Life in Nepal: Q & A #2

Here comes the long-awaited "Life in Nepal: Q & A" Part 2!!  Read on to learn updates on life after Nepal, my history with Buddhism, birthplace of Buddha and more...

(Missed Part 1?  Read it here.)

Reading time: 5 minutes

Video: Birthplace of Buddha!

 A life dream of mine came true when I had the opportunity to visit the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha.  To share the joy of this experience, I have created this video to bring you with me!  Want to go to Buddha's birthplace together?  Let's go!

Link to video

If you have any questions about this trip or ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT MY TIME IN NEPAL, send me an email at roxanngiuliano@gmail.com and I will answer your question in an upcoming post!

Nepali Village Life: Q & A #1

Last week, I shared a video about life in the Nepali village where I lived for 6 out of my 18 months in Nepal.  I received many questions regarding life in the village, so I decided to do a Question & Answer post!  I will happily do another if you have more questions (instructions for how to submit your Q's at the end of this post).

Read on to learn about life in the village!

Reading time: 5 minutes

Video: Life in a Nepali Village

 In December of 2020, I set out to capture what life is really like in a traditional Nepali village.  This video provides a peek into daily life here.  See a tour of a traditional home, how we cook, how we wash clothes, and how we exist as a family!

Link to video

The Return: Things I Never Knew I'd Be Grateful For

 They tell me that I should write as much as I can now while everything is still fresh in my mind.  It's a little hard when I'm also expected (by others or by myself) to adjust back in to life here, to apply for jobs, to keep my art business going, to be with my family again, to do household duties, to tend to my health... so here we are, a few weeks out from my return home, and I'm going to do my darned best to write some things down.  Here we go...

Let's dive in to things I am now grateful for that I never knew I would be without.

Reading time: 7 minutes

Leaving Nepal VI: She's Back (The Arrival)

Here we finally reach the moment we've all been waiting for: after my years of adventures in Thailand and Nepal, I made it back to the US! 

Catch up if you haven't yet read the other parts of the journey:

The Village // Village → Kathmandu // KTM Airport // Dubai // Flying over the North Pole

Reading time: 8 minutes

Leaving Nepal V: Flying over the NORTH POLE

Ready to fly over the North Pole with me??  Welcome to my favorite leg of my journey from Nepal to the US! 

Catch up if you haven't yet read the other parts of the journey:

The Village // Village → Kathmandu // KTM Airport // Dubai

Reading time: 5 minutes

Leaving Nepal IV: DUBAI

Welcome back to my travels from Nepal to the United States.  This instalment features lavish (and very surprising) airport and flight experiences in Dubai!

Catch up if you haven't yet read the other stints of the journey:

The Village // Village → Kathmandu // KTM Airport

Reading time: 5 minutes

Leaving Nepal III: The Departure

Welcome to my journey from my second home, Nepal, to my first home, the US.

The story begins in 2 parts (The Village // Kathmandu), which left us at the airport, just after parting with my boyfriend, in the first moments of again being a solo traveller.

Reading time: 7 minutes

Leaving Nepal II: How I Left

In a span of 72 hours, I had to say an unexpected goodbye to my second home, travel across a country in health and political crisis, and do everything in my power to get out on a plane before a total flight ban.  This is part 2 of the account of my experience travelling from a Nepali village to my hometown outside Los Angeles, USA, during an acutely severe pandemic.

Read Part 1 first, here.

Reading time: 13 minutes

Leaving Nepal I: Why I Had to Go

It all happened so fast.  In 72 hours, to be exact.  Nepal was descending into a crisis, and if I wanted to leave before being stuck there indefinitely, I had to get out within 3 days.

So I did.

This is the account of my experience needing to uproot my life at a moment's notice and travel from the village in Nepal to my home in the USA, all during an acutely severe pandemic.

Reading time: 10 minutes

The Notebook: Conclusion

 Welcome to the Notebook series.  These are stories from my time abroad, each connected to one main take-away that I learned during those years.

Read the preceding Notebook posts here: INTRO // 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 // 12

This post contains the conclusion to the Notebook series.

Reading time: 4 minutes

The Notebook 12: The Plan is No Plan

Welcome to the Notebook series.  These are stories from my time abroad, each connected to one main take-away that I learned during those years.

Read the preceding Notebook posts here: INTRO // 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11

This post contains the story for the insight: "Enjoy the present.  It is all that we have," titled, "The Plan is No Plan."

