Marijuana in Nepal

Marijuana is NOT legal in Nepal

I recently read this article which tells us that marijuana is illegal in Nepal and not many people know about it. However, there are various reason why people think that it is legal. Yes, the government and police have been trying to get rid of marijuana but there is only so much that they can do. The Maoist in Nepal have been believed to buy arms during the period of civil war by smuggling drugs. Nepal is a Hindu country and a lot of people take it as an excuse for smoking marijuana in many temples as Lord Shiva is believed to have been a marijuana smoker as well. To add to that smoking marijuana is legal on Shivaratri as it is considered to be a form of prasad (blessing) from  Lord Shiva. Almost all teenagers in Nepal have smoked marijuana at least once in their lifetime and according to the law of Nepal if an individual is caught smoking marijuana then he or she have to face an imprisonment of two years and pay a fine of NRs. 2000 (about 25 US Dollars).

This article caught my eye as I have met a lot of marijuana users and people confused about the situation of marijuana in Nepal. My mother gets worried when I go to tourist areas like Thamel or Boudha in Nepal as she thinks that I might end up taking some marijuana too. In many restaurants in Nepal one can find people smoking marijuana freely which has made it a heaven for hippies. If you are caught smoking, dealing or possessing marijuana then you can easily get away with it by paying a small amount to the police. In most cases the police is involved in the smuggling of marijuana as well. However, in Kathmandu the situation is getting better. There are frequent raids and checking every night in different parts of Nepal. The government is taking this more seriously and have burnt a lot of areas where weed was grown in the past few years. Despite all this effort I personally think that smuggling and smoking of marijuana cannot be stopped in Nepal and will be legalized soon enough.

Vocabulary:

A.i. Distillate: A liquid condensed from vapor in distillation.
    ii. "The distillate marijuana and hash are consumed by some Nepalese "

    iii. We learn how to distillate in chemistry practical classes in Woodstock.

B. i. Residing:To live in a place permanently or for an extended period

    ii. "Marijuana and hash are frequent to some Holi monks, priest residing in temples"

     iii. Girls residing in Midlands need to be back by 10:00 pm on the weekends.

C. i. Deemed: to be considered

     ii. Rules shall be deemed to constitute an offense under the drug law

     iii. My idea of adding a sleeping class in our daily routine had been deemed and will now be practiced. (I wish!)

Words that stung

Once while eating dinner with a friend, he made a blunt statement of how he thought that  I was incapable of loving someone truly as far as he knew me. I do not know whether he was serious or pulling my leg to make a conversation, but those words did make me feel like someone had punched me on my gut. He did apologize after seeing my reaction but that didn't help me feel any better. To start with I hate judgmental people. I have made various mistakes in the past that I am not very proud of but doesn't everyone have something they regret doing? No one is perfect and you can't judge people from their past. I do want to change a lot of things about me and people frequently tell me to do so but do they give me a chance to do that? Nope. Whenever I try to do something right they tell me that I won't be able to do it and if I carry on with what I've always been doing, they bitch about me. So, when the person told me about my incapability from his perspective I started to wonder if he was right which left me thinking about life and my role in it. On second thought I realized that he was just one of those judgmental people who thought they know me enough without even trying to know what I'm really like. I know that I am a better person than from what people tend to think of me. That night I did hold my tears back and told him what I thought I was capable of doing and how I thought he needed to get a life. I know it's not the worst thing that a person can say but those words were linked to a lot of other things that made it unbearable. The person who said I wasn't capable of loving did try to know me better after that incident and I think he knows how I am for real this time. I am thankful for his change of attitude towards me. Only if there were more people who shared the same type of attitude the world would have definitely been a better place to live in.

Teenage Girls: Victims of hysteria?

 Adolescent Girls

This article written by Caitlin Flanagan tells us a few stories of girls all around the world who have suffered from an unidentified disease that makes them lose their self control. Just a few months ago a few teenage cheerleaders had facial tics, uncontrollable movement, stuttering and verbal outbursts which are suspected to be the symptoms of Tourette's. A similar situation had took place in 1962 in a girls' school in Tanzania, however, at that time it was a laughing epidemic that spread for several months. After doing quite some research, Flanagan came to a conclusion that these girls weren't a victim of some rare disease but just victims of hysteria. From movies to myths to books, the victims of  evil spirits or frightful fits are often confused adolescents. Flanagan believes that lack of support and space makes girls suffer from hysteria. A girl must be shown that she is loved and cared for since childhood and must be kept away from any traumatizing events.

