SUSI Diaries

White Beats headphone on maximum volume, tapping my feet and waiting for the flight details to be announced, I was seated with five of my other Nepali mates in Hamad International Airport. Had I known the journey of two months would be this exciting I wouldn't have wasted a single second. Ten minutes later came my friends from Srilanka and Bangladesh and we were ready to embark a journey towards Seattle, the Emerald city. If I was alone there, trust me, I would’ve lost my mind with that child in front of me crying throughout the journey, the bland food of Qatar airways and a Nepali grandma poking me every five minutes. But then Upakar, Upendra and Prashanti came to my rescue. By cracking riddles and jokes which made no logic and laughing so hard, easily catching attention of everyone around us, our journey started. As soon as we landed in Seattle, we saw the staff from FIUTS eagerly waiting for us with colorful paper signs. If only they knew how mischievous we were, they would probably have been a little less excited at our arrival!

Soft rain, colorful surrounding and lights everywhere - that’s how the University of Washington welcomed us. Sudden change in weather, people wearing multiple layers and with little Thailand, little Korea, little India and little other countries there was a small world in the premises of Udub itself. Sitting in a hall from 9 to almost 7 doesn’t sound exciting at all but the moments we stole from the time left were precious. The aroma of coffee from Starbucks in every block, the last minute of going through few pages of text books individually and sharing it with friends just in order to be safe from punishments and the random paper conversations while the classes were ongoing, that’s how our first week started. With such a huge time difference and the habit of reaching late to every place “a typical Nepali tendency”, it was really tough for us to adjust with the time schedule as punctuality was at its best there. In order to make our journey more fun FIUTS allotted each SUSI participant with an ambassador from the University of Washington. Mine was Mrunmayee Shetee. From history of journalism to the techniques of reporting and various leadership exercises the first week was fully packed.

In the first weekend, with our shades on, a bag full of enough food and water and ample of sunscreen applied on skin all the SUSI participants were ready for a hike. We hiked our way through the gigantic rocks of Mount Rainier, slipping, falling and getting up again amidst the melting snow on the mountain. We struggled on our hike but still managed to get good pictures of everyone! At the end of the long day we started a bonfire under the starry sky. Amid the silent pine trees in the windless night we made s’mores and sang songs in our respective languages and shared stories from home. It was a perfect weekend for all of us!

The next week our preparation for individual articles started. All the participants were either busy in their laptops searching contacts or busy talking to their ambassadors. Some were busy taking interviews on Skype while some were reading books to dig information. Just to help us get out of the monotonous schedule FIUTS took us to the Safeco field to watch a baseball game. Well I knew what baseball is but I didn't understand the game that well before then. Even after watching the entire match I couldn’t understand the game completely (though I understood many rules) but the fun in the virtual games that were played on the screen, the cheering, the hooting, the DAI HO LEE tune, the Mexican wave, the rhythm of the claps all were out of the world. Like the cherry on the cupcake, the fireworks made our night. Slowly and gradually we had come to know the ways and alleys around the university. One of the shining moments of the second week was  night stroll in Kerry park. Competing with the American children in the games, climbing the rope webs, falling from the spiral slides, finishing the maze and getting drenched in the international fountain brought the child inside me out.

The second and third weeks were full of site visits and who helped us “THE GOOGLE MAP lady”. In order to help us understand about the execution of media houses, their functioning and the workstyle of the journalists in Seattle we were taken to TVW, KUOW, Geekwire, Seattle Daily and the Seattle Times. One of the unique media houses I saw in Seattle was Real Change. It was very impressive because it employed homeless people for paper distribution. With our ambassadors we were taken to a cruise ride which was icy cold but as it was the first experience for us all, every one of us was excited. Uncountable jelly fish swayed with the waves with their tentacles constantly moving in the sea. Besides the time difference, one of the hardest things to adjust with was the food in America. We south Asians who have been habituated to eat warm rice and lentils had to eat cold sandwiches and burgers everyday which kind of felt good the first few days but was difficult to cope up with. But when the district market started to prepare rice and pulses there used to be a long queue. It felt weird when I saw Nepali people in U.S meet each other even when it would demand for travelling hours of distance but when we visited Nepali restaurants it was totally shocking to observe ourselves talking to every next other Nepali people.  

I was not at all happy spending a major portion of my day inside a hall itself but when I look back integrating so many things in such a short time span couldn't have been better. Meeting different people in a new environment and learning newer things was a great experience. It was really challenging but rewarding for us to step out of our comfort zone. There were times when the people we were interacting with were not friendly at all and we would succumb. But once we did that we were able to understand that it was all in the brain. The execution of media houses there was completely different. The best part of the media people there was that every single individual would listen to your views and try their best to quench your curiosity. They would encourage and entertain our questions and every single task was transparent.

