It was not until my volunteer placement in Nepal drew close that I became anxious about living with a Nepali family. Different customs, different language, different beliefs. But deep down I do know that the ‘What If’ goblin, but also, things rarely turn out the way you expect them to…

This is Prem Gurung and his wife Himalchul – ‘Mummy’. Suman, their nephew, lives at their house too.

Mummy looking sardonic, as usual…

The Gurungs are my Nepalese family. Prem speaks some English and Mummy’s English is on a par with my Nepali. We communicate with hand gestures and smiley faces; we are having two conversations, sometimes three, but we are trying.

I know their house is numbered ’21’ but I do not know the street name and postcodes do not exist.

For three weeks I am on a dusty, pot-holed ride with my family (a typical experience in Kathmandu) to appreciate how they live, laugh, love and, er, wash in their noisy suburb of Somewhere Northwest of Kathmandu…