Do you know that feeling when you move to a new place - say leave for college, or move to a new city - where everything is seen with twinkling eyes and you're aware of so many things at once because it's all so new? If you've had this feeling, then you've probably also had the feeling when you begin to get comfortable and your awareness of your surroundings begins to fall in to the "i've seen it before" category - when routine sets in again and normality inhibits your schedule.
3 months in to the trip, and the flash and bewilderment of going to a new country has faded, and i find myself just "being" here.
Thoughts of amusement and excitement from seeing new things have come sparingly and my focus seems to have switched towards life as it really exists here. I guess the best way to put it is that i've stopped comparing life here, with life in the united states. I've slowly pushed habits from american culture to the back of my mind and have in many ways, disconnected myself. With a deep rooted sense of complacency, i've felt as if i've merged in to the life here and begun to understand more through the lens of nepali's, rather than myself. I feel my heart grow slightly heavier every day as i began to understand about the lives that they live and suddenly my first three months of delight in seeing people live these simple lives was struck with compassion and sadness for the struggles that they face in a developing world. The pressure to live in "healthy" conditions, eat a proper diet and make money to buy new things and keep up with an inflating market.
70 years ago, before Nepal opened its doors to the west, it's people lived without these pressures of wealth and development. But as soon as western influence penetrated the tall mountains surrounding the country, a new idea of comfort set in. As the country began to face pressure to release itself from third world status, problems of homeless and poverty emerged. Thats not to say that they didn't already exist - it's just that they weren't labeled in such negative terms. People didn't see themselves as "homeless" or "poor" until western realities were introduced upon them.
This brings me to the point that this whole writing is meant to make: Who are we to judge what is comfortable in others lives? What makes it right for us to label others as "third world" - making them feel that they're behind in every way? Theres no fairness in the rating of peoples lives, theres no justice in labeling others as more needy. It's time that we stop judging the world through the eyes of the west, and begin to find light in every country, in every corner of the earth. Nepal may not have a materialistic lifestyle and through the eyes of a westerner, it may be lacking quite a bit. But if we stop judging the world based on one way of living, so many people would be able to see the beauty inherent in all living places.
Our people, our cultures, our uniqueness.. These are the things that make our world beautiful. Not how much we own or how developed we are. This country is beautiful for its people and its landscape but is labeled as ugly by the world because of its advancement on the scale of society. This country would have been a lot better off without us.
Cheers to the world not being flat.
Thoughts of amusement and excitement from seeing new things have come sparingly and my focus seems to have switched towards life as it really exists here. I guess the best way to put it is that i've stopped comparing life here, with life in the united states. I've slowly pushed habits from american culture to the back of my mind and have in many ways, disconnected myself. With a deep rooted sense of complacency, i've felt as if i've merged in to the life here and begun to understand more through the lens of nepali's, rather than myself. I feel my heart grow slightly heavier every day as i began to understand about the lives that they live and suddenly my first three months of delight in seeing people live these simple lives was struck with compassion and sadness for the struggles that they face in a developing world. The pressure to live in "healthy" conditions, eat a proper diet and make money to buy new things and keep up with an inflating market.
70 years ago, before Nepal opened its doors to the west, it's people lived without these pressures of wealth and development. But as soon as western influence penetrated the tall mountains surrounding the country, a new idea of comfort set in. As the country began to face pressure to release itself from third world status, problems of homeless and poverty emerged. Thats not to say that they didn't already exist - it's just that they weren't labeled in such negative terms. People didn't see themselves as "homeless" or "poor" until western realities were introduced upon them.
This brings me to the point that this whole writing is meant to make: Who are we to judge what is comfortable in others lives? What makes it right for us to label others as "third world" - making them feel that they're behind in every way? Theres no fairness in the rating of peoples lives, theres no justice in labeling others as more needy. It's time that we stop judging the world through the eyes of the west, and begin to find light in every country, in every corner of the earth. Nepal may not have a materialistic lifestyle and through the eyes of a westerner, it may be lacking quite a bit. But if we stop judging the world based on one way of living, so many people would be able to see the beauty inherent in all living places.
Our people, our cultures, our uniqueness.. These are the things that make our world beautiful. Not how much we own or how developed we are. This country is beautiful for its people and its landscape but is labeled as ugly by the world because of its advancement on the scale of society. This country would have been a lot better off without us.
Cheers to the world not being flat.
