Goodbye to Kathmandu, now in Pokhora

I believe that Bronwen did a great job on the descriptions about the trip to Thakre for the nutrition clinic, so I will remind you of the Global nursing blog that is on the link below. It was quite an eye opener, and I can only imagine how much work it would have been for some of the women, or siblings, to bring the children all the way there. At one of the elder care facilities, they are trying to raise enough money for a larger underground water tank which would greatly improve the quality of life for the 27 women, 3 children, and 1 caregiver. Do to the generous support of family and friends back home, I was able to leave a couple of donations with them. Although it was only about 1/6th of what they needed to build the tank, they were very thankful. I was also able to leave money to replace the old or missing bed sheets for all the residents (as many of you may know, eldercare facilities tend to go through sheets fairly quickly). We also took with us some towels, and other hygiene supplies with the money.

We said all of our farewells in Kathmandu, spent a long night of packing, and then hopped on a 6 hour bus ride. Now in Pokhora, and enjoying the quiet calm of the city on the Lake, I cannot imagine how quick the time has gone by.

I went on a trek with Jayne and Tom to Panchasse. Just after we arrived at the peak above the 'three sister's sacred heart tea house' , we sat at a viewing point and watched as the Annapurna peaks appeared one by one from behind the clouds until they stood in all their magnificent glory in front of us. What a show! We were very lucky, as it was the first time in a while that the mountain range was clear. Back at the tea house, we had the best Dhal bat since our arrival in Nepal; they had a beautiful organic garden at 2030 m... We awoke the next morning to the spectacular view at sunrise, just before the clouds hid the mountains away again, as if they were not there at all. On the way down, we swam in the cleanest water I have seen since here, and enjoyed every second of it, even if we caused a stir with some of the locals...

The bus rides here are and adventure in themselves. On the way back from the trek, a woman asked me to hold a plastic bag. I thought, sure why not. About 20 min later, the bag started to move. And I realized that the food I was holding was in fact still alive. After my little screeches, and lots of confusion, I was told it was a fish, and after looking at it, I would say the ugliest, creepiest fish I have ever seen. But at least I am entertainingfor everyone else.

We went to Green Pastures Leprosy Clinic for a few shifts and got quite an eye opener on the impressive abilities everyone has there. Between the nursing staff, doctors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, kitchen, workshop for prosthesis, and holistic attitude towards care, I learned a great deal about collaboration and client centered care. It was very nice to be there, and we were welcomed with open arms. There will be a post on the nursing blog about our final week there, so I won't bore you with hearing it twice. But I do find the use of honey there in wounds facinating and it's success impressive.

I had to say farewell to most of the group, and will miss them in my last 2 weeks here. Yesterday I had an exciting adventure; I went with a couple of friends I have met here to a local water fall / cave called Devi's fall. I think the one guy has taken a lot of people there and at first felt a little bad for making him return. But this time we ventured deeper into a cave, through some water and found ourselves in quite a neat cave that surfaced a ways down near a river. It was full of bats, and quite refreshing to be somewhere that isn’t a typical tourist place, and fun knowing that our friend had also not been there before. From there we went to the Mountain museum, the hot springs, and the bat cave. However, the bat cave was no longer quite as interesting as the hundreds we had seen previously in the day; but enjoyable none the less.

Unfortunately I had to postpone my trek by a day as I ate something somewhere along the way that I apparently should not have, I sent my two trekking partners and guide on their way, and I plan on flying up to meet them tomorrow when they return to Jomsom. It means I will miss the small hike up to and from Muktinath which sits at 3800m, but probably for the best in the condition I was this morning. I am on the mend now and excited to get up there tomorrow. Will return to Pokhora next Saturday with more to share I am sure.

Until next time- Jodi

After an exciting weekend of rafting on the Bhote Kosi, it was only fitting to ensure the next weekend be filled with new adventure as well. So, on Friday morning we ventured out at 6am to head to Khevre, a village off of the main road at Palanchok. We went with the manager of one of the other placements to her family’s home. Upon arrival, we were greeted by an entire village. Most were smiling and many intrigued. We got a tour of the village, and Cathy handed out dolls and toys to some of children, which caused a lot of excitement.

