Will You Visit My Village?

Sindhupalchowk 

‘’Mero gau maa jaane ho?’’ 
The only question I have been asked more times than this is whether my hair is real or not. 
‘’Will you visit my village?’’ everyone asks after a short conversation and getting to know each other. 

Having grown up in Nairobi, the capital city of my country, I had become accustomed to people having rather condescending views of the more rural areas. I and a lot of my friends viewed them as boring places where life was generally harder and, as such, most of my generation born and raised in Nairobi would not enjoy trips to the villages where our respective tribes are concentrated. 

Here in Nepal though, I have encountered that more often than not, people take pride in their homelands and villages, regardless of how simple or humble a background they may come from. It’s quite a refreshing experience to say the least. It makes me wonder how people from the rural areas that have moved to Nairobi feel about their villages. It’s something I had never given thought to before, I only knew how I saw it. 

Though I haven’t yet been able to take anyone up on their offer (mostly due to time constraints), I do intend on doing so one of these days. The scenery in some of these villages that I have been able to witness in pictures and during some of my travels outside of Kathmandu are much too alluring to miss out on. And while my experiences may not accurately represent the situation for the majority in either country, it has still been a rather enlightening experience to encounter attitudes like these.

~ Wesley from Kenia