Vaccination update and the avoidance of daal bhaat

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05-NOV-2007
The mornings following birthdays are always kind of difficult. I checked out of the hotel at the last possible moment and proceeded to the BKs- supposedly serving the best fries in Nepal. There is no contest- they were absolutely amazing, and I even picked up the all the little crumbs as to not waste any bit of deliciousness. Stared into a computer screen for a few hours and headed to a rooftop restaurant to sober up before heading to the office. And although spaghetti sounded like a good idea at the time (I hadn't had any since being in Nepal), it ended up being a terrible move. Way too much yak cheese and grease for my belly. Not my favorite.

So I got in touch with Paul and obtained/reviewed vaccine prices, and put together a final estimate of what we'd need from Cindy (the finance director) to get the ball rolling on this.

06-NOV-2007
I am counting down the days until Steve returns- I miss him dearly!

Got in touch with Cindy after the health checks, and she said the money would be available in the office by the end of the day. Very impressive for the typical timing over here! Was at Charity the rest of the morning addressing health complaints for a few hours, and was then treated to a few coreographed dance numbers performed by the children. Absolutely adorable.

Ah yes, I used my hair dryer for the first time this morning. However, I had to tape the plug into the socket with medical tape from the kit, otherwise it just falls out. I finally got her running continuously- and my is it nice being able to wear my hair down over here. Talk about liberating! The girls were quick to notice the change and couldn't stop touching and playing with the newly styled hair. Bina, Ranju, and Bijit were especially playful today, when they usually can't be bothered!

I believe I've mentioned this once before, but the heaps of dogs wandering the streets are so incredibly dirty. The number of times a day I have to witness them humping or licking their underbits is more than what someone should have to witness in a lifetime. So completely nauseating. Okay, let's get rid of this mental picture.

So we received the money for the vaccinations according to my intial estimate, but I still need to speak with Paul about purchasing them as well as timing.

I ate two whole daal bhaats today! I was absolutely starving around 430 so I asked the Aama and Hajuraama if I could make noodles. I was told one second, but I heard nothing of them after this. No noodles ever made an appearance. So after communicating my dire hunger, Hajuramma hooked me up with some churra (flattened beat rice) and a spicy Indian trail mix blend. Actually turned out to be quite the tasty little combination.

Okay, let's face it. I've been eating too many of these children's vitamins. They really are tasty, so no wonder the kids can't get enough of them. I usually have two in the morning if I don't take my own multivitamin, but I went all out today and had an extra one after dinner as a bit of a dessert- fruity! I don't have any snacks, so really, what do you expect? If you're concerned about the welfare of the children from my behavior, stop right there. I will personally buy more vitamins of we ever run out of the heaping supply in the medical cabinet (which, my friends, is very unlikely). We honestly probably have enough to last all of our kids at least 10 years, and I am just preventing them from going bad- HA.

So I cannot stop burping up daal bhaat. Ick. Apparently it's a huge compliment to burp following a meal, but as good as I am at that, I really cannot bring myself to do it around people I barely know in a completely different culture.

I THOUGHT I spotted a vaccuum cleaner in one of the bedrooms. It's in the second floor hallway and it has my name all over it. Because you can only do so much with a broom on a carpet.

07-NOV-2007
I doled out gobs of vaseline at the health check this morning, because I believe they use the mustard oil we provided them for cooking, while it's supposed to be used for oiling/moisturizing skin. The liter bottle just went entirely too fast.

Aka is finally beginning to speak up more about what's bothering him healthwise, it's so nice to hear him speak! However, more kids seem to be developing vitamin B deficiencies, as evidenced by the cracked corners of the lips.

I enjoyed morning chiyaa at Charity! Nice to get some of the tasty tea in the morning without having to wake up at 5am (and we all know that's never going to happen back at my house- ha!).

So there's this woman running or working for a nonprofit organization who stopped by the home today with her family to provide the children with a tasty meal, art supplies and donated clothing. More chiyaa- bonus for me! I tried to explain that I'd had some about a half an hour prior but it seemed that no one wanted to hear it. Fine- I'll drink your tea again, and I'll LOVE IT! When the food was being served, I headed back to my house for some gross cold daal bhaat to which I was promptly notified that I was late (it was 1015, while I usually eat between 9 and 930).

After heading back to Charity, Sita the nonprofit lady asked me to try the food since it was a special occasion. Yes, I just ate, but we cannot be rude here. Completely expecting the food to be as nasty as mine usually is, I was immediately taken aback by the tasty goodness- there was porridge, with bits of coconut, that was the best thing I've ever eaten! Even the potato curry and pickle (pickled bits of turnip with various other bits and spicy spices) was unexpectedly delicious. I couldn't help but wonder if that was what the food usually tastes like at the house. It was honestly the best Nepali food I've ever had, and it was at an orphanage. Ironic really. And then I proceeded to wish that my food at home was more flavorful, less overcooked, not completely drowned out in spices, and maybe warm every once in a while. Oh yes, and fresh would be good. We like fresh food. And by we, I mean me. I think most people do, really.

I took a few pictures for Sita the nonprofit lady since she had forgotten her camera, and will be emailing them her way when I get the opportunity.

Back again to the office where I discussed vaccination timing with Paul. I couldn't help but treat myself to another veggie mushroom burger at OR2K again, since I am now aware of the mouthwatering capability present in that bun. And I luckily managed to trackd down a bus without people hanging out the door. This is always good news. No daal bhaat for me tonight!

08-NOV-2007
Something seems to have happened to Dina's upper lip because it was GINORMOUS.

Office again in the AM to sort out vaccination permission letters. We need to get documented permission from the managers at each of the homes in order to avoid any kind of issues later on. This way your agreement is in WRITING. We like that. Luckily, we found that there was already a template in place from previous vaccinations. I sorted through the Charity binder and updated profiles as well as other completely outdated information.

The other volunteers begin arriving at the office around noon, but I kept on trucking through that binder since I knew that the computer would be mobbed later on. Busted over to Hot Breads for a quick lunch before the bi-monthly volunteer meeting that was attended by so many people! Previous volunteers, new volunteers, and us oldies completely filled the common room. There were lots of health updates to go over including the vaccination plan, health talks, and the monthly health checks. The health talks are presented by a member of the health team, and my topic is worms- sounds like a fun one! These talks are mandatory for all children's homes volunteers and serve to educate them about commonly encountered health issues in the homes and how to deal with them. This is because Charity (our home) is currently the only home that hosts health volunteers.

Following the meeting, I stuck around a bit to pull together some loose ends. Everyone was meeting up for dinner and a wild night out for Hailey's birthday, but I hadn't planned on staying in town for the evening and hadn't made prior arrangements with my host family and a hotel. So despite the festivities, I headed back home, though I did feel bad about missing a birthday (you know me). I just need to know about these things ahead of time so I can plan accordingly. Also, I've spent all kinds of money out in Thamel and need to take a break every once in a while or I'll burn out and spend all my money way too early. And being here for 6 months, we can't exactly let the bank balance dwindle down to nothing so soon. So it became a quiet night in with another tasty daal bhaat- horray!

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