7.6 - 7.14.2023
Culture shock AND climate shock!? Upon embarking on this adventure to Nepal and India, I was aware that I was entering a place so different from my home it may shock me. And by shock, think less electric eel and more wide-eyed freshman on their first day of high school. There are things here, elements of the existence in this area of the world, that no amount of documentaries could prepare me for. From the chili Momos (dumplings) and the chaotic (somehow functional) traffic, to the kindness of locals and the interweaving of spirituality into everyday life- consider me culture shocked. I enjoy being pushed outside of my comfort zone; its uncomfortable like a humid day in Delhi...but I tend to be a kinder humbler person when my beliefs are broadened or straight up challenged. When I visit a new area, and the native people believe/work/act differently than how I do, it challenges what my ego has deemed correct and acceptable. Although I may not adopt that belief/practice, I enjoy overcoming my ego's adversity to differences in culture and lifestyle. It refreshes my beginner's mind: the notion that if we maintain an open mind and humble ego, even with topics and people we believe we know, we can always learn more. As an outsider, Kathmandu's traffic seems dangerous, but there are less road accidents than in the US. I assumed the women to be treated as inferior to men, but a new friend from Tribhuwan University told me they are treated equally and even praised like real life goddesses occasionally. I judged the city for being dirty, disorderly, and haphazard- and in comparison to American cities, Kathmandu could very well be described that way. But after spending time experiencing the city a bit more, I realized Kathmandu cannot be compared to a city like Boston. Kathmandu could not function within Boston's confines of social and set rules. Kathmandu's unruliness is liberating in a way; there are no green lights to coddle you across traffic, no set prices that can't be haggled, and no standard of physical presentation that must be attained to fit in. Cross with confidence, haggle fairly, and forget how you look because no one here cares. Buddha's sermons and Krishna's mantras tame the egos of those who read and repeat them so frequently. Countless prayer flags and wheels wave and spin enlightening messages of compassion and connectedness across Nepal. I find solace in the realization that people here outwardly believe there is something more to this life than their mental drama and individual existence.
As an environmental engineering student with a passion for wildlife and conservation, I believed myself to be well versed in climate issues. However, it is one thing to interpret graphs about temperature and sympathize with articles about natural catastrophes when you are safe and sound in a climate resilient/stable part of the world. To witness the forced relocation of families to tarp shelters due to massive flooding in Delhi is another. A feeling so uncomfortable that my chest physically hurt as we drove across the Yamuna River on our air-conditioned bus. The feeling being a mix of fear and empathy; I hope I never experience that in my life, and I am so sorry they are experiencing this in their life. My empathic pain stopped within minutes of losing sight of these uprooted people, but their pains stab on as I write this. It is the most uncomfortable truth that my human experience will be vastly safer than the babies' on that bridge I saw today. It is unfair suffering, and my only consolation comes from my spiritual views of life. Some would say I am evading my privilege guilt, but I must find solace somewhere so I can sleep tonight to pay attention in class and hopefully someday be able to really help. Watching the flood simulator at the Living Moutain Lab in Godavari shed some light on the hopelessness I feel towards climate change. A prime example where adaptation isn't possible, but mitigation is. So countless lives can be saved by preparedness. And even though we wish we could refreeze the vital mountain glaciers, relocating humans out of harm's way will always suffice.
The threat of the earth's changes didn't truly feel threatening to me until we were physically in Kathmandu, where someday the increased temperature will inevitably melt ancient glaciers in the surrounding mountain range. The city streets I strolled will become highways for too much glacial melt too soon, replacing scooters and motorbikes with boats and rescue rafts. Where the livelihoods of beautiful shop owners will be halted, and their families' lives hanging in the balance. This reality scares me and until Maya Sherpa told us of the changes she's noticed in the Himalayan snow levels during her 20-year career, I did not want to face how real and how pressing these changes were. In a Northeastern lecture room in Boston, glacial melt in the Himalayas does not feel...real. As modern-day humans, we are plagued by frequent bad news and climate threats. Our rational minds begin to downplay the weight of these facts because in our developed sliver of the world, we have never experienced such water threats and weather disasters. Ignorance and cognitive dissonance take action and off we go taking 15-minute showers and avoiding public transit because its "slow". Although I am ashamed for the distance I have put between myself and the truth of our changing environment, I have grace for myself and others because as with most hard circumstances, it's nearly impossible to grasp the full burden of a crisis unless you encounter it firsthand or bear witness. But rather than let my fear of humanity's impending doom cloud reality, I want to alchemize fear into compassion, hope, and motivation. The successful mitigation and adaptation strategies we've learned about proved to me that focusing on modeling short term climate change and promptly updating policies can prevent human suffering and save lives. I am thankful to those who have paved the way in climate research and application before me, and I hope to contribute so I can improve the health and wellbeing of as many at-risk humans as possible.
