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Akanksha |
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Evelyn |
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Pinkie |
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Rebecca |
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Tina |
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The bridge between “Giving” and “Receiving” is “Self-reflection”
Pinkie
As one of the participants of Nepal Service Learning Trip, I promised myself to fully engage in all the activities, to be open-minded and to embrace every moment. In this program, participants were separated into 3 teams and I was in team A. I had several meetings with my teammates and we needed to propose an activity plan in the preparation stage. We were required to reach a consensus of what we needed to do in two teaching sessions and a creative workshop.
Unfortunately, our first proposal got rejected. Instead of being frustrated, our team came up with a backup plan in a very short period. After we finished the activity plan, we started to buy the materials on the list. Then, we separated and assigned the materials to every teammate. We just grabbed the materials, and no one complained whether it was too much for them to carry. When we went to the village in Lamjung, the two teaching sessions and the creative workshop ran smoothly. Thanks to my teammate Akanksha, who can read and write simple Nepali, the conversations between us and the children were pleased and understandable. Besides interacting with the kids, we also had a great time contributing to the community by painting walls for the school. Although we had our finalized draft, we still made some changes based on real situations. I am so glad that I had such a great team in this program. We did not have much communications or discussions, but we got things done very well. I also had a closer relationship with my lovely teammates, we had many small talks and we got to know each other more.
At first, I thought the meaning of “service learning” was only about giving and receiving. By spreading love and caring to others, we learned something valuable. However, I missed a very important thing that used as a bridge between “giving” and “receiving”, and that is “self-reflection”. As Pink, the founder of Light On, mentioned before, this program was designed to be half contribution and half self-reflection. With self-reflection, we turned giving into receiving. Teaching, holding creative workshop, wall painting and farming, they were half part of the contribution. Another half related to self-reflection was the debriefing session held on every night. It was a great time for us to review ourselves and to know ourselves a little bit more. The debriefing session was kind of confusing to me at the beginning. Not because it was a bad idea to learn how to be a better self, but because it was the first time I tried to know my strengths and weaknesses through reflection. Now when I look back, I always treat this time as a precious memory for me. I know I may not have opportunities to experience this kind of debriefing session again. In Hong Kong, we do not easily open ourselves up to others, no matter the good side or the bad side. We meet new people everyday, and we already forget them before we have a chance to get to know them. What I was trying to say is that the debriefing session gave us a chance to let others in, and told our stories to an individual we met few days only. If it was not in Nepal, I could hardly imagine I can do this. Therefore, I feel very grateful about it.
One of the program objectives is to “living at the moment”, which inspired me a lot. Before I went to Nepal, I was struggling on whether I should buy a SIM card. I knew I would keep checking messages and searching for data if I bought it. I am so glad that I decided not to buy it. That was the best decision I had ever made. Instead of having the temptation of checking my phone all the time, I focused on having closer bonding with my teammates and the villagers I met. I wanted to act like a Nepali, just like what Pink said. People in Nepal was so nice, so genuine and so friendly. Whenever we said “namaste”, which equals to hello in English to them, they smiled and said it back. In Nepal, I felt the simplest happiness that filled up my heart. Those stars, rocks, winds, running rivers, smiles, days and nights, were the most natural things in Nepal. All the things we took for granted in Hong Kong became priceless in Nepal. It was overwhelming when I realised that it was not a must for people to be nice to me, especially I was a stranger to them. In Hong Kong, we tend to see everything with a price tag. We do good things because we want to get something. And people misinterpret others when they treat someone good. I love people in Nepal, who do not judge others this way. Thanks to the trip, I know more about who I am, and what I want to become. I love interacting with people, taking care for them and do good to them. I believe if we do right to others, they will do right to us.
The biggest challenge I had encountered in this trip was to use English to communicate with my teammates. One of my teammates, Akanksha, is from India and English is our only common language. I was afraid to speak English in front of people. I know that is one of my weaknesses, to feel shy speaking the language I do not familiar with, to feel terrified on what others may think. For that reason, I spoke Chinese to my other teammates and I seldom express my ideas to Akanksha. I remember one day, when our team were painting the wall, I spoke Chinese to my teammates again. Suddenly, Akanksha shouted out “Guys, English!”, and I realised that I caused so many inconvenient to her and I was not well considered enough. I could not let myself to speak Chinese just because I did not want to use English. I felt so sorry for Akanksha and I apologised to her in the debriefing session. I promised myself that I will not do this again. I will not choose an easier path just because I am not confident enough or I am scared. I challenge myself to be brave, and dare to fail. I want to make some changes on myself, so that I can affect others and hopefully the impacts can be spread to the society.
priceless in Nepal. It was overwhelming when I realised that it was not a must for people to be nice to me, especially I was a stranger to them. In Hong Kong, we tend to see everything with a price tag. We do good things because we want to get something. And people misinterpret others when they treat someone good. I love people in Nepal, who do not judge others this way. Thanks to the trip, I know more about who I am, and what I want to become. I love interacting with people, taking care for them and do good to them. I believe if we do right to others, they will do right to us.
The biggest challenge I had encountered in this trip was to use English to communicate with my teammates. One of my teammates, Akanksha, is from India and English is our only common language. I was afraid to speak English in front of people. I know that is one of my weaknesses, to feel shy speaking the language I do not familiar with, to feel terrified on what others may think. For that reason, I spoke Chinese to my other teammates and I seldom express my ideas to Akanksha. I remember one day, when our team were painting the wall, I spoke Chinese to my teammates again. Suddenly, Akanksha shouted out “Guys, English!”, and I realised that I caused so many inconvenient to her and I was not well considered enough. I could not let myself to speak Chinese just because I did not want to use English. I felt so sorry for Akanksha and I apologised to her in the debriefing session. I promised myself that I will not do this again. I will not choose an easier path just because I am not confident enough or I am scared. I challenge pd myself to be brave, and dare to fail. I want to make some changes on myself, so that I can affect others and hopefully the impacts can be spread to the society. |
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