Reading time: 3 minutes

The Notebook 11: His Advice

  Welcome to the Notebook series.  These are stories from my time abroad, each connected to one main take-away that I learned during those years.

Read the preceding Notebook posts here: INTRO // 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10

This post contains the story for the insight: "Whatever we go through is not personal, not permanent, and has good in it," titled, "His Advice."

Reading time: 3 minutes

The Notebook 10: Mandalas of the Path

 Welcome to the Notebook series.  These are stories from my time abroad, each connected to one main take-away that I learned during those years.

Read the preceding Notebook posts here: INTRO // 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9

This post contains the story for the insight: "True joy comes from inner wisdom, not from following what you think others want you to do," titled, "Mandalas of the Path."

Reading time: 4 minutes

The Notebook 9: Karma Rabrib

Welcome to the Notebook series.  These are stories from my time abroad, each connected to one main take-away that I learned during those years.

Read the preceding Notebook posts here: INTRO // 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8

This post contains the story for the insight: "Everyone and everything are impermanent," titled, "Karma Rabrib."

Reading time: 4 minutes

The Notebook 8: Nui

Welcome to the Notebook series.  These are stories from my time abroad, each connected to one main take-away that I learned during those years.

Read the preceding Notebook posts here: INTRO // 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7

This post contains the story for the insight: "If we were in other people's shoes, we would be doing exactly what they are doing, because then we would be them," titled, "Nui."

Reading time: 5 minutes

The Notebook 7: Politics from Afar

Welcome to the Notebook series.  These are stories from my time abroad, each connected to one main take-away that I learned during those years.

Read the preceding Notebook posts here: INTRO // 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

This post contains the story for the insight: "Compassion is the key to happiness," titled, "Politics From Afar."

Reading time: 5 minutes

The Notebook 6: An Elephant Never Forgets

Welcome to the Notebook series.  These are stories from my time abroad, each connected to one main take-away that I learned during those years.

Read the preceding Notebook posts here: INTRO // 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

This post contains the story for the insight: "Everything and everyone are connected in more ways than we can possibly understand," titled, "An Elephant Never Forgets."

Reading time: 4 minutes

The Notebook 5: Baby Bee

Welcome to the Notebook series.  These are stories from my time abroad, each connected to one main take-away that I learned during those years.

Read the preceding Notebook posts here: INTRO // 1 // 2 // 3 // 4

This post contains the story for the insight: "Our minds create our lives," titled, "Baby Bee."

Reading time: 3 minutes

The Notebook 4: It's All Here, Now

Welcome to the Notebook series.  These are stories from my time abroad, each connected to one main take-away that I learned during those years.

Read the preceding Notebook posts here: INTRO // 1 // 2 // 3

This post contains the story for the insight: "The present moment is the only reality," titled, "It's All Here, Now."

Reading time: 2 minutes

The Notebook 3: Freedom from Plans

Welcome to the Notebook series.  These are stories from my time abroad, each connected to one main take-away that I learned during those years.

Read the preceding Notebook posts here: INTRO // 1 // 2 

This post contains the story for the insight: "Plans are illusory - and can cloud your vision," titled, "Freedom From Plans."

Reading time: 4 minutes

The Notebook 2: Enter: Pandemic

Welcome to the Notebook series.  These are stories from my time abroad, each connected to one main take-away that I learned during those years.

Read the preceding Notebook posts here: INTRO // 1

This post contains the story for the insight: "Nothing is in our control except for how we respond," titled, "Enter: Pandemic (First Lockdown in Nepal)."

Reading time: 4 minutes

The Notebook 1: The End/The Beginning

Welcome to the Notebook series.  These are stories from my time abroad, each connected to one main take-away that I learned during those years.

Read the preceding Notebook posts here: INTRO 

This post contains the story for the insight: "J hunchha ramro ko lagi hunchha"/"All that will be will be for good," titled, "The End/The Beginning."

Reading time: 8 minutes

The Notebook: What I Have Learned in My Years Abroad

We have come full circle, my friend.

After 2 beautiful years, I am back in my home country, the United States of America.

Reading time: 2 minutes

Connecting through Creation: Why I am an Artist

Have you ever had an "a-ha" moment when you realized, "Yes, this is why I do what I do!"?  I recently had that feeling in my journey as an artist, and I want to share it with you.  Read on to learn my newly discovered purpose as an artist and how you are essential to it.

Reading time: 8 minutes