Meet the team – here’s Julian!

After a busy start last summer getting settled into life at Global Action, and organising our autumn Nepal teams, Julian flew to Kathmandu himself.

He met many of the fabulous people who make our global learning trips possible in this Himalayan idyll, so we asked him about his experiences and how it felt to return to Nepal as a Global Action Destination Manager.

What were your expectations of Nepal before you went?

I’ve been lucky enough to travel to Nepal a few times before (most recently only a year ago!) so I knew what to expect in terms of the culture and country itself. I was very excited to experience it from a professional perspective, as I knew this would open up a whole different side of Nepal to me.

What was the highlight of the trip for you?

Meeting all the amazing people that we partner with to deliver our trips. From our in-country guides to the NGOs, it was great to meet these incredible people that help make our trips what they are.

I was wearing my ‘professional hat’ for each of the NGO visits, however it really caught me off guard how much I was inspired by visiting these organisations to see the amazing work they are doing. It made me even more excited for the students that get to visit.

Another highlight was simply the incredible view of the Himalayas I had as I was flying into Kathmandu! Easily the best view I’ve ever had from a plane.

What was the steepest learning curve?

For me it was coming to grips with the sheer amount of potential that Nepal has to offer. I felt a little overwhelmed at times at the amount of incredible information and opportunities placed in front of me, however I’m looking forward to being able to unpack this into future trips for our school groups.

Do you want to go back and why?

Without question! I still feel like I’ve only barely scratched the surface with Nepal in both a personal and professional capacity. I’m sure that we’ll continue to develop our itineraries, and I know Nepal has so much to offer – it makes me excited for the future. If I’m lucky enough to do another work trip I’d love to take some time off to do more trekking!

What do you think makes a Global Action trip different?

Global Action trips offer an exciting adventure combined with unbeatable, real-world Global Learning opportunities. Having witnessed the professionalism of our Nepal partners, the inspiring work of the NGOs we collaborate with, along with the passionate work of our UK team, I hold more belief than ever in the incredible, life-changing value of our trips.