“ East Lismore is where I grew up and I’ve lived here all my life. My parents are both loving and caring. They are the loveliest, hard working people I know and they inspire me each and every day. My mum is a Knitting Nanna but previously was a Library Technician. My dad is a Nurse who works at St Vincent’s Hospital but he is a also a DJ and a music producer.
Ever since I was little I have been dancing. It’s a passion of mine and playing the violin with my twin sister Grace. We both love playing music. It’s something we can hold and cherish together. We love it.
I am 15, turning 16 in July. Grace is 9 minutes older and she’s smaller. I go to Woodlawn High and this year we went on an immersion into Nepal. We went for 3 weeks to help and also to discover a world that was unknown to us.
The first week we stayed in Thamel, Katmandhu to get a feel of the country. The second week we set up a base camp at Epona and we began a nine day trek. I’ve never experienced anything so diverse, amazing, challenging and so interesting. It was cold and all the emotions coming out from everyone was crazy. We all found this sense of happiness and love on the trek, a real sense of connection. It was 4,600 metres above sea level. I had to take altitude sickness tablets.
Waking in the mornings with the Nepalese people knocking at the tent saying tea time and looking out at the mountains was so amazing. It was crazy fun. The view is so surreal. You feel like you are looking at a painting. When you are there and looking at such beauty you can’t stop smiling. I was just in awe.
Three weeks without technology was something great for our generation. We learnt how to cook Momo which is a traditional Nepalese dish. It’s basically like a Gyoza or dumpling filled with delicious vegies and chilli. It was so yummy. The food over there is quite simplistic, potatoes and vegetables from the ground. They love their chickpeas and their Masalas.
We went to a school in Bhaktopur and built them a school hall. We had raised the money here and sent the money over so it was there when we arrived. I’m not sure exactly how much we raised but it was between 2 and $3000. While we were over there we got to paint the building. We painted it red and grey on the outside, green inside and we called it Gumtree Hall. We explained to them what Gumtrees were and how they are sentimental in our lives here in Australia.
We also got to play with the young children and see what their lives were like. They cherish everything they have with so much love and everything they do they know how to find fun in it. They had never played handball, soccer or simple games that we find so normal and when we taught them they were so excited. It was crazy cool. It was sad to see so many lost and homeless dogs everywhere. I came home with many treasures. 24 of us went on the trip and it changed all our lives I think. It was so awesome.
I’m not sure what I will do when I’m finished school. I think I will probably go to Japan for the culture but really I think I will just try and get my head around the whole adult thing, gain more experience in myself, living out home and things like that. I think I will then go to Uni and maybe study Forensic Science.”
Ever since I was little I have been dancing. It’s a passion of mine and playing the violin with my twin sister Grace. We both love playing music. It’s something we can hold and cherish together. We love it.
I am 15, turning 16 in July. Grace is 9 minutes older and she’s smaller. I go to Woodlawn High and this year we went on an immersion into Nepal. We went for 3 weeks to help and also to discover a world that was unknown to us.
The first week we stayed in Thamel, Katmandhu to get a feel of the country. The second week we set up a base camp at Epona and we began a nine day trek. I’ve never experienced anything so diverse, amazing, challenging and so interesting. It was cold and all the emotions coming out from everyone was crazy. We all found this sense of happiness and love on the trek, a real sense of connection. It was 4,600 metres above sea level. I had to take altitude sickness tablets.
Waking in the mornings with the Nepalese people knocking at the tent saying tea time and looking out at the mountains was so amazing. It was crazy fun. The view is so surreal. You feel like you are looking at a painting. When you are there and looking at such beauty you can’t stop smiling. I was just in awe.
Three weeks without technology was something great for our generation. We learnt how to cook Momo which is a traditional Nepalese dish. It’s basically like a Gyoza or dumpling filled with delicious vegies and chilli. It was so yummy. The food over there is quite simplistic, potatoes and vegetables from the ground. They love their chickpeas and their Masalas.
We went to a school in Bhaktopur and built them a school hall. We had raised the money here and sent the money over so it was there when we arrived. I’m not sure exactly how much we raised but it was between 2 and $3000. While we were over there we got to paint the building. We painted it red and grey on the outside, green inside and we called it Gumtree Hall. We explained to them what Gumtrees were and how they are sentimental in our lives here in Australia.
We also got to play with the young children and see what their lives were like. They cherish everything they have with so much love and everything they do they know how to find fun in it. They had never played handball, soccer or simple games that we find so normal and when we taught them they were so excited. It was crazy cool. It was sad to see so many lost and homeless dogs everywhere. I came home with many treasures. 24 of us went on the trip and it changed all our lives I think. It was so awesome.
I’m not sure what I will do when I’m finished school. I think I will probably go to Japan for the culture but really I think I will just try and get my head around the whole adult thing, gain more experience in myself, living out home and things like that. I think I will then go to Uni and maybe study Forensic Science.”