Newcastle Nursing Settle Into Life in Phnom Penh

COUNTRY: Cambodia
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: University of Newcastle Nursing Placement
WRITTEN BY: Molly Batinic

Six strangers travelled together to Phnom Penh and luckily, so far so good. The traffic is chaotic, the language is unknown and the culture is immensely different. For the first couple of days we were thrown straight into the culture and sights of beautiful Cambodia before starting our work at the health clinic.

This epic adventure that was enabled by Antipodeans Abroad has influenced us to do other charitable activities whilst here. On day two, we decided that lunch at Friends was a must-do. Friends employs disadvantaged youth to get them off the streets, and teaches them vital cooking skills so they can have a brighter, happier future. This vibrant restaurant not only encourages hope for these children, but also has a positive environment and incredible food.

Many of the must-sees of Phnom Penh were checked off of our bucket list in these days. This includes visiting the S21 jail where the Khmer Rouge genocide took place during the 1970’s, wiping out 3 million Cambodians in just over 3 years. The Palace was also another wonderful sight to see, and was such a shock to see how much respect and devotion was still directed towards Buddhism and their King.

A sunset cruise is also a must-do if you are looking for a peaceful end to the day – a serenity-filled dinner. Whilst in Phnom Penh, it’s also fantastic to experience the bustling markets. Barter with the locals and shop till you drop, whilst spending little amounts of money on clothing, paintings, ornaments and everything in between. Lastly, if living on the edge is your style, jump on a cyclo-bike and rush through the city streets. You will support a local charity, whilst maneuver crazily through the traffic to get to around the city.

After exploring, we were ready to immerse ourselves in the clinics.

The alarm buzzed at 5.30am on Wednesday morning, and we dressed in our scrubs and got ready to tackle the busy day ahead. We were faced with many challenges and our worlds were put into perspective. From the poor working conditions, to the extreme health conditions, we were feeling overwhelmed by what we came across. Basic health checks in our country seem like so little, but to these children they were so much more. We set up stations to include eye checks, ear checks, skin and hair integrity, height/weight and temperature, vital signs, as well as dental interventions and quality of life questionnaires. By the end of the afternoon, we had our routine down-pat and established rapport and trust with the children. The day drew to a close and we were feeling both exhausted and excited for the many days to come.

30 children assessed, only 470 to go. Wish us luck!

Falling in love with Laos

COUNTRY: Laos
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Nursing
WRITTEN BY: Rosie Waldron

We arrived in Luang Prabang after a long flight, touching down on an airstrip bordered by lush mountains and greeted by the smiling faces of our interpreters whom we would work closely with over the coming weeks. After a walking tour of the gold clad Wat Xieng Thong temples and going up Mount Phousi to watch the sunset over the city and back down into the stretching night markets, we already had an idea that this was going to be special.

The next day after visiting the Army Hospital we set off, all of us excited to be finally starting what we had come out here to do. A two and a half hour dusty tuk tuk ride up into misty mountains following the Seung River deeper into rural Laos. We were greeted into the little village of Ban Napho by beaming villagers, sweet bouquets of handpicked flowers and a speech by the chief of the village.

First day of clinic was an eye opener! We were able to quickly organise ourselves into the different stations which consisted of reception, height and weight, observations, treatment/diagnoses and dispensary/pharmacy. We also realised there was a lot of wound care that needed to be done and included a wound dressing table in our set up. As part of the clinic we also delivered health promotion sessions which we all had a lot of fun with and as we were seeing a lot of school children. We decided to focus on dental and hand hygiene, following each session we gave out stickers like there was no tomorrow! Some of the groups were quite large – at one point 160 small children – but they all joined hands, sat in a circle, sang, clapped and were all completely delightful to teach.

In the following days we visited 7 different villages to deliver healthcare and each night at our little handover it became apparent that the most common things people were coming in for were issues such as back and muscular pain, coughs and irritated eyes, urinary problems, wounds and headaches. It also became apparent that many people did not drink enough fluids, with most only drinking two or three glasses a day whilst working hard in the heat and humidity. We saw many people come through the clinics, not just the young but also the elderly who were extremely grateful for the glasses we brought with us, one man trying a pair on exclaimed happily that he could properly see once again but (with a twinkle in his eye) he added that, for some reason, he still could not read English! That was one of the things we all really noticed about the Laos people, they were always ready for a laugh, always ready to smile and to wave, to welcome and to give. Although our days were filled with the clinics, it wasn’t all work.

Whilst we were in Laos they had a festival called Lhai Heua Fai that means “floating boats of light downstream” or “the festival of lights” in which they give offerings to the river mother or sea serpent. In Luang Prabang they made huge paper boats that they would set alight and send down the river. This would have been an incredible site, but we were in our village at the time and had the opportunity to make our own buoyant offerings out of banana leaves, marigolds and fragrant frangipanis. We took these to the neighbouring village, were blessed by the monks and set them on their way lit by candles under the full moon along with the people of the village. During our stay we were also treated to beautiful traditional dances by the village girls and taught how swirl our hands as they do – we haven’t quite got that down! In the afternoons we swam in the refreshing jade coloured Seuang river to wash the dust and day off.

There were times that we found nursing in this setting challenging. But with our fundraising and personal donations we were able to send those who needed it to hospital for treatment, and were able to buy a large stock of medication to administer during our time here and to donate at the end of our stay. Although it could be challenging at times we all agreed that it had been one of the most rewarding experiences of our lives. At our farewell ceremony the villagers took turns wrapping white threads around our wrists chanting prayers and blessings for our lives, there were tears from us and lots of smiles as we said goodbye to the people who had so whole heartedly welcomed us into their homes and into their community.

It was an incredible experience, working as an effective, cohesive team, putting our nursing skills to good use and having fun in amongst it all and although we were only there for a short time, we treated over 666 people, taught health promotion to almost 900 and felt very proud of what we were able to do.

We felt blessed to have taken part in something so fulfilling and all of us agreed when at our farewell the chief of the village said (in Lao), “Even though your bodies leave here, may your heart stay always in Laos.”

Challenging, creative and rewarding teaching experiences

COUNTRY: Maldives
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Swimming Coaching
WRITTEN BY: Kaitlin Foster, University of Sydney, Education

This week we were given the opportunity to organise our own school holiday program. We needed to devise the timetable, classroom allocations and lunchtime duties – we were the principles of our very own school! We divided the students into both a senior school (years three, four and five) and junior school (years one, two and three).


In the senior classes over the course of the week the students were doing a broad range of activities throughout the day – anywhere from drama activities to an exploration of living and non-living things that could be found at our school! Jess and Mikey focused their unit of work on environmental awareness and the positive interactions the students could make with their local environment. A particular highlight was when the students were able to make their own pot plant or pencil case out of half an empty water bottle. In Kaitlin and Kate’s classroom they spent the week on both English and Science, finishing the week off by giving every student an opportunity to use the pot plant they made in Jess’ class and plant their own seeds!

Real life walking, talking ‘Wild Things’ were found in Ruby and Sam’s classroom – making for some very interesting lunchtime activities. In addition to this, the girls also explored with their classes through art lessons some of the iconic natural and built Australian environments. Two of the Physical Education teachers Izzy and Ally taught the senior classes a human body unit of work – giving the students the opportunity to assemble their own skeletons!

In the junior classrooms, Kate and Olivia developed both a ‘mental maths’ unit as well as a world culture unit. The students enjoyed the opportunity to learn about new cultures as they each developed their own world fact file that they compared to the Maldivian culture each day. Heather and Hilary engaged their classes with health lessons whereby the students each made a ‘health food plate’ of the major food groups as well as discussed friendships in their lessons. A very popular topic this week of Australian icons was a standout in Helena and Melinda’s classroom. The students enjoyed the opportunity to explore Australian landmarks through engaging visual arts lessons where they explored colour and pattern.

After by far the busiest and most rewarding week here, we packed our bags and travelled by speedboat to the Herathera Island Resort. As we stepped off the boat, we all felt instantly relaxed in our own little paradise. We were treated to buffet lunches, dinners and breakfasts but also to picturesque sunsets on both nights that left the entire group speechless. We all feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to be in such a beautiful part of the world.

To top off an already incredible week we were treated with a candlelit barbeque dinner on the beach at sunset upon our return to Hithadhoo. We look forward to the week ahead ready to conquer our last opportunities to teach at both Hithadhoo and Sharafuden Schools before travelling home, relaxed and having eaten far too much food.

Invaluable Teaching Experiences for Education Students in the Maldives

COUNTRY: Maldives
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Swimming Coaching
WRITTEN BY: Kaitlin Foster, University of Sydney, Education

This past week has sped by and it feels like only yesterday that we had our first visit to our local schools. The week has seen us continuing our swimming lessons and starting both the netball clinics and an ‘Australian School Holiday Program’ for the students of Hithadhoo and Sharafuddin schools.

The Maldivian school holidays began this week and provided an incredible opportunity for the group to teach lessons to the local students that reflected the Australian curriculum. On the first day we had over eighty students in attendance! The program also provides us with valuable classroom experience, allowing us to establish a unit of work on any relevant topic for us to teach during the week. The students immensely enjoyed the first day, and in particular Ruby and Sam’s drama lessons.

As four members of our group are studying Bachelors of Education (Human Movement), some of the local high schools have been eager to utilise the girls’ knowledge for the training of their Cadets. This week, the girls have worked tirelessly to present two seminars based on nutrition and first aid. The girls drew a crowd that was much bigger than anticipated, and worked well as a team in engaging the large number of students.

In the Maldives, the schools take pride in not only producing well-educated students but also in the appearance of their school. It is not uncommon for classrooms to be painted with murals depicting key focuses for the year, or inspiring messages for the students that reflect a schools key values. When the opportunity arose for our group to assist a school in need by painting the Maldivian key values we jumped at the opportunity. In just one day Melinda, Jessica, Kate and Helena produced beautiful pillars that will stand as a daily reminder for the students of their educational goals.

A one-night stay at the Equator Resort blissfully tipped off our busy week. A buffet breakfast and a lay by the pool have the group feeling refreshed and ready to conquer the week ahead.

Temples, Take-Away and The 'Things We Take for Granted' List

COUNTRY: India
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Physiotherapy, University of South Australia
WRITTEN BY: Suzannah Michell

Week three in Palampur started with a bang! Our weekend was spent in Amritsar where we were lucky enough to visit the Pakistan border and the Golden Temple. Fun fact: the Golden Temple has more visitors annually than the Taj Mahal!

Whilst our trip to the Golden Temple was vastly different to our experience at the Taj, there seemed to be some common themes: it was hot. Like, really hot. 45+ degrees hot. We planned the day to visit the border and the changing of the guards in the afternoon, and then see the temple on Saturday night to cope a little better with the sauna-like conditions. Our little bus spluttered it's way triumphantly the 5 hours to Amritsar and then the further 2 to the border between India and Pakistan WITH air-conditioning (for most of the time).

The border first: this bewildered author had no clue of Pakistan and India's long term and ongoing wars, violence and feuds prior to the spectacle that occurred at changing of the guards. Imagine two soccer games going on side by side - cheering and all - separated by two metal gates. But the soccer players specialize only in high kicks and yelling. And they're wearing peacock-esque hats and military uniforms, sometimes holding guns. Yeah, well that happened for a good hour. Pakistan and India performed similar displays of gymnastics, strongman posing, screaming and marching whilst separated by the border's elaborate gates. All the while, the extremely large crowds gathered on either side of the border cheered and yelled and danced to the music of their country, trying to outdo each other.

The closing ceremony featured the opening of the gates and quick synchronized lowering of the flags. The finale: a really high, high kick and a scream. Really, I'm not lying - it was strange. Bobby, one of the main organizers here, said that the kicking was to show the opposing side the sole of their shoe as a sign of strength. Whilst Julie mused that it really seemed like a show of good faith to each other to keep the peace. One thing is for sure, it was kind of fantastic, and the vibe was electric and intriguing. If that wasn't enough to round out our trip to the border, we were also patted down and searched 4 times on entry to the event, and it was by far the most number of photos we've been asked for. We were even asked to hold people's babies.

Note: 45 degrees + large crowd + 7 hours by bus + multiple photos with people's children and families = slightly disgruntled travellers. Enough said.

So the Golden Temple next: so nice we visited here twice! Once by night, and then again in full sun. Holy moly batman, that's a nice temple. You have to remove your shoes and place them in lockers on entry then walk through water to cleanse your feet, but the shoelessness was worth it. (Thanks Julie for teaching us all about parasites that can enter your feet by burrowing through your skin that live in water). At night it was like this shining beacon surrounded by water hovering in the darkness. By day it was an immense feature of light surrounded by the vivid colours of India. The first night we stumbled into the temple we may or may not have exited out of a different gate than the one we entered. After some shoeless strolls through the overpopulated city, our shoes were recovered! Whilst dirty, we were thankful that night of India's obsession with burning all roadside rubbish and the lack of glass or suspect liquids in our path.

One more important note from our weekend trip: if you thought we fought over chicken bones, you should've seen the lengths we went to acquiring McDonalds and KFC. The latter was more difficult due to Amritsar's, the holy city’s, pure vegetarianism. But after some crafty Google searches and an excessively long tuk-tuk ride we all had some Kentucky fried solid food to consume. McDonalds was actually located very close to our hotel though! And McPaneer ain't so bad! The McFlurry was arguably better though. Ice cream solves all problems in 45 degrees, let's be honest.

My goodness and that was only the weekend!

This week we started at new placements - rotating around to gain a better spread of experience. Everyday we arrive back at the house for lunch after placement and share stories of confusion or success from our days, revel in the contrasts of Indian physiotherapy, or boast about what delicious treats we were offered on home visits.

In general we decided this week was a bit of a "things we take for granted week" though. So here's the short list:
- Running drinking water
- Air conditioning
- Electricity
- Medicare and private health insurance
- Opening your mouth in the shower
- Fresh and safe meat and poultry
- The ability to safely cool and store meat...
- Currency with less 0's
- Relative social equality between men and women
- Automated washing machines
- Long-handled brooms
- Solid foods
- Australian Heath literacy
- Knives
- Napisan oxidation plus
- Less hand sanitation requirements
- Access to basic groceries
- Beer
- Road rules
- Less need to give way to livestock
- Indicators
- Quiet streets
- Animal welfare league and the RSPCA
- Beaches
- Alan keys (you can't fix a wheelchair without one!)
- Blending in
- Understanding conversation
- Rabies shots

A special thank you to Bobby's dad who also hosted a private tour of his tea plantation this week! His resemblance to the monopoly man was uncanny, and his touring skills were unparalleled!

Golden quotes for the week:

"Things like this just wouldn't happen if I had a knife and fork!" Luke

"Laurence, you should put henna on your face. It will come off straight away" Leah

"I've given up! I'm boycotting pants!" Alex

"I'll bring my Alan key tomorrow!" Undisclosed

"If you can dodge traffic, you can dodge a ball" Laurence

"That's 133 beeps! In only 3kms. A new record." Tobi

This weekend we're going for a 9km 'moderate' walk through the foothills of the Himalayas. I'm forecasting it as a bad episode of survivor... "12 people begin the journey and only the strongest will survive..."

Suzannah, on behalf of Tobi, Luke, Leah, Viv, Maddie, Tina, Alex, Laurence, Teagan, Nadia and Julie

A Mind Blowing First Week In The Maldives

COUNTRY: Maldives
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Swimming Coaching
WRITTEN BY: Jessica Leask & Kaitlin Foster, University of Sydney, Education

Our first day on the beautiful atoll of Hithadhoo was nothing short of magical. With a delayed flight due to severe weather conditions in Hong Kong, and a change of travel route that included a stop over in Singapore, we arrived safely at our guesthouse in the early hours of the morning. After a good sleep in, we all awoke and were excited to explore our new home for the next three weeks.

Our first activity of the day was to visit our schools. For the duration of our stay, the group has been divided between both the Hithadhoo School and Sharafuddin, which boasts the largest school population in the Maldives. At Hithadhoo School we were greeted with flowers and coconuts during our meeting with the Assistant Principal.

Our first days of teaching here have been invaluable. The schools have been very welcoming, with all of our teachers giving us opportunities to teach classes to the students on our very first day! The local teachers are eager to learn new practices, and as a whole we have learnt so many important lessons from the students already. We have also begun to teach the very eager students how to swim in an afternoon program that will be continued throughout the duration of our trip. In addition to swimming, beginning next week, there will be some lively competition between the students at both schools as we are all coaching netball teams that will be competing each other in the island interschool competition.

In addition to our lesson planning and organising the coming weeks ahead, we have been fortunate enough to be able to plan a few little excursions including snorkelling and fishing. Snorkelling was one of the most mind-blowing experiences for so many of the students on the trip. Firstly the colour of the water is exactly how you would imagine it, the brightest and clearest of blues. Meanwhile the wildlife below is breath taking. It is a whole other world down there with so many creatures to be seen. We were lucky enough to see at least 3 turtles in all different sizes, a few reef sharks and so many brightly coloured fish.

As a group we also celebrated two birthdays this week with a beautiful trip to an uninhabited island on Friday, with snorkelling, swimming and a boat ride. We are all now feeling refreshed and ready to conquer our second week!

Farewell To Our 'Sisters' In Indonesia

COUNTRY: Indonesia
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Nursing
WRITTEN BY: Casey Samiotis, Edith Cowan University

Our second week was spent at Wangaya local government hospital in Denpasar. We had the opportunity to spend time on different wards including emergency, maternity, HDU, paediatrics & the outpatient clinic. With the help of our translators, we were able to observe some fascinating interventions.

Some of the highlights for us were witnessing births in the maternity ward and endless cuddles in the neonate nursery. We also encountered all sorts of medical and trauma cases in the small emergency department. It was interesting to see the ways in which the hospital differed from back home and also to experience the similarities - illegible doctor's handwriting is universal!

We were also invited for a tour of Stikes University campus and simulation labs where our translators are completing their nursing training. We have learnt a lot about nursing and about Balinese social and cultural influences in health care. All having left with a greater appreciation of the people and their impressive pain tolerance!

On our second last night we were invited to join our tour guide Wayan in his local village approximately 1 hour from Sanur, where we enjoyed a home cooked Balinese meal dressed in traditional Balinese sarongs. Children from the village entertained us all performing traditional music and dance.

Our last week of placement comes to an end and so the farewells begin. Tears flowed at the farewell dinner, where we exchanged gifts and said goodbye to our "sisters" (translators) after working so closely together for two weeks. We have made some lasting friendships and some unforgettable memories.

ECU Nursing Students Conduct Eye Clinics in Indonesia

COUNTRY: Indonesia
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Nursing
WRITTEN BY: Casey Samiotis, Edith Cowan University

Life changing interventions amongst the most breathtaking backdrops: A different side to Bali life than most of us have seen as tourists and a unique and privileged opportunity.

The first morning after a late night arrival, we met our attentive and dedicated guide "Little Wayan" and our trusty support crew Dian, Anom & Rosa (3 nursing students from Stikes University to act as our translators) as well as our in country support Gonsalo & Wiwi.



The first 3 days were spent in Siangan village, approx. 45 minutes drive from our hotel. As we entered the village we were met with inquisitive and welcoming faces. Locals welcomed us in to their homes, where Wayan introduced us to the traditional Balinese way of living.

Experienced staff were conducting eye screenings for up to 300 people, and providing glasses and cataract assessments all free of charge. The first few days involved assisting John Fawcett Foundation (JFF) staff with eye tests and observing fascinating and almost unbelievable cataract surgeries from the bus-turned-mini-operating-theatre. Having undergone cataract surgery the previous day, some patients even rode their scooters in for their post-op assessment. Each day we have enjoyed delicious traditional food cooked and personally delivered by Wayan's wife. One of these days we were invited to eat in the family home of the chief of the community.

We also had the opportunity to work alongside a large group of Stikes University students conducting general health checks for local people from another small village. We hit the ground running quickly, learning the variations in assessment techniques.

We visited the JFF office where we were lucky enough to meet CEO, LeRoy Hollenbeck and founder John Fawcett. Here we learnt more about the foundation's history and proposals for the future. We were told that there was an increase in locals presenting for assessments after word got out that there were foreign nurses coming to the village. Everybody, from local students to the policeman, wanted our photo to remember the occasion.

It has been a pleasure and a privilege to be involved in such admirable work for such deserving people. As John Fawcett explained, there are not many interventions that can be as affordable, fast, effective and life changing as cataract surgery.

We are looking forward to a weekend break and heading in to the next part of the adventure at Wangaya government hospital.

