Life at home among the familiar and predictable—people, culture, social and physical surroundings, routines etc. — surprises and challenges generally are few and far in between, unless you go in search of them or are on the lookout for. When traveling however, unexpected and unfamiliar struggles and challenges are routine, and that's one reason to travel!
Something I have been curious to learn more about for a while: Why are Nepalis so defensive when it comes to comments about, or criticisms of, their beliefs or cultural practices? And why is one of the objections always, "You can't view it through Western lenses"? Here's an example of one such instance which got me scratching my head...again.
Why do most of the contestants and winners of Miss Nepal beauty pageant belong to BCN (Bahun Chhetri Newar) trio of ethnicities?
My tentative answer is that they are the most privileged groups in the country, and the pageant is of the BCN, by the BCN, for the BCN!