Nepal!!

I found out yesterday that I received the grant I had applied for to travel to Nepal and do a short documentary this summer. They are fully funding it ($4800)!!

I will be working alongside a Wake Forest Anthropology professor and his research team. He's been studying the Dalits of Nepal for 30+ years and will be there to help every step of the way. We will start in the city capital Kathmandu.

Kathmandu, Nepal

Shortly after we will travel to a small city surrounded by villages in Besisahar. This is area is very near  Annapurna, where trekkers come from all over the world to hike the Himalayas. 

Besisahar

Besisahar

I will be in Besisahar for 4-5 weeks filming with the Dalits in the surrounding the villages. Nepal, like India, is still a country divided by a caste system. The Dalits are the lowest caste. The "untouchables". The film will explore how and why they are beginning to challenge the caste system through various methods, including converting to Christianity (after all, Christianity has no caste system). I will go to church with them, visit them in their homes, spend time with their children working in the rice fields, etc. Added bonus: at the end of the trip, I will be able to attend a traditional Buddhist wedding with Dr. Folmar in Kathmandu!

I'm nervous, excited, thrilled, and still in shock that I have been given such an amazing opportunity.