Link below to the JFF video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLeQYbTjp3E&feature=youtu.be

Cricket, Curry and Clinics - Week 2 for Physios in Palampur

COUNTRY: India
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Physiotherapy, University of South Australia
WRITTEN BY: Suzannah Michell

Another week in Palampur has flown by, and I'm sure all the parents will be relieved to know that we mean that figuratively. Paragliding was a no go! Fun fact: apparently the Indian government have banned tandem paragliding! And since none of us had the courage to jump off a cliff alone, we ventured to the markets for the weekend. And boy, oh, boy do we stand out at the markets! To keep it short, we've had a dramatic effect on the Palampur economy - flooding it with Australian money in exchange for scarves, hats, tailored clothes and exotic sweets. And chocolate.

Our lunches and dinners here always come with rice, chapati (flat bread), sliced cucumber, red onion, tomato and a lentil dish. In addition there is usually another delicious vegetarian dish and once a week it's chicken! Bones, liver and all! You've never seen students fight over chicken bones like this before. And despite our cook's amazing, authentic and delicious meals, we just can't bear to give up the dairy milk chocolate stash in the fridge; in fact, it is constantly replenished! What a trap 40c Cadbury chocolate can be.

On the weekends we aren't provided with lunch, so we found Palampur's best restaurant. Rookie error on the first visit: just because the curry is cheap does not mean you need one each. On our second visit our table looked less like a medieval-Indian feast with one curry between two instead.

But fear less mum, we aren't too fat just yet. There's really no snacking outside of the three meals and we've been doing regular exercise this week too! Shock, horror. Our once a week yoga sessions have progressed well. This week we sat cross eyed, poked out our tongues and roared in unison. True story. Edit: we laughed in unison... Mothers Meeting United may as well be sponsoring our 6:15am walks through the hills too. No brave boys have joined the girls for their chats and hour-long walks, but we'll let you know how the next week continues. Many thanks to Bobby, one of the group organisers, who showed us the walk route. Although Suzannah in particular thought she might be dying on the first loop as they walked over a bridge without railing along the train tracks 20m high above a meandering stream. Unsure of when the train would actually be coming...

Placement has had its ups and downs, but distinctively more ups than downs! And all downs have been resolved diplomatically and promptly. Furthermore, a few students have begun at the school for disabled children in the area. It has been best described as chaotic, full of energy and a lot of fun. Nadia, Luke and Tina have each been assigned a child to set goals for and work towards them, such as catching a ball in two hands or counting to 10.

Alex and Tobi finished at Amit's private physiotherapy clinic, with an extensive knowledge of EPAs and Indian physiotherapy.

Leah and Viv at a local physiotherapy clinic started doing home visits this week too and had a great time applying their physiotherapy skills in a more rehab-environment. Although their favourite part was probably the pasta that one family cooked, served and made them eat on one visit in particular.

Suzannah, Teagan and Maddie have all had a lot of success with their paraplegic patients on home visits. Laurence played tag team and helped the girls this week in prep for handover. He chose a good week to do so too! Friday was their last day with the patients and their families before handing over to the other students on Monday. There were a lot of family photos taken and tea given that day! Our kitchen might as well be a tea factory with the three large plastic bags of tealeaves next to our kettle!

For a comparison, we visited the Palampur tea factory this weekend. Wow, that was a good Segway! It's like I planned it or something?! Crazy. Shout out to our Indian homeboy, Viv, who can speak enough Hindi to not only organise the tour on a Sunday, but also translate the entire tea drying and fermenting process! (We think?)

Other highlights include consistent cricket matches with the local Indian boys in the field next to our house, catching dragonflies in the kitchen and doing the dishes feat. Kanye West and, naturally, dance competitions next to the sink.

One challenge we struggled to overcome this week was the consistent inconsistency of power and Internet available. We'll probably never forget trying to access Uni emails like this... It was a solid hour out of our lives, after all. Nor the Tute sessions we had by headtorch. Not only did we take in a great deal about clinical reasoning, but some bugs were also ingested when they flew dangerously close to our illuminated faces.

However, with power we have been able to do physiotherapy tutes we wouldn't have otherwise been able to do. Such as Julie's headache tute at 9pm on Tuesday when Tobi asked her about headaches referring from his neck.

In all, we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves, even when slightly out of our comfort zones! We've had a few gastro issues, but everyone is fit, healthy and happy on the closing of week 2!

This weekend we have planned to visit the Golden Temple and the Pakistan boarder! So back into the bus we go for a "6 hour" journey. Will keep you posted on that one!

