Dreaming

As I sat at Kathmandu airport waiting for my flight back to Nepalgunj, I felt a mixture of emotions; happy and sad. Happy because I had enjoyed spending time with beautiful people in Kathmandu and Nargakot and sad that I didn’t know when I would see any of them again.

I can definitely feel a change upon me, which is both a change within myself through personal thoughts and feelings and a change brought about by external factors and the boundaries between these changes are blurred. One of the external factors is the changes within VSO. As a knock on effect of the recession VSO has experienced a reduction in funding and consequently ten members of VSO Nepal staff have been made redundant. To add to this VSO on a global level is currently redefining its direction which means that VSO programmes in Nepal are coming to an end and new programmes have not yet been defined. What this means for me is that my governance programme doesn’t exist anymore and consequently there is no funding available from VSO for me to deliver activities within my placement. So I am glad I seized every opportunity there was to get involved with; the volunteer conference, governance review, leadership programme and the general assembly because now I will not even be reimbursed to travel by local bus to a meeting.

However as the eternal optimist I do not feel negative about this, as I like change and who knows what new programmes may follow. And as the programme has finished things are not as strict, so now I have the opportunity to investigate another volunteering opportunity with a youth led organisation which I am really excited about, so there are always positives to come from change.I will really be able to focus on my work now that my previous VSO commitments have ended. Over the next three months I will be travelling with my volunteering organisation to eight districts to audit services and entitlements provided for people with disabilities, which I am looking forward to.

I have decided to invest some time and money to create really nice space to relax in, in my dancing room as I will be spending more time at home from now on. At the moment I don’t really have a good space to chill in the evenings and I want to create a relaxing room which is a mass of cushions and comfyness with kind lighting, divine smells and rich materials, with a bit of a Turkish feel.

I have been thinking about the retreat centre I thought about starting whilst I was in the UK and I have decided to carry out a feasibility study to see if I can make it happen in Nepal, which of course I can. I think my life flashed before my eyes slightly when I had my cist removed and awaited the results of the biopsy, I thought it could have all been over, but it wasn’t and now I have an amazing opportunity to follow my dreams and make something really amazing happen.


Highlights of the first quater Nepal 2011:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=625466&id=605555023&l=9b8ca18d0e