After a day and a half of R and R in Kathmandu we said goodbye to our new friends from California, Washington and New Zealand and boarded the plane to Bangkok. The hardships and just different experiences we shared made saying goodbye more difficult but I think everyone was happy to be headed home.
Getting a last aerial view of Kathmandu from our plane confirmed our conclusions about this city. It is what we would call a very large slum, little modernity, no modern buildings, freeways or major highways, little or no traffic control, chokingly lethal pollution everywhere and organized chaos in the streets. The lack of electricity for at least 12 hours a day means many restaurants and other food handlers can’t keep food consistently cold, which leads to food born illnesses. We were all sick to varying degrees while in Nepal. The 4 or 5 major hotels have generators but smaller restaurants and guesthouses, even if they have generators, can’t afford to run them. Fuel (gas) is over 4 dollars a gallon and people have to wait in line for hours to fill up.
We got to know a local volunteer at the clinic. Her name is Sushma. She helped translate with the schoolteachers and children and was a huge help. She didn’t want to return to the clinic after our first 4 days because her motorbike was low on fuel and she didn’t want to wait in line. The clinic director offered to pay for a taxi but she refused, too much trouble and expense she said (the taxi would have been less than $5.00).
All of that said, we would not have missed this opportunity for anything. