Final Post from Nepal

If I had to sum up Nepal in one word, it would be this: Beautiful. The landscape is beautiful, the people are beautiful, the culture is beautiful. Maybe it’s the highest mountain range in the world, or the abundant gold jewelry and colorful fabrics that decorate the women, but I think the real reason Nepal is so beautiful is because of the spirituality that guides every life here.

I once had a conversation about development with a student in Bastipur. He pointed out that developed places have so many good systems and facilities, but the people are too busy to be kind to each other. At first I was taken aback, but then I began to think. Not that Americans are exceptionally unkind, but when you witness a Nepalese person drop their cartload of rice patty to invite you in and fix tea, you can see his point. In the USA, we have great facilities that care for elderly, disabled, and impoverished individuals. In Nepal, these individuals are equally cared for, not by institutions, but by family and neighbors. I wonder whether we have stopped caring for our needy because we have institutions, or if we have institutions because we have stopped caring?

Any Nepalese person will tell you, Nepal is poor in money but rich in heart. It is true down to every last detail, but these are a few ways it stands out to me most:

-In Nepal, people address everyone, even strangers, as “brother” and “sister.” Of course this makes things difficult when you want to find who someone is. When you ask “Who is that?” (Is it your school friend? Your work friend? The new cook? Your father?) the response is always “Oh, he is my brother.” But still, they dont just say those words, they mean them. It demonstrates their care and connection with ALL people.
-The words “yes” and “no” don’t even appear in Nepali language. They only use negative and positive forms of verbs. So when you ask a question, you have to be prepared for an actual response, not a one-word answer. [To be fair, the words “please,” “sorry,” and “thank you” don’t appear, either! But that’s only because kind deeds are mutually expected, not thought of as a generous offer requiring acknowledgement.]
-They greet each other with “Namaste,” which means “the God in me recognizes the God in you.” If you ask me, that is a lot better than a simple “Hi.” Namaste means “bye” as well. And in the case of leaving Charikot, this farewell was accompanied by tika, flower garlands, and blessings for a fruitful life.


And if that one word (Beauty) isn’t enough, here are a few more words that explain why I love Nepal:

Squat toilets
My brothers
Hand washing clothes
Dal Baht Tarkari
Rooftops in Kathmandu
Spice tea
Nepali language
Baby goats
Riding on buffalos
Hindi music and movies (Krish, anyone?)
Women cutting grass in Sarees
Eating right out of the garden
Mountain views
Homemade raksi
Old ladies with gold bull rings in their noses
Nepali “doughnuts”
Eating with your hands
Riding on motorbikes
Squoosh (It’s a vegetable. It’s delicious. Trust me.)
And more and more and more.

On the other hand (perhaps to ease the sting of leaving), I have scraped up a list of EVERYTHING I dislike about this country. Here it goes:

The continuous hacking/spitting/vomiting of Nepalese people
Cold bucket-baths
Burning trash
Being asked to buy ganja everyday (Do I really look that grungy!?)
And that’s it.

Oh well it was worth a try.


So long Nepal!
While thoughts of friends, family, and Christmas trees cant even boost my mood right now, I’m sure after 30 hours of flying I’ll be ready to be home.
I leave in less than 12 hours. The next report of my Nepali adventures will be coming straight from my mouth!