The fourth week was the most memorable one. It was our last week in Seattle and I believe we connected to each other in this very week. Preparation of momos with our ambassadors, random walks, chats, camp fire at the beach and games helped to make our bond even stronger. The participants with their ambassadors went for dinner, viewed the Seattle skyline from the top of Space Needle. In this week I got a new family outside my home – a sweet nephew, lovely pet Mia who would welcome me every time with its wagging tail and lovely dad and mom. With a separate room full of stuffed pandas everywhere, glass pieces with small pandas, statues of pandas, first hand and foot impressions of baby Ayden and building blocks just ahead of me Thompson family welcomed me. The home which I was sent for my homestay was similar to that I had expected my dream house to be. Every corner had different pieces from different parts of the world; one could feel the liveliness and happiness in the house as soon as one entered. My American dad and mom took me to bavarian village of Leavenworth a place which ditto felt like the sets of Dilwale. Men dressed like cowboys were riding tourists in horse carriage with those beautiful draperies. Vintage homes lined by colorful flowers, antique pieces and lights all around it was a perfect place for a date. Mexican music and orchestra was playing around and children were blowing bubbles all around. Men and women were enjoying with pitchers of beers and it felt like they had the entire time in the world. I met Mateo who was just a child but made my remaining weeks in U.S lovely.

Leaving Seattle was very hard. It was tough to leave my new family and I was very sad to see the ambassadors crying (though I was the very one who was nagging everyone) but it had to be done as Chicago was waiting for us. Though the journey of Chicago started in a bittersweet (with the news of various gunshot cases and my dollars stolen) the other days helped me to forget it. Chicago was exactly the America which we picture in our mind – tall skyscrapers, busy people, big statues and museums.  The best part of Chicago was its nightlife. It felt like I could spend days looking at those colorful skyscrapers and the fountain which would dance with the background song merrily. The visit to Newseum was no less. The way Newseum portrayed the history of journalism via 3D movie was commendable. History was never this fun. Looking the history so close that you could actually feel the world wars, the struggle of journalists, the challenges yourself is totally an unexplainable experience. As I am not that fond of museums DC did not turn out to be my dream destination but it was amazing to see how well the history was preserved and people were exploring for more details. History was worshipped initiatives were respected. Tombstones, memorials, scripts, objects were perfectly managed and there were guides who knew very single minor details of that places. Bus drives were carried out so that people could learn about it.

United States is undoubtedly a very beautiful place to be but Nepal would be much better only if it was a little developed. One of the best things of United States was that people respected profession regardless of what job you do and they highly prioritized independence. I could see ten-year-old girls playing violin in order to earn money. People invested a huge amount of their money on recreation and amassing materials. The other best part about States was that people were very hard working. If only program as SUSI would be conducted in Nepal it would demand for minimum 10-12 staffs which were handled by only five staffs in total. Majority of the teachers were females and it was quite encouraging to see them teach so well even with their babies with them. The daily tasks were very simplified with the use of technology. All the vegetables and fruits were cleaned before selling, all the things required for daily activities were available in very one store and with the use of machines like washing machine, dish washer and dicer the time to finish household chores was reduced to exactly fifty percent. It was really good to see how artifacts are preserved and explored more and more and the thirst for knowledge would never end. It felt amazing to see how any person could extract information from the places they like and journalists didn’t require certificates to practice journalism.

I believed that the leg pulling tendency is only prevalent in the south Asian political scenario but it was quite disturbing to see how low political contenders could stoop in order to achieve the position during electoral period even in the States. It might have advantages of its own but I was not at all happy seeing marijuana legalized. Children were directly exposed to it which was certain to encourage them to develop tendency as such in future.  I assumed that there would be no homeless people in states but after seeing homeless people living in tents under the bridge and asking for money I felt that whichever country you go there exist poor people. It was more surprising to see some homeless people wearing suits and carrying iPhones. Later after listening to various stories I realized that a millionaire yesterday would turn to be a beggar the very next day as the health facilities were too expensive. But unlike in south Asian countries people would not have to die of hunger as the government would distribute the food coupons and there were food banks from which the homeless people could collect food materials and toiletries. We in our home country believed that America is a progressive country with open minded people. With American government emphasizing so much on empowering women, creating safer environment for them and bringing new rights I believed that it would be a safe place or a place of imagination for women. I was totally shocked when I found that America was no different from our country.

