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Dual Presentation

Nepal & Cameroon

April 16, 2008

Nepal

Bharat Pokharel, doctoral candidate in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science will talk of his home country Nepal.

Nepal is a small landlocked country in Asia, located between China and India. It is roughly rectangular in shape, and has a landmass slightly smaller than the state of Michigan, but has population slightly more than double as compared to the state of Michigan. Nepal is ethnically diverse and home for several races, tribes, languages and religions. The country's culture is molded by the two major religions, Hinduism and Buddism. Geographically, Nepal is well-known by the Himalayas that includes eight out of ten world's tallest mountains including Mt. Everest. The country has a diverse geography as it ranges the highest point on Earth (Mt. Everest, 8,848 m), some of the steepest mountains, rugged hills and the area below sea level, all within a distance of 100 miles. As a result, the country is rich in ecological diversity, and it is also one of the most popular tourist destinations. The talk will mainly focus on Nepal's cultures, traditions, historical sites, mountains, wildlife, and the eco-tourism. Furthermore, the talk will also briefly highlights current political development in Nepal. The talk will be aided by photographs from different parts of the country including the most popular tourist attractions and mountains. So, if you have not seen Mt. Everest, it is guaranteed that you will see it without traveling to Nepal.

Peace Corps Expericence in Cameroon

Lauren Fry, doctoral candidate from the Civil and Environmental Resources Engineering who will share insights from her Peace Corps Volunteer experience in Cameroon through her presentation "An Outsider's Perspective of Cameroon".

"Allez les Lions!" may be the only words, if any, that come to mind when an American hears the word Cameroon (the Lions are the soccer heroes of Cameroon). For a returned Peace Corps volunteer, however, a flood of words comes to mind: poverty, children, mothers, strength, mountains, deserts, jungles, heat, humidity, sweat, laughter, sorrow, groundnuts, palm nuts, cassava, labor, patience… the list goes on. Cameroon is a beautiful country with much to offer and many challenges both for its citizens and its visitors. This talk will focus on what it is like for a foreigner to live and work in Cameroon and deal with some of the challenges faced by the people there every day, in addition to experiences that may only be felt by outsiders. These reflections are based on two years of work as a water and sanitation engineer with the Peace Corps in the Center Province of Cameroon.