Alumni Interview with Belen Fernandez

What inspired you to go abroad?

I did two volunteer programs in Spain and after a long time I wanted to participate in one abroad. Volunteering abroad seemed like an amazing experience to give back to others, and a great opportunity to learn many things. Two friends decided to go to Nepal this summer and asked me to go with them. After seeing the whole program and everything we were going to do there, I loved the idea and decided to come on this program. 

Why did you choose ELI Abroad?

My two friends were looking for different organizations and this is the one they saw that had programs very close to what I was looking for. For this reason, I decided to come here with this organization. I arrived on the program after my friends because they told me about the organization and the program that we were going to do, and I wanted to be part of it as well. 

What was your favorite part about your experience?

My favorite part was giving classes in the Buddhist monastery and that we saw the kids having so much fun during them. It made me happy that someone could be so happy with what I was doing for them. I also loved living together in the house. Even though we were a big group we were all very kind and it was very fun living with everyone. 

What made your experience abroad unique?

I think it’s difficult to say something specific since it was a very full experience and I learned so many special things about Nepal.

How did local staff support you throughout your program?

They always asked how we were doing and helped us with anything we needed, giving us books and materials to prepare for our classes in the best way possible.

What's one thing you wish you would have done differently?

I was in the joint program at the Buddhist monastery and the school (CDC). Unfortunately, I didn’t like the school at all because I went with the goal of helping and there was enough help there already, so it seemed like we were bothering them.

It was a small class in which there was one teacher that taught the class to the kids and gave exercises, the only thing we did was correct the exercises and some days we introduced songs to sing with them. The days at CDC were really boring and I don’t think we helped with anything. For this reason, I think the program at CDC should be rethought or not offered if our help there is not necessary. 

Describe a typical day in the life of your program.

We got up around 8:00 a.m., ate breakfast and got dressed. The majority of the volunteers then went on their programs early, but ours started at 12:00 p.m. We prepared for the class we were going to give that day and the games we were going to play at the end of class. 

At 11:15 p.m. we left the house for the monastery as it was a long walk and we would arrived at 12:00 p.m. We would give the class which lasted until 2:00 p.m. and sometimes we stayed a little bit longer. After class, we met up with the rest of the volunteers that lived with us to tour the city or go on a walk close to the monastery or close to the house. 

We would return to the house to eat at 7:00 p.m. and after we left to take a little walk together or we stayed at home talking until it was time to go to bed.

What did you enjoy doing in your free time?

I hung out with the rest of the volunteers or got to know different parts of the city. 

What was your accommodation like? What did you like best about it?

It was a house of volunteers with three people to a room and one bathroom for every nine people. We had one kitchen and a communal dining room for everyone in the house. The thing I liked most was living with other volunteers.

What is one thing every participant should know before participating in your program?

I would tell them that they should be open to everything. It’s going to be a different experience from those you’ve had before and you’re going to learn a lot from it. At first everything is going to shock you a lot - the house you live in, the chaos of the city - but after a very short amount of time, you’ll adapt. And then you won’t want to go back to your home country.

Now that you're home, how has your program abroad impacted your life?

It’s helped me value what I have and what I’ve received, even when it wasn’t a lot. It’s made me realize how lucky I am to have gone to a school where I learned many things and to have all the love that my family and friends have given me since I was little. I also made me realize that you don’t need a lot to be happy.

Would you recommend ELI Abroad to others? Why?

Yes, I would recommend it to others. Thanks to this experiences you will value what you have in your life and you will learn many things from the others you meet on the program.