I found this guy trying to climb the steps of a temple while I was taking my tour around Patan Square. I could not resist taking a picture and showing everyone. He represents the opposite of how traffic is in Nepal.
Firstly I wanted to start off by saying that I'm unsure which is more terrifying:
-Tarzan swinging off a ledge in Costa Rica
-The traffic in Nepal
Holy cow. Pedestrians pretty much just have to take the right away here and weave between motorbikes and cars as they go through the downtown areas. I have never wanted to wear a helmet and survive in a bubble more in my life than when I was trying to navigate through the busy downtown area here. After my meeting yesterday at Patan Hospital (I'll get to that next), I was given a ride on a motorbike and dropped off near the place I'm staying--which was nearly just as scary because of the close proximity all of the motorized vehicles have when traveling near one another. The one positive thing is that the traffic is typically so dense, the motorbikes reallly only get up so about 20-25 kilometers per hour. Motorbikes and small Volkswagon Rabbit-sized cars are the typical mode of transportation here. There are just a few pickup trucks that I see in passing every now and again, but they really are not too common. (Surrprisingly, I did see a newer, silver Ford Ranger the other day.)
Above: One of the monastaries in Patan, Nepal.
I'm unsure of what exactly this is called above, but I wanted to showcase the intricate detail on this statue that survived the earthquake. Verry beautiful.
Meeting
This picture was taken just outside of the ER in Patan Hospital in Nepal. Dr. Arjyal told me that after the earthquake there was such a large volume of patients that the predetermined waiting areas were not sufficient. For example, they were so crowded with patients who were triaged "Red", the "Yellow" and "Green" patients were actually outside of the hospital waiting for care. The designated "Green" area actually became the hospital's front lawn.
I was able to get to Patan Hospital, which is about a 20 minute walk from Sanu House, and meet with Dr. Amit Arjyal. Meeting with him was hands-down the best experience of the trip so far. As it turns out he does clinical research for the hospital and is working with a small team to try and establish some type of public health surveillance system in the Gorkha District of Nepal. The biggest challenge for that team is that they have never had to establish anything of this nature from the ground up before, and when I told him of my background, experience, and my occupation, he became pretty excited.
To give everyone some idea of what we are talking about, Gorkha (Pronounced: Gor-Kah) District is where the epicenter of the earthquake was located and as a result, was the most impacted. As Dr. Arjyal explained to me yesterday this area is on the cusp of monsoon season and there are already public health concerns with water-born and food born illnesses in addition to febrile illnesses. There is no pre-established public health surveillance system here and what I would be working on with this team is to develop one specifically for this district and then hopefully be able to adapt it to other districts here as well. Needless to say, I am ECSTATIC!!
I will be meeting today with Dr. Arjyal and other members of this team to hopefully gain approval of other Patan Hospital officials and to colaborate over what the next 5-6 days will look like in terms of our activity. Dr. Arjyal says that if everything goes accordingly we will be heading to Gorkha District tomorrow to begin meeting with members of the Health Ministry there and seeking their support and we may be there for up to 5 or 6 days. (Toby, I hope you're reading this.) With the information I was given yesterday, I believe this will be a fairly well-recieved concept because other officials with the Health Ministry here see the need for implementation of a system like this.
During our meeting I wrote down several things and asked Dr. Arjyal to see if he could find out where I could locate some informaiton that will help me determine the terrain (there are mountains on the northern region of Gorkha District), the cellular coverage, and some other various details that will help us determine some of the more logistical planning that will go into implementation.
Now, keep in mind that when I packed for this trip I was planninng to be out in a more remote area so I packed a lot of quick-dry clothing that was really for more summer-ish climates that I would experience in the United States. I really was not super concerned with impressing anyone. Towards the end of the meeting, I really got a good chuckle when Dr. Arjyal gently tried to tell me that I would need some, "....trousers that go to your ankles." Basically, the workout capris were not going to cut it for the meeting that I have today. (Haha!) I really had not planned on a business casual-type dress code, but I will see what the market throws my way when I go out today to pick up some other items. (I still have to get the 5 sleeping mats that Toby asked me to pick up for Dr. Ranjeet.)
SIM Card
Just before Serita's brother took me on my tour yesterday, he helped me get a cheap mobile phone here because the SIM card reader in the phone I brought from home was not reading the one I bought here. Never in my llife have I had so many issues with a SIM card. Once I finallly got my phone, I was still having issues so Serita took me to the place we bought the SIM card (Remember, this place was like going to the BMV) and the man behind the counter must have some type of infinite SIM card wisdom because he was able to get it to work with the phone I just bought. I practically wanted to shout, "Freeeedooom!!" in the store because this was the first time I would be able to contact the folks I needed to connect with out here. (I hope you Braveheart fans got the joke.) Anyhow, so in one day I was able to secure a medical mission and have cellular service. **Sigh** I felt like a rockstar.
Before Bed
To celebrate my good day I went into a convenience store and bought a 20 oz. COLD Mountain Dew and a small bag of potato chips. The emphasis is on the temperature of the soda because it is not often you find cold drinks here; almost everything is served at room temperature. Hey, it's not my norm, but I haven't really felt like consuming alcohol here, so I figured the soda and chips would be a good substitute. Once I got back I "celebrated" and then took a shower, which felt amazing after the 100+ degrees Fahrenheit that I was out in most of the day. I'm pretty sure the water sizzled when it hit me and steam began rolling. If someone would have handed me a wok over the door to begin cooking at that moment, I would not have been surprised.
I spoke with my friend from England, Bernie, who let me know that his teaching workshop was taking a more successful turn. He also mentioned that when I get back from Gorkha if I want to come to one of the workshops where they are teaching the taxi drivers first aid, I should attend. Hopefully that is still an opportunity that is still in the cards for me--we shall see. I know that this trip has not went as anticipated, but nothing ever does and I'm just happy to be here and lend a hand to those who need it.
I was lucky enough to be able to speak with my husband this evening and tell him what a experience I had that day. It felt so good to talk to him. We planned last night to Skype when I got up this morning, which went well.
I then attempted to speak with my staff back home, which was cut short due to WiFi problems but it sounded like a very busy week for my department. Again, I'm very fortunate to have the staff that I do and that they are able to handle things in my absence.
Lastly, do not be afraid to leave comments for me on this blog. I really enjoy any commentary or any questions that my friends/colleagues back home have about my trip and the culture here. I'm aware that it is quite different here and I encourage any comments or questions.
Another one of the surviving ancient sculptures in Patan.
Beautiful temple with ornate detail that glistens in gold.
In the background here you can see some of the mountains.
This is inside one of the temples where people are gathered for a service. The man sitting down on the right-hand side appeared to be conducting some type of spiritual teaching.
This character in yellow stopped and asked Serita's brother (at the top of the steps) if I wanted to take a picture of him. He is hauling these to vessels to go collect water near the river shown in the first video I posted. This is very characteristic of the activity seen in the downtown areas of Patan, Nepal.
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