So the whole trip, I had been slowly taking video clips and adding all of the footage to a massive folder. I tried to capture every aspect of our trip, and ended up compiling the best four minutes of material into a little video.
Check it out here:
http://www.vimeo.com/27169403
-Mike
Monday, August 1, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Helping Hands Community Hospital
Ok, I have been putting off this blog post for far too long, I am very excited to finally relay to any followers some information about what I have been doing for the past three weeks.
The Center
Helping Hands Community Hospital is just that, a hospital that really caters to the needs of the community. It provides excellent care, at prices that the average Nepali citizen can afford; and if an individual can not pay, then hospital will provide all of it's services for free to those individuals. I have been fortunate to experience a lot of the healthcare system in the United States, and have spent some time in them so I am very excited to compare and contrast the two countries and there hospitals.
The Director
The director for HHCH (helping hands community hospital) is Doctor Gupta. Gupta started the hospital about 10 years ago with literally nothing. He will tell you if you ask; first bringing out a piece of paper and drawing a big 0 on it, then he will say "This is how much money I had to start this hospital!" He now runs a one acre plot of land that is intertwined with about 5 buildings ranging from 3 to 5 stories high all part of the hospital. Gupta is a 52 year old father of two, ( his son is 22 and daughter 20; both are living in the United States along with his wife)and his ambitions are higher than ever. He recently acquired a 52 acre plot of land about 10km away form the hospital; it was a free gift that he acquired through some government connections (He was the personal physician to the recently ex-prime minister and his family; we actually were able to help with an X-ray for the ex-prime ministers son one day). He has big plans for this land; he wants to open a free clinic, a hospice, and a nursing home, as well as a Medical School. He says he will need about a billion dollars to complete his dream so it is definitely a long term goal in the process at the moment. He manages to do a lot with just about nothing, he is somehow able to get equipment donated and pay his amazing staff while still keeping up his facilities and even turning a profit every year. He told us that the rent for his hospital is about 10 thousand and about three thousand in utilities. All of this considered, he still manages to turn a pretty substantial PROFIT of about 12 thousand dollars, remember these figures all all in $US by month. As director he is in charge of all the departments of the hospital, so everyone reports to him. He works from 11am to 4pm everyday seeing about 100 patents as a general physician. It is amazing how efficient he is and how great he is at what he does. I have learned a lot from him, he loves to teach and is very nice. That is one of the main reasons why the hospital is so popular for medical students and pre-med students, the staff see's a lot of patients every day and the staff is trained to teach and advance their learning. Not only are there about 5 volunteers working at the hospital but there are about 70 med-dental students also working in various departments of the hospital. Hands on experience that they acquire at the hospital is 60% of their total grade. This provided a little bit of competition for us volunteers but it was all in good fun. They have been really nice and have been able to show us a lot that the doctors and nurses have not had time to show us.
Emergency Room
Ok, as I said before the hospital is divided into many different sections and one of the major ones that we got to experience was the Emergency Room. In the ER there are about 10 "beds" in a very small cramped area, then there are two more beds in a smaller room connected to the other beds. The ER experiences a lot of different kinds of cases each day. The most common kinds of cases are Gastritis or digestive tract problems, i.e. diarrhea and stomach pains related to infections in the digestive tract. This is caused mainly due to sanitation issues; so people not washing and cleaning food properly and or not washing there hands after using the restroom (and yes they usually use their hands instead of toilet paper...). So the ER will usually run urine and stool samples to check what is causing the infection, then they can treat with antibiotics for bacterial infections or other medication for other forms of pathogens in the digestive tract. They also experience a lot of respiratory problems due to the bad air quality and the prevalence of Tuberculosis in the region. Those cases are not always the most interesting but it is great to learn about them due to there frequency. The more interesting cases that we got to see in the ER included: a motorcycle accident where a women's heel was torn from one point of the ankle around the back to the other side only held on by the tendons in the heel, a kid with a monkey bite on his arm where he had a chunk of his arm missing about an inch and a half in diameter, a toddler who had lost the tip of one of his toe cut clean off, a man with an infection in his leg that had to be drained and "exploded like a volcano of puss" as Lars so kindly put it, a lady with glass shards in her finger(never was able to get those out...), a man who had a rod go through his leg which looked a lot like a bullet wound( got our hopes up for a second haha (that sounds bad)), a man that had whole in his hand that they ended up stuffing with iodine soaked gauze to try to prevent infection, along with countless other stitching and dressings as well as re-dressings and re-castings. So some of the more crazy cases were seen here, we got to help where we could, sometimes getting to clean wounds (starting at the center of the wound and working your way out to prevent infection) as well as helping get them supplies and holding patients (anesthetic was not all too common).
Radiology
This was another hot spot section of the hospital that many of the volunteers decided to hang out. Lars and I made a very good friend here in the radiologist tech Bemal. In the radiology department they take all of the X-ray's. The room has two x-ray machines and a large table for the patients along with some chemicals that they sometimes inject the patients with so that certain things will show up on the X-rays with stronger contrast (specifically for kidney stones and the urinary track). Then in the other room where the computer, the printer/scanner and all of us sat; only separated by a 9in concrete wall and two led doors. They seem to take X-rays for just about everything from broken bones, stomach aces and even sinus problems. Apparently, they are not extremely worried about the effects of radiation. Bemal was a little more reassuring, he said that he was very aware of the effects radiation has on developing fetuses and sensitive areas such as the genitalia. He also informed us that the amount of radiation exposure is very minimal especially for patients who come in once or on a rare occasion. We got a full crash coarse on how the X-rays are processed including how they are labeled and how the contrast is adjusted to show soft tissue, and when they need to see just bone or even cartilage. We learned a lot about different positions that the patient must be placed in in order to get a proper x-ray that shows all the components that the doctor may need to see. For instance if an individual needs a chest x-ray They should roll their shoulders forward so that their shoulder blades don't block the view of the lungs. We were very fortunate that Bemal really took a liking to us, at some points we were working the computer and the X-ray equipment all by ourselves, a unique experience to say the least. Bemal was a fantastic wealth of information telling us all about the government of Nepal; the inter-workings of the hospital, learned all about kidney stones one day, local spots, how the funeral processions work for the Hindu religion in Nepal(one started at the hospital one day and we were able to observe the whole process). He even took us on a motorcycle trip outside of the city to a huge Hindu god statue (143ft tall) and kept Alan out of trouble when he got his motorcycle taken and didn't have a license. He is 20 and has been working at the hospital for about a year, he said Lars and I were the first volunteers to really talk to him and get to know him. He always reminds us how happy he is to be friends with us American boys and how he never thought in his wildest dreams he would have two new American friends. We really seem to have made a big impact on his life through our friendship and it will be hard to say good by to him soon.
Ultrasound
Due to a large lack of money the hospital is really only capable of running two types of body scans on patients and that is X-rays and Ultrasounds. The ultrasound tech is pretty amazing, he is able to find a persons liver, kidney's, gall bladder, and even their uterus before you can finish pronouncing the word ultrasound. I had never experienced an ultrasound before so it was a rather special experience getting to see a fetus moving inside of a patient and even being able to observe one sucking its thumb while still in the womb today. It was really amazing seeing how they check and measure the organs and the babies to check for abnormalities and ruptures or inflammation. I thought that one of the most amazing parts of ultrasound was seeing the development of the fetus as it changes during different ages. Seeing the heart beating at one point and bone development at another; and how one way to measure the fetuses development is by measuring the size of the cranium. I was also impressed when I got to see an ultrasound of an enlarged appendix and even an ultrasound of the trachea.
