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dbryce@journalnet.com

POCATELLO — American food, dating rituals and Idaho’s hot, dry summers took some getting used to, said Sanjeev Niroula, of Kathmandu in Nepal.

Niroula has been in the United States for two years and at Idaho State University in Pocatello for the past 18 months.

An electrical engineering student, he first enrolled at a private university in Kansas, but transferred to ISU where his childhood friend, Praweg Koirala, is also a student.

“The university in Kansas didn’t have the engineering program I wanted and it was really expensive,” Niroula said. “My friend said I should look into ISU and I was able to get in.”

English is mandatary in the Nepalese school system, and his brother introduced him to English and American rock bands, such as the Beatles and Aerosmith.

But Niroula said adjusting to American food has been tough.

“I’m used to eating rice twice a day and food that is spicy,” he said.

Niroula said his favorite meal is curry chicken with pickled vegetables — and his favorite local restaurant is Applebee’s. Dating customs are also very different in the U.S. than in his home country.

“It’s a lot more conservative, especially for girls in Nepal,” he said. “Girls can get into big trouble with their family if they are even seen with a guy.”

Niroula said he supports gender equality and hopes other Nepalese students will encourage those ideals when they return home.

Idaho’s mountainous region is similar to areas in Nepal, but Niroula said even the highest temperatures in his homeland are more moderate and it rarely snows.

“I can take the cold, but I really don’t like the dry heat,” he said.

But for the most part, Niroula said he’s adjusted well to the Idaho lifestyle.

“People here are very friendly,” he said. “You can smile and wave at people you don’t know — you don’t see that in Nepal.”

Cricket and soccer have been replaced by snowboarding at Pebble Creek, and he lives in the dorms at ISU, which means he does his own laundry and housekeeping.

“When I was at home I did nothing. I guess maybe I was a little spoiled,” Niroula said. “Being in the U.S. made me more independent.”

Niroula ran for student senate in the engineering department and lost the campus election by just five votes.

“I wanted to be involved, I might try again,” he said.

Meanwhile, unstable politics in Nepal, which has the capability to become the second largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world, caused investors to flee and the industry to collapse.

Niroula, the youngest of four children, said that the political atmosphere inside the country will determine whether he returns home after he earns his degree. Currently, Maoist rebels have joined other political parties in Nepal to bring stability to the county.

“I would love to be part of energy projects in Nepal, if the investors and donors return,” Niroula said. “Right now my target is graduation.”

By Debbie Bryce

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