Aerin Philip

The Connections We Aren’t Expecting:

Aerin Philip’s Time in Bangesal, Nepal (2013-2015)

 

Aerin Philip considers himself Nepali in many ways. He wasn’t born in Nepal and neither were his parents, but he found a community and much of himself during his years there through the connections he made.

Aerin attended the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS) at UNT for last two years of high school before earning his Bachelor of Science in Anthropology at Tulane University.

While studying at Tulane, Aerin connected with a professor who encouraged him to find ways to study abroad as he pursued his academic achievements. This led him to apply to the Peace Corps.

“Growing up as someone with a dual-identity background, my parents are both immigrants, I think navigating that cultural conflict within myself was always a way of challenging my idea and understanding of the world,” Aerin said. “I feel like I’ve always been really interested in people that are different than me.”

Given his parents’ efforts to immigrate to the U.S. and the recent loss of their daughter, Aerin’s sister, they were unsupportive of his decision to serve.

“That’s just a part of growing up and being an adult,” Aerin said.  “Sometimes you have to challenge notions of what your parents expect your life to be.”

After he returned, they came to understand his decision and desire to help people better.

“It’s hard to think of someone who’s done the Peace Corps and be disappointed,” Aerin said, laughing.

The irony of Aerin’s service was that he was located in Nepal, right next to his parents’ home country of India. He was the only one in his cohort with an South Asian background.

“It brought its own unique experience for me compared to the rest of the volunteers,” Aerin said.

Many of the locals in his village, Bangesal, would sometimes assume he was Nepali. Despite the many differences between the two countries, he knew many of the cultural customs and picked up on Nepali fast. The transition was smooth.

At the same time, Aerin’s host family helped him feel comfortable with the transition and he grew close to them.

“I left America pretty quickly after losing a sibling, and I came back with three new siblings,” Aerin said.

During his time in Nepal, he spent his mornings helping his host mom forage for their goats and cattle or helping his host dad with his handyman jobs around town. Some days he got his two younger brothers and sister ready for school. They became his adoptive family away from home.

“I adore those three kids so much,” Aerin said. “I’m so proud of them.”

After his morning chores, Aerin went to work at the Health Post—a small clinic that served several different villages. Nepali people would visit to ask him questions and speak with him about their nutritional practices.

“We came to find out, together as a community, that the attendance of the youth was overwhelmingly high while I was there,” Aerin said. “The youth felt a lot more comfortable talking to someone who was younger.”

Based on this finding, he began his personal project and formed a network of peer health mentoring that partnered older students with younger ones. He even started work on an addendum to the Health Post as a space for peer mentoring.

Unfortunately, a 2015 earthquake devastated Nepal. The volunteers were evacuated to the U.S. for two months. Aerin planned on extending his service for a year to finish his project.

“The community’s mindset had just completely changed, and they weren’t really interested in [the project],” Aerin said.

He only had six months of his standard service left, and at that point he found an ad in a Peace Corps magazine for a medical school in Israel.

“Being a returned Peace Corps volunteer, it means a lot,” Aerin said. “[Medical] schools really are fascinated by it—I think it just says a lot about your character.”

He attended the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev before returning to the U.S. to practice medicine as an Obstetrician and Gynecologist. He now works for a non-profit that provides accessible healthcare for uninsured individuals. He often uses translators to speak to patients in a myriad of languages.

“Peace Corps has really helped solidify some skills about cross-cultural connection and communication and being patient, and recognizing that health is viewed differently in different systems,” Aerin said.

Although service could get lonely at times, there are things he greatly appreciates and misses about the Nepali culture.

“There is an inherent sense of selflessness that is shared in the community,” Aerin said. “Everyone is invested in others rather than themselves.”

One custom Aerin maintains from his community is touching someone’s feet then his own head and heart if he accidentally steps on their foot out of respect for that person. He has also connected to Nepali people in his current community and connects with the culture by attending Nepali festivals with them.

Another strong connection Aerin made, was with the 20 other people from his cohort. They talk often and try to have a reunion at least once a year.

“It was such a great experience of meeting people that really care about others” he said. “Ten years later all of us are doing careers and are activists in different spaces that are really focused on caring for other people.”

Since finishing his service, Aerin has happily visited his host family three times for various festivals and to stay in close contact.

On one visit he took a hike with the oldest brother on a mountain trek. During that trip, he came to understand that his siblings truly saw him as an older brother, and his host parents accepted him as a son.

“When people ask me what I am, I say Nepali more than I say Indian,” Aerin said. “Because those two years really shaped my identity.”

Want to learn more about Aerin's time in Peace Corps Nepal? You may reach out to him here.

^{Written and Edited by Eliana Fulton, B.A. Journalism Student at UNT
Interviewed by Zach Yeager, Peace Corps Prep Coordinator}