my weekend at chitwan national park

O my gosh that trip was definitly so much fun. The first day friday we swam in the river (which has a lot of crocs) so we brought or nepali guide with us to swim. Then everyone went back except for me carly nate and alex and 3 elephants trainers( mahous) came with their elephants and said we could help bathe them for free. So we played meaning we would climb up them and they would squirt us or fall over so we would fall off. We did that for like an hour and it was definitly the funnest part of the weekend.

After that we went to the elephant breeeding center and saw the only pair of elephant twins that are alive. pretty awesome. and I got to feed a baby elephant. After dinner we went to a cultural show which was like 20 men dancing with swords and stuff and then at the end we got to go up their and learn some of the dance. A nepali man said "you are a good dance".. haha I love that they all try to speak english. Sat we woke up so ealry after staying up late playing that card game and went on a 3 hour hike through the jungle we had to run away from a wild elephant and saw lots of deer. o and we also did a canoe ride. we got back and all the tourists bathed the elephants not as fun because it was only for like 15 mins. and then we had some free time and lunch and went swimming again. Then me nate alex abir and sarah went for a 3 hour bike ride to a place called 20,000 lakes (it was only one lake though) the whole ride was on bumpy rodes and on the way we were going through villages and our guide asked this family who was getting rice off the plants if we could do it. So we all got a tiurn hitting the rice plant against a stool and all the rice would fly off. very cool. At the lake we saw a rhino it went into the water crossed the lake and got out on the other side. they are smaller than I imagined. Biked back and everyone that hadnt gone was still sleeping, we woke them up and had dinner and then just hung out and shopped a little after. Nate had this salesman that he knew from the last time his name was borat and he gave us such good prices on all the stuff we bought let us put in a bob marley CD and then when we were leaving gave us all free necklaces. People are so so so nice here. but I loved that his name was borat. Sunday we woke up even more early 5:15 and went on an elephant ride through the jungle only saw deer.. no rhinos or tigers.We just got smacked in the face by so many trees and tons of bugs were on us after that we left.

Sorry I have not written in so long. I have been so busy and all my free time I spend talking with the other volunteers. They are all such good friends and are going to be so hard to leave. I defintly cried when Ruth( we were attached at the hip for two weeks) left last weekend.

I am performing with my nepali dance class tomorrrow afternoon. I have to wear the traditional curta so I will definitly have pictures and videos taken.
I really want to stay here. But I miss home to.

Surgery time!

Monday- Still in gyno ward. We missed two deliveries by a half an hour. But I was kind of happy for that. still not sure I want to see one before having a child. Post delivery- so much blood, the doctor was scooping out handfuls of dark red bloody membrane from the woman as she winced every time. The babies were very cute though :) A woman came in who had been losing weight for a year( cachexia) trying to use all the terms Im learning the doctor suspected HIV but did not tell the woman that. she ordered x-ray, blood urine and hematocrit and ultrasound. In the ultra sound a mass in the gall bladder was found but I am not sure if that is all that is wrong. A woman in the emergency room had a heart rate of over 300 and a blood pressure so low it could not be read. Using verapamil a calcium channel blocker was given to her which slowed it down alot. It was just from anxiety.

SURGERY time! Cholecystectomy or the removal of the gall bladder. we take our shoes off at the door and put rubber slip on shoes on our toes are not even covered! We then dress into scrubs in the dressing room put on a mask and a hair net thing. Everything is one size fits all so it is huge on me! In the OT the woman was super skinny and laying on the table. They did they anesthesia and then did a intubation ( a breathing tube down the throat) they undressed her and put iodine (an antiseptic agent) all over her. They covered her completely with dressing except for just the small area they were going to be working with. The first cut, just the outer layer and after three of those it started bleeding. There was not much fat since she was so skinny and also muscle to go through. After that the hole was so deep I could not see inside. After about ten mins the surgeon put the gall bladder out on the table and started stitching her back up layer by layer. The last layer they used staples which was the grossest part for me to watch. haha
It was definitely awesome I get so nervous I am going to get dizzy that is mostly all I can think about but I never do so I should stop thinking about it. well I will write soon.
love and miss you all

Nepal needs water... pray

so as of now our house has no working sinks, toilets or showers. there is a faucet in the shower that is two feet from the ground that we use to shower along with a bucket. our power is going out alot more frequently also. and there is a half strike today... no work but we can still go into the city.

I will tell you about my medical experiences later today if you would like to see pictures here is my facebook url to go to. just look under pictures

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=607335769&v=photos#/album.php?aid=102936&id=607335769

you can copy and paste it hopefully it works not sure if it will.

Pokarah!

Fri- Woke up at 5:30 to catch the bus. It was a tourist bus that was really big! the ride was mostly on the side of a mountain the whole time with a mile drop on the other side. At the beginning I was so scared I thought I was going to pee my pants but after like an hour I got used to it! We stopped at a few places they had so much produce for sale and fried fish on sticks so gross looking. It was deathly hot on the bus also. The only relief we got was from the breeze coming through the window which was still hot. We got there around two and found our lodge a room w/ three bunk beds. A community bathroom(pit style) no toilet paper only a brush ewww and the sink was in a different place which drained onto the floor.... not the most sanitary. o no soap either. but the two girls living in Pokarah had a room with a real toilet! and to make things even more perfect my womanness decided to join! I was not in the best of moods the first ten mins. but we went to the lake next! We rented 2 row boats and watched the beautiful sunset with all the mountains around us covered with a forest/jungle. It was breathtaking! There was a stupa on an island we visited filled with pigeons and there poop... After we hung out at the lodge. The night came with no relief of the heat there.

