Asia Association of Education and Exchange

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal Daily Report 11th day, "The meeting heading for growth of teamwork"

23th Feb
The meeting heading for growth of teamwork

We finished all activities of this program today. The last 2 weeks were meaningful for us. We all gained new knowledge and realized a lot of things through the interaction between Japanese and Nepalese students.
AAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真
Since it was the second time for me to come to Nepal, I was less excited than I was last time. And that’s why I was calmly able to see things objectively. And I eventually found that there was a large gap between th...e purpose of Japanese students and that of Nepalese students.
Even though this program generally aimed at the interaction between two different cultures, for Japanese students, it didn’t simply mean to become friends with Nepalese students. We also tried to achieve three things; to enrich our hearts, to find common points of Japanese and Nepalese, to be free from prejudice in order to find good qualities of the country of Nepal. On the other hand, even though there was individual variations, Nepalese students were simply trying to become friends with us but nothing more.
Moreover, each Japanese student had different aim. I knew each one of us had different interest and this situation was supposed to happen, but it wasn’t good as a team. Thus, members acted individually during the program. At the end, we realized that we had achieved nothing as a team. So we decided to have a meeting even though it was the last day of the program, and our conversation lasted until 3 am. It was beneficial for us to exchange our own opinions and find new ideas and perspectives. We slept deeply with no regret after that.
To conclude, we should have set a goal shared by both Japanese and Nepalese students. It would have probably enabled us to work as a team and accomplish real teamwork.
By Keita Ohira

<Wonderful last day with joyful friends>
AAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真
Today there was a radio interview of MERO SATHI members of feb 2016 on Radio Kantipur which might have been a first time experience for most of the members. All of the members were excited about the interview and did very well in it. In the radio interview they shared how they got benifited from the program and what they learned from travelling in Nepal and observing different communities of Nepal.
After the interview all the members got back t

o the hotel and discussed about the visit in the different houses of Nuwakot village and learned about the problems and solutions about that community.
AAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真
In the evening there was a dinner in a Chinese resrurant along with certificate distribution where everybody got emotional as it was their last dinner together and enjoyed the food ordered by a Chinese friend and all the members could see the happiness in her face as they appreciated the food. They even exchanged some presents to remind them of each other. After the dinner almost all the members had a special moment together for the last time, which they must have enjoyed a lot.
By Saujania Pokhrel


Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal Daily Report 10th day (22th Feb)

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal
Daily Report 10th day (22th Feb)
<On the way to Kathmandu>
...
AAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真
   Even though we had a tough time on the bus for 10 hours today, it was a good opportunity for both Nepalese and Japanese students to exchange their own views on specific topics. Nepalese students gave me a lot of knowledge of their country, their life style, education, politics, and so on. Everything they taught me was new and changed my view on the country.
   Through those conversations with Nepalese students, I was also very surprised at how much they knew aboutAAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真 and were interested in Japan. One student, who is majoring law in her university, was very familiar with the Japanese political and legal system. We compared relationship between Japan and the US with that of Nepal and India. Another student was interested in the current situation of Hiroshima on which the atomic bomb was dropped 70 years ago. They also asked me what makes it possible for Japan to quickly recover from the damage of the war and rapidly become a country with strong economy. Answering their questions and expressing my opinion in English were difficult process for me, but it was good practice because I had few chances to talk about those kinds of academic things in English before.
I’m glad that I met those students who are not only nice or friendly but also willing to talk about those serious topics. They were excellent English speakers as well, showing a role model for me. I’ll continue learning and improving my English so that I’ll be able to exchange opinions on more complicated things with people in other countries.
By Daichi Yamaoka


Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal Daily Report 9th day (21th Feb)

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal
Daily Report 9th day (21th Feb)
<Sports Festival>

AAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真 Participate in life, instead of just watching pass you by Mero Sathi project had organized Sports festival was held today at shamrock school. School students as well as all project members participated at that festival. This event wasn’t a competition for the members of AAEE but it was competition for the school students. What I have learnt from this event is we shouldn’t be shy in participating. Winning is not the importance, performing is the must. We could see the enthusiasm in the students to participate in such activities. Four types of games were played. One game of the rope was new for them. It wasn’t easy but all student members gave their 200 percent on their performance. And after that we had football competition. Each and every member participated in the game. It was an awesome experience. Each team was divided into seven members. 14 people running after a single ball is very interesting. After a competition there will obviously be a winner and a loser. But what I feel is winning is just not everything. To participate and perform in front of mass of people is courageous thing. Relay was the other sports activity. Similarly the other aAAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真ctivity was two persons in each group, rope which was tied in eachother’s one leg and we had to run. It was difficult to run but it was so much fun. Organizing sports activities is good thing. They will get a chance to know new things apart from their courses. It refreshes them. I completely agree that only theoretical things doesn’t helps them, practical is necessary too.
AAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真What have I learnt is Participation is more important than just winning. If you will keep on participating in different events then surely one day you will get the result of your hard work. It is not necessary that every time the winner alone gets appreciation and fame for his work. It does not matter that you win or lose, all that matters is the courage to participate. It is very essential to fight in life rather than just conquering it. You should be ready to face all kinds of challenges and hurdles which come in your way.
(By Grishma Bhattarai)
Beautiful meet in Pokhara
We had a wonderful day with students of school in Pokhara.
With the students, we did four kinds sports games (rope-jumping, three legged race, football, sprint relay). The students were healthy. We enjoyed very much. Even some students taught us some games they often do during a short time, and we became very close. That made remind my childhood time.
After the sports game, we Japanese members met a Japanese woman who is the member of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers. She told us about her experiences in Nepal. We get some useful information from her.
Then, we had four hours for going shops and watching the view of Pokhara. WeAAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真 looked so

many kinds of Nepalese characteristics. We had a great and unforgettable day.
(By Kuanyan Ryu)

Monday, March 7, 2016

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal Daily Report 8th day (20th Feb) "Visiting Gurung families"

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal
Daily Report 8th day (20th Feb)
AAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真
20th Feb
What we have learned through the interviews to villagers ...
Today was the day when we left Sikles. Before leaving, we visited some homes in the village. Each group went to different homes. Throughout the interviews, the Nepalese members kindly translated villagers’ voices into English for the Japanese members.
The contents of the interviews diverged into many branches. They were about their family, about Gurung culture, about their occupation, activities of NGO in Sikles, and etc., etc. Also, after the interviews, all the groups shared what they had learned through the activities with other groups. Thanks to the activity, we could understand the lifestyle and customs of the people there. This activity was so useful for us.
After that, we moved to Pokhra, one of the largest citifies in Nepal. And there, some members walked around lakeside together before dinner.
Pokhara is such a beautiful city and there were a lot of tourists there. The view in Pokhra was really nice.
By Sayaka Nagahuchi



Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal Daily Report 7th day (19th Feb) "AAEE and Owl Festival" (2)

By Yuha Yoshikawa
AAEE and Owl Festival

The day started with a short hiking program. At the top, the Mountain ranges were seen more clearly and magnificent. This hike was able to get us acquired by the natural beauty that Nepal holds. The hike was tiring but the breath- taking view of the Mountain ranges surely fascinated the members and was worth hiking more than an hour.
AAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真AAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真It was a big day for the members, after all, all the cultural activities that the student members practiced was to be shown to the community personals, adding more pressure it was also the opening day of OWL FESTIVAL, which awaited our cultural Dance which was performed on that festival where there were more than 500 local people, news Media, reporters and chief Guest.
Through this festival, message like conservation, protection and promotion of owl was spread in and across the globe at the grass root level. Many people who were there at the festival got the message about owl conservation directly whereas the message reached over more people through different media. Conservation awareness on owls is low in our country so by celebrating such festivals awareness can be implemented among the group of people.
Owl festival is celebrated only in 3 countries i.e.US, Nepal and Italy. In Nepal, it was celebrated for the 5th time and in Sikles it was the first time. Mero Sathi Project Student Members performed and that dance performance was the center of attraction of that day. Students shared their culture through their dance and they could learn about the culture of Gurung community in various ways for example, the dress that they wore, the cultural dance that they performed and the sports that they played were a few things which almost all the members experienced first time.
Its due to the Mero Sathi Project and the hard work, precision of the coordinators who managed all the project, we, members got a chance to know about the games like Ghurghumai, Thelo, “Jhijhile Khel” which were at the point of extinction. From this festival people can learn about role and importance of owl in biodiversity and why it is human responsibility to conserve owl. To maintain balance ecosystem it’s necessary to save the species of owl. The student members were more than happy to be a part of this program.
The overall day was fun and a very good way of acquiring knowledge and our student members thoroughly enjoyed

their very first experience of Owl festival.
By Srijana Poudel

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal Daily Report 7th day (19th Feb) "What I felt through hiking and Owl festival" (1)

