Advertisement
Published: September 15th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Vivid colors
outside Pashupati temple in Kathmandu Since I last blogged I spent one final day in Pokhara. Just after publishing my last entry I decided to go for another swim and this time took along a waiter from my favorite indian/nepali restaurant and his friend. I jumped in first and waited for him. He decided to dive in, and a moment later emerged from the water with blood dripping from his head. We both quickly made it to shore and he had 3 deep lacerations on his face. I tore my hotel towel and made some makeshift bandages and wrapped his wounds. Fortunately his cuts just missed his right eye and his vision was fine. He and his friend were then off to a local hospital. Oof.
It's moments like these when i'm reminded how quickly everything can change in our lives. It's difficult to appreciate just how much we have until its gone by virtue of our human nature to desensitize and get used to things.
A little shaken I took a nap and then ventured out to the restaurant to check on the waiter. He hadn't returned yet, so I decided to have another meal there. Another waiter I knew was there and
Phewa lake
child playing in Pokhara wanted to know if I wanted to go out for a drink. Sure, why not? I figured things could only fare better for this guy. He took me to a Nepali dance bar. I was expected a dance club with the usual girls dancing and guys watching routine. Instead, I experienced what might be described as a rated PG-13 strip club, Nepali style. The clientele was the usual skeezy men, and on the stage was the standard pole. However, the dancing was different. There were solo dances by men, women and then group dances, all with lots of lip syncing. I enjoyed this new cultural experience. After some beer and whisky the waiter asked "What happened?". We laughed and stumbled home.
The next day I took the bus back to Kathmandu. Towards the end of the trip the buses abruptly stopped. Everyone just took it in stride. We sat there on the road in 97 degree heat for 4 hours. I was able to piece together from the Nepalis that there was a protest ahead blocking the road. According to them, these things can happen at anytime. I hung out with a fellow american from one of the hundreds
of stopped buses and we ate street food.
The following morning I departed with 18 others from the Tilganga eye center for the eye camp. I really had no idea what to expect as I was given little information except that there would be a long bus ride, then a trek and that I should bring a sleeping back. The 4 hour bus ride went from bumpy to insanely bumpy and then stopped at a river. Hired porters then carried our stuff as we walked 10 km (6 miles) to the remote village of Tipeni in the Sindalpachowk region of Nepal (near Melamchi).
My 5 days at the eye camp was an amazingly powerful experience, unlike any I've had before. I could write for hours about it- but I'll just give the highlights. We stayed in a partially constructed hospital on the hill of a village of 150 people. We set up a general clinic, vision screening room, anesthesia room, and operating theatre within the local school. 802 patients were seen over 3 days, and 170 cataract surgeries were performed. Our staff consisted of 4 kitchen crew, 2 ophthalmologists, 10 ophthalmic assistants and others (19 in total). I
Checking visual acuity
Ophthalmic assistant's check patient's vision before and after cataract surgery helped keep records of the operations and volunteered in the clinic. The staff ate all meals together, and often danced and sang after dinner.
The patients walked hours, some even days, to receive free cataract surgeries and eye care. Most just came with the clothes on their back, with or without shoes, and perhaps a walking stick. They were so grateful for the care they received. It was amazing to see their smiles when the regained their vision and to hear things like "I can see the sun again" and "I see the hair on your arm".
The living conditions were quite different that what we're used to in the states. There was no electricity in the village as the one transformer supplying them had exploded the week before. We relied on 2 small generators to power the operating theatre and our kitchen area. There were no showers, only 1 small tap in the main village for the MANY patients to share, and 2 bathrooms. We were lucky enough to have 1 bathroom and 1 tap for the 25 or so staying in the hospital. And by bathroom I mean hole in the ground where you squat.
In the Operation Theatre
In action, keeping records of the surgeries On the final day of the camp, the local volunteers (~60 of them) and school children organized a song and dance performance, and thanked us for our efforts. We each received a dab of red flowers on our forehead, a flower wreath and a silk scarve as the patient's looked on.
After coming back I've had a couple more days in Kathmandu to relax. Last night I went to see the goddess Kumari, who is believed to be the human incarnation of the kings of gods, come out in public. The scene was crazy, thousands of people packed into a temple square. Drums, yelling, pushing. I was in the very front where she was to come out. I almost got knocked over several times. Feeling a little uneasy, I moved my wallet to my front zipped pocket to be safe. The pushing got worse, and then the goddess Kumari came out. I'm not completely sure what happened next, but there was a lot more pushing and several small kids scurrying through the crowd. Next thing I knew I checked for my wallet and it was gone.
After looking around hoping that someone would toss the wallet after they
Operation Theatre
It sounds a lot more dramatic than operating "room". It has a nice ring to it. took the cash, I gave up. Fortunately I had other money and my passport at my guesthouse. I think that my height might have been a disadvantage on this occassion as I didn't have a great sense of what was going on below. Luckily I still have my camera and I'm fine. I canceled my cards, and soothed my damaged pride. This is the first time i've ever been pickpocketed- which is pretty amazing considered how many places in the world i've been. Oh well.... I could always have been much worse.
I'm flying to Varanasi, India in a few hours. I'll be spending a few days there before taking a train to Agra to see the Taj Majal. In one week i'll be back in the states 😞
As I wrap up my time in Nepal I've realized more so than ever before how lucky we are to live in industrialized, modern countries. This country is plaqued by many problems in its infrastructure including widespread electricity shortages (and daily power outages to conserve energy), roads in horrible condition, bad quality water (the must be boiled and even that can be harmful), bad air quality in Kathmandu, widespread
poverty, and pitiful access to health care.
The bottom line is that I feel oh so lucky- for all the things that I am fortunate enough to have in my life. As I pointed out a couple times in this blog, things can change in our lives in an instant.... and this trip has taught me to be that much more appreciative for what I HAVE and to focus much less on what I don't.
Namaste.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.103s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 7; qc: 51; dbt: 0.0469s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb