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Frankie |
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Frennie |
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Jasmine |
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Kin |
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Natalie |
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Pakhin |
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Queenie |
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Sam |
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Happiness Lies in Contentment
Jasmine Tong, Year 4
I created a lot of unforgettable memories in the Nepal trip. Initially, I decided to join
without much consideration, because I thought it was a very precious opportunity that I needed to
grasp and the ideology of the trip appealed to me. The concept of growing more as a person while
helping others, strengthened my resolve to go.
The most unforgettable memory is when we lived in the village for four days. Before the
trip, I was sure that I would suffer without water and electricity. However, I soon realized that
smartphones and other technological devices are distractions. I realized that a lot of things that I
had been taking for granted are luxuries to a lot of people, such as hot showers, televisions, and
phones. The environment in the village was wonderful. The air was fresh, the people were simple
and innocent regardless of age. It was also my first time brushing my teeth while sitting next to
an outdoors water tap and gazing at the starry sky. It was really relaxing.
I think that a lot of people are just like me, who associate Nepal with images of poverty,
underdevelopment, and poor kids. However, in reality, they are not “poor” at all. Although they
do not own much, they are much happier than the so-called urban dwellers, because they are
satisfied with what they have, and “happiness lies in contentment” (知足常樂, a Chinese saying).
On the contrary, we ought to reflect why we have more materialistic resources yet not happy.
Before the trip, I worried that the language difference would cause difficulty in teaching at
that school, not to mention that they were just kids in nursery. It turned out they knew some English,
and I felt so satisfied being able to teach them addition and subtraction. Rebuilding the school was
not too exhausting as we divided the tasks and worked together, and we learned from the Nepalese
people how to remove nails quickly as a bonus lesson! We had to clear the weeds on farm for
preparing farmland for planting, and my legs felt numb after squatting in the field for two hours,
but I had a strong feeling of achievement seeing the well-prepared farmland without weeds. In the
fund-raising event in Pokhara, because of everyone’s effort, we felt so happy being able to raise
money for the children’s home.
I hope more people will join this service trip next year! Although we may not be able to
make an obvious change in a few days, the trip will definitely give you new knowledge and
experience! |
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