No posts for 2 months….

I want to write a detailed blog entry but the internet connection is not reliable and I am in the middle of playing a game with my fellow ICS volunteers. The trip to Nepal was an experience and long… But it has fixed my sleeping pattern. I now sleep at 10-11pm and wake up at 7:50am. Training in country (Nepal) is going well. I am off to the training place tomorrow and it has no internet connection. I will be working in a rural area near the Indian border straight after training is over so no more blog posts until at least 29th September.

I visited local temples today while shopping for traditional clothes… I prefer shopping for trainers.

I will write more when I’m back in England. I have been writing a in a diary so I will try my best to cover everything.

Thank you for reading and see you soon!

P.S.
I have been learning Nepali. It is similar to Hindi so I keep getting words mixed up.

Abu Dhabi airport!

I just arrived at Abu Dhabi. It’s (or it was) 12:50am when I  arrived and it is 36degrees outside!  Luckily for us, we didn’t have to walk outside to get to the terminal. The airport is lovely  and very western. It still has not hit me that I am going to Nepal. My flight is in 6-7 hours and I am sitting in a British pub (I was when I hand wrote this).

I wanted to write on the plane but ended up putting my backpak in the overhead compartment. I will try my best to summarise the flight. I wrote notes on my phone in case I forgot the main bits :-p

The flight was better than I expected. The food was nice and Halal (I am a Muslim).  I found a few Bollywood albums and Bhangra music videos on my personal touch screen system so that kept me busy. I planned to watch “I Am Number Four” but ended up watching movies from the kid’s  section. The screens were awesome!  There was a great selection of movies, TV shows, albums and even games! I could even call other seats from  the phone connected to my seat. Etihad is a pretty cool airline, even if you are flying economy.

I had a short nap after  my chicken and rice lunch. I had 3 teas, 3 glasses of water and 1 mango juice during the flight. We got sticky toffee pudding for dessert and I had a veggie Thai wrap as a snack before we landed.

I do not miss home yet but I expect that to come soon.

This keyboard sucks so I am ending this post. I will post again once I get to a internet cafe in  Kathmandu.

Salaam and bye from Abu Dhabi.

Vaccinations

I haven’t posted for a while. I blame exams and my birthday.

I got my vaccinations last week and it was better than I expected. I forgot how I handled needles so I just told myself I was not scared of them anymore. The vaccinations did not hurt at all. I got Hep A and Typhoid. I would have got rabies and Hep B if I went to my GP earlier but I’m sure I will be fine. I Googled it and most people did not get the other two.

I have been busy packing. I have almost got everything… Apart from a suitcase. At this rate, I will be travelling to Nepal with Asda bags…. Not cool!

Suitcase shopping tomorrow and Nepal is around the corner. I fly on Sunday! That’s 2-3 sleeps away! It still has not hit me but I expect that to come the night before or on the morning of my flight.

My mother started crying when I mentioned Nepal and that was expected because I am the only child and we are REALLY close. I was away for a week and only just got back so I think she just wanted me to around so close to my departure.

She is really supportive and amazing so that makes my trip even more exciting.

I am going to post my packing list once I finish packing…. Or at least start it.

It’s past 3am here so I’m going to finish this post now.  I need to sleep if I plan to get up early to get my suitcase and my new glasses.

I’m going for my first ever contact lense consultation tomorrow! Good luck me!

Training weekend – Days 2 and 3

Days 2 & 3

We woke up at 7 and left for Harborne hall. I decided to have breakfast for the first time in months. I always skip breakfast (not recommended) and my sleeping pattern is all over the place because of my student lifestyle.

We started the day with a couple of activities before being put in different groups. We all went off to our different rooms and there more energizers (there were lots of these during the weekend) waiting for us when we got there. We introduced ourselves and then the tasks began.

Before I go any further, I would like to say the lady who taught our group was lovely. She was from Finland and worked for one of the other organisations. She is great at what she does and I would like to thank her for making the weekend as fun and informative as it was.

Back to the weekend….

The rest of the weekend was full of fun activities and lots of learning. I met people from all over England and we often found ourselves discussing everything from culture, development, poverty, religion to what we do for a living.

The food was better than I expected and breakfast, lunch, & dinner time was the perfect opportunity to meet people from other groups. I decided to sit in a different place every time so I could meet more people and it worked. I think I met almost everyone by the end of the weekend.

On the 3rd and final day, we learnt more about our placement countries and also about diseases (boooo!). It gave me more of an insight to what I would be doing in Nepal and it also made me realise I couldn’t go around petting random animals (rabies!) while I was away :-/

The whole weekend was really informative. I didn’t expect to learn so much in such a short space of time but I felt like I knew a lot more about development, culture, and the millenium goals by the time I left.

The weekend was one of the best weekends I have ever had and I don’t think I will forget it any time soon.

The organisations have chose some of the most down to earth and friendly people I have met and I wish them all the best of luck on their placements and for the future. People like you give me hope and make me realise there are other people who care about the world the same way I do.

My social skills improved a lot and I found myself talking to strangers on the train on my way back to Leicester

If I could go back, I would not change anything about this weekend. I had already started to develop and I haven’t even left the UK yet.

Training weekend – Day 1

Day 1 -

It was the first time I was staying with strangers for a whole weekend. I wasn’t nervous because I think the assessment day gave me a little confidence boost. I was excited and I had no idea what I was going to be doing all weekend and who I would meet.

Another volunteer going to Nepal set up a Facebook group and most of the group had their training weekend on another day so I wasn’t expecting to see anyone I will be travelling with.

I got to Harborne hall around 2-3 hours late because of the traffic on the motorway and my poor map reading skills. By the time I got there, everyone had eaten (I ate pizza in the car so I wasn’t hungry) and I think they had done a activity.

