 |
Anthony |
|
| |
 |
Bobby |
|
| |
 |
Dorothy |
|
| |
 |
Ellen |
|
| |
 |
Grace |
|
| |
 |
Heidi |
|
| |
 |
Jacky |
|
| |
 |
Manna |
|
| |
 |
Sally |
|
| |
 |
Tony |
|
| |
|
|
Under the same sky
Grace Chow, Staff
During the second trip to Nepal, my experiences profoundly moved me, and this trip taught me deeper learnings than my first. The trip challenged us from beginning to completion. With a deep conviction that we can overcome the challenges, it helped us through the journey a step at a time.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the 20 students that participated. Everyone brought their strengths and unique qualities to the group. Everyone encouraged each other through the journey, emitted positive energy, and worked as a team. You guys are awesome!
The organization planned a Walkathon on top of the classroom and creative workshops prepared by the students. The Walkathon allowed us to experience how local students walk to school every day. The steep mountain roads are muddy and slippery, and local students are used to going to school in their flip flops. The students jollied to school holding their books with big smiles on their faces. Seeing the vast difference compared to Hong Kong, I reflected on how easy it is to take things for granted in a modern city. My heart was filled with respect and bitter sweetness as these words came to me: “less but better.”
In the village, a young English teacher had the opportunity to work in the city but he decided to teach here. I had a conversation with him and inquired why he chose to teach here. He posed this question to me, “What is the meaning of life?” I was stumped and wasn’t able to gather my thoughts by the deep question. He smiled and said, “The meaning of life is to do something meaningful to you and to give back.” I agreed with him and felt that true living is to enjoy what you do and to feel fulfilled.
During this trip, we saw the snow-covered mountain every morning as we woke up and stepped out of our house. The white and fluffy snow covered the whole mountain, and the scenic view energized us every day. I am very grateful, as it was drastically different from our last trip, where we only saw the mountain as we departed. I hope we can all share the love for our Earth and nature, and protect it so future generations can enjoy the beautiful mountains.
(Thanks volunteer Hilary Kwan for translating Grace’s testimonial from Chinese to English) |
|
