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/