Orientation Day : Starting 'Phase Learn'

Good Morning Nepal!

I really hoped to sleep well, but I guess my mind did not want to set itself in a new place so quickly. So when I heard Anh waking up in the morning my eyes were opened automatically. Then I realized it's not morning at all! The vague beams of sun had not yet succeeded to pierce through the blackish night. The dawn had just began. Perhaps because of lack of sleeping I felt slight irritation. 

I heard Anh getting ready, perhaps she took a shower, washed her clothes and I felt everything happening under a thin layer of sleep. Sometimes I woke up asking her "What time is it? or What is happening?" sort of questions. 

And finally when I felt sharp rays of Eastern Sun launching harshly upon my closed eyelids, I thought I should give up and get ready.

The wash-room was on the extended portion of the balcony surrounded by thick glasses. They named it "Rest Room" following the American culture!

Our Youngest Member of the Family

Dikshya Ayer

At breakfast, we met another participant, another part of our group, Dikshya Ayer; She was from Nepal and it seemed like her father had just dropped her at Pasa Yard. She was apparently the smallest one in our group, both in age and appearance! A small, cute girl with a shy smile, but somewhere a bit of naughtiness was waiting to be revealed! She studied in Forestry, 2nd year in the college. During breakfast she informed us that she liked hiking. 

Orientation Day: Face the Challenge

Today was the official beginning and orientation day of "International Sustainability School". First phase of sustainability school was "Phase Learn"; here we were assigned to attend workshops on skill development and sustainability and many other stuffs.

Starting our day :D 

Samrat initiated the program by an interesting task, moreover you can say it was a 'challenge' that we had to face as a team. They called it Ice-breaker. 

Samrat, initiating the first phase

First gathering 

Samrat, along with Bijaya took us to the outside ground under a plum tree and looking above we found a packet of mint hanging just like a hanging plum fruit. 

The Hanging Packet of Mint

The challenge was simple, to get the mint, but it did not seem that easy when we all had to get involved in this agenda. We had to pick up the mint by forming a shape together where all of us would be directly connected to each other. The shape could be like e pyramid or anything. I am not recounting the story of our struggle for several times to form a shape that involves and connects everybody but the moral of the story is ultimately we were successful! Khalid, Shakeel and Pavan sat on the ground forming a shape of a ring; Anh sat upon the ring and I took position above Anh and Dikshya got the mint by climbing us. 

Ice-breaker 

The name was very appropriate: Ice-breaker. We were like separate ices; not very familiar with each other, hesitant to talk and share. How we could have formed up a team like that? Besides when ices are together, they do not get mingled with each other rather they try to make their own space individually but when hard ices melt and they mingle as water, they become individual as a whole. That was the whole task about, breaking off the icy surface level and to be connected with each other.  

Anh and I were trying to sort out how to fit ourselves in the shape -_-

First attempt : Failed

Last attempt : Successful!

This was not a mere game but the beginning step of a long journey. It was true that we did not even know each other properly, and it might took a long time to get comfortable with each other but when you don't have the luxury of time and you need your group as a compact one it is rather an easy way to engage them into some activities that connects them both mentally and tangibly. This is how we get to know each other; that's how the connectivity grows; that's how we understand and start sharing and that's how gradually an ideal team forms up.

But our team was still incomplete. 

We were expecting two more to come.

And we were eagerly looking forward to seeing the complete version of the Sustainability Family! 

(To be continued)