Volunteering at DSL Monastery in Nala

The three weeks spent at the monastery were overall one of the most wonderful experiences I've had in my entire life. It is something I would recommend to anyone, no matter the background, age or interests. Although I was, theoretically, the teacher, the truth is that I was the one who learned an amazing amount of things about people, about life and even about myself! It might sound like a cliché, but it is truly a life changing experience - I am a different person now, my perspectives for the future are completely changed after meeting so many inspiring people and learning about the Buddhist way of life! I will certainly go back one day, as I am really attached to that place and to all the monks!
Everything was way better than I had expected: the conditions were very satisfying, the food - very good (three meals a day, and the monks were always so kind as to fill our plates, even if we asked for less), there is a very friendly nurse who can help if any medical problem arises. I was surprised with what amazing hosts Nepali people are in general, they always take very good care of you, making sure you have everything you need. Asim and his wife, the project coordinators, as well as their partners are very good people. What I love the most is how they always asked us to call them "big brother" and "big sister", they made us feel like home all the time.
We received great support during our time there, we were given help with organizing the travel around the country and we could contact Asim any time during day or night if any problem arose. You have no reason to worry before getting there - everything you need to know can be found in the volunteer handbook and, if you have extra questions, I would recommend finding some past volunteers on the PMGY facebook page and asking for some advice, some of them are really keen to help!
Regarding teaching, the kids are, again, amazing. They are so receptive and eager to learn new things! At first they can be a little shy and you must get them used to speaking only English instead of Nepalese, but once you've got their attention, they're all yours, eyes and ears! I would recommend finding your own teaching style, that should work best! For example, I liked teaching a lot of science - geography and astronomy mainly. Things that for us seem common sense, but they have no idea about. They were fascinated about topics like Earth's rotation around sun, planets and galaxies, continents, earthquakes and volcanoes, rain, snow and so on. I liked to check their understanding every time, and I received very positive feedback! After the first few lessons, I was preparing the following ones based on their questions and suggestions. This, of course, worked well for older kids, another volunteer working with younger kids used a lot of games and songs to keep them engaged, which worked extremely well. Piece of advice: do not panic and stay confident, you will discover your own teaching style very quickly! Be flexible and ready to assess their knowledge and English level to come up with the best plan!
These were just a few thoughts about my experience. Of course, there are so many things left to say! However, the most important is to go there and enjoy every single moment, to give and receive as much as you can!