Cultural Studies

When I first get into a new culture, I try and do some cultural reading. I pick a wide variety of books, if available, and absorb what I can. With that said, my readings have been very broad and I wanted to share a couple of the highlights.

I read a great little story about a frog that decides to travel all over Nepal. I learned a lot about the different areas of the country. I also jotted down some possible trips and things to see for the future.  You can read this book,entitled Adventures of a Nepali Frog on line at http://www.childrenslibrary.org/icdl/BookPreview?bookid=dixadve_01030001&route=simple_0_0_0_English_11&lang=English&msg=&ilang=English

I finally found a copy of Tom Hale's Don't Let the Goat Eat the Loquat Trees.  If you can find a copy, I highly recommend it. It is about a missionary doctor and his life here in Nepal in the 1970s. Not much has changed outside of Kathmandu, apparently, but it does make one appreciate all the ground work that has been laid by missions in this country.

Another book that was quite interesting was Nepal Aama: Life Lesson of a Himalayan Woman  by Broughton Coburn, a Peace Corp worker here in Nepal in the 1990s. There is a lot of insight into the mindset of the Nepali village people. The presentation is a bit different with its black and white photos and just Aama's comments about life, but I really enjoyed the whole book.

Yesterday the school library was open, so I checked out a couple of young readers' books. One of the stories I read was called, The Cunning Jackel.  It is actually a story told in the hill country of Nepal. As I was reading the story, I kept thinking, 'This sounds so familar!"  Then it hit me... it was! I grew up listening to Brer Rabbit stories. This story was almost the same, except that the Tar Baby was a Soap Baby and the Brier Patch was a Stony Path. However, I am not sure that Brer Rabbit ever thought about climbing up the butt of a death elephant, but like I said, it's cultural.

Another book I got was called the Treaty of Kathmandu  by Kanak Mani Dixit. I actually copied the paragraph about it:

"Treaty of Kathmandu is a charming story of conflict resolution. It is a story of sharing of the Kathmandu skies between people and birds. The conflict would have gone on were it not for the facilitation of a wise king. This is a must read in these times where everyone needs to listen to the other's point of view."

It is a great story for teachers to read to their classes. (Yes, I am also always reading with education in mind... I just can't help myself). For further reading here is a short article about the tradition of kite flying in Nepal. http://www.ecs.com.np/feature_detail.php?f_id=365

Anyways, as I continue to read and find stories, I will pass them along. With no TV (okay two channels - one being the all news - all day station) I am recapturing my love of reading and spurring on the notion of being a life-long learner!