Presenting all those shiny moments in words would be impossible. Nevertheless I will miss those irrelevant and nonsensical riddles of Upakar, “you know I read an article” of Prashanti, Raja sahaab Upendra’s orders, I will miss the obsessiveness of Muaad in coffee and energy drink, vintage homes of barbarian village, the massage of Hiran, visit to capitol hill with Herish, the support of Jyoti, the cool attitude of Ananya, craziness of sarika, NO of Farzana, “YOU bitch” by Nyadooni :P the beautiful skyline of Seattle.I will miss banging saucepans and shouting with baby Ayden I will miss breaking all the traffic rules and running to harbor bridge just so that we wouldn’t miss the cruise. I will miss the ride with my American daddy in Harley Davidson , dipping  legs in the ocean and feeling the sea tides. I will miss the night strolls in UDub. I will miss playing with snow and falling down after every five steps. I will miss the view of the glistening tunnels which I saw with the hair flying in the rhythm of the wind.

Thank you  Stuart Thompson and Lynn Thompson for being a warm and welcoming family in an unknown city. Sorry Era Schrepfer, Qanani Kalil, Ellen Frierson, Tom Lang and Benett Corey Anderson as I have been a pain in the ass many times. But thank you for forgiving me every single time. I can’t say how grateful I am to each and every one of you for making my summer this beautiful! Loads of love!

Farewell Speech

A warm good afternoon honorable CEO, Respected principal, teachers, faculty members, staffs, my beloved friends, my seniors, my juniors and everyone present out here.  I am deeply honored to get an opportunity to speak in front of people who have come from different walks of life and who have so much of potential, knowledge and experiences to share with.

These three years of bachelor’s degree has an indelible presence in my life and these years were the most challenging years of my entire life where I had to prove myself in each and every step I took. In these three years I have met genuinely beautiful souls who have studded my life with precious memories and others who have helped me to learn lessons of life and helped me to learn the essence of struggle.

Somewhere in between principle of acceptance, principle of confidentiality, theory of feminism, psychoanalysis, ethics of a journalist and yellow journalism my three years has come to an end. Standing here in the threshold of my life I have some valuable lessons to share that I have learnt.

1

      1. Work smart

If only hard work would yield results trust me the African women would have become millionaires. Learn how to hit opportunities with skills.

2 Harness skills, polish them, refine them and become a better person

This is the age of making mistakes, falling and rising again and developing skills. Nepal still lacks visionary and skillful people. I believe the current political scenario is the perfect evidence to prove my argument. Get out of your comfort zone, convert your weaknesses to strength and challenges to opportunities.  Money will come along.

3 Develop your own network and connections

Might sound bitter but connections usually overpower effort and hard work. So go to different places, socialize and meet new people. When you have good people around you you will get your work done in a snap.

Finally Compare yourself with no one else than yourself. Every one of us are special in our own ways expecting a fish to climb a tree and an elephant to run like a cheetah is nothing else but a mere foolishness. You were born to stand out and make your life worthwhile. Remember you had to win millions of sperms to get this life that you’re living. You were a conqueror, are a conqueror and will have to remain a conqueror because history only remembers the successful one.
  

Most of us will leave this city and maybe this country as well in few months and fate knows whether we will meet each other again or not. But if my prayers work, I wish all of you present out here get your aspirations fulfilled and have a blissful life ahead.

Thank you one and all and enjoy the evening :)

No Reservation Please

Dear government,

Whenever I reach to any place for an interview or selection the very first thing I do is go through the list of candidates . Not because I doubt on my capabilities but I fear that my “surname” might turn out to be a bain for me. Had I been a Brahman almost hundred years ago the situation might have been completely different.

But alas belonging to the so called superior hierarchy today has itself become a tragedy to me and especially to all those Brahman and Chhetri men who are systematically denied from opportunities just because they were born as Brahmans or Chhetris.

It might seem queer that a woman who is highly benefited by 33% reservation is writing this message but the provision itself seems and sounds like a fabricated favor to minorities (either women or men belonging to different ethnic groups) where they are proved to be less capable. Well the concept of reservation was brought up for a noble cause. But has this reservation actually been empowering people?

Well I don’t believe so. The system has crippled people in such a way that once the system ends all the people will be scattered into distorted mass. It has made people so much parasitic that tomorrow if they don’t get similar opportunities they will definitely choose the way of conflict and why not? Why to work hard day and night when the thing you pine for comes in your life with so less efforts just because you are an individual from minorities.

