There are many things I’ve realized so far
while in Nepal, but here are some of my day-to-day thoughts that I have not,
and might never, come to a conclusion:
1. What is wealth?
Sarlahi is still a “cheap” place to live by
city standards. For 50 rupees you can get unlimited dal-bhaat, while in
Kathmandu expect to pay at least twice that amount. The price was 40 rupees,
but it went up to 50 rupees recently (probably due to the exchange rate). So
the 10 rupee increase was a 25% increase. I try to calculate the cost of the
food. A small bunch of saag (dark leafy vegetable) costs 5 rupees in Kathmandu,
but what does it cost in Sarlahi? Can you even estimate the cost in Sarlahi,
given that the families probably grow their own produce? Money really becomes
an arbitrary concept, even more arbitrary than in the city, where I spent most
of my life in.
Today, it was announced that the annual salary raise for the
employees in Sarlahi would be 10%. I glanced across the room, and one of the
workers squeezed out a smile. Forceful smiles were around the room. The field
coordinator starting clapping enthusiastically and the entire room followed
suit. But people were not genuinely happy. Well if prices go up by 25% but
salary raise is only 10% I can see why… But still, what is wealth?
2. What is happiness? The workers in the
room today were clearly not genuinely excited about the salary raise. They may
have been yearning for a better raise, or perhaps they just didn’t care about
the money at all. Actually, many people in Nepal love to work for foreign
bosses because they get treated better. They rather a lower pay than worse treatment.
People often say: “you should do a job that makes you happy.” But what really
is “happy”?
3. What makes me feel worth living? Or rather,
what jobs am I compatible with?
I realized that I don’t really want and don’t
really care about helping people. I am naturally curious about people and
culture. I naturally like solving problems. I like to grow. And in the process
of doing many of these things I help people…which I don’t mind. I don’t think
it’s wrong to want to help people – I just don’t think it is my priority: I don’t
get the satisfaction and the sense that I need to “save the world”. I guess I
make life worth living through the small things in daily life, seeing things
that make me smile and chuckle a little, making jokes that people may not get,
talking with random strangers, learning a new language/culture, philosophical conversations (part of the reason I really love the new guesthouse and especially talking with M & D)... and even writing this blog post.
Okay, I ramble too much. Here are some pictures for your reward of reading my ramblings:
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| Hindu Temple in Sarlahi, destroyed by Indian Muslims several hundred years ago |
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| Planting rice paddy... well before we saw a snake |
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| Patan Durbar Square. |
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| Some random really pretty flower |
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| Piglets suckling |
We visited a pig farm for L's study, and pigs are actually really interesting animals!
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