Lewisham North Expeditions
The Scout and Explorer groups from Lewisham North have embarked adventurous and challenging expeditions in 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2014. In 2016 we're planning an ambitious expedition with two teams. One attempting to summit Mardi Himal Peak (5587m), while the second team tackles a route in the surrouding area – meeting up with the summit team at High Camp.
Throughout my younger years I was a shy, withdrawn quiet teenager. In the build up to the Nepal Expedition, through various fundraising events, meetings and social gatherings I got to know everyone within the scouting district, put names to faces and felt thoroughly included in the scouting family. I didn't feel too nervous about the expedition simply because instead of being the usual shy me, I was confident enough to talk to anyone no matter the age, this includes the humble Nepalese guides and porters. In hind sight I truly believe that the Nepal Expedition was a huge stepping stone in relation to where I am now, traveling around China some three years after leaving England. Since the Nepal Expedition I have felt confident in applying myself to any situation mainly due to important lessons learnt and experiences gained from the Nepal Expedition.
I am definitely going to write about Nepal in my personal statement for university, even though going to Nepal doesn’t seem that relevant to the course I am going to apply for there are so many skills I gained from the expedition that I think it will be a very valuable thing to talk about. I will include examples of team work skills and communication skills that I gained and explain how the expedition affected me as a person.
Nepal is the best experience I have ever had and is a experience I will never forget. I feel that this is the most important thing to me as you can not experience what we experienced in Nepal in any other way. It has not only given me a living memory to remember but it has also given me life long skills for the future. Like already mentioned it has gave me confidence to achieve anything I want to, but it has also made me realise that what we have in our lives and what we take for granted like food, water, education we should cherish and make the most out of what we have.
Both of the expeditions that I have been a part of with the Lewisham North Scouts (Annapurna ’06 & Everest Base Camp ’08) have helped me immeasurably several years on. I included details of the expeditions, and of the skills that they helped me to develop, in my UCAS Personal Statement which helped me to secure a place at my 1st choice University. In addition to this, I have had several interviews for jobs over the last few years where the interviewer has asked me about my trips to Nepal having seen details of the expeditions on my C.V. This has provided me with an opportunity to strike up a conversation with the interviewer, whereby I can confidently demonstrate the teamwork and independent skills that I have developed, using specific examples from expeditions to Nepal with the Lewisham North Scouts.
