Tihar, or the festival of lights, takes place every year as one of the major Hindu festivals. The festival was very fun to experience. I’m writing about what I was told everything symbolizes, but Hinduism is complex and varies amongst different ethnic groups and castes. This festival overall worships the goddess Laxmi, who brings wealth […]
As the title suggests, here are things I don’t get about both Nepali and American cultures: The Wasps’ Nest There was a wasps’ nest in the entrance to my house since I’ve been here. When I first got here, it was no bigger than a quarter, and just as my Nepali skills grew, this thing […]
The American Embassy in Nepal has a mobile bus that travels the country on request to bring books and activities to remote villages that otherwise wouldn’t get exposure to a library. It’s aptly named “the Book Bus.” That bus filled with books along with six teachers came to my school at for a week to […]
Here’s a secret that we can never mention again: I cried on Thanksgiving in front of a room full of strangers. I was helping my family cook and serve dinner for 30 election officials who were staying at the school for the elections. It was so cold that night, and it was really late, and […]
When I first got to my village, I asked my host brother if I could join in his daily soccer match with a group of 20 young men from the surrounding area. He told me, “girls can’t play soccer.” Ten months later, my girls organized a three-day, four-team, all-girls soccer tournament. They found two local […]