Update!

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Well I’m going well…I have a cold and have had it since the third day here, but hopefully will get over it soon. The fact that everyone else seems to have one doesn’t help. Well I started work today and it wasn’t too bad. Turns out my counterpart had a meeting at the ‘ministry’ and would then be on leave for the rest of the week so I have been working with a girl who is responsible for typing up documents onto the computer and the Secretary to the Admin team. Noone else seems to know how to use a computer, it is a little crazy! I spent the day working on organisational charts, or ‘organograms’ in Nepali HR speak. I think it will be a challenge to implement some of the changes/recommendations I have for the hospital as I will need to get management buy in, but in the long run it will be worth it for them. I am still learning nepali but today learnt that for their ‘tiffen’ (lunch) break they have cha cha which is a sort of spicy noodle broth with pickles and chutney on the side. To ask if the bus is going to where you need to go, you say ‘yo Kupondole jaane bus ho?’ which literally translated is ‘this Kupondole going bus is?’. FYI, I’m living in a suburb named Kupondole. Yesterday was Holi and we had the day off work. Basically its an excuse for all the young guys to run around attacking women (especially foreigners) with paint and water bombs. Dee and I had to walk about 2 km from our place to get a cab, of course we ended up getting attacked by groups of kids with buckets, bombs and red paint. We luckily found a cab and jumped in. The streets were empty except for gangs of young men with paint covered bodies roaming the streets for unsuspecting victims. Dee and I got dropped at Hotel Gangjung which is just near where Rob (another AYAD) lives and we went to visit him to fill up more bombs before heading out to a friend of his, Sanjeev’s party. Well we got covered in paint and water and I felt as though I was constantly surrounded by Nepalis screaming ‘happy holeeeeeeee’ but we finally made it to the party which was a lot of fun also.

I head to the Chinese (Tibetan) border next Friday for a hospital clinic with villagers and will be staying in Barahbise for the night...a chance to see another part of the country which will be great!

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