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Mariah’s Magical Mystery Tour to Sri Lanka, Nepal a Study in Contrasts
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Written by Farhan Ahmed, The Eagle Senior Columnist
This is an interview with Mariah Howze about her visit to Sri Lanka and Nepal over the summer. She and several other students went to both of these countries with the school’s international organization in order to learn about different cultures, environment, style, and most importantly, people. This new experience was meant to allow students to be able to interact with other students of different ethnicity, and learn to live their ways. Mariah was just the right person to fit in with our fellow people of Sri Lanka and Nepal.
Just as we all have different feelings about different states in the U.S, the feeling about two different countries are even more contrasting. Mariah’s views of Nepal and Sri Lanka were typically opposite, but she had her reasons. She found Nepal to be the most crowded, “stinky and filthy”, abundance of insects, beggars, “dead meat everywhere in the market, and lacked any form of order in the streets. On the other hand, the life in Sri Lanka was more similar to the United States: comfortable, well developed, containing modern stores such as the great “Pizza Hut”, malls and shopping stores.
Some of the things that surprised her were the number of unfortunate, stray dogs in the streets, the Hindu and Buddhist monasteries, the fact that the steering wheel was on the left side, the vast amount of run-down houses, and worse, being hit by motorcycles twice in Nepal, which should have been expected considering the chaos. Another thing that caught her attention was the fact that her host family was Christian.
Unlike the U.S, Mariah emphasized that the people in Sri Lanka and Nepal were extremely nice; everywhere she went, the people threw a “Welcome Party” with their own traditional themes and ceremonies. They were all very modest people that accepted her attitude and beliefs with respect. Most importantly, “they actually value what they have a lot more than we do here”. Along with this statement, people in Nepal even carved this very theme of generosity: “Do what you can with what you have.”
The cultural influence, Mariah said, was very strong in the people’s daily lifestyle. The two major religious sects there were the Buddhists and Hindus. During her experience, she witnessed their cultural clothing, cuisines, and the overall family life. Strictly religious, they were all required to wear very long clothes that covered all of their body, male and female. As for the foods she had during her time, “it was rice, curry, vegetables, and eggs every day.” The food there was very monotonous, but “tasty, as well,” according to Mariah. “The food was spicier in Sri Lanka than Nepal.” Despite all of the differences, both countries followed similar schedules like U.S, with only the exception of Nepal having Saturday schools. “The schedule in Nepal was awkward.”
As we all know, going to another country requires much more sacrifices than to move within a nation. Mariah had to live through the trip without making a single phone call to her friends here, nor be able to use any type of Wi-Fi due to the different system they used in Nepal. Alongside with that, she was unable to wear any makeup, change into her “normal” clothes, and forced herself to change her attitude in order to fit in with the cultural people. However, these were greatly overwhelmed by the good factors that were extremely popular there: very friendly people who are easy to get along with, they were very accepting and comforting, and gave a feeling of home.
Last but not least, Mariah made a fair decision on which country she would rather go again based on her own personal experiences. “Sri Lanka was more ‘homey’, had stores and malls that I could shop in, and my host family was great.” However, in terms of Nepal, she added that her time at the Nepal Break Dance Foundation convinced her to visit that place again, which goes together with the nice people, strong culture, and lastly, the fact that everything was hand made in Nepal.
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