“I chose the sciences, and you can’t shift,” she says. “Liberal arts is the most important reason why I came here; I really need to explore more.”

Thapa, who took A-level exams in chemistry and biology in Nepal, is now thinking about a concentration in social studies or government.

She enrolled this fall in Bass Professor of Government Michael J. Sandel’s Moral Reasoning 22, “Justice” to help her test these new waters of social science.

“I love Justice, the fact that it makes you think about things you take for granted,” she says. “It makes me think in a different way from the sciences.”

Tackling the ample readings in that course and in her humanities classes has been another hurdle for Thapa.  

Used to focusing exclusively on the sciences and math, she says the “huge” reading lists in American English are one of the hardest adjustments she is having to make.

A Dedication to Country

Though she’s enjoying her college experiment with American life, Thapa does not feel the need to completely conform with her peers.

She says she is determined to maintain a firm connection to the traditions of Nepal and says that being of service to her country is at the foundation of all of her educational goals.

“Harvard kids may be shocked that I have a curfew [in Nepal], that I’ll have an arranged marriage,” she says. “But just because I’m here doesn’t mean I want to change myself, and be something I’m not. I’m still the same.”

Her dedication to Nepal’s way of life is also reflected in her desire to represent her nation as a diplomat or in government.

She stays informed of all of the developments in her home country, in which there has been much political instability, and keeps in constant contact with her family via e-mail.

A chat with her sister last week was another reminder of the troubles at home.

“I was talking to my sister, and she said at 12 p.m. the whole of Kathmandu rang bells to protest against the Maoist insurgents, using children in war, giving them guns to fight for them.”

Nepal, the world’s only Hindu kingdom, became a constitutional monarchy in 1990. Since then, insurgents throughout the nation have violently protested against the new government.