I may have misunderstood, but it sounds like that village has only ever had a handful of foreigners visit. And the children were enthralled with us, our cameras, and our inability to speak Nepalese. We all smiled and giggled a lot.

After being dressed in Saris, and fed wonderful food, we went to sleep in a beautiful and exceptionally clean, three storey mud home, where we were treated as best as any royalty would.

In the morning I woke up with a typical Nepal stomach ache (one that most foreigners cannot avoid during their travels here). Which is not that much fun with squatter toilets, and no running water. We helped carry up water from the tap to the house, which caused a little fuss, as 10 houses must share 1 tap, which only has running water until 9am (the start time I am unsure of). But, that is not a lot of water per person when there are an extra 8 guests in one house.
We waited under a Pipple tree, (a sacred tree of Nepal that cannot be cut down) for a bus that never came. Eventually a truck was leaving the village, and we were able to catch a ride with about 20 other people.

Once back at Palanchok, we again waited for a bus, and although one came, it was apparently not the best one, as I was the only one that got on it, but I managed to get off before it reached full speed, with only a little bounce off the pavement J The next bus was also full, and instead some of us had to find seats on the top, which was quite a ride, and provided us with the freshest and coolest air since our arrival. And of course, we all arrived safely home to Patan once again. And back to school….

Marie and I went to another elder care facility that opened our eyes once again to the necessities of Nepali life, and the need for shelter, food, and water. We worked out the amount of water that each person has in that facility and it is approximately 3L each / day for washing, drinking, cooking, cleaning… everything. There will be a better update on the school adventures on our next blog posting on the globalnursingnepal.blogspot.com page in a week or so.

The rains have arrived which offers both reprieve to some and issues to others. The water has no where to go in some areas, and with it dried up sewage, garbage, and mud. Contaminating more areas than the dust does in the dry season. The roads run like rivers, and some of the rivers here are no more than waste. But it means that the crops, gardens and water wells will eventually be replenished, and the thunderstorms are quite a site to someone from Vancouver Island.

Oh, and the rain keeps the dogs quiet at night……. Lovely.

The shopping here is something I cannot get enough of, and fear the need to buy another suitcase. There are so many beautiful and unique things here, that I could not begin to afford at home. Although my Nepali is not getting much better, I am able to understand more of what is being said through gestures and such, and am able to understand the English being spoke by Nepalese people better than before.

I would like to once again thank a few of the dentists in Qualicum Beach for their toothbrush and toothpaste donations. All of them have been given out between two different elder care facilities. I am quite impressed by the overall dental health in Nepal, and many people seem to have such white teeth. Everyone has been very pleased to receive the toothbrushes:) And a thanks to the soccer ball donations, all three have also been greatly appreciated by the children that have received them.

I have been trying to add pictures for a while but without any luck... So it will have to wait

till next time
-Jodi

Global Nursing Blog

the global nursing blog that all of our group will be posting on is .... http://globalnursingnepal.blogspot.com/

The sunsets in nepal are absolutely gorgeous. And the camera cannot do them justice. This is one of the many views from our roof. Depending on the smog, we can see quite a few, or no mountains. It seems as the sun sets, the mountains become more defined until dusk. The picture below is our mansion that we are staying in. Equipped with all the luxeries I wrote about in the previous blog post.

I have been to my placement at Hospice Nepal for 3 days now. Although there is not much to do there at this time, I have been learning alot about culture, language, and health care. In Nepal, being sick is a family affair. The individual is rarely alone, and the family tends to take care of almost all of their needs. I do not think that nepalese people get bug bites, so they are enthralled and worried about the many I have on my legs, but they are getting better now, and not as itchy anymore.