I walked into the room feeling a little lost. I didn’t recognise anyone and I thought I was in the wrong place. I spotted two young ladies looking at me, so I sat next to them and told them I was late. They were really friendly and asked if I was hungry. They told me a taxi would be taking me to the hotel later and I had time to relax a little until then.

Everyone in the room was in little groups, so I decided to join a group and I introduced myself. I no longer felt lost or confused

I met a girl who was going to stay in the hotel with me and we left after 20 minutes. Harborne hall was full so half of us stayed in the hotel.

The taxi ride with 14 or so other volunteers was probably one of the highlights of my weekend. The taxi driver had no idea where he was taking us and asked if we were going to Oceana (lol!). He finally got directions from his office and we were on our way. I spotted Akbar’s (my favourite restaurant) on the way to the hotel. I quickly realised we were staying next to the restaurant!

We had to share a room at the hotel. I have NEVER shared a room. I am the only child so I have always been used to having my own space but sharing a room for the first time wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. My room mate was lovely and we got on fine.

I have an OCD called Trichotillomania and it leaves patches in my hair. I recently shaved my head so it could grow back one length and no one apart from my close family and friends had seen it. My room mate was really nice when I told her about my Trich and I felt comfortable enough to take my hat off. This was a big achievement for me because one of my fears was that someone I do not know wouldn’t understand. This gave me one of the biggest confidence boosts and the rest of the weekend was probably more amazing because of my room mate.

I phoned my mother to tell her I was okay and I then phoned my cousin to arrange a family meal at Akbar’s

I was excited for the weekend ahead…

Assessment day!

The assessment day was in London and I’m not used to travelling on the tube by myself. I told myself it was time to experience new things and I should start straight away. I was nervous because I did not know what to expect but I kept calm and decided to just be myself.

I got there pretty early and met other applicants. I surprised myself by introducing myself first when I met quiet people. I’m usually the quiet one so this was a nice change.

The assessment day started with an interview and I’m being 110% honest when I say you really do not need to be nervous. The people at the organisation were so relaxed and friendly. I was asked why I wanted to volunteer (refer back to the last post for my answer) and I was asked a few other questions. It’s much easier than applying for a job and really informal.

I had a break after the interview so a few other potential volunteers and I decided to visit the British Library. We spent the hour talking about our past volunteering experiences (I had none) and where we would like to go. The weather was amazing and the sun was shining (always a great thing). We headed back for lunch and the group activities after the break was over.

At this point I had already got comfortable enough to be myself and I was ready for what was ahead….

The group activities started with a couple of fun games to get us energised (they REALLY work!).

The group activity was more fun than scary. All of us seemed to enjoy ourselves and none of us seemed nervous by the time we were half way through. After they were over, we were given a presentation about the organisation and we had the opportunity to ask anything we were unsure about.

Overall, it was a great day and if any of you are planning to apply, remember not to be nervous. You REALLY can be yourself

We ended the day with a group photo (I wonder where it ended up).

I got through the assessment stage and I was invited to a training weekend. I had to let the other organisations know so they could find someone else.

P.S.

The people at the organisation I am travelling with are extremely passionate about what they do and you can see that when they talk about what the organisation does. It’s inspiring enough to make you want to join them.

Why I decided to apply..

Let me go back a little and tell you why I applied to volunteer.

I have ALWAYS wanted to volunteer abroad. I know some of us (people in England) tend to complain about not having enough and we (I know I am) are surrounded by the latest fashion trends and technology. It is not hard to get consumed by the luxuries and the comfortable standard of living, however, we often forget there is the rest of the world out there and most do not even have electricity, let alone the latest iPod or laptop.

I’m not from a wealthy family, my mother brought me up by herself and did all she could to give me the best in life. Even with the ‘little’ we have compared to the wealthy in England, I still believe I am lucky to have what I have.

We often see poor people on TV, whether it be on depressing adverts, charity shows or documentaries. I have always wanted to help and go experience what it is like to live the way they do. Some documentaries show ‘poor’ people who seem happier than we are.

I have the latest Macbook, iTouch, Blackberry and the list goes on, however, after a year, the feeling of wanting to upgrade is back. I want to learn how to live with just the basics.

I am pretty spiritual and I believe happiness comes from the inside and the way we think, not from the possessions we have (even though I am guilty of owning a lot of things). I want to volunteer to test my theory.

I started to look for volunteering opportunities but all of them were asking for a large contribution. My aunt gave me the link for VSO (one of the leading development organisations) and I found the link to ICS on the website. I applied straight away and within a few weeks, I got a reply from 3 of the organisations (I think you’re only meant to apply once but double check with ICS).

I was invited to an assessment day by one of the organisations and I accepted my invite…..

I am going to Nepal!

I wanted to start this blog the day I found out I was going to Nepal, however, with assignment deadlines and exams (I have one tomorrow), I did not get the time. I am procrastinating now (not recommended) and I have decided to start the blog (finally!).

ICS (International Citizen Service) is a new program that sends UK citizens aged 18-22 year olds all around the world to work with local communities. This gives us an opportunity to help fight poverty and learn more about international development. It’s free for people from low income families and it’s a great opportunity!

Click the link for more details: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/ICS

I’m going to use this blog to write about my experience before I leave, while I’m there (if I have a internet connection) and when I get back.

I will discuss everything from the assessment day (I won’t give too much away), pre-departure training to vaccines, in-country training and of course, my placement while I’m there! I will even post things after I am back.

This blog is not just for future ICS volunteers, I will be using this blog to write about my experiences so I can look back and see how I developed.

I hope you enjoy reading about my adventures. I will try my best to keep up-to-date.