Suzannah, on behalf of Tobi, Laurence, Teagan, Maddie, Alex, Luke, Leah, Tina, Nadia, Viv and Julie.

Jam-Packed Week One In Laos for Notre Dame Nursing Students

COUNTRY: Laos
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Nursing
WRITTEN BY: Maeve Hawkes, Notre Dame University

After a long lead up of planning meetings, fundraising events and much excitement, we were almost surprised to find ourselves actually in Laos. Arriving in Luang Prabang airport on Sunday the 10th of May, our group of 10 students and two teachers agreed that it felt surreal to finally begin the experience that we had so long talked about. Our first night we relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful My Lao Home hotel and prepared ourselves for the long journey ahead of us.

On Monday morning we heaved our packs into the trucks and piled in, headed for the Army Hospital in Luang Prabang. We were greeted by the Director of the hospital, who gave us a warm welcome and provided us with information about the hospital and some of the most common health complaints of its patients (in particular respiratory conditions and diarrheal disease), and what he perceived to be the hospital's greatest needs for the future. We then had a tour of the hospital and were interested to identify significant differences between this health care setting and our hospitals at home. In particular we were struck by the high density of patients within each room and the fact that the family is expected to provide basic care for patients such as washing and feeding. It was humbling to see how privileged we are to have the medical resources that we take for granted at home.

Then it was back to the trucks for the two-hour drive to our first home-stay village on the mountainous dirt roads. Although the road was bumpy and dusty, the spectacular views of lush green mountains above us, the smiling faces that waved to us as we drove past and the rushing river below us all took our minds off these discomforts. When we arrived, the children of the village presented us with armfuls of handpicked flowers and welcomed us warmly. We felt overwhelmed by the kindness that we were shown both on our arrival and throughout our stay in the village.

After being officially welcomed to the village by the chief, we were shown to our new homes for the week! The style of housing and living conditions were definitely a big change from our lives in Perth and it took a few days for us to really settle in. It certainly helped to all have each other and to be focused on the goal that we had come here to achieve. The copious amounts of fresh cooked food that we were served at each meal definitely didn't hurt either.

We were also welcomed by government officials including the governor of the Pak Xeng district where we would be working for the next two weeks. The district has a population of approximately 23,000 people and throughout the next four days we visited the villages of Ban Nongfadat, Ban Hadsam, Ban Hadphaod, and Ban Vannguen to set up health clinics for the people living in these areas, where they are largely unable to afford to make the journey to hospital and don't have access to much needed regular health care. Each clinic was set up within school classrooms or meeting halls with only the medical equipment that we had brought with us, supported by our fundraising events and the donations we had collected. Our first clinic was by far the most challenging, as we were unsure of the most effective way to organise ourselves as a team and were unfamiliar with managing such a large patient load and working in collaboration with the translators and Laos health care workers. The lack of health care resources that we were accustomed to also presented challenges at times but we learned to adapt to our environment with the help of our supervisors.

As the week progressed, we refined our technique, became more familiar with the process and worked more efficiently as a team. At times it was overwhelming to be seeing such a large number of patients, in the sweltering heat, with such limited resources, but for every down moment there was an equally uplifting one, such as running health education sessions with the kids on how to wash their hands, or helping even temporarily relieve a patient of a health condition that they'd been living with for many years. We slowly adapted to the heat and the squat toilets and settled in to the rhythm of life in a Laos village. We relaxed after clinics with glorious swims in the river, set to the backdrop of the stunningly green mountains surrounding us on all sides. At the end of the first week we were exhausted and ready for a proper shower in Luang Prabang, but we were also proud of our accomplishments and how much progress we had made.

Sweat, Tears And Physio Placements in Palampur, India.

COUNTRY: India
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Physiotherapy, University of South Australia
WRITTEN BY: Suzannah Michell

The first week in India has come and gone already! Like the heat in Delhi, we just can't believe it. With 11 students and 1 professor, Julie, on our trip and several hours in a plane and car, we finally reached the halfway-student house in Delhi at 9pm to rest and recuperate.

On the second day, we stumbled into the 44 degrees and tried to scrape our jaws off the ground at the Taj Mahal's Royal Gate entrance. There were tears, there was sweat. There was a lot of sweat. Okay, the tears may have been sweat, we're not really sure. What we are sure of is this - the Taj Mahal is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Period.