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal
Daily Report 7th day (19th Feb)
What I felt through hiking and Owl festival


AAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真
For first of the day, we went to climb mountain. It took more than two hours to climb and back to hotel. While climbing, I was thinking about the importance of nature for me. Though I had had no interests in nature when I had been a high school student, I have interest in it these days. One of the reasons I thought was to keep balance of my mind. After having entered to the University, I became much busier. In my normal university days, sometimes I felt that I wanted to go to some place filled with nature suddenly. So that I had gone to the beach many times and tried to climb Mt.Fuji last year. To go to the place filled with nature makes me refreshed and to refresh my mind is so important to live. Luckily, I know how to refresh my mind and to keep balance of my mind. What I want to say is the importance of knowing myself. If we don’t know about ourselves, we couldn’t know how to keep the balance of our mind. Even we couldn’t find the situation of our mind if it lost the balance. Because of not knowing themselves, there are many people who has problem with their mind in Japan. One of my purposes to participate in this program is to know myself more. To know ourselves is important to choose good choice for us and to live our own life.
In the afternoon, there was Owl Festival in Sikles. Even though the opening time was said 11:00 on the advertisement, it started on 14:00. Not caring about time is one of the characters of Nepalese, I thought. Japanese care about time too much, and that is a good point of Japanese but also a bad point. In the festival, there were competitions of throwing stones and tops, and traditional women’s game. Even those were just games, player and the audiences were so serious and had fun. I supposed that this was another good point of Nepalese’s character. And in the festival, there was a program that we Mero Sathi group showed dance of each Japanese and Nepalese. Japanese members were so glad that not only Nepalese members but also the audiences liked our dance. I was so nervous but it was one of my best experiences.


By Yuha Yoshikawa
AAEE and Owl Festival

The day started with a short hiking program. At the top, the Mountain ranges were seen more clearly and magnificent. This hike was able to get us acquired by the natural beauty that Nepal holds. The hike was tiring but the breath- taking view of the Mountain ranges surely fascinated the members and was worth hiking more than an hour.
AAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真It was a big day for the members, after all, all the cultural activities that the student members practiced was to be shown to the community personals, adding more pressure it was also the opening day of OWL FESTIVAL, which awaited our cultural Dance which was performed on that festival where there were more than 500 local people, news Media, reporters and chief Guest.
Through this festival, message like conservation, protection and promotion of owl was spread in and across the globe at the grass root level. Many people who were there at the festival got the message about owl conservation directly whereas the message reached over more people through different media. Conservation awareness on owls is low in our country so by celebrating such festivals awareness can be implemented among the group of people.
AAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真Owl festival is celebrated only in 3 countries i.e.US, Nepal and Italy. In Nepal, it was celebrated for the 5th time and in Sikles it was the first time. Mero Sathi Project Student Members performed and that dance performance was the center of attraction of that day. Students shared their culture through their dance and they could learn about the culture of Gurung community in various ways for example, the dress that they wore, the cultural dance that they performed and the sports that they played were a few things which almost all the members experienced first time.
Its due to the Mero Sathi Project and the hard work, precision of the coordinators who managed all the project, we, members got a chance to know about the games like Ghurghumai, Thelo, “Jhijhile Khel” which were at the point of extinction. From this festival people can learn about role and importance of owl in biodiversity and why it is human responsibili
AAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真
ty to conserve owl. To maintain balance ecosystem it’s necessary to save the species of owl. The student members were more than happy to be a part of this program.
The overall day was fun and a very good way of acquiring knowledge and our student members thoroughly enjoyed their very first experience of Owl festival.
By Srijana Poudel

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal Daily Report 6th day (18th Feb)

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal
Daily Report 6th day (18th Feb)
Traveling to Sikles from Pokhara

