Making friends while volunteering

Some volunteers are worried before coming to Nepal about being lonely while volunteering. Volunteer Society Nepal wants to show you that when you come volunteering with us, making friends will be easy and fun!

Upon arrival

Upon arrival to Nepal you will be joining an introductory course in which you will meet volunteers who have arrived and will start volunteering at the same time as you. You will be taking language classes together and go on tours in Kathmandu. Learning a new language and practicing this with your fellow volunteers who have also just arrived is a great experience!

Host Family

Once you have settled in with the host family you know that you are really not alone! At your host family there are often about 2 or 3 other volunteers staying at the same time. Each day, after volunteering you will be eating with your new friends and host family and you can also discover the surrounding area with them. Plans are often made around the dinner table to go hiking together or visit religious places in Kathmandu Valley.

At your Project

You will often be volunteering together with other volunteers in the project, sometimes these can be volunteers that you already know or they are from another volunteering organization. For example, it is great that you are not alone in your first teaching experience. And you can learn from people who have already volunteered there before your arrival.

Social Events

Volunteer Society Nepal has a Whatsapp group where we add the volunteers and where we share events or hikes that we can go to together. We arrange a dinner together or have drinks in the famous bar in our area and enjoy live music events on Fridays.

Friendships in Nepal

Nepali people love to make friends with you! They are curious about your life and like to hang out. For example join you on a hike or just go out on the street and eat a snack together. Do not miss out the opportunity to drink a cup of Nepali tea with your fellow Nepali teacher and his family. Or join the kids from the host family for a game of badminton on the street. During festivals you might also go for a picnic with the whole family!

In short, you will not be lonely at all and meet many people from all different countries, backgrounds and age groups. We have seen many new friendships form and even relationships grow resulting in marriage and kids. We can never assure you of any specific people or age groups that you will meet but you will always  leave Nepal with many new friends and experiences!