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"Have you climbed Mt Everest?"
STEREOTYPE QUESTIONS REGARDING NEPAL
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The first question I encountered when my American
dormmates came to know that I was from Nepal was,
well...
"Have you climbed Mt Everest?"
The truth is, I have only been upto ghandruk once, but
I told them that i have reached the Mt Everest Base Camp which is at the height of some feets i made up.., and they were mighty impressed. Earlier, the other
common comment would have been that they had thought that Nepal was a part of India or China's Tibetan
territory.
Well, now thanks to the fact that Nepal has been in the world headline news quite a many times, that
people outside finally seem to know that there is
indeed a country called Nepal. But sadly, they now
happen to think that it is a country with only
mountains full of prayers incanting monks and shotgun
waving maoist guerillas; crazy royal romantics who
wipe out their entire family for love, and not to
forget the forgetful(or is it dumb)lionhearted folks
who dare to board a plane with a bag full of guns and
knives. And I personally wouldnt entirely blame them
for that either.
Back to the main topic.
What are the kind of stereotype questions you have
encountered regarding Nepal by American and other
foreign nationals?
Like..
Have you climbed Mt Everest?
Isnt Nepal a part of India?
Isnt Nepal all mountains?
Do you know martial arts?
etc...
What was your reply to it? or what would be your reply to such questions?
Feedback on the topic would be great.
When i came here three years ago, i came with memories of a country which is a peace zone, where Lord Buddha
was born, the country of great king Janaka, Sita, Bhrikuti, Arniko, the land of mount everest, the home
of brave Gurkhas, and so on. How I miss that feeling !
Now, I realize that i had almost forgotten about all those, while trying to comprehend the stuffs that have
happened in the past couple of years, and are still going on. Again, I do miss that feeling. Very much !!
Om Prakash Shrestha
Canton, NY
http://nepal-usa.cjb.net
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