group. The orientation course is important to make sure you are fully prepared when you arrive in your school. It will be led by Gaurav, giving you a chance to get to know him too. In this incredibly tranquil spot we will discuss:

• Nepali language
• Nepali history, religion, customs and culture
• Safety, health and security
• Techniques for teaching English

During the course we will visit a local village to see how the hill economy really works, and end up learning some Nepali dances and songs. We will even teach you to cook a curry!

After the course we will take you and your partner to your town/village home for the next three months. To get there involves a 5 or 6 hour bus journey westwards from the Kathmandu Valley along the winding main road towards Pokhara and then up the side roads to Gorkha and Besisahar, with snow clad mountains on the flanks. Once there the AV representative will leave you to settle into your new home, but remember they’re never more than a phone call away if you need them!

THE PROJECT

After a warm welcome from your school, usually with a few flowers or garlands, you will quickly settle into the local way of life and develop a routine, although rarely will two days be the same! Your role will be to teach English, take part in whatever sport is going on, and volunteer your skills to the children. The school term runs for 12 weeks with a long weekend break around half term. Each morning you will walk to your school in time for the start of the school day at around 9.00am - be warned that you are living in rural areas and that, in one or two cases, there is a small hill to climb to get there! You will be teaching at either a secondary or primary school, depending on where you have been placed. Most schools are secondary schools, but some start at primary or even kindergarten. Schools are a mix of old buildings and more recent construction, though there is not much electricity. In most schools children are taught in Nepali, but you will be teaching English, in English! In the ex-servicemen schools, you may be asked to teach other subjects in English too. We aim for you to teach up to four periods, 45 minutes long, each day - but you will often be in greater demand.

Some of the schools have blind or deaf units attached to them, where you will be very welcome to help in your spare time. Outside the classroom you are also encouraged to help with sports. There are a few sports' pitches - the hills are too steep to carve out many football grounds - but a game of volleyball or football is usually happening somehow, somewhere. Towns have pitches for use at weekends and you will be very popular if you arrange inter-school matches. Most children return home at the end of school but you will be popular if you introduce after school activities and clubs, helping with games or music at the end of the day.

You will be looked after by the English teacher, but other members of the staff may also become your friends. They will enjoy playing cards in the staff room, a good chance to get to know them and learn Nepali.

At weekends you can stay at home or travel further afield. You may take part in school activities, organising sports or going on picnics. Alternatively you can head into town to do some shopping, check emails, catch up on news from home, or meet up with other AVs, visit their schools and travel in the local area. A popular town to visit is Pokhara where you might also get up to see the sunrise on Annapurna – a spectacular sight. Many AVs also take up the chance to go paragliding here, sometimes accompanied by a friendly raptor or vulture, getting a real ‘birds eye’ view of the incredible scene.

To find out what a typical day on project might be like take a look at our ‘Day in the life of an AV’ feature, written by AVs who have been there and done it themselves!