Joseph McKee '19 Studies Abroad in Nepal

Joseph McKee '19, a junior biology major at Susquehanna University, spent three and a half weeks studying abroad in Nepal over Christmas break. Read his reflection below.

Susquehanna University’s curriculum requires every student to study abroad, so I traveled to Nepal to learn about Sherpa culture and trek up to South Base Camp of Mt. Everest over Christmas break. I, along with a group of 13 students and three professors, departed for Nepal two days before Christmas.

When we arrived in Nepal, we spent the first three days exploring Kathmandu and other nearby cities. The culture was incredible and so different from American culture, but still shared similarities. The architecture, woodcarvings, and temples were unbelievable. So much was destroyed in the 2015 earthquakes but has been rebuilt over the past six years.

Photo Credit: Joseph McKee '19

Next, we hiked up to the South Base Camp. The roundtrip trek took 14 days as we started around 8,000 feet above sea level and went all the way up to 17,600 feet. Overall, it was about 130 miles of hiking.

Khumbu Valley is one of the most beautiful valleys in the world and holds so many amazing mountains. Mt. Everest was a beautiful sight to see, however it hides behind several other mountains. The temperature was well below freezing the entire time and reached as low as 0 degrees multiple times, which meant we had to stay in lodges instead of tenting.

One place we visited on our hike was Namche Bazaar, which is built into the side of Khumbu Valley and holds magnificent views of the valley. Namche is the only city in Khumbu Valley and is the unofficial Sherpa capital. One of the smaller villages nearby is home to Phurba Sherpa, who has summited Mt. Everest 21 times.

Namche Bazaar

Photo Credit: Joseph McKee '19

The lodge we stayed at near the South Base Camp is a research station studying climate change and plate tectonics in the region. This station is called The Pyramid and was originally funded by Italy. Most of my classmates on the trip are science majors, so staying at a research station was extremely fascinating. Scientists have found that the average temperature for Khumbu Valley is going up by 1-degree Celsius every five years, and there is a decrease in snowfall every year.

We finally reached the base camp on January 5th after hiking up and on several glaciers. The hike from The Pyramid to South Base Camp was eight hours round trip and extremely challenging.

Going on this trip was one of the best experiences of my life. I am so happy that I was still able to attend after it was delayed last year due to COVID. Much like my years at Loyola, I will remember it for a lifetime.