SPIN 2007 Itinerary

As SPIN participants prepare to move to Jharuwarasi, a Dalit village outside the city of Kathmandu, we visit famous cultural sites to orient participants to the rich cultural tapestry of Nepal. Included in these visits have been Boudhanath,Pashupatinath, the White Monastery, Durbar Square and Swayambhunath, where we see in the picture to the right Vernon Ross getting a lesson on Buddhist philosophy of life and death from a local vendor.

Cast of Characters

Kristen Gentry is a junior Anthropology major. Born and raised in Knoxville, TN, Kristen likes smoothies, Christmas time, hiking, and going out on the lake. She owns 3 golden retrievers. She discovered that upon sharing photos of her dogs with her Nepali family that, well, dogs aren't pets in Nepal. You don't touch them, you don't name them, and you definitely don't let them lick your face. Kristen is currently the president of the WFU Water ski and Wakeboard Team. While in Nepal, she especially enjoyed the dal-bhat, naming the various parasites that she discovered on herself, the 12 foot marijuana plants, and making consistent cultural faux-pas. Kristen did a very interesting and novel study of how religious, particularly Hindu, beliefs and rituals are related to everyday development concerns, focusing mainly on construction of houses, temples and other structures. She plans to present her findings at the 2008 conference of the Society for Applied Anthropology in Memphis.