The following is my answer to @abundance.tribe's question of the week. This is an appealing and enjoyable writing endeavor to me. Thank you for asking! Let's explore this post together.
What is something that fascinates or interests you about another culture or country?
Although in terms of GDP Nepal is considered a poor country in the eyes of many but over and over again this is a country that both fascinates as well as enriches me tremendously. First and foremost, Nepalese government and Nepalese people are so kind and gracious to accept Tibetan refugees into their country despite the potential risk of offending CCP. I had the opportunity to speak to Tibetan monks. They were accepting, friendly and optimistic. They understood the difference between Chinese civilians and CCP hence adopted nonviolence approach.
Mountain guides and porters always made sure I'm well fed and shown genuine concern for my safety. They take their profession seriously. Nepal is indeed the epitome of Asian pride. It is a landlock country situated in challenging terrain yet people live with dignity. Red light district and shady weed joints are very well hidden, almost unnoticeable. People made the effort to behave like responsible mature adults.
Many people are vegetarian due to religious reasons which in turn is beneficial to the environment. Raising livestock as food supply increases carbon emissions and also endangering lives as animal husbandry is the hotbed of diseases. Using cow or yak dung as biofuel further reduces carbon footprint.
Ethnic minorities within Himalayan region are diverse. Some well-known ones that I am more familiar with are Gurung, Tamang, Limbu and Sherpa. Living in the Himalayan mountain ranges kept their population in check. In fact, farming is so tough that it's easy to have a miscarriage. Some husbands and wives are geographically separated due to their job nature and that further reduces the overall population. In very remote places, polyandry is practiced to prevent land divisions among siblings. Polyandry is also an effective and natural birth control method. In a family with two husbands, the livelihood of offspring are somewhat protected.
After visiting Nepal, I experienced a spiritual awakening like never before. Buddhist parents are so understanding and in fact it is considered a meritorious act to send their kids into long-term monastic life. Parents respected child's wishes and children understood the meaning of financial hardship. I felt inspired to become a better person. If I want to graduate from Oxford, I'll do so myself within this lifetime. Similarly, if I want to scale the Mount Everest, I'll achieve it on my own terms. Emotionally blackmailing a child into achieving one's goal or irresponsibly creating them as a form of insurance during uncertainty is so wrong.
Finally, I am super jealous to learn that the royal family of Nepal is no longer in power. In my country, there are nine royal families to support. One can only imagine the financial strain on ordinary citizen. Best of all, the last King abdicated without bloodshed.
Thank you for reading!
Cheers,
Wheat
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Nepal has always been on my list to visit. Their people fascinates me and also the culture. I learned nepali when I was 15 just because and it was interesting. There are so many online friends that I came to know and I want to visit their countries one by one. Thus far, I only visit two. I hope the corona dies so I can visit more.
You're so diligent to learn Nepali. It'll be useful when you're in remote areas. I look a lot like Tamang or Gurung people so elderly people stared at me in a peculiar manner when I spoke in English instead of Nepali 🤣 Yup, I hope COVID dies down too so that everyone can get on with travelling again. Take care!
ooh good to know! I had online friends, The Gurungs when I was 15 ish and from my impression, they live up high and in quite remote areas. They speak quite OK English and somewhat obsessed with learning English. I realized that my language skills would be useful one day. It was proven when I met a nepali in Indonesia and had the chance to practice it a bit.
Yes, the younger ones speak good English. Actually the Gurungs have many dialects such as Tamu Kwyi and Loke. Even my guide from Kathmandu can't understand 🤣