The First Post

Hello!

Welcome to my blog, where I will (hopefully) be documenting everything that happens on my trip to Nepal with VSO ICS.

I'm currently the most nervous person at Heathrow drinking a coconut water (that cabin pressure really dehydrates you, you know) so trying to get a quick post in to calm my nerves, although I have had a wonderful person at the end of the phone keeping me sane too.

So, as a little background, in 2014 I volunteered with VSO in Tajikistan, which was a 12 week project working with marginalised women starting their own businesses. Those 3 months were absolutely amazing and I got to work with some really interesting people, some of which have become life long friends. Although I was a 'regular volunteer' in Tajikistan, this time round I will be a Team Leader, which is a mostly pastoral role, making sure all the volunteers are OK and everything is running smoothly. I'll be working with a counterpart and we will lead the team of 8 UK volunteers and 8 Nepali volunteers. There's also a programme coordinator out in country to help us. The community I'm heading out to is called Lamjung but I'll be starting my training in Kathmandu to begin with.

Up until this point I have been frantically fundraising, packing and moving out of wonderful London back to my parents house in Kent. It's been insanely busy and that probably explains why it's only just dawned on me that I'm leaving. This morning was the last time I'll be waking up in my nice comfy bed with my quite frankly amazing duvet, and things began to feel very real.

Fast forward a few hours and here I am, nervous, excited and suffering from a somewhat psychological sinus infection. I'm not entirely sure what lies ahead of me, but whether it's smooth sailing or challenging, no doubt it's going to be an incredible experience.

I've noticed a real difference in how I feel today compared to how I felt just before I left for Tajikistan. Almost a year ago I spent the night before I travelled getting to know the 14 other UK volunteers I was flying out with. There was so much eagerness and anticipation that I hardly noticed any nerves. Plus, we all instantly got along so there was plenty of conversation to make the journey fly by. In addition, I had never taken part in ICS so I had no idea at all what was in store.

This time round I'm feeling a lot more nervous, partially due to the unknown and partially down to the added responsibility I have this time. I've had a lot more time to think whilst waiting around for my flight, and having had 2 weeks off work I've got very settled in at home. None the less I'm still insanely excited and cannot wait to experience Nepali culture.

Luckily I'm not totally on my own as I'll be flying out with another Team Leader and as I type my gate has been opened, so this is it for now. I would love to say 'next stop Kathmandu but I've got a 6 hour wait in Doha first. You win some you lose some.

Lizzie x