Volunteer
Society Nepal
is delighted to offer a cultural program to
individuals wanting more out of their travelling
experiences, an opportunity to remove oneself
from the “beaten travellers’ track”.
The main purpose and focus of the program is
to fully educate participants through experience
of a variety of aspects of Nepali culture. Through
an experiential approach, participants will
learn firsthand how Nepali people live, work,
and celebrate life.While
individual participants can take part in a cultural
stay program for shorter or longer periods of
time, VSN has also designed this program to
accommodate small to medium sized groups of
individuals. Each program begins with intensive
language training in Kathmandu, to be taught
by an experienced instructor who is fluent in
English and Nepali.The length of this course
is subject to change in relation to the individual’s
intended length of stay.In addition to the language
course there will also be cultural courses offered.These
courses will provide an overview of the caste
system, gender differences, cultural considerations
and norms as well as information about the various
festivals that will be seen during their stay.
Following this initial training, participants
will settle in one of the culturally rich villages
in Kathmandu valley, staying with an actual
Nepali family. Here they will begin to practice
their Nepali with those whom they will be living,
as well as experiencing the delights of the
food and culture within the village. There will
also be a number of activities in which participants
can contribute to enhance their cultural experience.
For instance, in addition to enjoying the food,
participants will also have an opportunity to
learn how to prepare traditional Nepali meals.
While “daal bhaat” is a staple meal
in Nepal it is also accompanied by many other
diverse dishes that tantalize the taste buds.
Given that agriculture plays a central role
in village life, through inquiry participant
will gain knowledge of agriculture operations.
They can also voluntarily contribute to various
activities such as seeding, ploughing and harvesting.
Participants’ involvement in agricultural
activities will be determined by their own willingness
and seasonal considerations. These activities
clearly demonstrate the importance of the close
social relations between extended families to
village life.Ethnic groups in Kathmandu valley
celebrate more festivals and holidays than any
other ethnic group outside of the valley, so
in whatever season the individuals come there
are likely to be interesting cultural festivals.These
cultural events, including performances, festivals
and ceremonies will thus be an intrinsic part
of this program throughout its duration.Given
that participants will be a welcomed addition
to their Nepali family, they will also be able
to observe intimate ceremonies such as Hindu
wedding ceremonies and others that their host
family celebrates.throughout the program there
will also be trips to historical places, temples,
and beautiful landscapes. These "field" trips
will hopefully enable the participants to gain
understanding of the rituals and the customs
associated with what it is like to live in a
very different culture to that which they are
used too. The trips will be organised by VSN
and the individuals will be accompanied by a
local Nepali who will be able to explain the
history and the cultural importance of such
sights.The conclusion of this cultural program
is a cultural exchange centred on a pot luck,
where all the participants from around the world
and the local Nepali friends each prepare one
cultural dish. This will enable the participants
to experience first hand the diverse nature
of world culture and bring to the forefront
the different typesof foods that reflect this
diversity. We hope that this will enable applicants
to achieve some understanding of how we are
all humans on this earth even though different
parts of the world may seem very alien or different
to us. We
at VSN hope that we can provide a rich learning
experience to the applicants and provide them
with the knowledge and the tools to better help
them understand Nepali culture while at the
same time giving them a change from the usual
or normal holiday. While staying with VSN we
hope that each individual will gain much experience
and an interesting education that will help
them in the future as we as the earth becomes
more and more globalise. A world in which varied
aspects of world culture are merging and becoming
one, a place where humans need to express a
desire to accept different cultures rather than
dismissing them as alien or strange. |
