Hello, everyone.

This is Enta.

At the end of last month, I went to Nepal again ^^

I’ve written a lot about Nepal on my blog, and this post is another Nepal-themed one, lol.

As usual, the purpose is to interview interns, isn't it?

In this post, I’ll share my perspective as someone working on the front lines to explore “where trainees come from and what motivates them to come to Japan,” while taking a look at their actual monthly incomes and daily lives here.

What is the monthly income in Nepal?

I believe it’s important to understand the numbers behind the trainees’ “previous lives” before hiring them.

Based on online research and interviews I conducted on the ground, it seems that monthly incomes in Nepal are roughly as follows.

• Kathmandu (urban area): Even with a college degree, the monthly salary is20,000 to 50,000 yenor so. Most ordinary people make about10,000 to 20,000 yenI live there.
• Regions outside Kathmandu: There are few non-agricultural jobs, and cash income is lower than in urban areas. Even the national average is reportedly less than 10,000 yen per month.
• Rural Areas: About [number] of the population60 percent...works in agriculture and has almost no cash income—3,000 yen or less. Even now, the crops...BarterIt seems there are still some left.

By the way, the minimum wage in Nepal is17,300 rupees = approximately 18,400 yenThere was also a document stating, “Revised in 2022, to be maintained through 2025.”

But in reality, it's much lower! This number must be a lie!

If you just look at the numbers, you tend to think, “That’s cheap,” but once you’re actually there, it takes on a whole new meaning.

Reasons to Stay at a $3-a-Night Hotel

This time, I stayed at the “Riverside Hotel.” It has an open-air café next to it, and the rate is $3 per night, which is about 500 yen.

I stayed here for three days.

Hot water comes out, but only barely.

It's hot water that's almost like plain water, lol.

The mattress is so hard you'd think it was a board! And there's no air conditioning.

But with the fan on, it's surprisingly cool!

There's a restaurant on the first floor, and it has Wi-Fi—as far as I'm concerned, it's more than enough for a hotel.

The room smells a little, lol, but for 500 yen a night, I can't complain.

I've made a video showing what the hotel is like 👇👇👇

You’re probably thinking, “Why would anyone choose to stay in a place like this?”

As I’ve always said, my main focus during interviews is to put myself in the same situation as the trainees who come to Japan.

That way, I'll be able to understand how they feel, even just a little.

If possible, I’d love to do home visits, too, lol. That way, I can get a feel for the family’s atmosphere and understand their feelings.

This time, one of our interns, who was back home for a short visit, dropped by to see me on short notice ^^

I actually wanted to go to his hometown, but since there was a chance the roads might be blocked by flooding or landslides, preventing me from getting back, I decided not to go this time.

If I had about a week, I could go, though. This time, it was a 3-night, 5-day trip, so I didn't have enough time.

"Everyday Life in Nepal" as Seen from an Open-Air Café

When you stay at the Riverside Hotel, all sorts of dramatic things happen, lol.

Morning coffee at the open-air café next door. As I was relaxing and sipping it, some old guy started giving me the stink eye, lol.

At the end of his gaze was another middle-aged man sitting right next to me.

All of a sudden, an argument broke out, and it turned into a scuffle between two middle-aged guys lol. All the Nepalis around us were laughing.

It just kept escalating and escalating… and eventually, for some reason, the two of us were having a nice meal together at a café (you never know what might happen).

I was calmly filming the whole fight, lol.

 

This is the Riverside Hotel, where things like this happen all the time.

I’d been drinking coffee here every morning for three days, so I really started to feel like a regular—it was a great atmosphere lol.

This area is one of the poorer parts of Nepal, and there’s a slum right nearby, so, well, there’s a bit of everything here.

It's a really nice open-air café at a riverside hotel lol

The fact that people like you just for being Japanese

It seems that Asians really stand out in a place like this, so I’m often asked, “Are you Chinese?”

So when I answer “Japanese,” they reply, “Kon’nichiwa!” in Japanese lol

When Japanese people go abroad, they're really well-liked.

People will compliment you, saying things like, “Japan is a great country!” “Japan is the best!” and “Nepalese people love Japan!”

This just goes to show how wonderful the Japanese of the past must have been. I’m grateful to our ancestors.

This is one of the great things about being abroad. People feel free to strike up a conversation, and they’ll help you just because you’re Japanese.

By the way, since English doesn't work here, we end up communicating with gestures and facial expressions lol

I talk to them in Japanese too, lol. Even though we don't understand each other, for some reason we end up getting along really well.

Nepalese people are so kind—I highly recommend them!

Do employers know where their interns are from?

The interns at your company.

Do you know what their actual lives are like back home? To be honest, a lot of them come from really amazing places.

Please think back to the monthly income figure I mentioned earlier.

In that kind of environment, he’s come all the way to Japan and is working hard for his family.

With that in mind, I hope that we Japanese, as employers, can work even harder to contribute.

While protecting their families back home, they are also protecting Japan’s infrastructure.

Even in civil engineering projects, the number of sites that simply can’t operate without them is steadily increasing.

I'm truly grateful to have them in my life.

Companies that hire interns should definitely visit that country.

When you experience the culture and way of life in that country, you'll have such an amazing experience that you'll find yourself thinking, "So this is what culture shock feels like!?"

Then there's the food, lol. I'll eat and drink just about anything, so being able to do that lets me enjoy myself even more.

I recommend it.

These are our colleagues who have left their families behind, crossed the ocean, and are supporting our operations in Japan.

Once you’ve seen their previous way of life with your own eyes, both the quality of your interviews and the way you treat them after they’re accepted will change.

So I'm definitely going to stay at that hotel with the bed that feels like a plank again lol

 

See you later.

Traveling to Nepal for Technical Intern Training Program Interviews (Part 1)