As a teenage girl I keep having mood swings and sometimes it is very difficult for me to control my emotions. I feel like all my emotions get magnified which makes it more unbearable. This causes my family, friends and even my boyfriend to get tired of me and my dramas. However, they try their best to be patient and deal with me for they know that it won't last long. I believe what Flanagan wrote in her article is true as I have friends who have hysteria. They have had a bad childhood and been a victim of a series of mishaps. Therefore, I believe that experience and hysteria goes hand in hand.

Vocabulary:

A.i. "this weird arrangement of words flitted across the edge of my consciousness."

      ii. Flitted: to move lightly and swiftly

   iii. A bird flitted across me in the flagpole.

B.i. "A cheerleader was first to manifest the strange symptoms."

    ii. manifest: obvious; apparent; plain

   iii. In Woodstock school people outwardly manifest their views about different subjects.

C.  i. "In all of these cases, the ultimate diagnosis — unpalatable in our post-Freudian age — was good old-fashioned hysteria."

      ii. unpalatable:  disagreeable or unacceptable; obnoxious.

      iii. Wearing short clothes is unpalatable in Woodstock School.

        

Rules for dating me

Ten simple rules for dating me.

1. You can expect me to be in my best behavior if you promise to be in yours. So no "you're lucky to have got me" or "I am too awesome to talk to your friends and family."

2. It would be best if you learnt to keep your ego aside while you're with me. I enjoy sitting at random places, eating at random places and being nice to random people in the most random times. So if you want to be a part of that you should learn to appreciate it.

3. Love me for who I am. You can't just come to my life and expect to change everything about me. If you think am not perfect for you then go search for some other girl instead of wasting your time trying to change the person I am. If you have any problems with me then talk to me about it and help me improvise instead.

4. Don't even think of cheating on me. I will give you space and will try my best to give you some privacy. You can have a lot of good friends who are girls but that doesn't mean that you can go behind my back and flirt with them. This way you will land yourself and that girl with a blue eye J

5. You need to be patient with me. I might act weird at times but so can you in the future. So, we should have an understanding where we will try to be as patient as we can with each other.

6.When I say don't just DON'T! Not that I will act all bossy around you but sometimes you need to just understand what your limits are. By this I don't mean you stop doing things you like to do, like eating or spending time with your friends just because I told you to stop doing so. What I mean for instance is you need to stop tripping me or pulling my hair if I ask you not to do it.

7. Don't mess with my hormones.

8. Please don't underestimate me. When I tell you that I will do something don't ask me to prove it (I might tell you that I will push you off a bridge or throw a brick at you; just don't ask me to prove it)

9. When you are with me drop the "goody two shoes" or "I am so cool" act. Be who you really are, I would want to be with you, not some character you try to portray.

10. Last but not the least be honest. No matter how bad the truth is honesty always overrules it

Sleeping Class

Create a new class for your school.

The class I would chose to start in my school would be Sleeping Class. I remember having those classes when I was kindergarten and  the hyper me back then hated it. However, I would die to have a Sleeping Class somewhere in my routine in my junior year in high school. The reason I chose this class is because we always end up burning the midnight lamp just trying to get our assignments done. Not that the teachers are trying to kill us by loading us with assignments and tests, but like any other teenager we tend to procrastinate a lot. Despite knowing that we are going to regret a few hours before the due date, we still choose to watch a movie over doing our assignment. So, we end up piling our work and working late at night in the very last hour. Due to this reason I find it very difficult to pay attention in my classes. While the teacher teaches us I constantly remind myself to sit up straight and not to doze off. This has also landed me in various embarrassing situations where the teacher have asked me questions regarding what he or she just discussed about and all I can give them is either a poker face or a cheesy little smile. Getting zoned in normal classes is not the best thing to do so why not have a class where you are supposed to be zoned out. Sleeping Class will help us students to perform better and be attentive in other classes. Those short naps could help us perform better and make up for the lack of sleep that we had. It would also give us some time to think about our future and life as a whole. Hence, I think that Sleeping Class would be an ideal class to add in my school.

