If you have money and a nice house, cars and clothes, it means you are rich. If you lack those things, then you are given the label of being poor.
However, since coming to Nepal, I've met so many people who are happy and carefree. In the United States, we are all stressed about who we will become, how much money we will earn and whether we'll be successful or not. In Nepal, the fears are probably there, too, but people seem to be richer if you look at their happiness. People spend a lot of time with their family, chatting with neighbors and walking at a leisurely pace. Maybe defining rich and poor in terms of money and things is too simple. In my eyes, living a good life and being happy and kind is also wealth.
Before coming here, I thought Buddhism was the main religion in Nepal. Buddhism is a religion that teaches the way of the Buddha, a man born in Nepal about 2,500 years ago. In reality, most Nepali people are Hindus. Hinduism is a religion followed mainly in India that has many gods and goddesses. I also found that there are many different types of Buddhism followed here. In the mountain region, a lot of people follow Tibetan Buddhism, as they do across the border in Tibet and throughout the Himalayas. In the hilly region, people actually follow a mixture of Buddhism and Hinduism.
Three months ago, I thought I knew something about Nepal. After living here for almost three months, I've realized that I actually knew very little about this beautiful country. I’ve learned that it is full of friendly people that have many different religions and cultures. While the mountains are beautiful, there are also other landscapes that make it an amazing place to visit.
