Was it wrong to leave Nepal or is it wrong that we somehow survive as international students in a foreign land? What is wrong, the system that sets people up for failure or not trying too hard? जिन्दगीमा धेरै मानिसहरु भेट्टीछन् , कोही बताश जस्तै आउछन अनि जान्छन् कोही धेरै मिठो साथ र स्मृति दिएर जान्छन्। जो कोही पनि आएका छन् , केहि न केहि सिकाएरनै जान्छन्।  आज को सिख र नैतिकताचै अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय विद्यार्थीको पाठ !

Growing up Nepali meant SLC posters screaming ‘Padhne le khane,’ 6 AM tuition before school, and Aama’s daily mantra: ‘Thulo manche bannu parcha! …Happy? K happy?’ Now we’re adults—traumatized by Excel sheets, soothed by podcasts, and stuck between ‘manche le k bhancha’ and ‘what even is my purpose?’ This show is for every kid who got the tiger parenting glow-up (and the therapy bills to match). We’re dissecting the ‘stable job vs. sanity’ debate, surviving cultural whiplash, and remixing our roots without guilt. Because let’s be real: if we don’t laugh about ‘kina 95%? 100% kaha gayo?’, we’ll cry into our momo plate. 🎙️ #TigerParentSurvivors #NepaliAndConfused #storyoflamalife

Nepali by genes, Canadian by citizenship, confused by life. Welcome to season 2 of Wise and Wild, where I fight with the sheer crisis and try to win the weekly battles of what makes our lives the way we are. Nepali culture ma ‘समाजले के भन्चन’, Canada ma ‘therapy is self-care’. My life? A messy remix. Podcast ma sabai kura ‘huss ra thik cha’. A spreadsheet of emotions, a dash of cultural chaos, and 15-20 minutes of ‘WTF am I doing?’—all served with a side of momo and poutine together. For anyone who’s ever Googled ‘Is my life just an unresolved trauma?’ during their lunch break, this podcast is 100% for you. (We’ll get through this. One day. Maybe)

Through raw conversations, and soulful insights, we’ll journey through what it means to love — romantically, platonically, and most importantly, inwardly — as Nepalis in a changing world. Whether you're healing, growing, or falling in love for the first time, I guess we are all beautiful messiness of some sort.

Choices are made and maybe for the better. Sadiksha became involved in the new culture relatively quickly, particularly by attending school pursuing nursing. While grateful and modest about choosing a demanding career, she also shares sufficient aches and pains about the choices with the new world to become socially integrated, and the struggles of the exhausted frontline staff. While the praises are well deserved, it’s also time to recalibrate our thoughts for technical career vs emotional capacity. 

Intrinsic values are intangible motivators that make people love themselves and their careers. The definition of a career value can differ from that of someone else’s and does not have to match the official description. Do we really study school to find a clue about our career that's valuable or do we learn our intrinsic values by taking a risk? Sunita and Mamata share their emotional journey of what career means to them.

When we set an intention, we leave ourselves open to new ways of thinking supporting the behavior we want to change. However, change comes with an obligation. Jindagi garo cha ni hou!  

Is home a place? A person? A memory? The constant seeking of comfort, a new chapter, a fresh start, safety, and unity? We are here to explore with Sunita and Mamata. We delve into the full expressions of ourselves outside of what we are taught to believe. Old news, apparently, we need a tsunami to achieve equality.

Expressing our thoughts and feelings is not easy, but we can try! PLAY TO FLOURISH is a relationship-building game. In Raissa's own words, "Play to flourish is designed to foster deeper or more entertaining discussions that can transform a simple “how are you” to a “who are you”? A good question can be the tiny spark that brings back memories and ignites a forest fire of thoughts, ideas, and personal revelation. "We all need to talk to each other and share our stories more."

Raissa Gwiza, a young and free hustler sits down with me to share her upbringing, her transition to Vancouver, and how she is enamored of the city! She talks about parenthood, her hot take on its multi-faceted effects on relationships, the importance of having a present partner, and feminism that comes into play!   Follow her on Instagram @flourish.creations! 

The Indian residential school system, one of the darkest chapters in Canadian history, has had a profoundly lasting and damaging impact on Indigenous culture, heritage, and language. Suna and Jamuna, belonging to Indigenous and Tamang communities, talk about the similarities of how colonialism has relegated both groups forcing them to stay in survival mode for generations. Finding healing through difficult circumstances and power in polity is a continuous work in progress.

It's a tough nut to crack.. are we religious or spiritual? Is there only one way to heaven or do we choose the one that brings us joy? Suna and Jamuna reflect on their childhood, making conscious choices in living their everyday life.    Also, a snippet & short introduction of https://kytfoundation.org/ and it's initiatives in Nepal.

Suna and Jamuna share their experience growing up in Canada, along with their mother who grew up in Nepal. The resemblance and The contrast.

Through troughs and crests, we must survive Through laughs and cries, we will thrive  

As soon as we fly out, what we expect is not what it is. We are in a strange world, google maps are fuzzy to navigate and fararara IELTS English hides under the shade. Leaving everything behind that we treasure to find a new life in a foreign country is like being born again. For the first few years, Geeta and Maya continue to share being a small child who learn to crawl, walk and finally run towards their destination.

Geeta and Maya express fair share of their childhoods, expectations of Nepali tiger parents and eventual happenings of bideshiing to Canada as international students.

Happy 2023....Thank you for listening to Wise and Wild podcast, shouting out loud for all the people who supported me on this project. Lots of love to all the participants and listeners feedback is important to me and always open to new ideas and collaboration.   Wise and Wild is available on Spotify, Apple, Google or whichever is your favorite ;)! Mentions: @chantiersjeunesse @radius_sfu @pahsung @yourbandiswack