Sat. woke up early again Fishing time! we got the best breakfast eggs potatoes croissant and bacon! it was so good. then we rented fishing poles and row boats again and went out on the lake. After a long time Nate the only guy volunteer that came got the poles ready but then we realized the bread(our bait) was not going to work. there were water striders lily pads and beautiful scenery all over. we decided to go swimming we went into a cove with a beach and jumped in it was so refreshing since we had all not showered and it was so hot. me ruth and nate jumped off a tree a very daring stunt! then a boat of locals came and swam with us they were very nice. We went back to meet our sick friend and went shopping all day! got alot of presents for everyone and a handmade purse for myself!That night we went to a place with local dancing and got to dance with them at the end very fun!

Sun. Hike to the Peace Pagota almost killed us! it was so hot by the time we got half way up we were drenched with sweat and had ran out of water. it took 45 mins but once at the top it was worth it the view of the mountains was gorgeous and the stupa was very pretty. the hike back down with some fresh water was much better and had to get rowed across the lake. To get home we took the local bus much nicer cooler and they played nepali music the whole way! still 7 hours though!

Hospital time!

Wednesday was my first day in the hospital! I am in a group with two other volunteers Ruth and Joyce our first shift which last a week long is in the OBGYN and gyno ward. The room is very small and is split into two by a curtain on one side is a desk where you sit and talk and the other is a bed where pelvic exams are performed. We saw a woman with her bladder wall weakening and coming out when she sat down so she was having pain. A common thing we have seen is cervicitis and vaginitis. Also alot of pregnant woman getting checkups. Today there were two woman that needed abortions. We watched one be performed. The fetus had not moved and no heartbeat was found at 8 weeks, it was not alive. It was so hard to watch because the woman was conscious the whole entire time and was crying because she wanted the baby so bad. There was also a woman who had taken homeopathic medicine to induce an abortion but it had not worked and they did not know if there were side effects that had harmed the fetus. There is absolutely no privacy laws in these hospitals when the doctor is with a patient another patient will come in and listen to the whole conversation at any times. It is crazy. Also I got to meet the doctor that started the hospital. Dr. Gupta he is a nice guy that likes to joke alot. He showed us how to take blood pressure which I could not hear!! and to test for edema(swelling). Last he showed us a cat scan of a mans brain that had hemorrhage(stroke) the man had a weakened left side and had slurred speech it was just like the movies.

Food- our house food is sometimes american sometimes nepali. My favorite thing to get at restaurants is momos which are like dumplings usually with buffalo meet which is actually pretty good and I also had yak cheese! Also the fried rice and chowmein are very yummy! there are lots of mangos and water melon.

Weather- HOT HOT HOT!! no rain at all yet. i havnt even gotten to use my raincoat... but i think soon it will start.

love love love you. if you have anymore questions just leave a comment for me!

An amazing day in Nepal

LUGGAGE!!!! I just now brought it home I put on some clean clothes and feel like I can competly relax now.

Yesterday there was a strike. I guess the Maosist leader got killed or just died they are not sure and so they held a strike which basically means all of nepal was shut down. no taxis or buses or cars or scooters or any other form of vehical was allowed even bikes. so no one could get to work so nothing was open. We had to stay at home but or mom took a to a pool nearby with the two children. we had to wear swim caps and the water was not clear at all you could not see your feet even!

Today!!!!!
MT EVEREST!!! a 12 person plane right along the ridge we got to go into the cockpit and walk around wonderful amazing view. below us were clouds you could not see land at all and the mountains were snow capped. it was like a different world. and sad to say i liked nepals holy mountain alot more than mt. everest. i will try and upload pics soon and now i have a camera charger!

Monkey temple- a buddist stupa up on a mountain in the middle of a forest. monkeys were everywhere. one almost climbed on me because i was eating water melon or orientation leader renzin had to tell me to throw it down the monkey had the rest... there weree little baby monkeys holding on for dear life to their moms stomachs and ones swinging threw the trees. so so fun to watch.

o and best of all my stomach has had no problems... knock on wood!
love love love you all

KATMANDU

monastery- amazing. we took a long drive in a taxi seven of us in 4 seats up a mountain. the two children told the taxi driver where to go. half way up the taxi started smoking because the driver was starting out in like forth gear and burning the clutch. we ended up climbing the rest of the way. little houses on the sid eof the road. a man walking a cow... which i am not sure why they have cows they dont use there milk or meat so they are like pets i guess. the garden was so pretty green grass bright colored flowers and statues of gods. it was the most peacful place i have ever been and the monks were so nice.

tamel- a shopping area we went to. its for american tourists kind of like mexico you have to argue for good prices bought a skirt and wonderful girts for many people!! o and these things called momos which are like dumpling with buffalo meat!!! which is really good.

buddist temple- its this huge white temple with gold top where each of the four sides have buddas eyes on it. and bright prayer rugs all over. you have to walk around clockwise and everyone has prayer beads and are praying my favorite place so far. I am sure every day i will say that

tomorrow morning i am waking up and taking a plane to go see everest hopefully i will get my luggage soon and be able to post pictures!!!

miss and love you all