Korean movies in a Nepali version

Influence of Korean movies in Nepal

Korean movies have been inspiring not only the Nepalese teenagers but also the film industry. This article is sadly very accurate about the Nepal film industry. Blockbuster movies like " Sano sansar", "Mero auta saathi chha" etcetera are the movies that are highly influenced from Korean dramas like "My sassy girl" and " A millionaire's first love" . These movies were rated as immensely watched Nepal movies during the following decade. Hollywood and Bollywood were once a sensation but now a history. so, why Korean movies? simply, it's because Korean movies are based on ordinary subject matter and feature strong plots. Youths of this generation get easily attracted to the subject matter put forth by Korean movies. while the impression of getting more attraction are similarly shared by most of the directors. However, film festivals and other cultural influence could be imposing fact reasoning increasing Korean movie influence in Nepal.

In Nepal people not only watch Korean movies but also try to imitate them in every possible way. They talk, walk, eat, dress up and even take pictures the way Korean stars do in Korean movies. It is just very annoying! It's not that I have anything against Koreans, in fact I am very fond of them. The ones I have a problem with are Nepalese people who try to act like they are Koreans. Why can't they just be originals? I am a Nepali and I am proud to be one. I can't understand why Nepalese people want a Korean twist in everything they do. I have watched the movies mentioned above and they are the exact copies of the Korean movies so I wouldn't exactly agree to the statement that the film industry of Nepal is "inspired". NO THEY AREN'T. Copying the entire movie (including the dialogues) is not getting inspired. I really wish Nepalese people would get over trying t copy Koreans and instead put all that effort to improvise the situation of Nepal, in any way possible!

Vocabulary:

A.i.  "Youths are attracted to the plot sensitivity that is depicted in a very exact manner in Korean films. "

    ii. depicted: also found in
    iii. homely environment is depicted in woodstock.

B.i Film directors hailed the presentation of Korean movies.

   ii. hailed: to salute or greet

   iii. The Woodstockers hailed Mr. x as a Math genius.

C. i "This was the major factor that compelled filmmakers and directors to emulate it."

    ii. emulate: To strive to equal or excel, especially through imitation

    iii.  In woodstock we are expected to emulate exemplary students. 

Advice for a teenager

As a teenager I have been in several unwanted situations in the wrong time. Be it from bunking classes to landing in the jail with my friends because of some silly pranks that we pulled. Thinking back I do realize the mistakes I made but would I undo them if I had a chance to? Hell no! Not to say that I would repeat making the same mistakes or "have fun" the way I used to but I would still want to be in certain unwanted situation in the wrong time. I didn't turn out to be a rebel. In fact, I try my best to follow all the rules and bring the best out of me. However, I don't think this would have been the situation if my mother hadn't been understanding all this while.

Therefore eighteen years from now I wouldn't give a lot of lectures to a teenager. I would give him or her the basic morals but would not ask for much. I would let them experience various things in life but would make sure that they know what their limits are. However there are a few things I would advise them to do.

1. Do your assignments from the very start instead of procrastinating.

2. Enroll yourself in various extracurricular activities.

3. Be loyal to your friends but don't get yourself into a lot of trouble because of your loyalty.

4. Trust your mom when she says " That dress makes you look fat."

5. Don't go on diets, try working out instead.

6. Make sure you pick up stuff that were taught in class if u happen to skip it.

7. Choose your friends wisely.

8.  Spend some more time with your family; they are as important as your friends.

9. Do not break into your neighbor's garage to steal petrol from their bikes.

10. In case you drink alcohol make sure you are supervised by someone trustworthy and sober.

11. Your world won't come to an end if you stop buying designer clothes and shoes. Show some humanity, buy fewer clothes, and donate your savings to an orphanage instead.

12. Drink a lot of water and wash your face before going to bed without fail

My opinions might change once I turn thirty-five but I hope to come across this blog at that time. Hopefully teenagers will hate me less if I stick to those advices and be cool about the small mistakes that they make in life.