Project Details

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After the Farmhouse we were given our placements-Tom and I are at the Trisuli Centre while Mary and Zoe are in Bandipur. The four of us got on a local bus (cram as many people as possible-sometimes sitting on laps) and headed for Trisuli. On the bus, I was lucky enough to get a seat. I attempted to give it up for an elderly man but he refused so I sat for 2 hours enjoying him coughing up his lungs in my face with spit getting on my arms. We arrived at Trisuli finally-AMAZING is all I can say to describe this place. The Trisuli Centre is in a small village (maybe 50 people on the same side of the river), consisting of 1 restaurant which is funded by GVI, and a few (10 maybe) shops owned by locals. The 12 employees of the Trisuli Centre restaurant are cooks, rafting guides, and various helpers; all males except one, ranging from 16-43 years old. Everyone is related, everyone shares everything, and you know everyone’s business, so it feels much like being at my cabin. There is only one highway connecting Katmandu to Chitwan and Pokhara, the road is 20 meters from my room, and the Trisuli River is 20 meters the other direction. The first night was spent on the beach with a campfire and sleeping in the tents. A few of the locals came down to join us and introduced us to roxy- “a local wine” as they like to call it. I tried a sip but I didn’t really like it. It’s vodka, butter, and rice warmed up-think of drinking warm rubbing alcohol. People started wandering off to bed, but Tom and I stayed up with a few of the guys. One of them left for a few minutes and returned with a dozen fish on a hook-he saw a night fisherman up the river and bought his fish off him so two guys cleaned and gutted them before throwing them on the fire. I figured I should try it so I grabbed a fish and started eating. There were many tiny bones that we picked out, but one guy grabbed the spine of my fish and swallowed it all! It was a good way to start my time here. The chef at Trisuli is an awesome cook! He likes to experiment with his foods so I’ve had quite a variety and really enjoy. All the food is locally grown up the hill. Most of the meals I eat consist of rice, egg, and potato…and I love it. During the second week sometime I noticed a rash on my arms and figured it was an allergy to some of the spices, but later found out it wasn’t an “allergy”.

After Mary and Zoe left for their placement, Tom and I were shown our room. The room is above one of the shops-and you all thought dorms were small to share…think again! The room is simple; it’s a 10x10 foot space with 2 wooden slates atop cement bricks (beds) and a window. We have one outlet in our room so when electricity is on we can charge electronics. Electricity is on a rotation schedule, on for anyway from 6-12 hours a day varied on the day. It took a good three weeks to figure out the schedule since there were many strikes so the government would shut it off when they felt necessary.

There wasn’t school the first two days so we walked around and got acquainted with the area. My volunteer project is teaching at a Mosque across the river in the mornings (Sun-Fri) for an hour, teaching at a government school for 3 hours (Sun-Fri), then doing an after school program (Young Leaders) with local kids for an hour in the evenings (7 days a week). The Mosque children are well disciplined and have a higher level of English than most of the government school kids, but they are also older. The first day of school was interesting, talk about plunging into something. One of the TC workers brought Tom and I up to the school for what I thought was an introduction to the headmaster and teachers; instead he brought me in class 1 and walked away. Imagine 42 tiny children staring at you and the only words you know are the equivalent of “Hello” and “My name is Ellie. I live in America”. The whole period was spent repeating my name and asking each child what their name was-good time filler if you ever need ideas.
After the first day I wanted more teaching for experience so I found the headmaster, introduced myself, asked for books, and am now teaching classes 1 and 3, sometimes class 2. Class 1 is always a challenge seeing as I have babies in my class…if the parents are working then the class 1 children bring their younger siblings into class so it’s more like babysitting. I was terrified when the headmaster handed me a stick to discipline the students; I refuse to use it physically but it scares the kids when I hold it in my hand. The kids are all very eager to learn and enjoy taking advantage of my lack of Nepalese. If a Nepali is in the room while I teach the students are quiet and pay attention, but as soon as they leave it’s chaos. I started working with one of the rafting guides on my language skills and I’ve learned enough for small talk and settling the kids down. This has helped me avoid awkward conversations since the kids like to teach me inappropriate words.

Young Leaders is a club that meets everyday, about 40 local kids split into teams and we do individual English work, some computer skills, pick up rubbish, and play sports on the beach. Most of the kids live within 10 steps of me so I’ve gotten to know them really well. The first week was spent getting to know everyone and figuring out who was actually related. In Nepal, they refer to everyone as brother or sister. I have a few nicknames they’ve given me, “didi” (older sister), “sati” (friend, used when talking to a person of the same age), and finally a Nepali name of “Junellie” (bright as the moon) which was given to me while trekking.


During the days (there is a 4 hour gap between school and Young Leaders) I spend my time swimming, struggling to learn to kayak, washing clothes, or playing on the beach. Trisuli Centre is a starting point for rafting so if there are groups coming through that don’t fill the boats I get to go rafting with the guys. It's a tough life😊

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