We then embarked on our "8 hour" bus trip from Delhi to Palampur. And by 8 hours, we really mean 13. Which was both a beautiful painting of India's vast and contrasting scenery and a terrifying, thrilling submersion into Indian culture.

It must be noted, just like a horror film, it was the pretty blonde who was most willing to try new things who was struck down first. By food poisoning. But what a comeback she had! And we were back on the road! Until we got a flat tyre.

Things we learnt in India this week:

- Road rules are more of a guide and an actual rule in India.
- The car horn can also double as an indicator. Or to tell someone you're coming around a blind corner. Or to say “hello”. Or “goodbye”. Or “I'm passing you”. Or "Stop, I'm cutting you off". Or "Get out of my way". Or "I'm braking now".
- One hour can mean one hour in Indian time. But sometimes it means an hour and a half. Or two hours!
- The food may look the same as yesterday, but may taste drastically different. But it's always devastatingly delicious and you'll want to lick your plate.
- Cricket transcends all languages. But Viv finds talking to local Indian children in an Indian accent a necessity of communication.
- Do not stand near Tobi when he bats
- You will need to buy the local Indian children a new ball if you hit it over the river.
- "Internet" doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to access the World Wide Web. Although, if standing on one leg and facing due east, there is a sweet spot on the roof for 2G data downloads.
- Just because the currency is in thousands, doesn't mean you are spending very much.
- A 4 person badminton kit can be acquired for $4 AUD at the Palampur market.
- Anything can be acquired at the Palampur market.
- The roof isn't necessarily the best place to play badminton. But it has the best views and you're out if you hit too close to the edge. And you're definitely out if you fall off the edge...
- When playing badminton, innuendo and puns are a must.
- Common toilet etiquette is that you do not flush the toilet paper down the toilet.
- Palampur will always have a more beautiful view than you do. They have the Himalayas. You just can't compete! Sorry.
- Tobi hates geese.
- If you're blonde, you're a celebrity. People will want photos with you and their children and their cousins and their distant relatives too. Brunettes just don't cut it.
- Rooftop yoga is the best, regardless of hamstring length.
- Livestock can live on a farm, but it's much more likely that they will sleep on the road.

Golden quotes for the week:
- "I'm not blonde enough, though!" Nadia
- "I'm at a point where I just can't trust my farts, you know?" Tobi

But, okay, placement!

As a group of 11 we are split across 4 different placement sites - physiotherapy hospitals and clinics, and home visits.

Physiotherapy in India is very different from both Australian physiotherapy and what we expected. They use a lot of electrical therapy tools, such as ultrasound, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, short and long wave diathermy. Parents: Google them. And they use much less conservative prescriptions of the electrical stimulation (e-stimm) than we would. There have been studies about the therapeutic effect of e-stimm, and they all point to "more is better" but in Australia, we shy away from using such parameters because of the increased risk of injury with them. It has been very interesting to see the way they use these machines.

In this first week of clinic we've done a lot observation. We've tried to gauge our patients' health literacy, conditions and treatment so far through Pictionary and stunted English-Hindi. Or else had Physios translate for us. Or if we were especially lucky, we had patients who spoke full English.

The patients are warm and welcoming - there have been offers to stay at their houses, eat their food and constant offers of (crazy-delicious) tea on home visits. I believe one student has already been proposed to!

The home visits are to 3 paraplegic men in the nearby towns who couldn't otherwise afford regular Physio at home. They all live in beautiful parts of Palampur. At first, they found our Physio-rehab strange and unfamiliar. However they have, thus far, been incredibly enthusiastic, willing to engage and to try things in a different way.

The other clinics are roughly the same, and are as the description above. Some extra details though:
- One centre is a naturopathy-yoga-hospital-Physio clinic, which is highly esteemed in the area.
- One of the physiotherapy clinics is owned by one of the main organizers of our trip, Amit who is one of the most highly revered Physios in the state.
- The physiotherapy hospital has a much more neurological-rehab focus than the others, but deals with musculoskeletal conditions as well.

This weekend we plan to visit tea plantations and jump off cliffs. That is, we are going paragliding!

From the group: sorry about any lack of communication, our Internet and phone coverage has been in and out. We all received Indian SIMs the other day and hope to be in touch with families more regularly in the coming days!