Surgery
For me this was one of the most highly anticipated areas of the hospital for me. I have found that it is very difficult to go and see surgery though... But, I did get in to see two surgeries. the First was an orthopedic surgery on an elbow where the ulna was sticking out of the elbow and they ended up drilling in some rods to the bone and "worked" it back into its original place before closing him up. I also got to see an emergency appendectomy for a 13 year old boy. It was a pretty quick surgery compared to the elbow that I saw only taking about 30min compared to almost an hour and a half for the elbow. It was very cool tough; they made a small incision and pulled it right out, cut it out and stitched him up. I know the appendix is supposed to be a fairly small organ but his was about the size of my palm which definitely indicates some significant swelling. I scrubed in with the scrubs that the surgeons gave me (pretty small) and they also dont where shoes during surgery but sandals... I also noticed that they don't like to cover there noses with their masks during surgery. This leads nicely into the hospitals sterilization techniques that I was able to observe on the roof of one of the buildings... they wash all of ther instruments by hand in soapy water in buckets on the roof and wrap them in in their drapes and cloths that have been also washed by hand in the same bucket of soapy water and then hung out to dry outside in the sun on the top of this roof.
Thoughts and Comparisons
Helping hands is absolutely an amazing; it has an extreme impact on the community, and is a revolutionary place in this crazy city. Obviously there are many differences between the hospitals in the United States and Helping Hands. First of all the facility is a makeshift collection of buildings crammed together, where a US hospital is usually a state of the art building with advanced equipment and the capability to handle more patents more efficiently. Obviously the US has more strict codes on sterile technique and much more advanced and up to date equipment and can do more than ultrasounds and X-ray tests (i.e. cat scans, MRI's ect.). The United States has a much more strict system where patients are seen by several doctors and reffered to certain departments; where at HHCH if you know you need an x-ray you just go buy an X-ray and then go see a doctor, same with ultrasounds or blood tests. In American hospitals the hospital will provide individuals with changes of cloths and food, where at HHCH the family members and friends of the sick or hurt individual pull together to provide there friend with a home cooked meal and a some fresh cloths as well as some company everyday as they are recovering. In American hospitals the doctor treats you and then bills you later, at HHCH the family buys everything at the hospital right down to the gauze and syringes being very involved in every step of the care knowing exactly what the patient needs as they need it. When an American does not have the money or insurance to pay for an operation or treatment, then they do not receive it, at HHCH the community pulls together to pay for an individuals treatment and if they can't, the hospital will provide all of the care for free... Helping Hands Community Hospital provides tretment and help to patients at a fraction of the costs of the nicer privately ownd hospitals in the city. Dr. Gupta told us that the largest portion of the patients are from outside the city in the country side and will travel up to 4 days to get help here. In some ways, I would say that Helping Hands is better than many American Hospitals. For instance they are much more efficient with all of there resources, they are able to do so much with so little. They do practice great stearal teqnique given what they have to work with and they are able to handle an immense quantity of patients with a small space and even tighter resources. I always wonder how much more they would be able to do with just a little bit more. They are forced to reuse gloves because they are trying to save money and reuse as much as possible so that they can use that money to either provide free services to patients or get more or newer equipment for the hospital. the hospital has grown from literally nothing into a project that is really changing the lives of hundreds of people a day. They primary concern for the hospital is the care of the patients not money... hmm kind of makes you think about what really matters to the Nepali people and what really matters to Americans... That is probably the biggest thing that I have taken form my trip here in Nepal so far; what really should matter and what motives are for different people. In a third world country like Nepal the entire community works together to try to to do what is best for each-other. They care more about friendship than money or whatever else that they can get out of you. They are so nice, ready and willing to lend a hand without so much as a second thought. They don't often have much so they treasure everything that they have and make the most out of every situation. I really hope I am able to take all that I have learned here and really turn it into motivation not only to better myself in many ways; but also do everything I can to give back to everyone I can. Although I have been volunteering here for what will be about 4 weeks; I feel that that the Nepal has given me so much more than I have been able to give it. I feel that this trip has been eye opening and inspiring in more ways than I can even begin to articulate; and has had a greater impact on me than I could have ever imagined. I felt like ending this post with a quote that helps sum up all of the ideas that I have tried to convey from my experiences.
The difference between a helping hand and an outstretched palm is a twist of the wrist. ~Laurence Leamer
LOVE KEVIN.
The Center
Helping Hands Community Hospital is just that, a hospital that really caters to the needs of the community. It provides excellent care, at prices that the average Nepali citizen can afford; and if an individual can not pay, then hospital will provide all of it's services for free to those individuals. I have been fortunate to experience a lot of the healthcare system in the United States, and have spent some time in them so I am very excited to compare and contrast the two countries and there hospitals.
The Director
The director for HHCH (helping hands community hospital) is Doctor Gupta. Gupta started the hospital about 10 years ago with literally nothing. He will tell you if you ask; first bringing out a piece of paper and drawing a big 0 on it, then he will say "This is how much money I had to start this hospital!" He now runs a one acre plot of land that is intertwined with about 5 buildings ranging from 3 to 5 stories high all part of the hospital. Gupta is a 52 year old father of two, ( his son is 22 and daughter 20; both are living in the United States along with his wife)and his ambitions are higher than ever. He recently acquired a 52 acre plot of land about 10km away form the hospital; it was a free gift that he acquired through some government connections (He was the personal physician to the recently ex-prime minister and his family; we actually were able to help with an X-ray for the ex-prime ministers son one day). He has big plans for this land; he wants to open a free clinic, a hospice, and a nursing home, as well as a Medical School. He says he will need about a billion dollars to complete his dream so it is definitely a long term goal in the process at the moment. He manages to do a lot with just about nothing, he is somehow able to get equipment donated and pay his amazing staff while still keeping up his facilities and even turning a profit every year. He told us that the rent for his hospital is about 10 thousand and about three thousand in utilities. All of this considered, he still manages to turn a pretty substantial PROFIT of about 12 thousand dollars, remember these figures all all in $US by month. As director he is in charge of all the departments of the hospital, so everyone reports to him. He works from 11am to 4pm everyday seeing about 100 patents as a general physician. It is amazing how efficient he is and how great he is at what he does. I have learned a lot from him, he loves to teach and is very nice. That is one of the main reasons why the hospital is so popular for medical students and pre-med students, the staff see's a lot of patients every day and the staff is trained to teach and advance their learning. Not only are there about 5 volunteers working at the hospital but there are about 70 med-dental students also working in various departments of the hospital. Hands on experience that they acquire at the hospital is 60% of their total grade. This provided a little bit of competition for us volunteers but it was all in good fun. They have been really nice and have been able to show us a lot that the doctors and nurses have not had time to show us.
Emergency Room
Ok, as I said before the hospital is divided into many different sections and one of the major ones that we got to experience was the Emergency Room. In the ER there are about 10 "beds" in a very small cramped area, then there are two more beds in a smaller room connected to the other beds. The ER experiences a lot of different kinds of cases each day. The most common kinds of cases are Gastritis or digestive tract problems, i.e. diarrhea and stomach pains related to infections in the digestive tract. This is caused mainly due to sanitation issues; so people not washing and cleaning food properly and or not washing there hands after using the restroom (and yes they usually use their hands instead of toilet paper...). So the ER will usually run urine and stool samples to check what is causing the infection, then they can treat with antibiotics for bacterial infections or other medication for other forms of pathogens in the digestive tract. They also experience a lot of respiratory problems due to the bad air quality and the prevalence of Tuberculosis in the region. Those cases are not always the most interesting but it is great to learn about them due to there frequency. The more interesting cases that we got to see in the ER included: a motorcycle accident where a women's heel was torn from one point of the ankle around the back to the other side only held on by the tendons in the heel, a kid with a monkey bite on his arm where he had a chunk of his arm missing about an inch and a half in diameter, a toddler who had lost the tip of one of his toe cut clean off, a man with an infection in his leg that had to be drained and "exploded like a volcano of puss" as Lars so kindly put it, a lady with glass shards in her finger(never was able to get those out...), a man who had a rod go through his leg which looked a lot like a bullet wound( got our hopes up for a second haha (that sounds bad)), a man that had whole in his hand that they ended up stuffing with iodine soaked gauze to try to prevent infection, along with countless other stitching and dressings as well as re-dressings and re-castings. So some of the more crazy cases were seen here, we got to help where we could, sometimes getting to clean wounds (starting at the center of the wound and working your way out to prevent infection) as well as helping get them supplies and holding patients (anesthetic was not all too common).
Radiology
This was another hot spot section of the hospital that many of the volunteers decided to hang out. Lars and I made a very good friend here in the radiologist tech Bemal. In the radiology department they take all of the X-ray's. The room has two x-ray machines and a large table for the patients along with some chemicals that they sometimes inject the patients with so that certain things will show up on the X-rays with stronger contrast (specifically for kidney stones and the urinary track). Then in the other room where the computer, the printer/scanner and all of us sat; only separated by a 9in concrete wall and two led doors. They seem to take X-rays for just about everything from broken bones, stomach aces and even sinus problems. Apparently, they are not extremely worried about the effects of radiation. Bemal was a little more reassuring, he said that he was very aware of the effects radiation has on developing fetuses and sensitive areas such as the genitalia. He also informed us that the amount of radiation exposure is very minimal especially for patients who come in once or on a rare occasion. We got a full crash coarse on how the X-rays are processed including how they are labeled and how the contrast is adjusted to show soft tissue, and when they need to see just bone or even cartilage. We learned a lot about different positions that the patient must be placed in in order to get a proper x-ray that shows all the components that the doctor may need to see. For instance if an individual needs a chest x-ray They should roll their shoulders forward so that their shoulder blades don't block the view of the lungs. We were very fortunate that Bemal really took a liking to us, at some points we were working the computer and the X-ray equipment all by ourselves, a unique experience to say the least. Bemal was a fantastic wealth of information telling us all about the government of Nepal; the inter-workings of the hospital, learned all about kidney stones one day, local spots, how the funeral processions work for the Hindu religion in Nepal(one started at the hospital one day and we were able to observe the whole process). He even took us on a motorcycle trip outside of the city to a huge Hindu god statue (143ft tall) and kept Alan out of trouble when he got his motorcycle taken and didn't have a license. He is 20 and has been working at the hospital for about a year, he said Lars and I were the first volunteers to really talk to him and get to know him. He always reminds us how happy he is to be friends with us American boys and how he never thought in his wildest dreams he would have two new American friends. We really seem to have made a big impact on his life through our friendship and it will be hard to say good by to him soon.
Ultrasound
Due to a large lack of money the hospital is really only capable of running two types of body scans on patients and that is X-rays and Ultrasounds. The ultrasound tech is pretty amazing, he is able to find a persons liver, kidney's, gall bladder, and even their uterus before you can finish pronouncing the word ultrasound. I had never experienced an ultrasound before so it was a rather special experience getting to see a fetus moving inside of a patient and even being able to observe one sucking its thumb while still in the womb today. It was really amazing seeing how they check and measure the organs and the babies to check for abnormalities and ruptures or inflammation. I thought that one of the most amazing parts of ultrasound was seeing the development of the fetus as it changes during different ages. Seeing the heart beating at one point and bone development at another; and how one way to measure the fetuses development is by measuring the size of the cranium. I was also impressed when I got to see an ultrasound of an enlarged appendix and even an ultrasound of the trachea.
Surgery
For me this was one of the most highly anticipated areas of the hospital for me. I have found that it is very difficult to go and see surgery though... But, I did get in to see two surgeries. the First was an orthopedic surgery on an elbow where the ulna was sticking out of the elbow and they ended up drilling in some rods to the bone and "worked" it back into its original place before closing him up. I also got to see an emergency appendectomy for a 13 year old boy. It was a pretty quick surgery compared to the elbow that I saw only taking about 30min compared to almost an hour and a half for the elbow. It was very cool tough; they made a small incision and pulled it right out, cut it out and stitched him up. I know the appendix is supposed to be a fairly small organ but his was about the size of my palm which definitely indicates some significant swelling. I scrubed in with the scrubs that the surgeons gave me (pretty small) and they also dont where shoes during surgery but sandals... I also noticed that they don't like to cover there noses with their masks during surgery. This leads nicely into the hospitals sterilization techniques that I was able to observe on the roof of one of the buildings... they wash all of ther instruments by hand in soapy water in buckets on the roof and wrap them in in their drapes and cloths that have been also washed by hand in the same bucket of soapy water and then hung out to dry outside in the sun on the top of this roof.
Thoughts and Comparisons
Helping hands is absolutely an amazing; it has an extreme impact on the community, and is a revolutionary place in this crazy city. Obviously there are many differences between the hospitals in the United States and Helping Hands. First of all the facility is a makeshift collection of buildings crammed together, where a US hospital is usually a state of the art building with advanced equipment and the capability to handle more patents more efficiently. Obviously the US has more strict codes on sterile technique and much more advanced and up to date equipment and can do more than ultrasounds and X-ray tests (i.e. cat scans, MRI's ect.). The United States has a much more strict system where patients are seen by several doctors and reffered to certain departments; where at HHCH if you know you need an x-ray you just go buy an X-ray and then go see a doctor, same with ultrasounds or blood tests. In American hospitals the hospital will provide individuals with changes of cloths and food, where at HHCH the family members and friends of the sick or hurt individual pull together to provide there friend with a home cooked meal and a some fresh cloths as well as some company everyday as they are recovering. In American hospitals the doctor treats you and then bills you later, at HHCH the family buys everything at the hospital right down to the gauze and syringes being very involved in every step of the care knowing exactly what the patient needs as they need it. When an American does not have the money or insurance to pay for an operation or treatment, then they do not receive it, at HHCH the community pulls together to pay for an individuals treatment and if they can't, the hospital will provide all of the care for free... Helping Hands Community Hospital provides tretment and help to patients at a fraction of the costs of the nicer privately ownd hospitals in the city. Dr. Gupta told us that the largest portion of the patients are from outside the city in the country side and will travel up to 4 days to get help here. In some ways, I would say that Helping Hands is better than many American Hospitals. For instance they are much more efficient with all of there resources, they are able to do so much with so little. They do practice great stearal teqnique given what they have to work with and they are able to handle an immense quantity of patients with a small space and even tighter resources. I always wonder how much more they would be able to do with just a little bit more. They are forced to reuse gloves because they are trying to save money and reuse as much as possible so that they can use that money to either provide free services to patients or get more or newer equipment for the hospital. the hospital has grown from literally nothing into a project that is really changing the lives of hundreds of people a day. They primary concern for the hospital is the care of the patients not money... hmm kind of makes you think about what really matters to the Nepali people and what really matters to Americans... That is probably the biggest thing that I have taken form my trip here in Nepal so far; what really should matter and what motives are for different people. In a third world country like Nepal the entire community works together to try to to do what is best for each-other. They care more about friendship than money or whatever else that they can get out of you. They are so nice, ready and willing to lend a hand without so much as a second thought. They don't often have much so they treasure everything that they have and make the most out of every situation. I really hope I am able to take all that I have learned here and really turn it into motivation not only to better myself in many ways; but also do everything I can to give back to everyone I can. Although I have been volunteering here for what will be about 4 weeks; I feel that that the Nepal has given me so much more than I have been able to give it. I feel that this trip has been eye opening and inspiring in more ways than I can even begin to articulate; and has had a greater impact on me than I could have ever imagined. I felt like ending this post with a quote that helps sum up all of the ideas that I have tried to convey from my experiences.
The difference between a helping hand and an outstretched palm is a twist of the wrist. ~Laurence Leamer
LOVE KEVIN.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
No Shave Nepal
It's been 3 weeks since we left Seattle for Nepal. The four of us haven't shaved and are looking pretty scruffy. Last weekend, Kevin and I went on our trek. I was going to write an extended post but we have been much too busy, and every free moment is put towards catching up on sleep. Basically, we trekked all day (7am to 7pm) on Sunday, while Saturday and Monday were spent traveling. I didn't realize how much time we would spend on the bus, the ride from Syabru Bensi back to Kathmandu was about 9 hours. I also didn't realize that we were only a mere 15 kilometers from Tibet to the North. During our trek, I talked to our guide (Nima Sherpa, semi affiliated with the UW) about political issues such as Freeing Tibet and political corruption in Nepal. Very interesting to hear his perspective.
This week has been pretty insane as well. Alan and I are working on putting together a yearbook for Koseli before we leave, so I spent Tuesday taking over 600 portrait shots of the kids. I didn't know a thing about portraits or lighting, but I am fairly satisfied with the results we ended up with. Editing and cropping the photos will be tedious yet rewarding. My plan is to compile the pages digitally to host on the Koseli website, and then print/bind physical copies in the states to ship back to them.
Wednesday, we got hooked up with some motorcycles and got to tour in and around the Kathmandu valley. The smoke and pollution in Kathmandu is so bad that we had to wear sun glasses to protect our eyes.
See you in eight days, America:
-Mike
 |
| On Sunday, we trekked from Dunche to the Bamboo Lodge (near Lama Hotel), then back down to Syabru Bensi. |
 |
| Niraj Lama, a second grader who I have been working with on English reading and pronunciation. |
Wednesday, we got hooked up with some motorcycles and got to tour in and around the Kathmandu valley. The smoke and pollution in Kathmandu is so bad that we had to wear sun glasses to protect our eyes.
 |
| Kevin got some dust on his face. Either that or he has been experimenting with eye shadow in his free time. |
 |
| Kevin and Lars with the doctor at Helping Hands who gave us our impromptu bike tour. I'm sure you'll hear more about him if Kevin finally completes his post. |
See you in eight days, America:
-Mike
Friday, July 15, 2011
Small World
So the wireless is questionable, but I found out that the hard connection downstairs offers some solid strength. Its now 8PM in Kathmandu. Originally, 9 volunteers were going to go to Nagarkot this weekend. One of the volunteers dropped out, so that left 8. Of those 8, Kevin, Lars, and I wanted to do some trekking, while the other 5 just wanted to go up for the day. Lars started feeling ill today and we decided his GI tract wasn't up for the challenge. So that leaves Kevin and I plus the Nagarkot-six. Being the stubborn type that we are, Kevin and I decided we wanted to do some real trekking. Nagarkot is east of Kathmandu and is at a similar elevation. We figured trekking in Nagarkot would just be going up and down some hills. Anyways, Kevin and I decided we wanted to go for some more mountainous regions, perhaps the Langtang region up North.
How does one find a trekking guide, one might ask!?
Never underestimate the power of a connection! Last year, Alysha (Reid's girlfriend) went to Nepal on a 3 week trek through the UW. I emailed her professor, who sent me the number of the agency they used. One of the agents met us at the local superstore where Kevin and I hammered out the details. Turns out, the person we were talking to was one of the guides on that trek last August, and he totally remember Alysha. Small world!
So as of right now, Lars and the other 5 volunteers should be getting close to Nagarkot. Kevin and I will be getting up at 5 tomorrow to head to the bus stop with our trekking guide and start heading northward bright and early!
I uploaded some more pictures on Flickr. Unfortunately, only the first 200 pictures are available on Flickr. To my knowledge, the other photos are not deleted, but they are not visible until space is made for them. Maybe I'll make a new account or something but I'm pretty lazy so chances of that are slim. Check 'em out quick while they are still available!
-Mike
How does one find a trekking guide, one might ask!?
Never underestimate the power of a connection! Last year, Alysha (Reid's girlfriend) went to Nepal on a 3 week trek through the UW. I emailed her professor, who sent me the number of the agency they used. One of the agents met us at the local superstore where Kevin and I hammered out the details. Turns out, the person we were talking to was one of the guides on that trek last August, and he totally remember Alysha. Small world!
So as of right now, Lars and the other 5 volunteers should be getting close to Nagarkot. Kevin and I will be getting up at 5 tomorrow to head to the bus stop with our trekking guide and start heading northward bright and early!
I uploaded some more pictures on Flickr. Unfortunately, only the first 200 pictures are available on Flickr. To my knowledge, the other photos are not deleted, but they are not visible until space is made for them. Maybe I'll make a new account or something but I'm pretty lazy so chances of that are slim. Check 'em out quick while they are still available!
 |
| An example of the sanitary practices at Helping Hands Community Hospital. |
-Mike
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Weekend
Our internet is questionable at best so I'll keep this brief. It's Friday morning, 8AM. Kev and I just got back from a run. We're going to try to go to our projects early today, in about an hour. We hope to be back to the house by 5PM, as our plan is to go to Nagarkot for the weekend. Google it. We are going to try and catch a bus from Kathmandu by 6PM, the bus is supposed to take a few hours. One of the supervisors is hooking us up with a "penthouse suite" in a Nagarkot hotel, as he knows the owner.
Sweet, the internet is out. I hope this post isn't lost by the time we get another puff of a signal. The signal isn't nearly enough to post any pictures on Facebook or Flickr.
9 of us volunteers are going to Nagarkot. All of the other volunteers are now newer than us; the four musketeers are now the veterans who have been in Nepal the longest. Alan is going to stay in Kathmandu for the weekend and meet up with some Koseli staff. Lars, Kevin, and I are going to try and trek in Nagarkot. Our plan is to wake up Saturday for the sunrise in Nagarkot, then trek Saturday, Sunday, and Monday with the hopes of being back to Kathmandu on Monday night, so we will only miss one day of work. Nagarkot is not a mountainous region so we won't be scaling Everest or anything of that sort. I am assuming it will be more of a jungle expedition from village to village in the area.
The signal was totally back but I lost it. Time to spam refresh.
-Mike
Sweet, the internet is out. I hope this post isn't lost by the time we get another puff of a signal. The signal isn't nearly enough to post any pictures on Facebook or Flickr.
9 of us volunteers are going to Nagarkot. All of the other volunteers are now newer than us; the four musketeers are now the veterans who have been in Nepal the longest. Alan is going to stay in Kathmandu for the weekend and meet up with some Koseli staff. Lars, Kevin, and I are going to try and trek in Nagarkot. Our plan is to wake up Saturday for the sunrise in Nagarkot, then trek Saturday, Sunday, and Monday with the hopes of being back to Kathmandu on Monday night, so we will only miss one day of work. Nagarkot is not a mountainous region so we won't be scaling Everest or anything of that sort. I am assuming it will be more of a jungle expedition from village to village in the area.
The signal was totally back but I lost it. Time to spam refresh.
-Mike
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Pictures!
Hellooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
I don't have the attention span to write a whole lot tonight and we have definitely been keeping busy. Word on the street is Kevin is preparing a massive post. Still awaiting its debut.
On Saturday, we woke up at 5 to head to Thamel (the tourist district of Kathmandu) to begin our weekend expedition to the city of Pokhara. Advocates of "winging it", our plan was to magically find a bus to take us to Pokhara, and then stumble upon everything we could possibly want to see. It worked pretty well and, best of all, I also magically got over my sickness.
The trip was a huge success for Alan, Kevin, Chloe, and I. Lars went on another adventure with the rest of the volunteers. We got back Sunday night, and got right back into our programs on Monday. Here are some pictures from the trip:
Want to see more pictures?
I just created a Flickr account that I will start posting high quality pictures on. Alan has his collection on Flickr as well. Bookmark our pages!
-Mike
I don't have the attention span to write a whole lot tonight and we have definitely been keeping busy. Word on the street is Kevin is preparing a massive post. Still awaiting its debut.
On Saturday, we woke up at 5 to head to Thamel (the tourist district of Kathmandu) to begin our weekend expedition to the city of Pokhara. Advocates of "winging it", our plan was to magically find a bus to take us to Pokhara, and then stumble upon everything we could possibly want to see. It worked pretty well and, best of all, I also magically got over my sickness.
The trip was a huge success for Alan, Kevin, Chloe, and I. Lars went on another adventure with the rest of the volunteers. We got back Sunday night, and got right back into our programs on Monday. Here are some pictures from the trip:
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| Our first stop was Devi Falls. |
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| After visiting the Tibetan Refugee Camp, we found a quaint little river to do some swimming. |
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| We woke up from our cockroach infested (the room was only $7, worth it) hotel room to some crazy views in the morning. |
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| We found a place to rent some bikes before we left on Sunday. Kevin and Alan got motorcycles, while Chloe and I stuck to scooters. The rental came out to $4 a person for an hour, including gas. |
I just created a Flickr account that I will start posting high quality pictures on. Alan has his collection on Flickr as well. Bookmark our pages!
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanyluan/
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcdevlin/
-Mike
Friday, July 8, 2011
Challenge Accepted: Mano y Baño
Warning: Graphic Language
We're dropping like flies. Lars and I didn't go to our projects today, and are alternating shifts in the bathroom. Lars is having stomach problems. Direct quote: "my lower intestine feels like it's about to burst". He's used the facilities about 10 times today.
My sickness yesterday gradually turned from a headache to explosive diarrhea. I must have ran to the bathroom 15 times yesterday. I was feeling better this morning and was planning on going to work. I tried to eliminate everything out of my system before we left, as I feared having diarrhea on the squatter at Koseli. There was a point in the morning where I considered making a plastic splash guard to protect my ankles from the inevitable wide radius explosions from my bowels. But right as we were walking to the bus stop, I could feel some aftershocks. A bus was stopping for us and I had to make a split second decision whether I could endure the 45 minute suspension-less bus ride to Koseli, only to have kids bang on my stomach while we "played" King Kong.
It was the right decision to stay at the house. I was awake for only about 5 hours yesterday, but I am still going in and out of sleep today to not disturb my stomach. When I wake up, it's game time. Just me and the bathroom, straight down to business. Luckily, I feel better than before: this morning I clocked in a solid 30 minutes on the toilet with a barf bag in front of me. I tried to "pull the trigger" on my gag reflex to see if I could get rid of anything, but it insisted on coming out the other end. I knew it would be an endurance match, so I brought our boombox in with me. That was also a good call, as the Nepali girls like to play "Umbrella" by Rhianna on repeat throughout the day.
Their obsession with Western culture is always bamboozling. And by obsession, I mean they can listen to that song for an hour straight. Update Lars' count to 11. I'm going to head to the store to grab some Febreze. I think we owe it to everyone.
-Mike
We're dropping like flies. Lars and I didn't go to our projects today, and are alternating shifts in the bathroom. Lars is having stomach problems. Direct quote: "my lower intestine feels like it's about to burst". He's used the facilities about 10 times today.
My sickness yesterday gradually turned from a headache to explosive diarrhea. I must have ran to the bathroom 15 times yesterday. I was feeling better this morning and was planning on going to work. I tried to eliminate everything out of my system before we left, as I feared having diarrhea on the squatter at Koseli. There was a point in the morning where I considered making a plastic splash guard to protect my ankles from the inevitable wide radius explosions from my bowels. But right as we were walking to the bus stop, I could feel some aftershocks. A bus was stopping for us and I had to make a split second decision whether I could endure the 45 minute suspension-less bus ride to Koseli, only to have kids bang on my stomach while we "played" King Kong.
It was the right decision to stay at the house. I was awake for only about 5 hours yesterday, but I am still going in and out of sleep today to not disturb my stomach. When I wake up, it's game time. Just me and the bathroom, straight down to business. Luckily, I feel better than before: this morning I clocked in a solid 30 minutes on the toilet with a barf bag in front of me. I tried to "pull the trigger" on my gag reflex to see if I could get rid of anything, but it insisted on coming out the other end. I knew it would be an endurance match, so I brought our boombox in with me. That was also a good call, as the Nepali girls like to play "Umbrella" by Rhianna on repeat throughout the day.
Their obsession with Western culture is always bamboozling. And by obsession, I mean they can listen to that song for an hour straight. Update Lars' count to 11. I'm going to head to the store to grab some Febreze. I think we owe it to everyone.
-Mike
Thursday, July 7, 2011
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
It's about 2pm here in Kathmandu. Three out of the four musketeers are at their projects, but I decided to stay at the house today as I fear I'm starting to get sick (I just woke up). This weekend all of the volunteers are going to Pokhara, so I'm hoping to flush this bug out of my system sooner rather than later. Wikipedia desribes it as the Tourist capital of Nepal, noted for its tranquil atmosphere and the beauty of the surrounding countryside. We've only been in Nepal for 5 days, and I feel like I've already learned so much.
About the House:
We are living in a house owned by Abroaderview and other similar volunteer organizations. In addition, there is another house about a 10 minute walk away owned by some other organizations. There are currently 6 Nepali girls, an American program director, and 12 volunteers from around the world between the two houses. The majority of the other volunteers are also American college students, however there are also some other older and younger volunteers as well. A hot topic back at home must be the state of our bathrooms. The house is in a very wealthy area of Kathmandu, and many Nepali politicians live in this area. That being said, the bathrooms are very nice, and there are plenty of water filters for our safety. The largest department store in the city is literally just around the corner, so we have access to any Nepali or Western (toilet paper) essentials.
About Koseli: http://nepalkoseli.blogspot.com/
Yesterday was when I started to feel ill. I went into the main office with my eyes on some Advil. As I waited for the miracle drug to kick in I got the chance to talk to Renu Bagari, the owner and founder of Koseli. Our informal interview ended up lasting over an hour. At some point later in the trip, I would like to have a more structured discussion and record it to show the world. I have been having a lot of journalism and "sharing this with the world" moments, possibly because Alan and I watched Blood Diamond on the plane right before we landed in Nepal. Highly recommended.
Renu worked as a General Manager at some company. She seemed to be on track for the "typical path" for many Americans: grow up, go to college, get a job, retire, purchase a yacht. But she kept telling me about personal satisfaction; money is nice, but what is the bigger picture? While working, she had always been donating whatever extra money she had earned to sponsor foreign kids. This was truly amazing, but she had bigger plans on her mind. With the little money that she hadn't donated from earlier in her life, she came to Nepal with essentially nothing. She had seen other similar schools, but the campus and buildings were as run down as the slums. Her vision was to make a clean, safe, and mature place for children to learn.
Koseli was founded in April 2010. By luck of the draw, she met the future co-owner named Chrishna, who had similar intentions. With whatever donations their friends and family could provide, they were able to have a single classroom with a capacity of twenty students. A few months ago, they expanded to a larger location, employed a few more teachers, and are now able to educate 150 students. Renu closed the conversation with "only now have I found satisfaction", then I went out to go out and run around with the kids.
Koseli Daily Schedule, Sunday through Friday:
Now, its about 3pm; the other guys are still out. I don't feel so hot, especially after reliving those images again.
Back to bed,
Mike Jagger
About the House:
We are living in a house owned by Abroaderview and other similar volunteer organizations. In addition, there is another house about a 10 minute walk away owned by some other organizations. There are currently 6 Nepali girls, an American program director, and 12 volunteers from around the world between the two houses. The majority of the other volunteers are also American college students, however there are also some other older and younger volunteers as well. A hot topic back at home must be the state of our bathrooms. The house is in a very wealthy area of Kathmandu, and many Nepali politicians live in this area. That being said, the bathrooms are very nice, and there are plenty of water filters for our safety. The largest department store in the city is literally just around the corner, so we have access to any Nepali or Western (toilet paper) essentials.
About Koseli: http://nepalkoseli.blogspot.com/
Yesterday was when I started to feel ill. I went into the main office with my eyes on some Advil. As I waited for the miracle drug to kick in I got the chance to talk to Renu Bagari, the owner and founder of Koseli. Our informal interview ended up lasting over an hour. At some point later in the trip, I would like to have a more structured discussion and record it to show the world. I have been having a lot of journalism and "sharing this with the world" moments, possibly because Alan and I watched Blood Diamond on the plane right before we landed in Nepal. Highly recommended.
Renu worked as a General Manager at some company. She seemed to be on track for the "typical path" for many Americans: grow up, go to college, get a job, retire, purchase a yacht. But she kept telling me about personal satisfaction; money is nice, but what is the bigger picture? While working, she had always been donating whatever extra money she had earned to sponsor foreign kids. This was truly amazing, but she had bigger plans on her mind. With the little money that she hadn't donated from earlier in her life, she came to Nepal with essentially nothing. She had seen other similar schools, but the campus and buildings were as run down as the slums. Her vision was to make a clean, safe, and mature place for children to learn.
Koseli was founded in April 2010. By luck of the draw, she met the future co-owner named Chrishna, who had similar intentions. With whatever donations their friends and family could provide, they were able to have a single classroom with a capacity of twenty students. A few months ago, they expanded to a larger location, employed a few more teachers, and are now able to educate 150 students. Renu closed the conversation with "only now have I found satisfaction", then I went out to go out and run around with the kids.
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| These kids are probably already better than me. All those years of rec soccer for nothin'. |
Koseli Daily Schedule, Sunday through Friday:
- 8:30 AM: Kids arrive at Koseli, and complete their morning hygiene routine. This consists of bathing, changing into uniforms, brushing teeth, etc. Some of them walk 4 or 5 kilometers to get to the school. Some students do not want to go to school, in which case the staff will attempt to go to their homes and bring them to school. Renu fears that if students cannot find motivation for school at this age, they will inevitably end up going down the "wrong road". She told me that she never wants to give up on a student, but when neither the guardian nor the child are receptive there is little she can do. She reminded me that there is an extensive wait list for Koseli, so some kids do end up being dismissed to make room for another child.
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| One of my students, Sajan, in uniform. |
- 9:30 AM: Assembly. The primary religion of this region is Hindu, but the staff and students are open to all views. Assembly is more about thanking the Goddess of Knowledge and exhibiting pride in Nepali culture.
- 10 AM: Homework time. The kids do not take their books home with them after the previous day, so their homework is done the following morning.
- 11 AM: Lunch time begins. The dining room is essentially a 15 x 15 foot room with some rugs on the floor for the kids to sit on. Lunch times are staggered by grade, and in the mean time kids have some extra time to wrap up their homework. If everything else is done, students are allowed to get goofy and play.
- 12 PM: Classes. All students (grades 1 through 7) learn the same five subjects: English, Nepali, Social Studies, Science, and Math. With the execption of Nepali class, courses are taught exclusively in English. Renu remarked that although it is harder to explain concepts in English than Nepali, the students will benefit in the long term to learn and think in English. However, if a student is really struggeling to understand a word or concept, the teachers will tell them the Nepali equivalent.
- 4:30 PM: Clean up/dress down, tea, and biscuits. Nepali tea is soooooooooo good. Usually Alan, the two other volunteers at Koseli, and I will stick around to try and get our hands on some. The kids go home after everyone has had their afternoon snack, which might be their last meal of the day. The kids come from many different slums in all directions, so the limited staff is only able to walk a few groups of students home.
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| Helping one of the kids traverse the muddy and unstable expedition back home. After all, it is monsoon season in Nepal. |
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| Many of the slums are located along a nearby river for easy access to water. These rivers also serve as a dump for many Nepali people and even tourists. |
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| For these kids, this is "home sweet home". |
Now, its about 3pm; the other guys are still out. I don't feel so hot, especially after reliving those images again.
Back to bed,
Mike Jagger
Monday, July 4, 2011
Independence Day
It's the morning of the 5th, about 7:30. For once, Kevin is the only one still asleep. Usually, the other three of us are up around 6, only to find that Kevin has already disappeared on his morning run. Alan wasn't feeling that well last night, and he slept like a rock after dinner. Catching up on some sleep probably wasn't a bad thing, and I think he's doing a bit better today. I was totally going to try and post my thoughts yesterday when I got back to the house, but I never got around to it. Here's what I remember:
We woke up on the fourth to the wonderful smell of French toast. Any smell other than Dahl Badt, the staple of the Nepali diet, is a wonderful smell. It consists of a plate full of white rice, with a few curried vegetables (cauliflower and potatoes usually) on the side, and a side of lentil soup which is to be poured on the rice. It is usually eaten at both of the main Nepali mealtimes, the 7AM breakfast and the 7PM dinner. Sometimes, it makes its way into the lunch menu as well. Kevin and I made some sandwiches for breakfast: cornflakes held together with nutella and honey book-ended by two pieces of French toast.
The four musketeers headed out at around 9. I brought the point-and-shoot today, which is indeed a lot more convenient than the Nikon D70. I guess mom and dad were right this time. We were accompanied by a Nepali girl living in the house and one of the ABV coordinators, as well as another volunteer who was about to experience her first day as well. Jen is 23 and has been volunteering at third world women's societies across the world since she got out of college. Very cool. What wasn't cool was the walk to find her program placement; our plan was to all escort her to her project, then to escort Kevin and Lars to theirs, and then to the kids center where Alan and I would be. We walked up the main road looking for Jen's placement for a bit before veering out of the city.
I was surprised by how far we had walked once I realized we were literally leaving the Kathmandu valley. After a few wrong turns, we eventually dropped Jen off at her placement. We decided to take a bus back to Helping Hands, where we would drop off Kevin and Lars. Kevin's height did not mix well with the buses of Kathmandu; he often found himself hitting his head on the roof or jamming his bug-bitten legs against the seat in front of him when the buses (very questionable suspension systems) hit bumps in the road. Breakfast is ready right now so I'm going to try and hurry this up.
Alan and I arrived at the Koseli kids center at about 2PM. After a quick meet and greet with the owners, we were guided around into each of the (six?) different classrooms, split up by grade level. When we opened the door to the open rooms, the children stopped what they were doing to stand up and sing to us in unison. The fully dressed kids remained standing until they were told to be seated by the owner. The kids refer to us as "Sir". Then, we got our assignments. I was put into a first grade class, and was given three kids who were struggling to individually look after and mentor. The owner spoke English well, and told me how as the level of trauma of an orphan increases, their level of performance decreases. The three first-graders I was assigned are ages 7, 8, and 15. We hadn't eaten all day, so we scarfed some thrilling Dahl Badt for lunch.
After lunch, we were thrown into the classrooms to finish up the day with the kids. Luckily, their level of English is better than my Nepali. Nevertheless, they were entertained by my attempts to say "My name is Mike" in their native tongue. The first few minutes were awkward, they just looked at me with wide eyes. I had no direction, and had no idea if they would understand if I spoke to them in English. It was definitely a feeling of independence, I was running the show and had no idea how to do it. But after a few minutes, I loosened up and realized I just needed to give them attention. I think most of them come from the same slums, so all of the kids get along together quite well. I rounded out the day playing with them, and pulled out my entertainment trump card of the day: a map of Kathmandu. For me, it was a lifeline. For the kids, it was mesmerizing.
First Impressions:
I was surprised by how organized Koseli was. I expected a bunch of kids to be divided into a few rooms with no sense of academic curriculum or rank. Apparently, they just expanded to a new location with more area outdoors for the kids to play. The kids have been disciplined very well, as I noticed when they first started singing to us. They are dressed in uniforms and each have their own workbooks which seem to be completed in an orderly fashion. They cannot wait to learn, I have never seen kids so excited to read. When there was a lull in conversation, they would go out of their way to ask me "Sir, how you say ______?" while pointing to words they were unsure about. It's going to be interesting working with the langauge barrier, but I know that the kids will be responsive to any sort of attention I give them. My first day was spent with more grunting and funny faces than speaking English.
Okay, I'm really hungry. The other boys have already eaten and Kevin is hopping in the shower. I should probably get ready, we've got a long day ahead of us. Today, the owner is planning on taking us to the slums where they grow up. I think I'm going to take the D70 and the point-and-shoot, today is going to bear some memorable images and I'm going to need every perspective I can get.
Cheers,
Mike
We woke up on the fourth to the wonderful smell of French toast. Any smell other than Dahl Badt, the staple of the Nepali diet, is a wonderful smell. It consists of a plate full of white rice, with a few curried vegetables (cauliflower and potatoes usually) on the side, and a side of lentil soup which is to be poured on the rice. It is usually eaten at both of the main Nepali mealtimes, the 7AM breakfast and the 7PM dinner. Sometimes, it makes its way into the lunch menu as well. Kevin and I made some sandwiches for breakfast: cornflakes held together with nutella and honey book-ended by two pieces of French toast.
The four musketeers headed out at around 9. I brought the point-and-shoot today, which is indeed a lot more convenient than the Nikon D70. I guess mom and dad were right this time. We were accompanied by a Nepali girl living in the house and one of the ABV coordinators, as well as another volunteer who was about to experience her first day as well. Jen is 23 and has been volunteering at third world women's societies across the world since she got out of college. Very cool. What wasn't cool was the walk to find her program placement; our plan was to all escort her to her project, then to escort Kevin and Lars to theirs, and then to the kids center where Alan and I would be. We walked up the main road looking for Jen's placement for a bit before veering out of the city.
 |
| Garbage and sewage is mercilessly dumped in the rivers which line the main roads of Kathmandu. |
I was surprised by how far we had walked once I realized we were literally leaving the Kathmandu valley. After a few wrong turns, we eventually dropped Jen off at her placement. We decided to take a bus back to Helping Hands, where we would drop off Kevin and Lars. Kevin's height did not mix well with the buses of Kathmandu; he often found himself hitting his head on the roof or jamming his bug-bitten legs against the seat in front of him when the buses (very questionable suspension systems) hit bumps in the road. Breakfast is ready right now so I'm going to try and hurry this up.
Alan and I arrived at the Koseli kids center at about 2PM. After a quick meet and greet with the owners, we were guided around into each of the (six?) different classrooms, split up by grade level. When we opened the door to the open rooms, the children stopped what they were doing to stand up and sing to us in unison. The fully dressed kids remained standing until they were told to be seated by the owner. The kids refer to us as "Sir". Then, we got our assignments. I was put into a first grade class, and was given three kids who were struggling to individually look after and mentor. The owner spoke English well, and told me how as the level of trauma of an orphan increases, their level of performance decreases. The three first-graders I was assigned are ages 7, 8, and 15. We hadn't eaten all day, so we scarfed some thrilling Dahl Badt for lunch.
After lunch, we were thrown into the classrooms to finish up the day with the kids. Luckily, their level of English is better than my Nepali. Nevertheless, they were entertained by my attempts to say "My name is Mike" in their native tongue. The first few minutes were awkward, they just looked at me with wide eyes. I had no direction, and had no idea if they would understand if I spoke to them in English. It was definitely a feeling of independence, I was running the show and had no idea how to do it. But after a few minutes, I loosened up and realized I just needed to give them attention. I think most of them come from the same slums, so all of the kids get along together quite well. I rounded out the day playing with them, and pulled out my entertainment trump card of the day: a map of Kathmandu. For me, it was a lifeline. For the kids, it was mesmerizing.
 |
| After we get back to the house, I usually spend some time playing with Photoshop. |
First Impressions:
I was surprised by how organized Koseli was. I expected a bunch of kids to be divided into a few rooms with no sense of academic curriculum or rank. Apparently, they just expanded to a new location with more area outdoors for the kids to play. The kids have been disciplined very well, as I noticed when they first started singing to us. They are dressed in uniforms and each have their own workbooks which seem to be completed in an orderly fashion. They cannot wait to learn, I have never seen kids so excited to read. When there was a lull in conversation, they would go out of their way to ask me "Sir, how you say ______?" while pointing to words they were unsure about. It's going to be interesting working with the langauge barrier, but I know that the kids will be responsive to any sort of attention I give them. My first day was spent with more grunting and funny faces than speaking English.
Okay, I'm really hungry. The other boys have already eaten and Kevin is hopping in the shower. I should probably get ready, we've got a long day ahead of us. Today, the owner is planning on taking us to the slums where they grow up. I think I'm going to take the D70 and the point-and-shoot, today is going to bear some memorable images and I'm going to need every perspective I can get.
Cheers,
Mike
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Monkey Temple - Day 2 cont...
Here we are at 10:45 PM on Day 2 (but our first official full day in the city). Our hosts took us out for a brief orientation/tour of the Kathmandu and it started off with breakfast at a local favorite cafe in Thamel (a must visit tourist spot of Kathmandu). Afterwards, we headed to the "Monkey Temple" also known as Swayambhunath. After the strenuous and hot walk up the mountain, we were presented with some pretty amazing views and some pretty crazy encounters with the monkeys.
Our day of exploring couldn't have gone any better and we are all stoked to start our first day of our volunteer projects tomorrow morning. Keep checking in because starting tomorrow, we will really have our hands full.
-Alan and Mike
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| Lars having a sentimental moment with a monkey! |
Our day of exploring couldn't have gone any better and we are all stoked to start our first day of our volunteer projects tomorrow morning. Keep checking in because starting tomorrow, we will really have our hands full.
-Alan and Mike
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Day 2
It's about 8:00 AM here in Kathmandu and we are all pretty jet-lagged pretty bad. We've all been up since around 5:00 AM - Kevin and Mike went on a little run while Lars and I hung out at the house with everyone else was asleep.
For those of you that are interested in seeing more photos (higher quality and bigger resolution), we will be uploading them to a flickr that you can find here: (http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanyluan/).
Today will be the first official day of exploring and wandering Kathmandu. We will be starting the day off with breakfast at a local cafe down in Thamel with the amazingly awesome group of volunteers that we are housing with and then checking out the monkey temple!
-Alan
For those of you that are interested in seeing more photos (higher quality and bigger resolution), we will be uploading them to a flickr that you can find here: (http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanyluan/).
Today will be the first official day of exploring and wandering Kathmandu. We will be starting the day off with breakfast at a local cafe down in Thamel with the amazingly awesome group of volunteers that we are housing with and then checking out the monkey temple!
-Alan
Arrival - Day 1
To whom it may concern,
To day we arrived in Kathmandu at 12:00 noon, after a nearly empty flight from Seoul. The flight in went from sunny rolling white clouds, and beneath lay the city of our arrival.
Rolling green hills spotted with small communities of red and brown homes growing in density as we reached deeper and deeper into the city. The buildings grew larger and the streets began to fill with people. as we landed at the airport, one of only 4 flights in that day, we spotted old abandoned planes and helicopters across the airstrip. we exchanged money and got through customs quick and easy. we meet our contacts and had a crowded taxi ride back to the house. here we got settled into our room and began getting the rundown on Nepal from both our hosts and other volunteers. We did a little bit of exploring at the supermarket across the street and found ourselves caught in on and off monsoon rains. For dinner we went over to the other volunteers home (a 7min muddy walk away). Where we found that our co-volunteers were very kind to make us dinner. we'er going to be soooooo tired, going to sleep now.
KEVIN
To day we arrived in Kathmandu at 12:00 noon, after a nearly empty flight from Seoul. The flight in went from sunny rolling white clouds, and beneath lay the city of our arrival.
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| Two photos, separated by about 5 seconds. |
Rolling green hills spotted with small communities of red and brown homes growing in density as we reached deeper and deeper into the city. The buildings grew larger and the streets began to fill with people. as we landed at the airport, one of only 4 flights in that day, we spotted old abandoned planes and helicopters across the airstrip. we exchanged money and got through customs quick and easy. we meet our contacts and had a crowded taxi ride back to the house. here we got settled into our room and began getting the rundown on Nepal from both our hosts and other volunteers. We did a little bit of exploring at the supermarket across the street and found ourselves caught in on and off monsoon rains. For dinner we went over to the other volunteers home (a 7min muddy walk away). Where we found that our co-volunteers were very kind to make us dinner. we'er going to be soooooo tired, going to sleep now.
KEVIN
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| Taxi ride from the airport |
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| Our first encounter with the monsoon |
Friday, July 1, 2011
Greetings from Seoul
It's July 2nd, 8:40 A.M. here in Seoul, South Korea. Kevin, Alan, and I have been in the airport for about three hours now, and have got about an hour to go before we take off for Kathmandu. Kevin's friend, Lars, just met up with us at the gate and will be with the three of us for the next month as well. He will be working with Kevin at the medical clinic in Kathmandu, but for now he is passed out across a few chairs as we eagerly wait for our third and final flight to Nepal.
Our first flight (two days ago!) went smoothly, and we were presented with some breathtaking views of Rainier:
We met up with Kevin's cousin, Jeff, and he treated us to our last meal in the United States:
Before we could say "cheeseburger", it was time to go through LAX security and board our 12-hour flight to Korea. As June 30th quickly turned into the early morning of July 2nd, we experienced an epic sunrise which lasted a few hours:
At this moment, Lars is awake and the four of us are discussing many important topics. Of particular importance is the source of a lingering foul odor; our suspicions point to Alan's soiled trousers. Additionally, we are debating over which movies we are going to watch on the flight, right now we are leaning towards a Sean Connery era James Bond film. That's all for now.
From Korea with Love,
Mike
Our first flight (two days ago!) went smoothly, and we were presented with some breathtaking views of Rainier:
 |
| Good thing we all had window seats. |
Before we could say "cheeseburger", it was time to go through LAX security and board our 12-hour flight to Korea. As June 30th quickly turned into the early morning of July 2nd, we experienced an epic sunrise which lasted a few hours:
At this moment, Lars is awake and the four of us are discussing many important topics. Of particular importance is the source of a lingering foul odor; our suspicions point to Alan's soiled trousers. Additionally, we are debating over which movies we are going to watch on the flight, right now we are leaning towards a Sean Connery era James Bond film. That's all for now.
From Korea with Love,
Mike
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Day of Departure
It's about 4:00 PM right now and we are at Sea-Tac airport waiting for our 2 hour flight down to LA. Once we hit LA, we will be spending some time getting dinner in the city and then we head out again at midnight for our 12 hour flight for Seoul, Korea where we will get to hang out there for about 4 hours and then its off to Kathmandu, Nepal!
See yaaa on the other side.
Kevin's choice of music:
Mike's choice of music:
Alan's choice of music:
-Alan, Mike, and Kevin
See yaaa on the other side.
 |
| Us getting real comfy with gate C20 |
Kevin's choice of music:
Mike's choice of music:
Alan's choice of music:
-Alan, Mike, and Kevin
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
2 Days Before Departure
So we're two days out from the trip of a lifetime. We figured we would give a brief introduction of the three of us before we embark on this crazy adventure:
Kevin Klauer, Pre-Med: University of Washington '13
Activities
Kevin Klauer, Pre-Med: University of Washington '13
 |
| Kevin really likes fish. |
Hobbies:
- Rowing/Crew
- Running
- Cars
- Guitar
Favorite Cars:
- Porsche 928
- Nissan GT-R
- Ford Ranger
Fun Fact:
- Kevin is easily annoyed when the household garbage can is misplaced.
Mike Devlin, Computer Science: University of Washington '13
 |
| Mike really likes Star Trek. |
Activities
- Making Music: Guitar, Piano, Bass, Drums
- Snowboarding
- Biking
- Salmonicity III
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- The Who
- LCD Soundsystem
Fun Fact
- Pictured above is Mike's real visa picture.
Alan Luan, Business MGMT: Western Washington University '13
 |
Interests:
- Snowboarding
- Long walks on the beach
- Stargazing
Favorite Movies:
- Shawshank Redemption
- Forest Gump
- Wall-E
- The Notebook
Fun Fact
- I have gigantic bunions
-Alan and Mike
Monday, June 27, 2011
3 Days Before Departure
First blog post! Awesome, now to learn how to use this thing...
Well we thought it would be a good idea to document this whole experience so here it goes!
With time counting down until our trip to Kathmandu, Nepal, we've been busy gathering supplies that we will need specifically for our "projects". Mike and I will be working at an orphanage (Kosseli Kids Center), while Kevin and Lars will be put to work at a medical center in the same city.
We're extremely stoked and cannot wait to land in Nepal. Not even a 15 hr layover and 20 hrs of flying can bring down our level of excitement.
-Alan
Well we thought it would be a good idea to document this whole experience so here it goes!
With time counting down until our trip to Kathmandu, Nepal, we've been busy gathering supplies that we will need specifically for our "projects". Mike and I will be working at an orphanage (Kosseli Kids Center), while Kevin and Lars will be put to work at a medical center in the same city.
We're extremely stoked and cannot wait to land in Nepal. Not even a 15 hr layover and 20 hrs of flying can bring down our level of excitement.
-Alan
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