4 Days Before Departure

Well I have a new assignment. Rather than being in Kathmandu, United Planet has decided that my skills (teaching experience and math/science education background) would fit better in a remote village outside of Kathmandu. I don't know the name of the village but I just learned today that I will have no access to electricity. That means a lot fewer posts. However, I am showing my Mom how to post on here so that when she hears from me she can share with everyone about my travels. I am sorry that the blog will not work out as well as I thought it would. However, I hope to still have some communication with my family while in Nepal. I still get to go on weekend excursions every other weekend and I suspect that perhaps some of these trips will be to Kathmandu since I am not staying there anymore and it would be a good tourist destination for me as a volunteer.

The school I am working in has 75 students and 7 teachers. The teachers are all previous students and so don't have great teaching experience and can only pass on the information they themselves had learned in school. All ages are present at the school so the material I am bringing over will be for math and science of many different levels. I think I might also try and pack some games like Dominos that might be fun for the students and help them with math. I have no idea the level of knowledge the students have in the first place so it is difficult to choose material. However, I think some basic biology, physics and chemistry would be great. I can easily work on teaching them some basic statics since I have that fresh in my mind. Anyway, I am trying to collect some books to help me teach and will wing it from there upon my arrival.

One Month Before Departure

It is now December 2nd (where does time go?) and I am starting to think through all the things I need to bring to Nepal with me. I also need to plan out some lesson plans for the students. Any ideas on fun science projects? I have a few from when I volunteered in the elementary school back home. However, I still don't know the age of the kids and am not sure when I find out. I will send an e-mail again soon to the program coordinator to ask if they have any more details for me.

New Job

I went to my last WSU football game with Anna the weekend before Thanksgiving break. Over break I got a job at RH2 and am looking forward to moving to a new place and starting new experiences. I will miss Pullman but something a little more permanent might be really good for me. 1 month and 2 days until I leave for Nepal....lots to do before that!

I PASSED!

I have passed my thesis defense and now only have to finish writing the thesis based on the comments I got during my presentation today. It is great news! I will be 100% done before Thanksgiving break and don't have to think twice about it. Now for graduation and Nepal!

New Baby

My roommate is officially a dad! His baby boy was born this morning at 7 lb 8 oz and 21.5 inches. He is happy and healthy and it is now time for us all to sleep :) We get to go back and see little Damien Bouchey in the afternoon.

Why Nepal?

Nepal is a place I never thought I would travel to. Once I chose to volunteer through United Planet I researched each of the countries and found that Nepal was the only one that allowed me to teach math and science - my favorite subjects! Nepal is a new and exciting place to learn about and I don't have to learn another language!

For those of you asking why I am volunteering in the first place:

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life." -Muhammad Ali

And something else to think about:

"If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it." -Andy Rooney

Two Months Before Departure!

Hello! This is basically a test post so that I can make sure and keep in touch with everyone while on my trip to Nepal. I will be leaving January 2nd so it is just under two months before I am on a plane. This is where I am going to post updates about my trip and what/how I am doing. Please be sure and post comments on here as well so I can keep in touch with you all!