I went on a Home visit yesterday afternoon, and was welcomed by a gentleman that spoke english. This made it much easier to understand what was going on. Our nurse that we were following, needed to do some more stuff in town after the home visit, and so Marie and I were going to take a taxi home, but he insisted that we take a tuk tuk. A tuk tuk is a small, 3 wheeled vehicle, that seets a max of 10 passengers facing each other sideways, with no back door, and is aprox. 4 ft x 10 ft in size. Costs about 12 R each (so maybe 20cents canadian). Our nurse helped us cross the busy road, put us in the right tuk tuk (as we really had no idea where we were, or which tuk tuk to take, as they have specific routes like buses), bartered the price with the driver, and sent us on our way. He is taking very good care of us. And we made it home safe and sound.

This is the outside of the hospice building.

Today on our walk to Hospice, we saw a dead dog, a child rooting through the garbage for food, and another child (maybe 7yrs old) happily smoking a cigarette. All this before 7 am. Still not a lot of action for us at hospice, as there is currently only one patient. But today was a school holdiay for the kids, and the guard's 10yr old? son was at Hospice today, so we played makeshift cricket/ baseball with a peice of bamboo and a tennis ball. And practiced speaking Nepalese, which made everyone laugh. We went on another home care visit. So far the homes we have been in have been very nice, and likely above average for here. But driving to them has been quite an eye opener, and in this, we are lucky as we have seen alot more of kathmand because of the home care visits. We took another tuk tuk home, and it is getting a little easier and more comfortable being in the traffic, even though we are terrified most of the time :)

The nurse that marie and I have been with for the last three days is the one that does the homecare visits. He is one of only a few, and he does it almost all as volunteer work. Nurses here make pennys compared to us back home, even when compared with the cost of living. He is very dedicated to it, and the work he does, trumps canadian homecare, and is a great example of the relational practice that we are taught and preached, but rarely see at home.

This is a picture of Patan Durbar square. Lots of beautiful temples.

It takes a really long time to upload pictures here, so many will have to wait until I get home.

till next time

- Jodi

After 36 hours of travel, 3 airports, and 2 planes, we arrived safely in Kathmandu on April 21st. The last flight from Hong Kong to Kathmandu kept me entertained with an amazing thunder and lightning storm. I have never witnessed one from above. We were lucky to have transportation waiting for us, as there are quite a few taxis waiting outside the airport, and it was a little overwhelming. I think we are staying in Nepal luxury. Our house is 3 floors, 7 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, kitchen, massive roof balcony, running water, electricity (except during load shedding, when our battery/inverter runs out), a computer with internet, and a lovely didi (means big sister, she cooks, cleans, does our laundry... ). We are staying in the town of Patan, it is next to Kathmandu city. The load shedding is an interesting concept. As when the power is on, people use almost double the electricity that they usually would, to recharge batteries, and accomplish all that they can while they have the power. So in the end, I do not know how much electricity is really being saved. 2+2 is still 4..... I guess a lot of it is just politics.

We have been here for four days, and getting more and more adventurous each day. The first day while eating breakfast in a small restaurant, we saw an elephant walking down the road in the middle of traffic. We were quite close to the zoo, but we are not sure what it was doing. The restauraunt specifically hires people with hearing defecits, and helps them learn to serve, providing them with the means to make a (small) living.

I think that after walking through the markets and seeing the interesting way in which meat are handled, I will be a vegetarian while in Nepal.

We went to Durbar square, it is full of old temples, dating back to atleast 1600 ac, but some of the literature says it is from bc.. so I am unsure of specifics.
The traffic is something to get used to. It is very chaotic, and everyone uses their horn, alot. There are quite a few motor bikes on the street, and only the driver wears a helmet (not the kids or wife that are on there with them as a family).

We went and looked at the the practice placements. The nutrition rehabilitation center is in Kathmandu, and requires a bus. Also an interesting first experience. Buses in Nepal go very fast, and have very loud horns. On the way to the bus, I gained a small friend, he followed us for about 20 min until the other dogs scared him away. I think he was hoping for some protection. There are dogs everywhere, and any dog in Canada has life way to easy after seeing these dogs.

