Nepal

A Country in Asia.

Nepal is a country in Asia, a land-locked country surrounded by the Himalayas, the birth place of the Gautama Buddha and a country which can also be considered the cradle of Hinduism.

Being the land that hosts the highest mountain in the world, The Mount Everest, Nepal is often called The Roof of the World.

I worked in this country for six years under a mission organization called The United Mission to Nepal. I was engaged with work for women,teaching them to read and write in their own Nepali language. Part of my work was teaching English for students in the university campus. There is much to write about the country but I need time to do it.

Let me come back to this page some other time.

Elizabeth Padillo Olesen

Welcome and a little bit of the clothes they wear

The first word a guest in Nepal can easily learn is the word Namaste. Namaste is a word of greeting in the Nepali language. it is done by folding two hands together and bowing one`s head while saying the word. Namaste means welcome, good morning, good evening, good afternoon, good day and it can also mean goodbye. Such a nice word I feel privileged to hear from the lips of the children, young people and adults. This word is also heard when one arrives at the airport. Namaste is a word of welcome in a very friendly and respectful manner.

The Nepalese are very friendly folk, people with very good hearts. The women are very beautiful with their saris or punjabis plus ornaments on their ears, arms and ankles. The men wear a hat called topi and a piece of cloth around their waists which looks like a long skirt.

updated by Elizabeth P. Olesen
8th of November 2007


As I wrote earlier, I was in Nepal for six years, teaching in the campus of Tribhuvan University in the town of Butwal, ten hours by bus from Kathmandu. Other part of my job was for the local community, for those women who had never been to school and had not learned to read and write and do arithmetic. With the help of my students in the local campus, my colleagues and I ran a literacy project for these women.

Nepal is a mysterious land with many temples and many religious sites. Even the pipal trees (pipal tree as the national tree) bears some colours which show how the local people perform "puja" (the local language for worship) to these trees. Hinduism in itself shows respect for nature as the Nepalese holds annual feasts to honour the monkeys, the crows(birds), the snakes, the dogs, the cows, the pipal trees and many more.
In the local people`s religiosity one can see the sacralization of nature which I think is very positive. But on the other hand, the strong demand for housing,cooking and feeding for the animals, makes it possible for some of the local folks to deplete the resources. When monsoon comes, most often landslides are experienced, partly owing to the loss of many trees.

But Nepal is a country with very friendly and simple people. I love this land and I wish to come back and meet the former Nepali friends who have found a place in my heart.

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