Stories, we all have stories to share. The story that I had before I came to Nepal was that people in a 3rd world country full of poverty cannot be happy and do not like their life; yet walking down the street I see smiles, people playing games and not what my story had been telling me this whole time. It was at this moment that I remembered a similar story that I had about Europe. I learned about the history and all the kings, and so I had an image of what it all looked like, and that it was medieval. The first time that I went to Europe it looked the same as the U.S. Thinking back on this reminded me that just because we have stories about a place doesn’t mean that they can’t change at any given moment. Getting to see what it really
is
like to live in a 3rd world country is one of the best things I have learned on this trip, and my story has completely changed. Seeing people welcoming us into their houses and feeding us just out of the kindness of their hearts, was incredible to be a part of. In Kaji’s village, there is a tiny little school of about 35 kids, and they didn’t have much other than a couple of classrooms. They did not have many supplies. They basically had the bare minimum that a school could have, and yet they welcomed us with flower necklaces and smiles on their faces even though they didn’t have much and they shared it all with us. Coming from a culture where this is uncommon if not nonexistent was an eye-opening experience. Just because you don’t have the easiest life doesn’t mean that you have a bad or unjoyful life.
Matthew – Class of 2019