The nutrition center hosts children and their caretaker (usually their mom). They help the children become re-nourished with a nutrition plan that mostly follows the WHO recommendations, and provides education to the caretakers. I believe they receive classes most days. And they do follow up to visit the children 1month, 3months, and 1yr? post discharge. The center runs solely on donations. Tom and Bronwen will be at this placement.

We went into Durbar square again, the second time in it was a little easier to bargain with the merchants. It is definably something to get used to.

On Friday, we woke up to 3 gunfire shots, and were a little concerned. But, as it turned out, it was a celebration to remind everyone that it was a public holiday... not bad after all :)
We went and looked at the HIV/AIDs center (where Brad and Jayne will be working). The children are beautiful. I have never felt so welcomed by children i do not know. I was sitting on a couch and a few children came in the room. They were fighting over who could sit next to me. Then Bronwen took a picture, and that was it, they were enthralled. They were grabbing the cameras, taking pictures, looking at the pictures, and trying to be in the pictures. It was very entertaining, for all of us. This center has 18 beds, and treats the children and the caregivers (as most of them are also infected). They also focus on nutrition and education. The stigmas associated with HIV/AIDs often prevents the caregivers from returning to their villages after they recieve a diagnosis, or they go home and pretend nothing is different, as they do not want to be shunned. Education is a key factor in working with people infected with HIV/AIDs, as the stigmas and misconceptions seem to cause alot of issues.

We went to Hospice Nepal, the placement that Marie and I will be going to. It was a small, low maintenance, bright, and open building. It has 9 beds. It costs money for people to come for treatment, but if they have no money, it is free. Or they pay what they can. Palliative care and hospice are new concepts to the Nepalese, and it appears more difficult than they thought to recieve referalls. Therefore, it is not used to its capacity at this time. It is run mostly by volunteers. The nurses, guard, and cleaning staff are paid, but not the doctors. Again, the funding relies on donations. I am quite excited to work there, and we will find out more about Home Care on Monday.

I have seen some of the most brilliant, and colorful sunsets ever since I have been here, and was excited to the Big dipper last night, it reminded me of home.

Today we went to Thamel, it is like a big market, with lots of wools, pashmenas, jewelery, and hiking gear. On the bus ride back, we got stopped just before leaving Kathmandu. There was a big demonstration in the streets and it stopped all the traffic. We had to get out and walk. It was a good thing we did, because it went on for a long time. I am not sure what it was about, but a local man told us it was normal, and nothing to worry about, just that it causes problem with the traffic. I am going to take his word for it.

The nights are a little cooler than the day, and the evenings are a nice time to go for a walk. The bugs love me much more than I love them, and have caused me a little grief. We have a couple of cockroaches as roommates, and the dogs barking at night are outrageous, but I am enjying every minute. Everyone is very friendly, and although we get laughed at every now and then for our big sun glasses, hats, bug bites, or white skin, we feel very welcomed. And I am excited to see more...

Till next time
- Jodi

Hello and goodbye, I am heading off to Nepal today, starting with 36 hours of travel. Due to the generous support of family and friends, I am able to take with me toothpaste, over 100 toothbrushes, soccer balls, frisbees, and a few coloring supplies. The Horne Lake fishing derby and crib tournament fundraiser, hosted graciously by my parents, brought in more than I anticipated, and am now able to put some money towards something once I arrive, perhaps, I can buy a few goats:) But I will look into this more once I get there, and keep you updated.
See you in June
-Jodi

Hi everyone, I have just started this blog, so that my family and friends can see where I am at in my travels. I will be leaving for Nepal next month, it is all starting to feel a little bit more real. I am sure I have a lot to do between now and when I leave, but for now, I am just trying to get all of my school work in order, so that I can still go :) There probably won't be much activity on this blog until the middle of April, just thought I would let you know why I set this up, and then I can be a little lazier in Nepal as far as writing to everyone seperatly, sorry....
Thanks for all of the generous support to date, it has all been greatly appreciated.
- Jodi