Summary of Conor Grennan's Little Princes

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 I was excited to go to Nepal and help the children, but I was also excited to travel around the world for a year. I had spent the previous eight years working for the EastWest Institute, an international public policy think tank, out of their Prague office, and was bored.
#2 I had decided to travel to Nepal, and I was excited about it. But I was also nervous. I had heard from my friends that it was a self-indulgent decision, and that I would catch flak for it. But I had a response ready if anyone disapproved: I would say that I didn’t expect them to hate orphans.
#3 The volunteer program began with an orientation held at the office of the nonprofit organization CERV Nepal. The presenter spoke in detail about Nepalese culture and history, but the entire group was transfixed when he mentioned the word toilet.
#4 I was assigned to a concrete yellow house in Bistachhap, which looked pretty snazzy next to the mud ones. I had my own bedroom, a simple affair with a single bed on a mattress of straw and a swatch of handmade carpet spread out on the floor.

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 07 avril 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669381525
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on Conor Grennan's Little Princes
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3 Insights from Chapter 4 Insights from Chapter 5 Insights from Chapter 6 Insights from Chapter 7 Insights from Chapter 8
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I was excited to go to Nepal and help the children, but I was also excited to travel around the world for a year. I had spent the previous eight years working for the EastWest Institute, an international public policy think tank, out of their Prague office, and was bored.

#2

I had decided to travel to Nepal, and I was excited about it. But I was also nervous. I had heard from my friends that it was a self-indulgent decision, and that I would catch flak for it. But I had a response ready if anyone disapproved: I would say that I didn’t expect them to hate orphans.

#3

The volunteer program began with an orientation held at the office of the nonprofit organization CERV Nepal. The presenter spoke in detail about Nepalese culture and history, but the entire group was transfixed when he mentioned the word toilet.

#4

I was assigned to a concrete yellow house in Bistachhap, which looked pretty snazzy next to the mud ones. I had my own bedroom, a simple affair with a single bed on a mattress of straw and a swatch of handmade carpet spread out on the floor.

#5

I had thought Namaste was like Hey there! or What’s up. but I would later learn that it was a more formal greeting than this.

#6

I spent time with the family, and we became closer as a result. I learned that the older boy had a Nepali-English phrasebook, and we had basic conversations about Nepal. I even learned some words in Nepali.

#7

I had been moved by Jon Krakauer’s account of climbing Mt. Everest in 1996, on a day when eight climbers died. I wanted to see Everest Base Camp, and I wanted to do it in Nepal, which was the country I was volunteering in.

#8

I had not realized until that moment how much I did not want to walk through the gate of the Little Princes Children’s Home. The house was concrete, had several rooms, and an indoor toilet. It was surrounded by a six-foot-high brick wall that enclosed a small garden.

#9

When I arrived at the house, the children were so excited to see me that they jumped on me and wouldn’t let me leave until I had eaten with them. I counted eighteen children in total, sixteen boys and two girls.

#10

When I introduced myself to the children, they went nuts. They were imitating the comical bicep flex I had performed when I shouted my name. They understood English quite well after spending time with volunteers, and the little ones had it translated by the older children sitting near them.

#11

I had never interacted with children before, and was scared of doing so. But I knew I could talk to people, and children were little people. I steeled myself for the demonstration, and when I handed a piece of paper to a five-year-old boy, he began to cry.

#12

I slept soundly that night, after the first day at the orphanage. The children took pleasure in running around, half-crazed with happiness. I wondered what in human biology caused children around the world to take such pleasure in running as fast as they could moments after they woke up.

#13

At the Hindu temple, the children were absolutely delighted. They stripped down to their underwear, except for the two girls, who watched from the sidelines. The boys dove into the pool, and one by one they would come out and run to Farid, who would give them a dollop of soap.

#14

I had to identify the children, and I remembered the outfits of a few of them. The boy in front of me looked exactly like the other seventeen children. I was sure that I had his towel, but the boy said that I had one minute before.

#15

The orphanage had a woman who washed the boys’ clothes for them, but they still had to take responsibility for themselves and their own hygiene. They had to scrub their pants and shirts with soap.

#16

The game was played with a well-used deck of cards, and I was able to win the first game handily. But the two boys decided to play as a single team, and their game-time chatter sounded innocuous enough.

#17

In Nepal, I had learned that a bandha was a Maoist-instigated strike. The Maoists had been locked in a civil war against the monarchy in their bid to establish a People’s Republic of Nepal, to be founded on Communist principles.

#18

The frequent bandhas led to shortages of food and kerosene. The food shortages were difficult for us, as prices for vegetables could quickly double during these times. The school was closed due to the bandhas, and children enjoyed school despite the closings.