I'm writing from my bunk bed in a hostel located in the Thamel area of Kathmandu. Yesterday, I finished my first volunteering experience and decided to stay here for 2 nights before heading to my next project at a secondary school in Chiti, near Besisahar.

This past week was intense.

I arrived last Monday at "Children's Home Nepal". I was told that, until a few years ago, the kids would spend the whole day there, but nowadays, they come only for 2 hours after school. They decided to keep the name, but in practice, it no longer functions as a children's home. Instead, it's a place where kids between the ages of 6 and 13, from poor families, come after school. I saw where some of them live - in some kind of shelters. I'm not sure of the correct English word; for Portuguese readers, they are "barracas". The children are cared for and taught mainly by foreign volunteers, but there are also a couple of local teenagers who step up to help whenever there are no volunteers. The host is always around as well, assisting with childcare and translation, as most of the kids don't speak very good English.

I stayed with my host's family at their house. He lives with his German wife, their cute 2 year-old daughter, his sister, his parents, 2 local teenagers (who, as I understood, are permanent volunteers - possibly helping the kids when there are no foreign volunteers, though I'm not sure about it), and 2 small dogs. I got my own room. It's quite a big house with 4 floors, including a terrace that has a great view of the city.

Everyone called me "brother", including the kids. The younger ones (6-7 years old) loved giving hugs and receiving lots of attention. They looked especially happy when playing outside (not a surprise!) - every day, we went to a small open park. But the host wanted them to learn as well, so he usually asks the volunteers to teach their own languages. I ended up teaching Spanish instead of Portuguese, because the host told me they had previous Spanish volunteers, and I thought it would be easier for the kids. Also, Portuguese pronunciation can sometimes be difficult for foreigners. In the end, they didn't remember a word! 😄 And I ended up regretting not teaching my native language instead.

Besides spending time with the kids, I also had plenty of time to explore the surroundings - except when I was sick. There were a couple of temples nearby, so I went on a few excursions.

The first couple of days were amazing. I loved being around the kids, especially in the "ground", as they called it - the open air park. I taught them a few games and got to play with them as well, feeling like a kid again. I was hoping to play a bit more football, but most of the kids (about 95%) were girls. While they enjoyed running around, they weren't too interested in football. 😄

The host and his family were always kind to me, making sure I felt comfortable at home. Everyone spoke English, except for the host's mother.

There was always plenty of food, though 2 of the daily meals were the same dish - dal baht. Everything was delicious, but my stomach didn't handle the new spices very well. On Wednesday, I woke up with a (very) unpleasant diarrhea. They moved me to another room that was closer to the bathroom, and I spent 2 days resting and barely eating, but finally managed to get better. From Friday, I was able to spend time with the kids again. I started eating smaller portions, and my stomach didn't complain anymore.

The number of kids varied each day. On  some days, there were up to 20 kids, which felt overwhelming. It was hard to be there for all of them and keep them engaged in activities. An extra volunteer would have helped a lot - not just with the kids, but also because it would have been nice to have someone in the same situation as me, so we could support each other.

This won't be a problem in my next volunteering experience, as I've heard there are plenty of international volunteers every week.

Tomorrow, I'm heading to this new place. I'm expecting a full-day bus ride, hopefully not too bumpy!

Today I took a rest in Thamel, here in Kathmandu. Since it was also my birthday, I felt I deserved a more relaxed day.