We had an incredible few weeks volunteering at a Monastery in Nepal. Our initial arrival experience was so well planned with our airport pick up, and being brought straight to the hostel by car made for a very easy and safe experience.

We spent two days at the hostel and were very thankful for the guidance we received regarding sim cards and money, as well as the wonderful food and hospitality provided to us by Didi.

We also had an incredible experience in the homestay and are very thankful to our homestay family for providing us meals, a comfortable place to stay, and for helping us around.

The highlight of our trip was being able to meet all the monks and spend time with them every day. They were a very hard-working group of boys and it was a delight to see how positive and happy they were every day we came to teach lessons.

Wow was this trip life changing. My experience in Nepal was incredibly eye opening. The city of Kathmandu is hustle and bustle and very intense upon arrival, intimidating and scary to say the least but not long into my first day I was found in the good hands of my new sister, Pratima. An employee of Global Crossroads who would become my language teacher and dear friend.
My time teaching at the monastery was the highlight of my trip. I had a class of 20 young boys who I would teach English to for 2 hours per day. They were so pure and fun.
Global Crossroads did what they could to prepare me mentally for the culture shock but I don’t think that anything can prepare a westerner for the world of Nepal. As I said, intense. Though I found a peace there with my new family. I think Global Crossroads has good quality people in Nepal working for them. In my program at least, and this is what made all the difference.
In my time I stayed at the global crossroads hostel, which I met other travellers and was taken amazing care of by sisters. My Didi made me feel very welcome and loved. I also stayed with a host family, who showed me around and took me in as one of theirs.
This was a great experience. Once I spent time in Nepal I came to think that the prices Global Crossroads has charged me may be a little bit overpriced. Just as Nepal is so so cheap, but my experience was worth all the money I had spent so this is not a huge complaint, just a note.
Thank you to the team for the support and to my family in Nepal, I will always remember ❤️❤️

My friend and I recently completed the volunteering at a Buddhist Monastery in Kathmandu, where we were teaching English to the young monks. The program was two weeks long, with both Saturdays off. The program administrators in Kathmandu were amazing and helped us feel settled immediately upon arrival. Everything was so organized and neither of us ever felt unsafe. The program required little planning on our part, as the team in Kathmandu took care of most of the logistics prior to our arrival. We were picked up at the airport on time, taken to the hostel where we met the program coordinators and our hosts, and then taken to our home-stay a couple of days later. The teaching was amazing, and was a completely unforgettable experience for the both of us, and we would highly recommend it. The monastery was so welcoming, and the boys were so helpful and willing to learn. Exploring during the day was so fun and we never ran out of places to see, the people in Nepal are also amazing and are so helpful and kind. The home-stay was also great, as we were given a safe place to stay with good food and friendly hosts. Overall, my experience with Global Crossroads - Nepal was amazing, and incredibly well-organized!

Global Crossroads always answers very quickly if you have any concerns due to your volunteering. The staff are also very nice and can help you set up everything you want to see. The culture and language program was also very informative and really helped with talking a bit Nepali. The Medical project in Nepal was very cool and i learnt a lot. The hospital staff was very nice, and loved to explain the cases, and teach you the most basic skills of nursing and being a doctor. My coordinator was very flexible and quick to help me book tickets, guiding or recommendations. The natives in Nepal are very nice and friendly. They are always trying to help you. Kathmandu is also a great city, and they have almost everything from great temples to hiking gear.

I have been here only 1 week and have already been welcomed warmly and made to feel at home. The language course was helpful and Pratima ( my teacher) was very patient and knowledgeable. It might be helpful to get tested a few times on what you know to keep you accountable and challenge students more. The food is delicious and you will be well taken care of at the hostel by a lady named Bikani. I wish that there had been more volunteers here as I took the language course alone and was the only one in the hostel but now I am with my host family and one other volunteer. They will take you around the city to see a few temples and teach a little but about the culture which sets you up nicely for the adventures to come ! Nepal is beautiful, the people and food are great. As long as you are self motivated and ok with spending some time alone you will love this program! Savour every minute of it.

When I came to Nepal I did not expect much. But, just stepping foot onto the ground of the help center made me feel that i could help the society and of course the children. The room i was staying in was not the best but i made do with what i had. I just thought about how these children have to sleep on these beds everyday and they do not make a fuss about it, therefore, i told myself it is just 4 nights I can handle it. When it came to the food I was not expecting chicken or any kind of meat. I am not fussy with food but the food was not to my taste buds of spicy and very hot food it was easy and simple and tasty. I usually do not like non-spicy and vegetarian food as I love meat but i to bite by bite with a open mind and heart. The children were friendly and playful. i would take alternate nights spending one night with the older kids and one night with the younger kids. Not being bias but I feel that i connected more with the older kids as we are around the same age but when it came to the younger kids I had to find my inner child and play and talk to them. It was fun interacting with everyone. Each had their own type of personality and qualities which made each one unique and having a place in my heart. The company was very well organized from picking up a the airport to letting me have a place to stay for the night and having very nice home cooked food. Thank you so much for this wonderful fruitful experience. Hope to come back again.

My experience initially was a bit shell shocked. I moved into a room with a shower that had no hot water, and the toilet did not always work. However, I did not come for the luxuries of the Ritz Carlton, I am came for the experience, AND and experience it was. I stayed with an initial host family for a week and learned NEPALI from a wonderful teacher named Pratima. I do wish however that I did not have to spend a week in this place because I was bored after the Nepali lessons and it was not in a part of time particularly interesting. A week later I moved into another host family house, and the situation was much improved because I finally got to meet my students and I was also living in a better location. I liked this second location more because it was in close proximity to monkey temple and also close to the fun downtown district, THAMEL. Again, I was not pleased that I had to take cold showers and that there were power outages at moments.

Meeting and teaching the monks was an awesome experience. I fell in love with all my students. I am not a teacher in the USA, but teaching comes innately to me and being around such sharp, thirsty minds was an honor. It was also a great honor to join them in their ceremonies, and learning about such an old and brilliant culture.

I do not think that the airport fee us justified. It's $50 when I can go to the airport round trip for $20 or less. I also thought that the daily cost of living fee was too high. I could stay in a hotel in Thamel, with hot water for $15 USD and afford to eat anything I want. I was only a mile from the schools. In the future, I will not be staying with a host family as I do not feel I need to have a curfew and eat the same food every day.

In summation, despite some of the negatives, such as cold water, and over priced living costs, I had a magical experience with my students and they touch my heart to this very day. I will not forget the intrinsic and extrinsic beauty of Nepal. I hope to return some day AND I highly insist that every one have this experience.

Me and my friend went to Nepal with the intention of Volunteering in A Medical Program and Exploring the culture. I must say both of our intention was well met through Global Crossroad Program. We really enjoyed our stay in Nepal. We had a teacher to teach us Nepalese Language and Culture. This was very helpful. The hospital was a bit difficult in the beginning because we could not understand a lot. We improved a lot over the 4 weeks of our stay. We feel very fortunate to have learned about the health care system in Nepal and all about the culture. We really loved our host mom. She was so sweet and an Amazing Cook!

Everything was arranged well and you could always talk to the members from Global Crossroad. They are doing a wonderful job!