Near the end of my academic career at Grinnell College, I wanted to "go see the world" after graduation. However, even until just months before graduation, I had really done nothing towards that goal! And yet, I ended up working, living, traveling the world for 19 years following my graduation from Grinnell in May 1994!
In Nepal, you pay a price if you, as someone Nepali society considers to not be sufficiently meritorious, comment on the issues the society suffers from or holds up a mirror.
Another way the universe appeared to have conspired to send me home was the racism it sent my way! ;) I experienced a lot of harassment and abuse from locals in Baku as well as in Doha. I was also profiled by establishments in both the cities angering me greatly and compounding my depression, as well as adding to my weariness with moving and traveling. Nepal's attractiveness had been increasing steadily.
Grinnell College and my Grinnellian community of friends and peers have humbled me once again!
One of the many issues I identified growing up in Nepal, which I believed would be the source of many unwarranted struggles to make something of myself, had been my severe lack of social capital. So, I worked really hard to escape from the country. Succeeding in doing so and spending most of my adult life abroad, I practically ensured I would have even less social capital when I finally returned home! #LifeEh!
Was the universe putting obstacles in my way to direct me homewards? While I enjoyed both teaching and traveling, issues at work and outside -- especially ones based on my nationality and/or skin color -- were making it harder and harder for me to continue to do so. With time, I also discovered my options for places I could seek work decreasing. I even lost a job!