Revised Country Report

Nepal is located in Southern Asia, between India and China, on the Himalayan mountain range. There has been a long standing history of Hindu and Buddhist culture in Nepal and for about the last 250 years Nepal has had a Monarchial government. In the 1970’s, the monarchy established a parliament within its power to help govern the people. In 1996 Maoist rebels started a civil war that lasted for 10 years. According to ‘Neutrally Nepal’, tragedy struck the royal family in 2001 as every member of the family, except the brother of the previously standing king and his family, was murdered (1). The former king’s brother took power and almost immediately dissolved parliament, but by 2006 protest pressured the king in to reestablishing parliament. An election was held in 2008 and parliament met for the first time by may. In this first meeting, parliament dissolved the monarchy that had controlled Nepal for nearly 250 years.

Nepal has a primarily Hindu culture but also includes many other religious communities including Buddhist, Muslim, Kirant and more. According to Nepal .com, there are few disputes between these religious communities because of legal provisions established by the government forbidding prejudice against other religions (2). Nepal has also had a caste system for centuries, but recently the government has been attempting to make bridges between the castes and eliminate the system all together. Some of these attempts at dissolving the caste system included creating government positions to represent people from lower castes and creating equal job opportunities for all castes. Younger generations are no longer holding the traditions associated with the caste system, such as limiting social contact to within your caste, or acting in a manner that is suitable towards your caste.

There are many languages used throughout Nepal, but the primary language is Nepali. In grade school in Nepal English is the primary language instead of Nepali. The school system is rather similar to the system in the US as it has a k-12 system, but differs in the style of progression. There is no grading system in the Nepalese school system; instead a comprehensive test is taken at the end of each year of schooling to progress to the next year of schooling.

According to Nepal.com, there are many cultural customs involved in everyday activity in Nepal. For greetings, it is traditional to put your hands together in a prayer like manner called a “Namaste”. Nepal was only recently introduced to western culture and thus many Nepalese are hesitant to shake hands. It is common to use the right hand only to eat because it is common to use your left hand to wash yourself after using the toilet in Nepal. In fact hands are usually used to eat and the use of forks, spoons or other eating utensils is rather rare. Showing affection between men and women in public is unacceptable in Nepal. As for dress, both men and women dress very modestly. Women avoid baring their legs and ankles as it would attract unnecessary attention. (2)

(1) "Nepal's History." NATURALLY NEPAL. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. http://welcomenepal.com/promotional/main.php?menuid=1&submenuid=418826185526.
(2) "Culture and Traditions in Nepal." Nepal.com. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. http://www.nepal.com/culture/.

Preliminary report on Nepal

Geography

Nepal is located in Southern Asia between China and India on the Southwestern edge of the Himalaya mountain range.

History

In 1951 the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule by heredity and established a cabinet system of government. After years of dispute and reform, in 1990 a multiparty democracy was established within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. An insurgency led by Maoist extremists broke out in 1996 leading to a civil war that lasted until 2006. In 2001 most of the royal family was wiped out in a horrific tragedy which left only Gyanendra, the king's brother, and his family as the only royal survivors. Gyanendra was crowned king and in short time he dissolved the cabinet and parliament system to assume absolute power as king. In 2006 strikes and protests in the capitol, Kathmandu, lead to a 19-day curfew and the political parties joined with the Maoist rebels to pressure king Gyanendra. Gyanendra eventually relented and agreed to reinstate parliament. A nation-wide election followed in April of 2008. The newly formed Constituent Assembly met for the first time on May 28th, 2008 and abolished the monarchy, turning Nepal's government into a Federal Democratic Republic with a president as head of state and a Prime Minister as head of government.

Culture

Nepal has about 36 different ethnic groups as well as different religions and languages. Nepal is constitutionally a Hindu kingdom with legal provisions of no prejudice against other religions. The ratio between religions is about as follows: "Hindu 80.6%, Buddhist 10.7%, Muslim 4.2%, Kirant 3.6%, other 0.9%" (2001 census). As for ethnic groups, the ratio is: "Chhettri 15.5%, Brahman-Hill 12.5%, Magar 7%, Tharu 6.6%, Tamang 5.5%, Newar 5.4%, Muslim 4.2%, Kami 3.9%, Yadav 3.9%, other 32.7%, unspecified 2.8%" (2001 census).

There are many cultural customs involved in everyday activity in Nepal. For greetings, it is traditional to put your hands together in a prayer like manner called a “Namaste”. Nepal was only recently introduced to western culture and thus many Nepalese are hesitant to shake hands. It is common to use the right hand only to eat because it is common to use your left hand to wash yourself after using the toilet in Nepal. In fact hands are usually used to eat and the use of forks, spoons or other eating utensils is rather rare. Showing affection between men and women in public is unacceptable in Nepal. As for dress, both men and women dress very modestly. Women avoid baring their legs and ankles as it would attract unnecessary attention.

Works Cited

"CIA - The World Factbook -- Nepal." Central Intelligence Agency Website. Web. 20 Oct. 2009. .

Nepal Channel. "Culture and Tradition of Nepal." Nepal Channel Website. Web. 20 Oct. 2009. .

"Nepal's History : NATURALLY NEPAL." Welcome Nepal. Web. 20 Oct. 2009. .

Revised Objectives for Interview

1. Create an understandable set of questions that cover a wide range of elements involving the country the interviewee is from as well as the difficulties that the interviewee might have had coming to and living in the US.
2. Learn about specific details on the country the interviewee is from as well as the interviewee's culture so as to include them in the interview.
3. Prepare an interview style that will not make the interviewee feel pressured.
4. Find a comfortable, quiet, public place to conduct the interview (the Library is probably the best option).
   
5. Complete the interview in a friendly and open manner.
6. Allow the interviewee to ask some questions as well.
7. Don't limit the interview to the prepared questions, expand on topics that the interviewee is comfortable talking about.
   
8. Record audio, video and/or take pictures during the interview.
9. Create a transcription of the interview.
10. Create a final report that properly reflects upon the interview, the country the interviewee is from, the interviewees views and opinions on their native country and the USA, as well as fulfill any other requirements.

Some new ideas for conducting a successful interview...

• Try not to venture too far away from the task at hand. While some off topic conversation is good for creating a friendlier atmosphere for the interview, don't wander too far as you still want the interview to be about the interviewees culture and his/her experiences in his/her native country as well as in the USA.
  
• Be sure to learn some detailed facts about and recent events in the interviewees country before doing the interview, so that you can already have some background knowledge on where s/he is from and use that knowledge in the interview. This can also help you connect with the interviewee better as you can go more in depth on topics the interviewee may talk about and show that you are understanding what the interviewee may be trying to tell you about his/her culture and/or native country.
• Also, study the interviewees culture a bit before hand so that you can avoid accidentally offending him/her.
• Try joking around during the interview a bit to create a more comfortable atmosphere for the interview.
• Avoid pressuring the interviewee to answer questions that s/he may be uncomfortable about answering. If you notice that the interviewee is having a hard time answering a question, try moving on and maybe ask if s/he would like to try continuing on that subject later on in the interview.
• Avoid interrupting the interviewee while s/he is talking. If you have something to elaborate on, wait until there is an appropriate chance to do so.
  
• Avoid confronting the interviewee on his/her opinions, even if you may disagree with them. If you are curious about some of his/her opinions, try asking him/her why s/he has that opinion in a friendly manner.