COUNTRY: Nepal
PROGRAM: UniBreak - Kathmandu
PROJECT: Health projects
WRITTEN BY: Trent Cutts
First of all, I promised Mish I would give a shout out to Gordon!! As I write the first of the blogs for the November Kathmandu Unibreak volunteering crew, I am sitting in a restaurant in Thamel with everyone about to tuck into a juicy steak! After 3 weeks of Dahl baht Thakari, momo, and vege chow mein I'm ready for some red meat! In saying that, the Nepali food is extraordinary. I am a particular fan of the sweet masala tea that aamaa (mum) seems to constantly churn out and the roti with potato curry. Dhal baht is definitely the mainstay of Nepali food, and the well known saying, 24 hour dhal baht power is hundy percent true. We are celebrating our first week of volunteer placement and our first week in the chaotic, dusty, and at times overwhelming city that is the capital of Nepal.
Most of the volunteer group landed at Tribhuvan international airport, negotiated the barrage of hotel taunts and taxi offers at the main entrance then took the short trip to the tourist mecca, Thamel. Thamel is a shock to the system for even the most seasoned intrepid travellers. Feral dogs and overpriced tuk tuk rides plus a barrage of guides of trekking offers met us. I couldn't believe how so many tourist orientated businesses could cram themselves into such a tiny alley!
Thamel did offer one particular luxury that the volunteer group wouldn't have again for a good while, a hot shower! The next day we made for the clear air of dapasi heights to meet the rest of the crew and start our orientation with Rajesh, our in-country agent. The morning of the first day was spent breaking the ice and getting to know the other international volunteers, before heading out to visit the school where we are to carry out our health promotion work in the last week. That night before dinner we took the short stroll down to busandara to get kitted out in traditional Nepali dress, we all picked out some fabric to make our kurtas (girls) and daura (dudes).
After getting settled at the Rajesh’s palace, the volunteers headed out to our placement sites to get the hang of our transport arrangements and meet the staff we would be working alongside for the next 3 weeks. Sam and I were allocated to stupa community hospital which is right next to the incredible boudhnath stupa. The hospital serves the local, predominantly Tibetan, community and includes an operating theatre, emergency department and radiology facilities.
I have been tailing Dr Swasti, a specialist gastroenterologist and head of the hospital and Sam has been tagging along with Nila, the matron. So far this week we have watched a number of endoscopies, sat in on numerous consultations and scrubbed in for a few surgeries including a Caesarian section. It's been a big week! We have loved the 30min ride into boudha in the local micro buses (actually a van). The record so far has been 34 people piled in on top of one another, I reckon we’ll get to 40 in the coming weeks.
For many of us this week has just been a time to settle in and get used to some of the many cultural differences. Some of the more noticeable we have found are the lack of toilet paper and the alternative of a water gun, the erratic driving and overuse of the horn, road obstacles in the form of cows, the frequent change of footwear depending on where in the house you are, the rock hard beds (don't sleep on blankets, it's a sin!), the public washing on the streetand the 5am wake up call ringing bells in worship just to name a couple. It has been an amazing eye opening first week in this incredible country. More about our Nepali families next week!
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