Selfless

Expressing the beauty I have witnessed in the Nepalese people is near impossible because it is not the words they speak, but the way they speak them. It is not what they do, but how they do it. When I watched the young boy who welcomed us into his home offer the last bite of his egg to his brother before taking it for himself, I felt like I understood his values. He and his family warmly embraced foreigners into their home and shared food, stories, and smiles which gave me further insight into the culture of Nepal. Even though the home shared by four people occupied a space barely the size of my bedroom, the people in it wanted to give us everything they had.  The mother kindly cooked us eggs and offered us a traditional dish called Kurd. The family struggles every day to purchase enough food to survive, and even so, they were willing to share their hard earned necessities with strangers.

This family and this country is made up of people who are wise and generous. They share all that they have, even when it is most precious.

An amazing woman who has been helping to guide us around the city of Bhaktapur shared with us one of the most important moments she will ever experience. Samriddhi invited the entire Children’s Global Alliance team to her brother’s wedding. She spent the entire evening showing us around the incredible event. She took time out of her life during such an important moment to share it with others. She demonstrated the level of selflessness which exists throughout Nepal. Samriddhi waited until we arrived and ate dinner with us, she spent this monumental experience catering to the needs of people she has known less than a week. This wedding was an arranged marriage and an opportunity for all of the family members to get to know each other. When we were introduced to the bride she offered us hazel nuts to represent the relationship we formed and its ability to grow. We each got 4 nuts because we didn’t know the bride, but the stronger the relationship was, the more people were offered. This was a very impactful symbol to me because it made me realize that it is not the social status or appearance of guests that makes them more important, it is truly the bonds which exist between people.  All of the guests at the wedding were very friendly and welcoming of a group of people so different from them. They were not judgmental of our group and made me feel like I belonged everywhere I went.  

The people of Nepal have deepened my understanding that no matter how little you might have, you can always share it with others. I will carry these lessons with me always. When I have guests in my home I will work to make them feel as comfortable and cared for as the families in Nepal have made me feel. Like Samriddhi, I will try to share the most special moments with others because everyone deserves to experience life’s greatest events.

Autotrophic

I stand at the front of a classroom of twenty five 11-year olds and their confusion is evident to me through their furrowed brows and turned up lips. I remind myself not to panic, remember that autotrophic is a big word, English is a hard language, and my accent is one they very rarely hear. I smile and ask the question in a more simple way, “Class 4, do plants have mouths?” Their perplexion turns to giggles as they deny my rather silly question. Feeling more relieved, I explain that because plants don’t have mouths, they cannot eat food and must make their own. This characteristic is why plants are classified as autotrophic. While all animals (and fungi) need to eat other organisms in order survive, and are classified as heterotrophic. As class 4 came to understand these words, they began to mean something deeper to me.

Learning about life in a classroom is easy. You are told the things you need to have in order to survive- things like food. But learning about life outside of the classroom is harder because you have to figure it out for yourself. I have discovered that happiness is most essential to my personal survival. The students I am teaching and learning from in Nepal are like the autotrophic organisms. They make their own happiness, even in the most challenging circumstances. The natural disaster that shook all of Bhaktapur in 2015 has left the city broken. Bricks on the ground are uneven, homes lay crumbled on streets, and buildings remained cracked. The children do not look at the reminders of the earthquake and feel terrified or upset by the past. Instead, they embrace the moments we have right now. They use remnants from destroyed buildings as nets in table tennis. They play musical chairs with bricks that once supported a building. The students are excited to dig through piles of structure remains to pick up trash with us. These children live in the present in a way I have never seen before, because they know more than anyone how much can be destroyed in a single instant.

I want to stray away from the heterotrophic way of life, where I depend on outside sources to fuel my joy. In the past I have found myself relying on objects or other people’s actions to satisfy me. The way of life in Nepal has shown me that this is insufficient; I have been shown that only I have control over the way I am feeling. I have been inspired to search for joy, not because of the things I have, but because of the moments I am in. Every moment in life is worth being present for and worth truly living in. I want to strive to be like my friends here in Nepal. Rather than simply existing, I have been inspired to become more aware of my surroundings and search for joy in every crack of this earth. I want to be like an autotrophic organism that can thrive in even the harshest environments.