It has been some time since we returned from our trip to Nepal – unfortunately, I had to come back earlier than the rest of the team. Nevertheless, my journey to Nepal was incredible. It was amazing how a group of 12 bright minds from different corners of the world -5 AITM students plus 7 Aalto students- got together for almost 2 weeks to work on a meaningful project such as social reconstruction of communities after disasters.
After almost two months in Finland after our trip to Nepal, remembering some specific moments of the trip has become part of my routine when I walk to university every day.
I’m still in the process of digesting the whole experience. Kathmandu, Dhungentar, the beginning of a friendship with the students of AITM, the different interactions with the inhabitants of the valley, interviews, photography. Today I don’t want to write about the most shocking moment of the trip, neither the happiest nor the saddest. Today, on my way to the university, I remembered the first walk after our arrival in Dhungentar.
Today is a special day: After months of preparation, a long way and the first contact to the society of Dhungentar village, we finally start with conducting interviews. And lucky as we seem to be, we start with the perfect opportunity: The ‘mother’s committee meeting’!
Today was our first full day in Dhungentar and it felt like we gained a good overview of the village and ongoing projects.
We decided to pack all our stuff the night before, so after waking up, there is not much more to do than bringing our backpacks downstairs and waiting for everyone to arrive. I am taking my last typhoid vaccination pill from the little fridge in the ‘lobby’, so from now on, I am at least 70% proof according to the doctor. Luckily there actually was a fridge until so far, there probably won’t be any after we leave the capital.