A Brahman needs to score above 85% while an individual from minority only needs to cross 70 %. A Brahman man has to spend years to obtain one thing while in very few efforts a man/woman from minority does it all in a snap.I am not undermining the efforts of those individual of minority but I know the pain when your efforts do not yield result automatically discouraging people and killing their motivation. Even the INGOS that belongs to countries like U.S.A and U.K which is guided by the principle that all are born equal drastically change their philosophies as soon as they step in Nepal and ask provisions for minorities. I hardly see Brahman and Chhetri men in INGOs and embassies as the vacancies favors a minority. Programs on empowerment of people belonging to minority are conducted in four star or five star hotels where the maximum funds are spent. The already empowered people are invited, speeches are delivered, delicacies are served, people exchange customary greetings and the fund as well as the program ends. Who is benefited here? The hotel owner and yes the organization for adding program in its list.

Until and unless you don’t reach to the root of the problem the situation will remain constant. I know it’s hard for you as well. When we cannot make all our family members happy however hard we try you have countless families to look after. But I also know that had my mother not treated me and my sister equally, it might have resulted into sibling rivalry. This system will not only create crevasses and gaps in the relation of  men and women or the people belonging to different ethnic groups which will be very difficult to bridge in but might also lead to communal riot. The bitterness might completely break these relationships. 

Example: A son/daughter of Madhesi, Janajati and Dalit doctor/industrialist/business tycoon has equal opportunity as a son/daughter of Brahmin and Chhetri to develop himself/herself. But rather then reaching to the financially weak and uneducated people, rich minority benefit from it. I have seen people getting selected for quotas by fooling the government officials where they study in private schools until grade nine and study at government schools in grade ten with home tutions to be applicable for the quota system. While a child whose family cannot even offer the child two meals a day has to sacrifice his/her aspirations as s/he was born Brahman. The people in Terai manage to live in a whatsoever manner while people in hilly and mountain regions die as they have no transportation facility and have to walk miles to even get to a health facility. There are many Brahmans in far western and mid western development region who are living lives which is even hard to imagine. In this case who seems the actual vulnerable?  Aren’t they the citizens of Nepal? Or should they be punished because some of the Brahmans have reached to a high post? Isn’t it your responsibility to address their needs and demands as well? The reservation for differently able people can be justifiable as their body doesn’t support them in every task. But others do have their hands and legs which can help them to gain success if they work hard. With 45% reservation seat and only 55% of free competition how can we expect quality?

You can take the example of the recent results of Tribhuvan University as well where many people were agitated as the toppers were Brahman. Does the government need to start a new system as a non minority topper and minority topper now? Or should people be judged by their capabilities?

Martin Luther King had once said in his speech that he envisions the world not to judge his children by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I too envision a Nepal where people get success by their hard work rather than their surname. Otherwise the day isn’t far where Brahmins will be the suppressed ones. I know very well how much the people from Dalit groups and Janajati groups had to suffer due to untouchability and how hard is it for them to emerge out from their past. But I also know injustice cannot be a solution for removing injustice. The  provision of reservation must be time bound. As our constitution isn’t rigid and can be reformed at required time changes must take place.

My only request to you is to help them to help themselves. Give equal opportunities to all. work on minimizing the differences between haves and have not's . Improve the quality of the government schools so that people will not have to migrate in Kathmandu and can live in their own places. Create a plane from where people of all sex, caste, creed and color can reach to any place as they wish and let them be on their own. Create an independent individual not a parasite. I hope another individual like me will not have to write a letter as such again in the years to come.

Yours Sincerely,

A Nepali citizen

Welcoming 2016

Flipping the pages back, the year 2015 was a beautiful journey with numerous ups and downs, surprises, achievements, as well as challenges and difficulties. Looking the year surfatially life was full of struggles shaken by earthquake, strangled by embargo, deaths, terror and violence everywhere but when I plunge deep there were pretty beautiful moments to celebrate. The slight touch of old people with eyes full of gratitude, the tight hug of children, the happiness when your students pass with hundred percent results, the satisfaction when your efforts yield results, the smile you earn after serving the needy and the remembrances of people whose lives you have touched are the memories which will always be cherished.

This year made me realize that my life was much easier than that of many individuals of Nepal. It made me feel the afflictions of people as well as helped me realize the potentials of youth after seeing their rigorous efforts during earthquake. I saw god in those helping hands while I saw devils on those people who were using the aids for their personal gains. Individually the year 2015 helped me identify true friends and the fake ones and made me a strong woman. Life threw me to the wolves and I returned leading a pack. I learnt that life doesn’t get easier we just tend to get stronger. The only regret of this year was I wasted too much of time on people who weren’t worth it.

Nevertheless realizing the quicker we let go our past the sooner a brighter path will await, I am really excited for 2016. I don’t have any resolution as such but I have made my mind to utilize the upcoming days to an optimum level (remembering to take breaths). I will make sure this year will be much more awesome than last year and I will indulge myself in those activities which will make me happy. At the end of the day isn’t life all about happiness?