Photo by: Kristin Weaver and Grant Knisely

Stepping off the plane in Katmandu, Grant Knisely entered a different world.

Video camera in hand, he set out to capture the experiences of his nine other companions as they explored Nepal.

As a senior majoring in communications, Knisely decided to produce a documentary of the International Service Learning Project Nepal trip, which he called “the best experience of my undergraduate career.” He heard about the trip from a friend who went on the inaugural trip in 1999.

Project Nepal involved three and a half weeks of serving and learning in Nepal over winter interterm. The 10 students participated in any of the five service organizations. A few students taught English in two elementary schools. Others volunteered for the environmental group KEEP (Katmandu Environmental Education Project).

Knisely helped write a script for a documentary KEEP was working on. Other organizations included Tiwa, which supports rural women, and Missionaries of Charity, which involved hospital work.

In the afternoons, the students attended lectures about Nepal. On weekends, the participants embarked on village excursions in the surrounding areas.

In order to prepare for the trip, the participants were required to attend two orientations and two lectures. They learned basic Nepali, so they would be able to communicate somewhat with the Nepali people. The students also learned about the political issues in Nepal, especially the recent assassination of five members of the royal family.

“I expected it to be challenging just because it is a place that is radically different from any place I’d ever been as far as people, culture and everything,” Knisely said.

While Knisely had studied abroad before in London, he had never experienced anything like Nepal.

“I had never been to a third world country before,” Knisely said. “Getting off the plane in Kathmandu and just seeing the poverty there was overwhelming.”

Part of the learning process, Knisely said, was understanding why the country is so poor through the lectures the students attended. Despite the poverty, stifling pollution, and unstable politics, the people of Nepal seemed to be happy, peaceful people, according to Knisely.

“Overall people were so nice and smiling,” Knisely said. “The conditions are horrible over there, but people are still content.”

Knisely called the interaction with local people to be the best part of the trip. One of the guest lecturers invited everyone to his home and showed a great amount of hospitality, serving the Americans a huge meal and introducing them to his whole family.

Getting to know his travel companions was also a rewarding aspect of the trip for Knisely.

“The group was just great. I was really impressed with how hard everyone worked,” Knisely said. “They put up with me following them around and filming them.”

Producing his documentary took up much of his time during the trip, which, at times, was challenging.

“The biggest challenge for me was trying to produce this documentary and not be a tourist, but also to serve and be culturally sensitive at the same time,” Knisely said.

Knisely received funding from the Social Science Foundation and PINS. He also had support from the School of Communication which lent him a camera to take to Nepal. He also received support from the International House and from Vice Provost Shelia Wright. He hopes to premier the documentary on May 2 in Sturm Hall.

“I’m convinced a lot more students would do international service learning programs if they just knew they existed and how much they had to offer,” Knisely said. “I wanted to do this documentary to raise awareness for the program and what impact it had on the students and also the people we served in Nepal.”

Knisely applied for an internship with National Geographic, and would ultimately like to make a career traveling and making documentaries.

“If I can find a way to travel internationally, film it, photograph it and make money that would be ideal,” Knisely said.