December 12, 2018
When I first arrived in Swaziland, I did not experience huge culture shock. I expected a lot of what I saw there because I had seen it on ads at home before. I recognized the poverty there. Kids with tattered clothes, dirty from the red swazi dirt, eating rice and beans with their hands and still joyful through all of it. I know that you have seen it too on ads from World Vision or Samaritans Purse. Going from Africa to Asia was not a culture shock I was prepared for. I hadn’t seen a lot about Asian poverty, maybe I didn’t pay attention to it very well or maybe it just was advertised as much. Whatever it was, I wasn’t ready for it. There is no red dirt here and the kids have warm clothes to wear (because it’s cold). In Nepal, there is an insane amount of smog. The place where I live is close to the mountains, but because of all the smog they look distain and like a layer of fog is always covering them. A majority of the people wear masks because of the smell and air quality.
In Swaziland the main religion is Christianity. A lot of people know who Jesus is and believe in Him and you’re free to share the Gospel there. In Nepal, the main religion is hinduism and buddhism. One of the few places that these two religions liven harmony. They believe in a lot of different gods and find that they have to earn their way into “heaven”. There are temples, statues, and little offering temples everywhere. People here can be Christians and go to church, but that is all.
Nepal is not like Africa. It’s funny how you can hop on a seven hour plane ride and be in a completely different culture and life style. This is something to get used to, but I love it here so much. I love the people, the mountains, the colors. Nepal is a different kind of beautiful.
Talk to you all soon!
