Author Archives: katecrawley

Following up from my previous blog, after Holi festival was cancelled last week Selin and I felt Nepal was over reacting to the virus. Whilst the UK still had not implemented any severe sanctions, cancelling a tiny festival in a random Himalayan village seemed a bit over the top. Instead we spent that Monday (theContinue reading “A year cut short”

Keeping this blog topical, I thought I should cover this hot topic. As across the world masks fly off shelves, people hoard tinned food and the BBC ran a headline that, although he had a nasty cold, the Pope did not currently have coronavirus – Nepal continued oblivious. If not for contact with the UK,Continue reading “08/03: Nepal is convinced I will catch coronavirus (click bait)”

Puja:So, where to start? Despite our cries of “I hate Puja” we actually tolerate the place enough to visit about once a month (although this is plenty…). First of all, lots of love for our day one Pyuthan boys (our district), Joe and Gray. These boys have seen us through thick and thin and onlyContinue reading “Project Reviews: Puja and Bijuli”

On the Sunday 19th January 2020 it was Selin’s “Happy Birthday”, when she turned 19 years old – an unmarried spinster by Nepali standards. In recognition of her birth, Nepal arrange a three day school holiday from Wednesday 15th January (actually due to some festival/pilgrimage a while away where communal, ceremonial hair washing took placeContinue reading “There once was a girl named Selin, this was when she turned nineteen”

Christmas was unconventional to say the least – however we were imbued with a Christmas miracle… a 14kg, gold spray painted, boxed shaped miracle. Joe’s very generous ‘Granny and Grandad’ (“it’s not my f🤭king Nan”) had sent him an enormous parcel exclusively filled with a Morrison’s haul to put the average Christmas shopping cart toContinue reading “12 drunk Nepalis, 11 secret santas, 10 egg McMuffins, 9 random children, 8 plates of dal bhat, 7 sneaky-entirely-exposed-showers-under- an-outside-tap, 6 mince pies gone missing, 5 bags of crisps, 4 hours sleeping, 3 buffaloes, 2 goats a‘ fighting and a bamboo Christmas tree.”

Now that we have safely passed the three month mark, it feels like we are adjusted enough to Neta to write up a daily routine. The day always begins at 05:30 when, without fail, I wake up needing the toilet. A ‘pee in the dark’ is a Neta speciality of trying to navigate around aContinue reading “19/11: Three months update – our daily routine”

Having missed Nepal’s biggest festival Dashain to be in Pokhara, we arrived back in Neta for school again on 18th October. This was two weeks earlier than the other sixteen volunteers school dates until we realised school was running for three half days and then we miraculously broke up for the Tihaar festival holiday –Continue reading “03/11: Tihaar Festival”

Despite losing a quarter of the group before leaving Pokhara (four members managed to get another bus), on October 3rd 16 Project Trust volunteers left to begin the Annapurna circuit trek. I will proudly note that I was not one of the rogue four (who we luckily met halfway) nor was I the one whoContinue reading “03/10-13/10 Annapurna”

Excitingly we have just past our one month anniversary in Nepal and with both the language, teaching and portions of rice becoming manageable, these are our reflections on the month. Teaching is exhausting but it has definitely become easier over the past two weeks. I teach three classes – one of 6 year olds, one ofContinue reading “20/9 Month One”