You’re never too young to experience, appreciate and value the wonders that we have in this world. I discovered this upon my adventure to Nepal early January of 2011. My name is Kate and I am 18 years old from Australia and I feel my time in Nepal has shaped who I am, and who I want to be. So here I was, just out of school, in way over my head, looking for a fun and exciting trip overseas. I had, however, no idea how intense, amazing, terrifying, breath-taking, crazy and testing this trip would be.

I remember so clearly my first moments landing in Nepal where I was spell bound by the culture and its sights, smells, sounds not to mention the various livestock running loose amongst the streets! I was quickly met by Badri who made my friend and I feel much more settled. And then our adventure began.

Riley and I spent the first two weeks in a childrens home in Pokhara, Lakeside. We looked after 8 beautiful yet very cheeky children (5 boys, 3 girls) ageing from 5-12. We would get them up, walk them to school and pick them up for an afternoon of fun at 3pm. We would go to the park everyday, make butterflies and read, and we even organised a Teddy Bears picnic which made the children beam with excitement.

After our two weeks here, we took part in a sporadic 4 day trek to Poon Hill, then we were taken to our next adventure. Our next two weeks would be spent at Monastery, just outside of Pokhara, teaching English to the monks. The monastery was absolutely breath-taking, and housed 70 bubbly, fun-loving monks. Since there was an abundance of volunteers teaching here, Riley and I would each morning walk 15 minutes up the road to teach at a less fortunate monastery, but with the same high spirited students; hungry to learn. We got very attached to these students, and had a very, VERY teary goodbye on our last day of teaching-the most beautiful, kind natured people I have ever met.

My time in Nepal was absolutely amazing. My only complaint would be not having enough time to discover more of Nepal, and stay with the children at the children’s home and monastery. Nepal, I feel is a hidden gem, concealed amongst the breath taking mountain ranges, with wondrous life lessons and personal lessons to experience at every turn. I am absolutely more than happy to answer any questions you may have- I could blab on for days. You can contact me

kateshakespeare@hotmail.com

If youre thinking about travelling to Nepal, arrive with an open attitude, and prepare to met, experience, see, feel some truly amazing things.

Kate Shakespear