Week 8 Dhulikhel – Nearly the last week at work!

Our students have been on placement for 4 weeks and this is their last week which has come around so fast.  The world is also supposed to end this week, which frankly would have been a bit annoying as I’m looking forward to our Christmas dinner next Monday!

This week has been spent planning and informing everyone about the new clinics and Pulmonary Rehab services that commence next week.  I have also been finishing off other reports and projects so that next week that will be mainly taken up with Christmas won’t be too stressful.

Tuesday afternoon Gill and I took our Saris and material to the local ladies tailor to order the blouse and underskirts to be made.  It is really hard deciding how long you want the sleeves, or how low you want the front to be, we are so used to just picking it off the shelf.  They should be ready next week in time for Sachit’s wedding.

Our tree

Wednesday afternoon we went into Banepa top buy some Christmas decorations and Christmas presents for Min.  When we got back we went to the “Department Store” as called by the locals, known as the local shop to us and bought a 1m high Christmas tree and some Santa hats that Raj and his father has got especially for us from the wholesaler.  After dinner we decorated the guest house with all our purchases and put up the lights and decorations left over from Tihar, whilst listening to Cheesy Christmas music – Perfect.

Thursday evening Charlotte, Lisa and I went to a local restaurant with the Interns.  It was the same place we had been to before Niv left for China.  It serves fantastic momos and sequoia (deep fried buffalo), it also serves the local home brew called Rucksi which is lethal, or so I hear as I have successfully avoided it so far!  Isabelle, who is the other Luxembourger in town, and a couple of her friends joined us as well.  The Nepali Interns are getting used to the fact that western girls drink and stay out late, I think we have been a bit of an education for them.  The evening was spent with Isabelle impressing the Interns with her Nepalese which is excellent as she has been here for 3 years, and talking about football (which I obviously had a lot to say about-not!). The conversation always turns to talking about life in the UK, they are really interested in how our lives are different.  These guys really want to travel to the west, but the value of the Nepalese rupee is so small that it really feels impossible to them.  It was a really fun evening, and we were all home by 11pm – which is a really late night here! There are no rules about smoking indoors in Nepal so sitting for the evening in the smoke fog probably contributed to the sore throat and blocked nose I woke up with on Friday.  I did go into work, and selfishly ate the advent Chocolate as I needed the pick me up, but headed home a little early to bed. I have promised Michel he can have to chocolate on Monday.

Saturday morning was an early start as the Physiotherapy students had organised a picnic in Dolalghat.  This is about 2 hours from Dhulikhel towards the China Border and is a popular spot by the river for picnics Nepali style.  This means the bus was loaded up with enormous sound systems and generators, benches and mats, half the catering staff from the hospital, large gas cylinders and burners, lecturers, and students from all 3 years.  We stopped at various points to pick up food supplies, bags of tomatoes, meat, and veg.  The bus was pumping all the way there – Gangman style and the like blaring out at top volume while the students stood in the gangway and danced – even though it was only 8am and not a drop of alcohol had been consumed. 

Buses and speakers on the beach

When we arrived the bus made its way down the dusty narrow and in some places not bus friendly road and parked up down by the river.  There were already 4 other buses here all kitted out with the same sound systems etc – I could see this was not going to be a quiet day by the river.

Food on the beach

Boating

Whilst the kitchen staff were preparing breakfast we went out in a dugout boat which took us up stream against the strong current - no mean feat, and then allowed us to drift back to the bank.  These boats are pretty unstable and it was a slightly scary ride not helped by Michel standing up and unbalancing the boat half way through!!

3rd year students

The only time my brolly has been used for sun!

Drying soggy bottoms

Back on the bank we lounged and waited for breakfast.  After breakfast we took a rafting ride which was nothing like the Trisuli trip Sarah and I took in October as it was very sedate, and no amount of jumping up and down and screaming by us really improved this although we probably helped the rafting guys get some good trade with our efforts to make it look exciting!  The sun was out by this time and so we lay in the sun drying our now soggy bottoms (and we all know this is not a good thing Mary Berry).  All this time the students had the music on which was a mix of Gangnam Style and Hindi music.  Hindi music is very deceptive.  It often starts off sounding like a western song I think I know and then dives off into a Hindi track.  Gill and I spent some time learning some essential Hindi and Nepali moves ready for Sachit’s wedding reception next week.  Then lunch which was beaten rice, chicken chilli, curried veg, poppadum’s, prawn crackers and tomato pickle.  All prepared from scratch and all delicious.

Sumana won!

Or was it designed just to make us look silly?!

Missed!

The afternoon was spent playing games such as spoon and marble (like egg and spoon but held in the mouth and using marbles), bash the pot (being blindfolded, spun and then given a minute to find the pot and hit it with the stick – much harder than it sounds), dancing and singing, oh and with more eating as the snacks appeared mid-afternoon.

Dancing

More dancing and dinner arrived which was delicious again.  3 helpings of curd and fruit later and we all piled back onto the bus to head back as the sun had gone and it was colder and dark.  The music and the dancing continued all the way home the students had no lack of energy.

We took loads of photos by the river at the end of the day, trying to get the perfect team shot!

Charlie's Angels?

Sumana, Inosha, Me, Nishchal, Michel, Gill, Shova, Preeti

I got back at about 7.00pm, waited for the electricity to come on at 8pm, boiled some water and recreated a hot shower, dried my hair and tried to look presentable ready for the first Christmas Skype call home to Ian, Mum, Dad, Sister, Godparents, Cousins(ish) and Maisy the dog.  Then to bed as my cold and throat was really kicking off and after such a busy day I was exhausted.

Sunday was spent finishing booking for the next stage of the trip and packing my excess baggage up ready to ship to Delhi.  I am ready to go home, but I am not ready to leave so I feel like I’m a bit in limbo.  I hope that by getting all these bits sorted today, that I will have less things buzzing in my head that are distracting me from just enjoying the last few proper days here in Dhulikhel.  Fingers crossed.