We all arrived in Kathmandu on January 29 and 30th. Our hosts from Volunteer Nepal took us through a full two days of orientation including visiting the Swayambhunath temple; Buddha’s Park, where our group is pictured above; and the Pashupahinath Temple complex.  Students had numerous workshops on safety, cultural appropriateness, and how to navigate Nepali culture in general. This included language lessons to kick start their efforts in Nepali.

On February 1st, all students began their field placements. They are working in a variety of places both local to the Kathmandu Valley, and farther out into rural and mountainous areas. Each of them will be reporting here on their field placement experiences.