Big and White: Life as a Foreigner in Nepal – Details, episodes & analysis

It’s the end of an era, and the beginning of a new one! In this episode, your hosts Big and White have a chat about some of their favorite memories of Nepal, what they learned from doing this podcast, and say a big fat THANK YOU to all the listeners and supporters who have shown them so much love!

You can still reach Big and White by email, Instagram, and Facebook. Don’t hesitate to say hello :)

In this (penultimate!) episode, your hosts Big and White discuss how living overseas builds skills like extreme patience, being used to being uncomfortable, and knowing how to live without things! They’ve both benefited from living cross-culturally, and they hope that you’ll benefit from listening to this episode!

Although the podcast is ending, Big and White are still available via instagram, facebook, and email!

Have you been wondering why you feel so tired and cranky all the time? In this episode, your hosts Big and White talk about all the similarities between culture shock and the constantly changing situation created by COVID.

Many thanks to our (fake) sponsor: FLATHARDBED

Resources:
https://tinyurl.com/y3ev9om9
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

This may come as a surprise, but humans need other people! In this episode, your hosts Big and White talk about the importance of building community when you move overseas (or to any new place), and try to give some tips on how to make friends in a new environment and culture.

They also discuss Zoom fatigue, and the pros and cons of this new online world we are all engaging in.

In this episode, your hosts Big and White welcome Ujjwal Rai, a trekking guide and all around adventurous man! Ujjwal tells his story and inspires us with how much he loves his job, and teaches us some amazing, highly applicable, Nepali proverbs!

Find Ujjwal at: lostinthehimalaya.com
Instagram: @lostinthehimalaya

Looking for some good reads? In this episode, your hosts Big and White talk about some unexpected books that have helped them in their lives overseas. As astronaut Chris Hadfield says, “It’s mostly a matter of changing your perspective.”

Books on our list:
In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield

Have you ever had a package delivered on a scooter? In this episode, your hosts Big and White talk about the joys and woes of online shopping in Nepal. They discuss the online shopping options, how to give directions when you don’t have an address, and more!

Ethical shopping in Nepal: Purnaa, Kolpa, White Yak, Local Project, Meecha, Woven

International Resources: Good On You App, Better World App, Done Good, Fashion & Compassion, Wonderful Things, Buy Me Once

Ethical Brands: Girlfriend Collective, Pact, Prana, Adidas, Patagonia, Madetrade, Everlane

For more information about local and ethical shopping resources, please visit our Instagram and website.

What does it mean to have a growth mindset? In this episode, your hosts Big and White talk about growth and fixed mindset, with a special focus on how it affects people who move to a new culture. Spoiler: growth mindset is the one you want! What did Big fail at over and over to learn a growth mindset? How did one terrible track meet affect White’s life for years after? Listen to find out!

This week Big and White also answer a listener question about some tricky aspects of Nepali that they wished they had learned sooner.

In this episode, your hosts Big and White talk with their guest Macaw about his experience immigrating to the US and then repatriating to his home country of Honduras. He explains what it’s like being bilingual, discusses cultural adjustments (including missing Honduran food), and tells us what he loved about his new home (mostly AC). We also learn that Honduras has the same kind of vegetable sellers as Nepal!

Be sure to try cooking anafres, a delicious Honduran fondue.

This week our segment is about habit formation! White explains how our brains function on routine, and reminds us that living in lockdown is a big disruption of our usual habits.

In this 2-part episode, your hosts Big and White remember the border closures in 2015 and talk about the shortages experienced in Nepal at that time, as compared with the lockdowns now. They also discuss that one time a Turkish airplane crashed and blocked the only international landing strip in the whole country, what a wild time.

At the time of publishing Kathmandu and the rest of the country are on full lockdown, but never fear, Big is staying at White’s house and they are bravely bringing the podcast to you!

This episode brought to you by Five Legged Elephant.