Teaching in Chitwan, Nepal

The volunteer handbook and the pre departure support was good. However, I was not fully aware of where I was going to in Nepal or what sort of school I would be in. When I was in Nepal i was looked after very well and after asking lots of questions managed to find out some more information about where I was going. However, I was only made aware that I was the only volunteer going to Chitwan when I was in Nepal. Due to the time of year that I went (late Dec to early Jan) there was likely to be less volunteers but emails and the handbook hinted there would be other volunteers too. This was not a problem in the end but it would have been nice to be aware of it before hand as it was not easy coming into something very new and different on my own.

The family I stayed with were so lovely and made me feel very welcome, the Nepalese are such good natured, kind people.

Furthermore, the school was also so welcoming, both students and staff were lovely. However, I assumed I would be teaching basic English, but I was put into a secondary school where their English speaking and writing was of a very high standard. I know I was only there two weeks but I did not have any structure to my day, I was certainly thrown into the deep end. Although I tried to plan lessons it was difficult to know what they wanted me to teach. But it was enjoyable to be able to help them with their English pronunciation and teaching them about England.

Chitwan is a lovely place and I asked to go there as I had previously visited Pokara and Kathmandu before and wanted to visit somewhere new. The national park there is very interesting and the area is quite busy. However, I would say Pokara and Kathmandu are much more lively and Pokara is a very beautiful place which I would highly recommend!

My advice would be to definitely do some volunteer teaching, but do it for longer than I did and ask more question before you leave about the school or situation. It is definitely all part of the adventure not knowing everything however so don't worry too much!