The highlighted red section is where I will be located, in the eastern Terai region in a small town called Gaighat.

After a strenuous cross country road trip from the green mountains of Brattleboro, Vermont to the Central Coast of California I am now off to my next chapter on the other side of the world. Off to Nepal on Monday to join the other fellows already there. I am not sure what my future holds but I do know a few things; I am going to be constantly questioning the world around me, I am going to take for granted the luxuries of my easy living in the U.S, I will be surprised on a daily basis of the Nepali culture and lastly, I will emerge with a different worldview.

The over arching goal of my blog is to bring an awareness of current political, social and cultural situations in Nepal. Considering some people I have told where I am going do not know where the country is located (surrounded by India, China, Bhutan) I have my work ahead for me.  I hope to learn much more surrounding the political conflicts with the changing government from as many Nepalis as I can.

As for the work I will be doing at NESPEC (Nepal Social Development and People Empowerment Center) I will strive to apply what I have learned at SIT (School for International Training) to the people’s needs in the rural areas.  I hope to write my capstone paper on how policy is changed in Nepal’s rural areas. The fellowship will allow me to profile marginalized people using video, pictures and blogging. The work will be tremendously challenging in another culture and at times I will be very frustrated with my “outsider” presence. To put it simply, I want to learn as much as I possibly can about the Nepali culture and to help wherever it is needed in my community.

I am very grateful for this opportunity and I hope that my blog will be read by many. Please comment about anything that interests you and certainly ask questions that come to mind about life in Nepal.  Also, pass it along to others as well.

Onto Shangri-la!