South Asia, Nepal, Kathmandu. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

As the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu is not very prosperous. As the poorest country in the world, Nepal's capital is no more prosperous than any of the third- and fourth-tier cities in nearby China.

And even in the capital, there are still frequent power outages here, because of the lack of energy, except for a few places where electricity must be guaranteed, such as hospitals, power outages are common in other places. Even hospitals are often without power.

Because Nepal does not produce any energy itself, it relies on imports of oil and coal, and there are several hydroelectric power plants in the country, but they are only a drop in the bucket.

Nepal, which has been choked by India all year round, has a hard time. Nepal relies on two big countries, one is India and the other is China.

India annexed Sikkim and Manipur in the 70s, and in the case of Nepal, India is actually ready to move.

Nepal has thought about relying on China, but with the Himalayas in the middle, the roof of the world is not so easy to cross, and Nepal has no access to the sea. The land that is suitable for bordering the outside world is basically India's sphere of influence.

This has kept Nepal in an awkward position. They want to get rid of India's control, but they can't do without India's support in terms of materials and resources. Add to that the fact that Nepal itself is too barren and the people are destitute.

Several states in India have opened up work permits for Nepalis, and although they go to India to work, most of the jobs that Nepalis are able to do are mountain movers (mountain movers, because the Indian states close to Nepal are all hill states similar to Nepal). It's more like the mountain city of Bangbang Army in Chongqing's early years. ）

Carrying two 75-kilogram oil drums on a three-kilometer mountain road can earn less than 300 rupees (about 31 yuan).

But there are still countless Nepalese who go to India to pan for gold, and I'm sorry that the term gold panning is not appropriate, it can only be said that it is barely making ends meet.

Most Nepalis who do these jobs struggle to survive past the age of 50, and most are seriously ill by the time they are 40. But the job is at least enough to support the family in Nepal.

If you are lucky, you can save a little money before the age of 40, and you may be able to buy some land in Nepal, although the mountains are not suitable for cultivation, but there is always some output, which is much better than dying in a foreign country.

As a result, countless people went to India to work, and some of them came back alive, and being able to bring back tens of thousands of rupees (thousands of yuan) every year is the best gift for their families.

Some people only had their bodies carried back by their fellow villagers, most of them died of exhaustion in India, and some died of diseases caused by exertion.

These people had to be summarily buried.

For example, in this small temple outside Kathmandu, the father of the only little novice Bahadur, is like this.

When Bahadur was a child, his father went to India to move mountains, only to go for three years, and when he came back, he was only carried back with a corpse and less than 20,000 rupees. Bahadur's mother could not bear the blow and died less than a year ago.

So the family of the seven-year-old Bahadur was shattered. There are too many children like Bahadur in Nepal, a country that doesn't have that much money to set up orphanages.

With the exception of a few lucky ones, most of the children wander the streets in this way, either growing up strong and surviving, or dying and left no one to care.

Bahadur was a lucky boy who was taken in by the old monk of this temple.

Didn't starve to death on the streets, and was able to be a little novice, although sometimes hungry, but at least he could live. This made him feel extremely lucky.

And now he feels that his life is even more fortunate because there is a teacher in the temple. Rubus-Banner.

Not only did he have outstanding medical skills, but he also used his reliable medical knowledge to treat the sick villagers in the surrounding villages, so that the temple that was originally full of incense began to have many offerings.

More offerings mean that you don't need to go hungry, and Bahadur is happy.

But what makes her happier is that Teacher Banner is not only willing to treat people, but also to teach herself and other children.

As a country where 80 percent of the population is illiterate, it is a luxury to be able to learn things. In particular, Dr. Banner is willing to teach English.

Don't underestimate the role of English in Nepal, as a country where tourism is the backbone of the country. Because it is close to the southern foothills of the Himalayas, there are many climbers who come here every year.

Most of them are Europeans and Americans, and they speak English fluently, and it is a decent job to work as a tour guide for tourists or as a guy in a mountaineering supply store.

can get an unimaginably high salary, and a guy who can speak English can get a monthly salary of more than 6,000 rupees (less than 700 yuan) whether it is in a mountaineering shop or a hotel!

If you are fluent in English and speak well, you can become a tour guide, and even if you have mastered mountaineering skills, you can become a mountain guide for mountaineers.

A good mountain guide can earn millions of rupees (hundreds of thousands of yuan) a year, which is the highest paying job in Nepal.

Bahadur's dream is to become a mountain guide, and he wants to make a lot of money. Because the old monk was old, Bahadur wanted to earn money to take the old monk to live in his home in the future.

If the old monk is not willing to go, then he will take out a large amount of money every year to help the temple.

Bahadur was a determined and persevering child, he and Dr. Banner had only been learning English for a year, but he was very studious.

He cares more about English textbooks than about Buddhist scriptures. He didn't want to be a monk, but he wanted to repay the old monk's kindness. The old monk also did not force Bahadur.

Therefore, apart from the morning class every day, Bahadur spent much more time holding English textbooks than Buddhism.

For these people at the bottom, a foreign language may be the step to change the whole life. It's just that knowledge is more expensive in poorer countries. Not everyone has access to a formal education, especially a good teacher like Dr. Banner.

Although Bahadur was not at all good at spelling, he had mastered a considerable amount of oral communication, which he had learned from Dr. Banner's daily communication.

Today is the first time Bahadur has come to Kathmandu on his own, and he wants to do something. He is thirteen years old this year, and the thirteen-year-old boy in other families is already an adult. You need to go out to work to help ease your burden.

Although the temple's expenses can now be supported, Bahadur still wants to help his teacher and the old monk. For example, go to Kathmandu to be a guide for foreign tourists. As a small novice, it is naturally easier to gain the trust of European and American tourists than those slippery adults.

Naturally, he would be able to get tips if he took his own guests around Kathmandu, which he had observed from other tour guides.

Now, for example, he is standing at a tourist attraction in Kathmandu and observing his potential customers.

Bahadur's eyes suddenly lit up, and a team of three appeared in front of him.

A sturdy white man, a fat white man, and a man who appeared to be of mixed American and Asian descent walked down the street as if looking for something.

Bahadur immediately ran forward, he needed to reach these tourists faster than the other adults in order to make this business.

He nimbly weaved through the crowd, quickly approached the three of them, and said in a fairly fluent English: "Gentlemen, do you need a guide?"