Same, Same but different

I am not sure if the spring in my step is aided by the 2 (yes – 2) coffee’s I had this morning, or if it is quite simply I am just having a really great day. An early morning asana and meditation (a daily routine now, awesome) and a morning coffee (ok, 2) over the papers, and a sun shiney walk to work. And I can’t help but feel pretty damn good. Life doesn’t get much better than this. I am reminded of my yummy Saturday morning routine in Sydney – early morning class with the lovely Persia, Orange Grove markets before a detour to see John to pick up my latte, quick stop for the papers and then home to enjoy my home made big breakfast on the balcony with the SMH. So whilst my morning is slightly different, I can’t help but notice some similarities.  So in Sydney I won’t see cows on the street (they were particularly noisy this morning as well) and maybe the pollution is less, but simple pleasures of coffee, sunshine and the morning paper can make my day. So same, same, but a little bit different.

My typical morning

In a foreign country, especially in one that is as diverse as Nepal, it is easy and somewhat customary to focus on the differences. The dirt, the pollution, the lovely animals on the street and even the loos are not quite what we experience at home – and that is not even starting on the social and economic differences of a third world country. However, I am becoming increasingly aware of the similarities, not just in my daily routine, but in the people, the experiences and the simple things that from the outside my look incredibly different, but when you look close enough you will see, are a little bit the same.

As part of the change process at the children’s home, we are slowly working through a large list of priorities. The focus on a clean environment has begun and changes to the diet and nutrition have been welcome additions – the kids even insisted I stay for dinner the other day as it was going to be so tasty, and they were right.  With vegetables, pickle, dahl and rice piled on my plate, I sat in the dining room and enjoyed. It is great to see the differences a few minor but yet significant changes can make. The kids certainly notice it and feel appreciated and even perhaps some pride. Hence the dinner invitation, they wanted to show me they were eating good food and most importantly enjoying it.  So whilst I sat there, surrounded by the chaos of dinner time for 200 kids, I felt an odd sense of normality that I find happens to me at the strangest of moments. Kids are hungry, they eat and make a mess, they enjoy their food, pick out the bits they don’t like at the same time jumping all over the tables – I have to admit I have not shared a meal with that many kids at any one time before, but the meals that I have shared with children are really not that much different.  Boisterous, messy and a little bit of chaos. So same, same, but a little different.

Kids at play, same, ok, maybe the cow is different

Part of the work I am doing is largely related to supporting the change management process but I have to admit, my change experience is not really related to a third world country. The corporate world of IKEA seems miles away from the NGO sector in Nepal, but oddly enough, I am finding many similarities and that at the end of the day, people are people. No matter where you are, people have hopes and dreams and fears and concerns.  Change can be scary, and the fears of the house mothers are no different from fears of all people going through change. Will I lose my job, what will it mean for me etc etc. As I sat in on the one on one discussion with each of the staff, I was reminded of our basic needs. We all want to feel recognised, be rewarded fairly for what we do and in general, aim to do a good job. These women are no different. So again, whilst the environment could not be more removed from my previous world, the discussions with the people were really very much the same.

We are all the same inside

So whilst it is easy and often in our nature to see the differences in people and places, it is a pleasant and somewhat interesting perspective when you focus on the similarities. People are people, no matter what the colour of your skin, the culture you were born into or the religious beliefs you hold, at the core of it all, we are all pretty much same, same, but maybe a little bit different.  

This is my final week in Nepal, it is hard to believe 2 months has passed. From here I am heading back to India for a week enroute to Europe, an entirely different world, one I am not sure I am ready for, but I am sure it is ready for me x