Before I left Canada I was told all kinds of things to prepare me for life in Nepal. I knew what to expect when I got here, and while the experiences I've had were eye-opening, I haven't had any that were truly unexpected. One of the important things I've learned over the past 3 months is that expecting something does not mean being prepared for it. I expected the election to cause national insecurity, but I was not prepared for the turmoil. I expected a more polluted environment, but I was not prepared for the constant dust and smog. Facebook, the marvellous product of our shrinking global village, has informed me that a lot of the other INDEVs feel like their new cities are 'home', with their days becoming routine, and considering themselves members of their respective communities. I expected a lot of them to feel this way at some point about their placement, but today I realized that I was certainly not prepared.
Kathmandu does not feel like home. Maybe that's because I have had so much time off that I haven't fallen into a daily routine, or maybe it's because my home will always be with the people I love. I think one of the strongest factors that contribute to this discomfort though is the staring. People staring at me is something I expected, but not something I was really prepared for. Like riding a tuktuk to work or dealing with the excessive stray dogs, I thought that seeing a white person in Nepal would be a novelty that would soon wear off for the Nepali people. I was wrong. Even a lot of the people who see me on a regular basis continue to stare at me, 3 months into placement. On my way into work one morning, it dawned on me that people aren't just looking at me, but judging me as well. It wasn't hard to figure out the conclusions they had probably come up with. The flag on my bag obviously made me Canadian. The fact that I'm white automatically makes me rich. Riding the tuktuk meant I was trying to conform to their culture, but the way I dress means I'm clearly not trying that hard. Pointing at things out the window and the confused look I gave the other intern when the driver said something in Nepali meant we haven't been here all that long, but we are familiar enough to know how and where to stop the tuktuk. Wearing pants means I'm going to work, which means I'm not married. And of course, with no husband at my age (I've had a full 20 years to find a man by now), there must be something terribly wrong with me. Realizing that people were coming to these conclusions based only on my appearance made me uncomfortable at first. Growing up, I was painfully aware that I was a non-white child living in a very white town, but this was still the first time I've been the subject of racial or cultural profiling. It occurred to me then that we do the same thing at home all the time. While Canada is significantly more culturally diverse than Nepal, we all still make snap judgements about people, even when we make conscious efforts not to. A muslim woman who is covered up is oppressed. A guy with visible tattoos is a rebel or a threat. An Asian student is a math wiz. I was alarmed to realize that we look at people and decide things about them as if we know all about their lives, and that other people, regardless of where we are in the world, do the same to us. [Sorry. End of lecture.] I was concerned that I wasn't feeling the same intimate connection with Kathmandu, but I've now accepted that I will always be a visitor in someone else's home as long as I'm here. I surprised myself to realize that I'm actually okay with that because it means that I will forever know where my home really is. That being said, I'll be back where I belong in 25 days and I couldn't be more excited for the Christmas season (and my birthday and New Years of course)! As negative as this all might sound, I don't hate Nepal. I've come to enjoy the time I'm spending here and plan to make the most out of it, but if there is one thing I have come to appreciate even more from this placement, it's the joys of home.
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Everyone who isn't living under a rock has heard about Rob Ford's crack video and Typhoon Yolanda devastating the Philippines. Most people have probably seen the article on facebook that went viral about why marriage isn't for you, and some people may have even been following the XL pipeline agreement between BC and Alberta. While the news has been busy covering important stories like these, the world seems to have ignored the fact that Nepal will be holding a national election in just 6 days. Without getting into the nitty-gritty politics of it, this will be the second election since the end of the country's 10-year civil war, and it is highly controversial because of the utter failure that came from the results of the previous election. Nepal has over 120 political parties, and a consortium of 33 of these parties have decided to boycott the election and have called a nationwide bandh (strike/protest). We've known this was planned for the past month, but everyone in Nepal seemed convinced that it would blow over and be called off. They were wrong. I've been confined to my house and places within walking distance since Monday. On the first day, government offices, businesses and institutions were forced to close. Since then, they have been allowed to reopen, but there is still a transportation strike being enforced until November 21st to prevent people from getting to voting polls. Stories are surfacing of bombs being thrown into buses, cabs being set on fire, cars being pelted with rocks, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) being planted on roads. As the election draws nearer, rallies and protests go by my window on a daily basis. I find it frustrating that electoral candidates are being assassinated over here, but the world is still too preoccupied with Rob Ford's coke addiction to notice.
In my office, we celebrated Tihar the day before the festival began. I learned how to worship goddess Laxmi, finger-painting some yellow and red substances on her picture, before throwing rice at it and waving incense around the room. I can't say the process meant anything to me, but I'm still excited to have been able to participate in the festival in such a concrete way. Besides, my colleagues promised the goddess would bring me some wealth, and I won't say no to that!
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