How does it feel to someone who has never ever travelled off road in his/hers entire life? How does it feel to someone who has never experienced a mountain life? How will someone react when s/he is said that they will have to adjust with the bumpy ride all throughout the journey? These questions seem exasperating, doesn’t it? But this is how the students of Mero Sathi 2016 had to... travel from Pokhara to Sikles which was a ride of approximately 4 hours.
Sikles lies in the lap of Himalayas, in the mountain region of Nepal perched at the attitude of 2000 meters. A beautiful panorama of various mountains can be seen from the village where the students were being accommodated. Everybody seemed excited to visit that place.
The students were divided into 2 groups to go to Sikles. The first group was stuffed no less like cattle’s stuffed in a mini truck due to the limited number of seats in the vehicle. Whereas the second group though having the privilege of enjoying empty seats had to face a difficult time adjusting in the unstable seats of the Sumo. As a whole, nobody had a relaxing or a comfortable ride. Nevertheless everybody was perseverant till they reached Sikles because they knew something wonderful was waiting for them.
The sumo stopped at a small hotel for some snacks and resumed its journey right after everybody was refreshed. In less than 2 hours, the Mero Sathi -2016 team reached Sikles and was accommodated in “Namaste Guest House” owned by a Gurung family. Sikles is also known as a Gurung community with majority of household belonging to Gurung ethnicity and minority belonging to Kami and Dalits which are considered to be of other caste/ethnic groups.
Soon as the sun started to set in the west, it was time for the dinner where the owner of the Guest house entertained the team with the welcome drink which was a local alcohol made up of maize and local Gurung dinner consisting rice, curry and salad. And right after that, the students continued with their interaction with each other and ended the tedious day.
(By Bibhuti Malla)



Friday, March 4, 2016

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal Daily Report 5th day (17th Feb)

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal
Daily Report 5th day (17th Feb)
<Bye-bye Nuwakot>
AAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真

In the morning, we cooked Japanese foods, Yaki-onigiri and Gyoza, and sang both Japanese and Nepalese songs to show appreciation to local people in Nuwakot. We then moved to Phokara, had a leisure time, had a dinner, and went to bed....
Actually I had lived in Nuwakot for the last couples of months to take care of our goat shelter project, I think I gained a lot of valuable experiences and knowledge while I stayed there alone, but due to language barrier it was quite difficult for me to communicate with most of the villagers. After the Japanese and Nepalese members arrived, I had got lots of chances to make myself clear about what I’d done in Nuwakot.
I used to be not good at sharing my experiences with others. However, on the bus to Pokhara, for example, I had conversations with other project members, gained new perspectives and ideas from them, and found the meaning of my activity in the village. I also made sure of what I need to do for the village next and how I should confront the situation there.
By Naoki Morioka



Thursday, March 3, 2016

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal Daily Report 4th day (16th Feb)

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal
Daily Report 4th day (16th Feb)
<Second day at Nuwacot>

AAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真
We; the entire team of February "Mero Sathi" project were at Nuwakot. It was our first day at Nuwakot as we reached there in the evening of 15th February. On the very day, our major activity was the goat shelter visit and the interview session with the goat shelter owner as well as with the people who were affected by earthquake. At first we were able to see goat shelter build by AAEE but is being taken care of by the local person there. The goat shelter we could see was in good condition and was constructed with the entire necessary requirement. Such as there were different compartments categorized according to the type of goats. Similarly, the compartments where goats were kept are built at a higher distance from the ground level; it was done in order to collect goat excreta. The compartments were made from bamboo and certain gap was maintained between bamboos so that, goat excreta would fall to the ground. From there the responsible person would collect the excreta and use it for purpose like fertilizer etc. Usually, this kind of setting is not seen in most of the goat shelter in Nepal. By interacting with the local (goat shelter owner), we were able to know how the goat shelter has been able to uplift his and the villagers hope to bring some positive change in their lives after the major earthquake. The main significance of this goat shelter by AAEE is that; the half of its profit goes to the community school of Nuwakot. According to the goat shelter owner it is a very big relief to the parents of the student of that community school as their economic burden will be lessen. The goat shelter owner we interviewed seemed to be happy and proud as will be able to contribute to community as a part of the goat shelter. Meanwhile, other half of the profit goes to the people who are working and looking after the goat shelter. Therefore, goat shelter is able to contribute to develop some personal lives as well as the future of the community school at Nuwakot. Also, most of the teams of "Mero sathi" project were engaged interacting various earthquake affected people. This was the major activity of the day.
In the evening, All the Japanese members and Nepalese member walked for a while to collect firewood. We all contributed searching and collecting fire wood to cook food for night. Meanwhile, few Japanese students were working on producing charcoal. After a long wait, they were able to produce charcoal (It was used next day to cook Japanese food). Then students contributed to produce fire. Then, Nepalese members cooked the traditional food "khir" (Rice Pudding). Also, vegetable curry and beaten rice was plated for dinner that evening. Beaten rice was something unusual to the Japanese members. After, our dinner, entire team sat together to share and discuss on the goat shelter; that we interviewed during the day. The sharing about the information of goat shelter led to further question-answer session. Also, after that we had a discussion on corruption in Nepal. So the day ended by sharing and receiving knowledge about different things but more importantly about goat shelter and how it has affected people's and community's life.
(By Shreeya Devkota)
Behind completion of goat shelter
Today, we visited people in Nuwakot and interviewed them as an activity of goat shelter program. I can get an opportunity to interview the owner of shelter directly.
To listen to him, I found actually there are a lot of problems when we head for true completion this goat shelter program.
One of them is labor shortage. An environment that people can get income steadily is needed to keep people going abroad for a job. The owner said that he wants efficient systems that he can do work of an owner of goat shelter and agriculture compatibly, and always get the money. We need to think about such a new system.
Other problem is money. We just need money to build shelters in other areas and to grow shelter.
Furthermore there is common opinion among villagers that they want new house(substitute for fragile house because of earthquake)and infrastructure such as water systems and road pavement.
These opinions make us think that we may have something we have to do in preference to operating of goat shelter.
It was very precious opportunity that we can talk with villagers and get realistic opinion.
(By Makiko Yonehara)

