You may recall an earlier post on this blog while I was trekking in Nepal. I came across a little girl in a village who reminded me of my niece Ruby. She was adorable, was playing the game of pulling her arm into her shirt sleeve and Bishnu suggested that she and Ruby were connected somehow.
Months after I posted her photo and story, I received a comment on my blog from
Phillip Richter from H.A.N.D.S. He let me know that this special little girl's name is Sangmo and that a Canadian woman had decided to sponsor her so she could be supported to go to a boarding school in Kathmandu. This woman, based in Montreal, and her partner met Sangmo's father, went trekking with him, heard about H.A.N.D.S. and decided to support her education. Phillip linked us via email.
I still can't believe it.
What a great thing the internet and social networking is! Such a powerful tool.
I have been so happy to learn Sangmo's name, to learn that she will receive an education and that a Canadian is the sponsor! Wonderful!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
New Adventures in Medical Education!
I have officially started my Study Leave, also known as a sabbatical. September 1, 2011. It is very strange that I am not teaching or getting ready to teach right now, but it's also nice. I have a lot planned for my time and will get to do a lot.
First thing is a month in Vancouver at the Centre for Health Education Scholarship (CHES). I leave tomorrow morning and am looking forward to it. Thanks to Carol Ann for the use of her place while I am working there. It will be nice to spend some time in Vancouver again.
Then I move on to Newcastle, Australia where I will be collaborating with some medical education researchers in their medical school. Can't wait!
I will be blogging while I am in Australia - follow me here:
www.janedownunder.blogspot.com
First thing is a month in Vancouver at the Centre for Health Education Scholarship (CHES). I leave tomorrow morning and am looking forward to it. Thanks to Carol Ann for the use of her place while I am working there. It will be nice to spend some time in Vancouver again.
Then I move on to Newcastle, Australia where I will be collaborating with some medical education researchers in their medical school. Can't wait!
I will be blogging while I am in Australia - follow me here:
www.janedownunder.blogspot.com
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Canada, medicine and International medical education
I have been attending a number conferences, retreats and workshops related to medicine and medical education since my return from Nepal. I have been involved in a lot of dicussion about CANMeds, the objectives of the medical school curriculum at UBC and future of medical education in Canada.
It reminded me of Nepal and the number of times that Canada, CANMeds and the Canadian medical education system were referred to while I was there. It seems that Canada and its medical education system is world class.
It was such an interesting experience to hear about how Canada is referred to in such a good light while I was on the other side of the world. One particular incident stands out to me. My friend and colleague, Dr. Joan Mitchell and I were sitting in a large lecture theatre at Patan Hospital listening to Dr. Kichu Nair from Australia (Newcastle) was speaking about medical education, PBL and other things related to teaching in medical schools around the world. He knew Joan and I, knew we were from Canada, and we were the ONLY ones in the room from Canada. He kept referring to Canada, referring to us and this made us feel pretty important! :) What it really did was make us feel proud to be Canadian, proud to teach in the medical education system and proud to be part of a world class medical school in Canada.
It reminded me of Nepal and the number of times that Canada, CANMeds and the Canadian medical education system were referred to while I was there. It seems that Canada and its medical education system is world class.
It was such an interesting experience to hear about how Canada is referred to in such a good light while I was on the other side of the world. One particular incident stands out to me. My friend and colleague, Dr. Joan Mitchell and I were sitting in a large lecture theatre at Patan Hospital listening to Dr. Kichu Nair from Australia (Newcastle) was speaking about medical education, PBL and other things related to teaching in medical schools around the world. He knew Joan and I, knew we were from Canada, and we were the ONLY ones in the room from Canada. He kept referring to Canada, referring to us and this made us feel pretty important! :) What it really did was make us feel proud to be Canadian, proud to teach in the medical education system and proud to be part of a world class medical school in Canada.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
2 new Nepal and PAHS blogs to follow!
http://healthtreknepal.blogspot.com/
http://teachingcardioinkathmandu.blogspot.com/
The story of the Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS) and medical education in Nepal continues!
http://teachingcardioinkathmandu.blogspot.com/
The story of the Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS) and medical education in Nepal continues!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
The Journal of International Experiences
Click this link to go to the very first edition of this journal. Both Carol Ann and I have articles about our Nepal volunteer experiences in it.
Stories about International Volunteer Experiences
Hope you enjoy it!
Stories about International Volunteer Experiences
Hope you enjoy it!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
I can't believe how many countries are following!
Ireland
Phillipines
Denmark
United Arab Emirates
Hong Kong
Italy
Romania
Russia
Phillipines
Denmark
United Arab Emirates
Hong Kong
Italy
Romania
Russia
Contrasting PBL Tutor Training at PAHS (Nepal) and at the IMP (Canada)
Joan and I delivered a PBL Tutor Training Workshop to faculty in Nepal. Physicians at Patan Hospital were interested in becoming teaching faculty at PAHS and so we trained 14 of them in PBL. In an earlier post I discussed this experience a bit...
The residents that we were using as "mock" students did not return the 2nd day, only 4 showed up in the first place when there were supposed to be 8 of them, it was a 16 hour workshop over 2 days while ours is only an 8 hour workshop spread over 2 days etc.
I thought that I would take the time to talk about the differences that we saw. On Tuesday, April 26 and Thursday, April 28, Joan and I came home to Victoria and delivered a PBL Tutor Training Workshop to faculty here at the IMP in Canada. It was so great to have these 2 events so close together so that the differences would be obvious.
The residents that we were using as "mock" students did not return the 2nd day, only 4 showed up in the first place when there were supposed to be 8 of them, it was a 16 hour workshop over 2 days while ours is only an 8 hour workshop spread over 2 days etc.
I thought that I would take the time to talk about the differences that we saw. On Tuesday, April 26 and Thursday, April 28, Joan and I came home to Victoria and delivered a PBL Tutor Training Workshop to faculty here at the IMP in Canada. It was so great to have these 2 events so close together so that the differences would be obvious.
These are the main things that struck me:
- Everyone showed up on time in Victoria - early in fact!
- There were no cell phones ringing, no answering of cell phones and no one left the room for an extended period to talk on their phone.
- The technology worked and I was not concerned about it. I also fully expected, and was not disappointed, that there would be power for the length of the workshop!
- Each day was only 4 hours long vs. 8 hours long in Nepal.
- The "mock" students showed up for training, were enthusiastic and talked!
- These same students also showed up the next workshop day! :)
- We had MUCH more food at our workshop - although it was eaten by staff in the office, it is always excessive.
- We didn't take photos of the particpants with the Vice-Chancellor and other important faculty members here in Victoria.
- In Nepal, there is a real sense of mourning (from Tuckman's stages of group development) when the group had to disband. This really interests me thinking about cultural differences. Is there some reason why the bonds that are formed in groups are stronger in some cultures?
- We had a fun and formal certificate ceremony in Nepal, where the Vice Chancellor handed out certificates to all, including Joan and I, and photos were taken the whole time.
Both workshops were fun and everyone seemed to learn a lot.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
My Birthday
Well, it was my 40th birthday yesterday. The very fisrt person to wish me happy birthday was a PAHS student! So sweet! I wanted to share some photos from our awesome dinner last night at The Keg! Fantastic food and company! Ruby's brithday is on the 10th so I think she thought this was for her - she helped me blow out the candles!
Monday, May 2, 2011
PBL in Nepal
I wanted to post these photos that I took of the ground rules that the PAHS students wrote up for their PBL group functioning. I was struck by how similar they were to ours...despite the cultural differences. Except, of course, the "SPEAK ENGLISH" rule!
In PBL, the groups make a set of posted ground rules (or group norms) so that everyone is in agreement about how the group will function - no interrupting, all questions and hypotheses are welcome etc. It's a necessary thing to do for any small group work and it really helps with group functioning!
In PBL, the groups make a set of posted ground rules (or group norms) so that everyone is in agreement about how the group will function - no interrupting, all questions and hypotheses are welcome etc. It's a necessary thing to do for any small group work and it really helps with group functioning!
Acronyms
I live in a world of acronyms. I use them all the time and everyone around me uses them. It can be very convenient, but also aggravating for those who do not know the acronyms. It sounds like code or a secret language.
So it turns out that I did this, a lot, in my blog! My apologies! So here are some acronyms that I will spell out since they are importnat to know:
PAHS - Patan Academy of Health Sciences
UBC - University of British Columbia
IMP - Island Medical Program
PBL -problem based learning
I think that might be it...
So it turns out that I did this, a lot, in my blog! My apologies! So here are some acronyms that I will spell out since they are importnat to know:
PAHS - Patan Academy of Health Sciences
UBC - University of British Columbia
IMP - Island Medical Program
PBL -problem based learning
I think that might be it...
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
UBC Medical Students Going to Nepal
Wow! I am so envious of the students from UBC medical school who are going to Nepal this summer. I wish I was going there again too! It would be great to be there at the same time. I just had a great meeting with them about what to expect in Nepal. It was so fun to talk about it with them - I could have stayed for hours.
It made me remember so many little details of my time there and it was fun to reminisce.
I came up with a few things that I would tell anyone traveling to Nepal to bring and to think about:
It made me remember so many little details of my time there and it was fun to reminisce.
I came up with a few things that I would tell anyone traveling to Nepal to bring and to think about:
- bring slippers - the houses and rooms are chilly and it's nice and warm to have them
- bring a warm hoodie or sweater - same reason (PAHS is COLD!!!)
- earplugs - the dogs bark all night and you won't be able to sleep well without them
- hand sanitizer
- shoes you don't care about as they will get very worn and dirty (or buy some cheap ones there)
- don't bring white clothes that you love - they will get dirty and stay pretty dirty
- lights (headlamp etc) for walking at night and for load shedding (power outages)
- bring a few passport photos - for your visa at the airport, cell phone purchase, trekking, other?
- Buy a cell phone (there is a place right across from Patan Hospital) + SIM + recharge card - you will need a photocopy of your passport photo page, your visa passport page and a passport photos - it's worth it because everyone communicates by cell phone
- momos are fantastic!
- The food at the cafeteria in the hospital is very good
Water Bottle in my office at PAHS
There was a water bottle that was left on the desk in the office that I shared with Prasil at PAHS. This is what it said on it:
The Flower spoke
of Gods
In Languages
of Rainbows.
I would stare at it everyday. Many people seemed to have this same water bottle.
Home
Well I have been home for a couple of days now and it's been a bit sad. Jetlag is hard to get over and coming back to reality is always hard. After being away in a place so different than here I am finding it hard to readjust. I have to go back to work tomorrow and have a very busy week ahead of me. Then I am leaving again for a conference on Sunday. I think my cats are going to hate me...
Now that I am home I am even more struck by the differences between teaching in Canada and teaching in Nepal. Joan and I are running a PBL Tutor Training workshop today and Thursday and it will be interesting to see the contrast. I will write about it all later! I am also meeting with some UBC medical students this afternoon from all 3 sites to talk to them about Nepal before they go there themselves this summer. It will be fun to discuss these differences with them too!
Now that I am home I am even more struck by the differences between teaching in Canada and teaching in Nepal. Joan and I are running a PBL Tutor Training workshop today and Thursday and it will be interesting to see the contrast. I will write about it all later! I am also meeting with some UBC medical students this afternoon from all 3 sites to talk to them about Nepal before they go there themselves this summer. It will be fun to discuss these differences with them too!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Countries viewing my blog to date
I really love the stats option on my blog. I love imagining the people in those countries around the world reading it!
Here are the countries that have viewed my blog:
Canada
Nepal
Unites States of America
United Kingdom
Germany
France
Australia
Malaysia
Russia
Japan
India
Vietnam
Kuwait
Israel
Thailand
Belgium
Finland
Norway
Spain
South Korea
Singapore
Hungary
and counting..!
Here are the countries that have viewed my blog:
Canada
Nepal
Unites States of America
United Kingdom
Germany
France
Australia
Malaysia
Russia
Japan
India
Vietnam
Kuwait
Israel
Thailand
Belgium
Finland
Norway
Spain
South Korea
Singapore
Hungary
and counting..!
Sonrisa Orphanage
After coming back from trekking with my guide Bishnu, we planned to meet up again the next day at his orphanage in Kathmandu. Sonrisa Orphanage Kathmandu
I fell in love with the children instantly! What an amazing group of kids - so talented and sweet! They played music and danced for us and it was fantastic to watch. We only had a little bit of time to spend there with them and I didn't want to leave.
I am planning to spend time at Sonrisa when I return to Nepal next year. I just heard from Carol-Ann that some of our UBC medical students will split their time between PAHS and Sonrisa when they go to Nepal this summer - so great!
I thought I would share some photos from our short visit of Bishnu and the kids.
I fell in love with the children instantly! What an amazing group of kids - so talented and sweet! They played music and danced for us and it was fantastic to watch. We only had a little bit of time to spend there with them and I didn't want to leave.
I am planning to spend time at Sonrisa when I return to Nepal next year. I just heard from Carol-Ann that some of our UBC medical students will split their time between PAHS and Sonrisa when they go to Nepal this summer - so great!
I thought I would share some photos from our short visit of Bishnu and the kids.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Leaving Kathmandu-strange airport procedures
I am in yet another airport lounge here in LAX waiting for my flight to Vancouver. I am reminded of some of the strange things that the security at the airport in Kathmandu did.
As soon as you walk in the airport, your bags have to go through a large x-ray machine. Then you have to check in and go upstairs. We went to the lounge and it was actually pretty nice! Then you have to go through security before heading to the gate. The security line splits people based on gender. Although it is strange, I could understand the rationale. If there needed to be a pat down, I would need a female security officer, so we all might as well be in the same line. Okay. After going through the security, and not having to take out your laptops by the way, you head over to female officers who then root through each bag you have and stamp your boarding pass. So, my bags have been through 2 machines and now a 3rd manual inspection. So we go down to the gate and people are lining up at a door that heads straight out to the tarmac. Suddenly, a man signals for us to follow him and move up in the line! Great! No, not great, strange. Only the women were being herded that way. They were once again separating us based on gender...to board the plane? Does that make any sense? No. No, it does not. But wait! Just before we head out to the tarmac we were subjected to yet ANOTHER manual pat down. Seriously. What could have happened from the security point upstairs?
I guess I just don't understand the wasted manpower, wasted resources and wasted time. Can't there be SOME standardization at international airports? Just a little bit?
As soon as you walk in the airport, your bags have to go through a large x-ray machine. Then you have to check in and go upstairs. We went to the lounge and it was actually pretty nice! Then you have to go through security before heading to the gate. The security line splits people based on gender. Although it is strange, I could understand the rationale. If there needed to be a pat down, I would need a female security officer, so we all might as well be in the same line. Okay. After going through the security, and not having to take out your laptops by the way, you head over to female officers who then root through each bag you have and stamp your boarding pass. So, my bags have been through 2 machines and now a 3rd manual inspection. So we go down to the gate and people are lining up at a door that heads straight out to the tarmac. Suddenly, a man signals for us to follow him and move up in the line! Great! No, not great, strange. Only the women were being herded that way. They were once again separating us based on gender...to board the plane? Does that make any sense? No. No, it does not. But wait! Just before we head out to the tarmac we were subjected to yet ANOTHER manual pat down. Seriously. What could have happened from the security point upstairs?
I guess I just don't understand the wasted manpower, wasted resources and wasted time. Can't there be SOME standardization at international airports? Just a little bit?
Friday, April 22, 2011
The Long Journey Home
I am sitting in the Travelodge at LAX on my way home from Nepal. It has been a long day or 2 so far but it has been pretty good. My long Bangkok to LA flight went really fast again. I'm getting great at sleeping on planes!
I am here for the night and then I catch a plane at 11:15 am for Vancouver and then a few hours to wait there until I fly home to Victoria! I think tomorrow will feel longer than today because I will be so close to home. It'll be nice to sleep in my own bed and have a long, hot bath. Thankfully it's also the Easter long weekend so I can recover from jet lag a bit.
I am here for the night and then I catch a plane at 11:15 am for Vancouver and then a few hours to wait there until I fly home to Victoria! I think tomorrow will feel longer than today because I will be so close to home. It'll be nice to sleep in my own bed and have a long, hot bath. Thankfully it's also the Easter long weekend so I can recover from jet lag a bit.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Thai Lounge in Kathmandu
I am sitting in the Thai Lounge in the airport in Kathmandu waiting for my flight. Right after my last blog post I had a wonderful surprise. Shambhu showed up at the door of the flat to say good bye. I went by PAHS yesterday and saw Shambhu and said good bye to all of the faculty and some students but missed Sushila. It turns out that there were gifts for me and Daniel and I had to sign the guest book too! So Shambhu, one of the busiest and hardest working faculty members I know, came over to my flat to hand deliver all of this and then walked back to Patan Hospital.
This might give you some sort of idea of the type of people that are here in Nepal and working at PAHS. I have never met or worked with people like them before. They are so caring and thoughtful and really let you know that you are important and valuable and appreciated.
This just made me even more sad to leave.
This might give you some sort of idea of the type of people that are here in Nepal and working at PAHS. I have never met or worked with people like them before. They are so caring and thoughtful and really let you know that you are important and valuable and appreciated.
This just made me even more sad to leave.
Good bye Kathmandu!
Well, this will likely be my last entry from Nepal. My ride comes to pick me up at 10 am and I am getting on my first plane of many before I get home tomorrow (Saturday) night. It has been a great time and I will really miss this country, city, medical school and all of the people I have worked with, taught and met here. It seems like I have been here a long time and yet not long enough. It will be great to get home and see my cats and my house and my bed (!) and my friends. And then I head to Toronto for a conference and a visit with my sister and her family and celebrate my 40th. Hard to believe!
Thanks for following me on this journey and I will continue to add things after I get home. It was hard to have the power (with 16 hour daily power cuts), the internet and the time to write everything that I wanted to, so there will be more to come! I will definitely be adding more photos.
Thanks to everyone at PAHS who made this such a great experience and made me feel comfortable and welcome and part of the team. It was so great to be a small part of such a great project. I am really looking forward to coming back next year to see how things have progresses, changed and grown. It will be really great to see the students!
Thanks to AHED for providing the bulk of the funding to get me here as a volunteer. I so very much appreciated your support and commitment to higher education in the developing world.
Thanks for following me on this journey and I will continue to add things after I get home. It was hard to have the power (with 16 hour daily power cuts), the internet and the time to write everything that I wanted to, so there will be more to come! I will definitely be adding more photos.
Thanks to everyone at PAHS who made this such a great experience and made me feel comfortable and welcome and part of the team. It was so great to be a small part of such a great project. I am really looking forward to coming back next year to see how things have progresses, changed and grown. It will be really great to see the students!
Thanks to AHED for providing the bulk of the funding to get me here as a volunteer. I so very much appreciated your support and commitment to higher education in the developing world.
Rock climbing at Astrek
Katie, Sabita and I went rock climbing in Thamel. It's an outdoor plywood wall at the Belgian Embassy. It was a lot of fun. The wall is much higher than I am used to and the ropes sit out in the elements all the time so they are hard and stiff and really dirty. We climbed a few climbs each and then had dinner at Fire & Ice. Great pizza and a Nutella calzone with ice cream for dessert! :)
Swayambhunath...the monkey temple...
This was an older post that I could not post at the time but here it is!
Well, let me start by saying that I ventured out today to see how my stomach and legs were feeling. With high hopes that I will feel better for the trek.
Next, let me say that I was a bit nervous to go to the "monkey" temple...those of you who read my previous blog will understand. I know that Olivia, Liam and Ruby got a real kick out of me being attacked by a monkey, but I was afraid it might happen again. So I wore long pants and hoped for the best.
I am now uncertain why THIS temple is called the monkey temple. There were a few monkeys there, but I would say not more than 20. At Pashupatinath Katie and I saw 20 monkeys the moment we arrived. They were EVERYWHERE!! THAT should be called the monkey temple.
The monkeys at this temple were very cute! I saw a baby monkey and his Mom drinking out of a fountain, watched a monkey steal some rice and other offerings from a small temple and took a cute picture of a baby with his family. For some reason I always think about Olivia and Liam when I see animals in other countries. It probably started back when I went to Australia and made frames of animals for you two.
It was a great time of day to go to Swayambhunath - just before sunset. The view of Kathmandu is amazing - we had to climb a lot of stairs to get up there. I'm glad that I finally made it there.
I am feeling a bit better today – I emailed Bishnu and am really hoping that we can make a shorter trek happen. I just don’t want to be weak and pathetic...
Well, let me start by saying that I ventured out today to see how my stomach and legs were feeling. With high hopes that I will feel better for the trek.
Next, let me say that I was a bit nervous to go to the "monkey" temple...those of you who read my previous blog will understand. I know that Olivia, Liam and Ruby got a real kick out of me being attacked by a monkey, but I was afraid it might happen again. So I wore long pants and hoped for the best.
I am now uncertain why THIS temple is called the monkey temple. There were a few monkeys there, but I would say not more than 20. At Pashupatinath Katie and I saw 20 monkeys the moment we arrived. They were EVERYWHERE!! THAT should be called the monkey temple.
The monkeys at this temple were very cute! I saw a baby monkey and his Mom drinking out of a fountain, watched a monkey steal some rice and other offerings from a small temple and took a cute picture of a baby with his family. For some reason I always think about Olivia and Liam when I see animals in other countries. It probably started back when I went to Australia and made frames of animals for you two.
It was a great time of day to go to Swayambhunath - just before sunset. The view of Kathmandu is amazing - we had to climb a lot of stairs to get up there. I'm glad that I finally made it there.
I am feeling a bit better today – I emailed Bishnu and am really hoping that we can make a shorter trek happen. I just don’t want to be weak and pathetic...
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Helambu Trek
Well I just arrived back late last night from the Helambu trek in Nepal. It was amazing, beautiful, hard, hot, cold, fun, exhausting, long and short! I have a million things to do today so I have to make this entry short, but I wote this entry on my iPhone while I was on the trek so I thought I would post it now. I will tell you more about it later. Glad to be safe and sound back in Patan, sad and happy to be leaving tomorrow for home.
Trekking in Nepal
Helambu with Bishnu, Daniel and Cheta
April 18-20, 2011
Sitting in Thetapati tea house after the 2nd day of trekking. We walked for 6.5 hours today. We left Kutumsang at 7:30am after a great night's sleep. We were SO tired!!! The day started off very tough. A lot of uphill and I felt very iron deficient. My legs felt like lead and I was a little worried. We walked for a while to a tea house and rested for a while. I needed it. Then we headed off for our lunch stop-Mangingot. That was at about 2500 m. It had started to rain about 20 minutes before we got there and even a bit of snow! But when we walked in the door it started pouring. Like monsoon rain! So of course we stayed inside by the fire and warmed up and waited it out. It didn't take too long before it completely cleared up! We could see fresh snow on some amazing and close mountains. Unreal.
I have to mention that just before we got to the lunch stop we ran into a little girl who was so adorable. She reminded me so much of Ruby!!! It was unreal. This past summer I was at my Dad's cottage with Amy, my Dad and the kids. Olivia and I were goofing around and I was taking photos while Olivia modeled her "polare". When Ruby saw us she started copying us and pulling her arm out of her shirt and I have the photos. It was so cute. Well this little girl was doing that! I couldn't stop thinking about Ruby! Then I saw a horse on the trail (which is actually insane...) and then I started thinking about Olivia. And then I couldn't stop thinking about Liam and the lizard and turtle! I miss you all!!
So we arrived here at Thetapati just as the rains started again! We have had some great luck! This is a nice place and warm. I have a bad feeling that Bishnu and Cheta do not have a room though and that makes me sad...
I should also talk about our first day. We met with Bishnu, Cheta and the driver Ram at Patan Hospital at 7am. They came and picked our stuff up and we headed out. We took the jeep for a few hours to just past Chisopsani where we started our trekking. We got started at about 11:30 am. We stopped for lunch where we ran into a guy from Spain trekking and traveling in Nepal and India for 3 months on his own. We trekked for almost 7 hours that day! It was amazing that I felt okay after being sick for 5 days.
Anyway, it has been a fantastic time so far and I'm sad it had to be shortened. Bishnu is fantastic! I will definitely trek with him again and recommend him!
I have eaten SO much rice it is hard to believe. The food has been great! I have had a Mars bar deep fried into a spring roll and as a momo! Delicious!
I am so glad that all decided to do this despite my fear that I was not going to feel better.
We have seen quite a few other Western Trekkers. Most of them French. Likely from France. But a guy from Quebec gave me a flower just as we were leaving our lunch tea house yesterday and he was heading in. I shouldn't be surprised to run into a Canadian but I was. Right now there are 2 other groups here. Both with 3 trekkers. One group are German and the other group seems to be a mix of people from Germany, England and Australia? It's a full house!
This has been a beautiful trek so far. It is truly amazing being in the mountains like this. I cannot believe how close we are to them. Right now we are so close it's hard to believe.
We will head down tomorrow and get picked up by the jeep that will drive us back to Kathmandu.
Anyway, I wanted to make sure that I wrote some of this down before I forgot it all.
It is REALLY really cold here. It's going to be a cold night! So glad I brought my Down sweater!
Bye for now!
Trekking in Nepal
Helambu with Bishnu, Daniel and Cheta
April 18-20, 2011
Sitting in Thetapati tea house after the 2nd day of trekking. We walked for 6.5 hours today. We left Kutumsang at 7:30am after a great night's sleep. We were SO tired!!! The day started off very tough. A lot of uphill and I felt very iron deficient. My legs felt like lead and I was a little worried. We walked for a while to a tea house and rested for a while. I needed it. Then we headed off for our lunch stop-Mangingot. That was at about 2500 m. It had started to rain about 20 minutes before we got there and even a bit of snow! But when we walked in the door it started pouring. Like monsoon rain! So of course we stayed inside by the fire and warmed up and waited it out. It didn't take too long before it completely cleared up! We could see fresh snow on some amazing and close mountains. Unreal.
I have to mention that just before we got to the lunch stop we ran into a little girl who was so adorable. She reminded me so much of Ruby!!! It was unreal. This past summer I was at my Dad's cottage with Amy, my Dad and the kids. Olivia and I were goofing around and I was taking photos while Olivia modeled her "polare". When Ruby saw us she started copying us and pulling her arm out of her shirt and I have the photos. It was so cute. Well this little girl was doing that! I couldn't stop thinking about Ruby! Then I saw a horse on the trail (which is actually insane...) and then I started thinking about Olivia. And then I couldn't stop thinking about Liam and the lizard and turtle! I miss you all!!
So we arrived here at Thetapati just as the rains started again! We have had some great luck! This is a nice place and warm. I have a bad feeling that Bishnu and Cheta do not have a room though and that makes me sad...
I should also talk about our first day. We met with Bishnu, Cheta and the driver Ram at Patan Hospital at 7am. They came and picked our stuff up and we headed out. We took the jeep for a few hours to just past Chisopsani where we started our trekking. We got started at about 11:30 am. We stopped for lunch where we ran into a guy from Spain trekking and traveling in Nepal and India for 3 months on his own. We trekked for almost 7 hours that day! It was amazing that I felt okay after being sick for 5 days.
Anyway, it has been a fantastic time so far and I'm sad it had to be shortened. Bishnu is fantastic! I will definitely trek with him again and recommend him!
I have eaten SO much rice it is hard to believe. The food has been great! I have had a Mars bar deep fried into a spring roll and as a momo! Delicious!
I am so glad that all decided to do this despite my fear that I was not going to feel better.
We have seen quite a few other Western Trekkers. Most of them French. Likely from France. But a guy from Quebec gave me a flower just as we were leaving our lunch tea house yesterday and he was heading in. I shouldn't be surprised to run into a Canadian but I was. Right now there are 2 other groups here. Both with 3 trekkers. One group are German and the other group seems to be a mix of people from Germany, England and Australia? It's a full house!
This has been a beautiful trek so far. It is truly amazing being in the mountains like this. I cannot believe how close we are to them. Right now we are so close it's hard to believe.
We will head down tomorrow and get picked up by the jeep that will drive us back to Kathmandu.
It is REALLY really cold here. It's going to be a cold night! So glad I brought my Down sweater!
Bye for now!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Trekking
I am leaving very soon for my trek! It's shortened due to illness but still happening! Helambu! Be back late Wednesday evening.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Teaching in Nepal
I received a great compliment from a PAHS student on Tuesday. She said that she wished that both Katie and I could stay and be their Professors full-time. She said that it would be great for them and that they were learning a lot. Of course I am here to help the PAHS faculty and to train new PAHS faculty too and I hope they have found my time here helpful, but for me, it is always about the students. It made my trip!
Patan Durbar Square
I spent the late morning and early afternoon on Wednesday at Patan Durbar Square. It reminded me of being there with Carol-Ann over 2 years ago. I ate at the same rooftop cafe! It was a beautiful sunny day after a morning of pretty serious thunder and lightning.
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