Some academics spend their time off working diligently on their research, or speaking at conferences focused on their fields of specialty, or perhaps just catching up with old family and friends.

For SUNY Poly Professor of Anthropology Dr. Kathryn Stam, it was a summer when she did all of the above—across the globe in Nepal.

At the Annual Conference on Nepal and the Himalaya, in Kathmandu, Nepal, from July 25-27, Dr. Stam presented her paper, “Perspectives on Religious Identity, Caste, and Culture for Bhutanese-Nepali Refugee Families in the United States." The conference was organized by the Social Science Baha, an independent, non-profit organization set up to promote and enhance research and study related to the social sciences in Nepal.

In addition to participating in a lively panel about the Bhutanese-Nepali diaspora, Dr. Stam also conducted research related to the Bon religion of Tibet, delivered books to the Kathmandu Research Center and met with faculty and graduate students in Nepal Studies. She visited with the Directors of the Music Museum of Nepal and the Rising Lotus Children's Village.

During her free time, she reconnected with the homestay family in Dhapakhel with whom she stayed during a semester abroad at the School for International Training in 1986. They traveled together to cultural sites, including Bhaktapur, Le Le, Swayabunath, Triten Norbutse, and the Bhaleshwor Mahadev temple at Chandragiri Hills, "Where Wishes Come True."

Although she jokes that her Nepali language skills improved very little, she returned from the 3-week trip feeling intrigued by the many cultural and environmental changes that she witnessed and enthusiastic about sharing the mysterious stories she heard from so many people along the way.