Awesome Program

From June to August 2003 I was lucky enough to volunteer with my little sister in Nepal. The village was about an hour's drive from Kathmandu, not far from the historic city of Bhaktapur. What I enjoyed most about volunteering was the experience of really getting to know a place, its people, the culture, the customs and the food. I realized that although traveling is a lot of fun and so exciting, the experience can be a bit superficial. Some people travel quickly and often miss interesting spots or their interaction with locals is limited. A more authentic experience is through volunteering. I would recommend people do volunteer if they have time since you really need to be there for a month or two to really make an impact. For anyone interested, I would recommend Volnepal (www.volnepal.org) as it is run by really friendly local Nepalis and has a very good reputation.