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal Daily Report 3rd day (15th Feb) "This is our cultural experience."

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal
Daily Report 3rd day (15th Feb)
This is our cultural experience
...
Today, Mero Sathi members visited the cultural heritage site, Bauddhanath called as "monkey temple" which is the central place for Tibetan Buddhism. What is the most interesting thing in this site is that there is the idea of mixture of religions : mixture of Buddhism and Hindu.
AAEE, Asia Association of Education & Exchange(一般社団法人アジア教育交流研究機構)さんの写真
 In fact, in Japan, there is also the same idea of fusion of two religions. In Japan, there are some Buddhist temples which have some aspects of Shinto(Japanese traditional worship for nature and ancestors. From this perspective, we can see a kind of common points of Japan and Nepal, however, in the meantime, we should learn more about the background and history of fusion of religion. After visiting monkey temple, Mero Sathi members visited Nuwakot village. Villager life is quite different from us, especially from Japanese life. It is great experience for both Japanese and Nepali members to experience such a villager life.
(By Hiroki Oda)


Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal Daily Report 2st day (14 th Feb) "What I felt through cultural differences."

Mero Sathi Project 2016 in Nepal
Daily Report 2st day (14 th Feb)
What I felt through cultural differences
...
Today we visited the organization called C-wish which is working for the children and women in social service and human rights. They talked about what they are doing for ensuring the rights of the children and women. I've had been interested in 'Child labor' problem since I have watched the children who were forced to work in Cambodia. So I was so curious to know about their activities.
First of all I thought this problem has been managed to solve for a long time, but it will never end. That's because there are always people who think radical and conservative one wants to protect the weakest rights but others don't want to change it. I think the quickest approach is to change our own mind to take these topics more serious.
After having lunch, we visited an orphanage to interact with the children. First I thought they are feeling sad to be an orphan but their face was full of smiles. First they were being a little bit shy but it didn't take so long until we got along with them. We played jump roping, sing and dance on the music with them. Nepalese members also performed the traditional Nepalese music and the kids were dancing very well without feeling shameful. They really love dancing and singing. I felt and became to love the Nepalese culture. In Japan, many of them feel so shame for being in front of the publics and doing something. Especially singing and dancing are the most things they don't want to do in the public. But Nepal was different. They feel the music and dance on it because they love it. It was their own cultural styles and I clearly feel it from my heart.
I have been in Nepal only 2days, but I already feel the kindness of Nepalese and experienced some traditional cultures. I've been spending a valuable time and so looking forward to make this tour a more wonderful thing!
(By Rino Yoshida)
Visiting CWISH and an orphanage
CWISH is a nongovernmental organization (NGO) which protect and promotes the right of children. It was established by the group of women in 1993 AD .Out of 2.26 million population of Nepal, 1.6 million are child workers. The students were unhappy about the condition of child workers.
After the CWISH the students were excited to visit an orphanage. The name of the orphanage is Nawakiran Orphanage located in Lalitpur of Nepal. It was the first time for all the students to visit an orphanage. All the members were happy. Mero Sathi 2016 members gave some food to the kids in orphanage as a souvenir. We had fun time with kids there, dancing and singing.
(By Chimsey Cr Marbal)