by James Salter
First published 2014
Lola Marine and her son arrive in Tikapur, a small town in southwest Nepal, in late January 2013. They have come to volunteer at the Kanasugi Ingles Boarding School for two months. Marine navigates the daily challenges of working in an unfamiliar educational system while observing the stark differences between her home culture and Nepalese traditions. She and her son encounter unexpected situations that test their adaptability and preconceptions about volunteer work abroad. Their journey extends beyond Tikapur to include visits to Kathmandu and Pokhara, where new experiences await them. Marine documents the sensory details of their days, the relationships they form with students and locals, and the internal changes that occur during their stay. The volunteer assignment becomes a lens through which both mother and son examine their own assumptions and discover what it means to be outsiders trying to contribute meaningfully in a foreign setting.
Genres: fiction, adventure, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Kathmandu, Nepal, Pokhara, Tikapur
Period: 2013
130 pages · Paperback · CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform