Pre-Launch Briefing

As I sit here in bed, it's 7:30am, I'm beginning to wonder what I've gotten myself into. My hands and arms are tingling. The same question ("So why Nepal?") that has been asked of me for months is now just catching up to the little person inside my head that I sometimes have conversations with. I'm finding it harder to give a 100% confident answer that I've been dishing out to my friends and family, but I think this doubt will wear off in the next few hours.

I mean seriously, why Nepal? WHY NOT Nepal? I mean seriously, this little nation is smashed between the world's fastest growing economies, yet it is the poorest country in Asia by several standards. Where else can you climb Mt. Everest one week, and a couple weeks later visit a national park full of tigers, rhinos, and elephants? Gautama Buddha was born in Nepal, and the country itself has a rich cultural and religious history. It is a beautiful clash of Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. What about the fact that this nation, in the eyes of the world, has only been a democratic republic for three years? I mean, my mind cannot even comprehend what it must be like to to live in a Hindu state headed by a monarch, and then suddenly be a republic. In the last month, a deadline came and went for the Constituent Assembly of Nepal's government to write a brand new constitution, and with literally three hours to spare, the country avoided imminent implosion when they agreed to prevent the current assembly from dissolving and extend its term for one more year. It's not everyday that one can travel and see a new country forming before your eyes.

What lies ahead of me is the longest time I will have ever traveled.
San Francisco to Taipei. Taipei to Bangkok. Bangkok to Kathmandu.
Boeing 777-300ER --> Airbus A330-200 --> Boeing 777-200
21 hours of flight. 9 hours of layovers. 30 hours total travel time.
I am so excited to fly.

Type into maps.google.com
"Banepa, Nepal"
that is where I will be.
Now, zoom into, look into the bottom left corner of the town for a big windy road on a large terraced hill that leads to a clearing upon which are several buildings with red roofs.
that is where I will be working.

HRDC, or Hospital and Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children is one of the only tertiary level hospitals in Nepal. It specializes in orthopedic ailments, and provides both surgery and rehabilitation for children throughout the country using a combination of in-patient, out-patient, and community health practices.
As an intern at this hospital, I'll be doing an internship that will allow me to not only shadow physicians, but put into practice and apply what I've learned this year in UCD Athletic Training to a different population.

I will be living for six weeks in a home with a young couple. The first is a 28 year old man who works as a physical therapist at the HRDC, and his 24 year old wife. I will have more to say on them later, but I think this is going to be an amazing experience in and of itself. I am so excited to be living with a person who understands the healthcare system in Nepal. The prospect of being able to have help learning medical terminology in Nepali is tickling my mind.

While the primary objective of this trip is to complete this hospital internship, don't expect all of these posts to be about my hospital adventures. I am for sure committed to exploring and learning and being a sponge to all the culture that the people and country are willing to offer. Expect a detailed account of all the food I will be eating, and the places that I visit. I will update when I can.

After months of waiting and preparing for this trip it is finally here. My first trip to the fabled land of Shangri-La begins now.