Date: Fri 16-Aug-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

schools-nepal-Maxwell

Full Text:

with photos : Going To Extremes: A Local Student Travels To Nepal

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

As rock & roll artist Bob Seger once sang, "If I ever get out of here, I'm

going to Katmandu."

No word on whether or not Seger ever made it to the capital of Nepal, but

Newtown's Tom Maxwell did, and he is still reeling from the experience.

The 1994 Newtown High School graduate has always enjoyed living life to the

extreme, so when he heard about the chance to spend the summer in the Third

World country seemingly forever shrouded in mystery, he quickly packed his

bags.

Tom recently returned from his trip to the mountainous country in one of the

world's most remote and inaccessible regions, saying the adventure reaffirmed

his wish to join the Peace Corps when he gets out of college.

"Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to go abroad, but I wanted to go

someplace very extreme, not to a place where every other American student

goes," he explained.

Tom, the son of Tom and Nancy Maxwell of Stonewall Ridge Road, got the chance

to experience life on the other side of the world through a program offered at

Miami University of Ohio, where he'll enter his junior year as a marketing

major this fall.

Nepal, a Third World country nestled beneath the great mass of the Himalayan

Mountain Range and sandwiched between China (Tibet) to the north and India to

the south, has changed little over the years, largely due to its seclusion

from the rest of the world, especially the Western world. It is considered the

third poorest country in the world with an annual per capita income of $160

and is a country rarely visited by Americans.

When Tom told people of his plans to visit Nepal, most of his friends said

they'd only heard of the place. Others thought it was somewhere in South

America or Africa.

Nepal is a nation of Buddhist monks, farmers and a few mountain climbers,

looking to journey to the top of Mount Everest, more than 29,000 feet above

sea level.

According to Tom, who bares a slight resemblace to Indiana Jones, there are

few places on Earth quite like mysterious Nepal.

"Since I've been back, I met a guy who went to Spain. He was amazed that they

had unisex bathrooms there," Tom recalled. "In some parts of Nepal they didn't

even have bathrooms."

Tom, who traveled to the distant land along with 12 other Miami University

students, was somewhat more prepared for the trip since his father was a

member of the Peace Corps during the 1960s, and spent a couple of months in

Nepal. He told his son what he could expect from a nation where telephones,

TVs and cars are a rare commodity. Nevertheless, Tom said the culture shock

was hard to get over.

"It was the most extreme culture shock I could have ever imagined," he

explained.

Moments after arriving in the Katmandu in mid May, Tom, still groggy from the

20-hour flight, jet lag and the 100-degree weather, spotted a cow wandering

through the streets and monkeys roaming the sidewalks much like squirrels do

in the US.

"I've heard about cows walking in the streets of countries such as India, and

no one moving them because they are sacred, but it's a little different when

you see it with your own eyes," Tom noted.

The unfamiliar sights in Nepal became more and more normal for Tom as the

weeks went by. He soon learned to accept the many strange and unusual customs

of Nepal, realizing what a different world it was he was living in.

Tom and his classmates spent the first few weeks of the trip in a Westernized

hotel in Katmandu, but then it was off to live with their Nepalese host

families.

"I had been there for a month and had taken some language classes, so I

thought I had gotten over the culture shock, but when I went to live with the

family, it all came back again," he recalled.

Tom explained that his Nepalese hosts were very nice and aware that, unlike in

Nepal where people eat on the floor, in the United States most people eat at a

table.

"They had me sit at a table while they all sat on the floor," he recalled.

"They were trying to be polite but I felt out of place. Of course, I had to

eat with my hands."

Tom said the hotel he and his classmates stayed at did have the kinds

bathrooms one would find in the US, but his family did not have a sit down

toilet. Asian toilets, as Tom described them, are built into the ground and

users must squat over them. He also had to get used to a cold shower every

morning.

Through the strange rituals, customs and lifestyles, the NHS graduate did find

some glimpses of the American culture in Katmandu.

"They seemed to love anything that comes from America," he explained. "I never

realized how much American culture affected the rest of the world."

Tom spotted several Yankee caps being worn in the streets, heard a lot of

American music, and even saw an episode of Beverly Hills 90210 on television.

"I was like, `I can't get away from this junk,'" he joked.

As for the food, contrary to what many Americans believe, the Nepalese people

do not eat dogs, cats or monkey brains, according to Tom. Instead, they eat

mainly dal baat, a meal of rice and a few vegetables mixed together.

Forget about finding a McDonalds or Burger King in Katmandu. Over there,

killing a cow is considered illegal. Tom's not a big meat eater so he never

really yearned for a burger or steak while he was gone, but he did lose a few

pounds along the way.

As part of the trip to Nepal, Tom and his classmates joined their guides in a

two-week, 100-mile trek through the Himalayas. Nepal's terrain is rough and

there are few roads so it's a good thing Tom played four years of high school

football and is a member of the boxing club at Miami. The group made no trips

to the top of Mount Everest, but Tom and a few other brave souls did ascend to

an altitude of 16,000 feet on one mountain, which is higher than any point in

the United States.

"I spotted Mount Everest a couple of times through the clouds, but I couldn't

quite get a picture of it," explained Tom.

Tom said he looked for but did not see Saskwatch or the Abominable Snowman,

the huge, ape-like creatures said to roam the Himalayas, but his guides did

joke about possibly spotting a "Yetti," the Nepalese word for the mythical

monster.

There wasn't much time for showers or baths while hiking and Tom said he and

his classmates were pretty "ripe" after the first couple of days. When they

had the chance, they washed their clothes by hand.

During his visit to Nepal, the Newtown resident conducted research on Nepal's

Tibetan/Buddhist art known as Thanka, so he visited several Buddhist

monasteries and shops.

In the streets of Katmandu, the poverty could be seen everywhere as women and

children begged for money and something to eat.

"When you see how poor the people are there compared to here, it really forces

you to reevaluate your values," he explained. "I felt a sudden appreciation

for everything that I had back in the United States."

Tom, who also made stops in Singapore and Malaysia before heading home, said

it was the best trip he'd ever taken.

"It was totally different from anything else I'd ever done," he said.

Tom said he plans to join the Peace Corps and hopes to eventually take on a

new challenge somewhere either in South America or Africa.

This summer, Tom is making sandwiches at Subway, a job he loves, but he can't

wait until he starts the toughest job he'll ever love.