Tatiana Ostapenko

Name: Tatiana Ostapenko
Country: Spain
Program: Teaching in Monastery

1. What did your average day look like?
We wake early in 6:30. Our days were start with a breakfast. Then we had some time to prepare to the lesion and to walk around (groped a cup of coffee) 11:30 lunch time. The lesson were a 1pm. There were 3 levels of students. Each level had 20 minutes English+ 20 minutes math. 3pm tea time. Then we relaxed- red books, sleep or play with children. Dinner 6pm. Then a few hours with children or in the internet. And we went sleep.

2. Other things I did on my placement.
At weekend you have your free time so we travelled a bit –went to Kopon monastery, Shivapuri national park and Sankhu. We also talked to older monks sometimes, participated puja and clean our room of course.

3. What are some of the issues or challenges you faced?
You should be prepared for really basic condition- to not water(just in a hostel near the monastery, but you will not go there each day). Meal is also basic- it is rice mostly. You will need some time to used to all this.

4. Advice to next volunteer going to your placement?
Take some materials with you, something for Basic English. There are some books in the monastery, but kids use them every time-they really like reading, new books will work great( books with pictures).

5. Would you volunteer at this placement again?
Yes, we will need some time to come back to our usual life, but in a year or 10, yes, it is possible.

6. Would you volunteer at this organization again?
Yes, we love the children, they are amazing, kind, open, clever. I really would be happy to see them again, to see how they will change in a few years.

7. Suggestion or problem?
For kids would be good to have long-termed teachers (1 months). If you come for a week, you just have time to understand their level and it’s time to left the monastery.

8. Please write a Journal-type entry of experience now.
We found Future Nepal in the internet and a program was a love from the first sight”. At that moment we tried to find some work with children, something that will school” our brains and we wanted to go to Asia. So this program was perfect. It is very unusual experience for us, it was hard at the beginning, nervous about lesson (we are not professional teachers), but in a few weeks this changed and everything went even better, then we expected. Kids in the monastery are very unusual-very open and kind, they don’t use would “ mine”, they share everything with each other. It is easy to work and to talk with them. We had a lot of positive emotions during our volunteering great experience- During that time we had all needed information and support. Thank you Future Nepal!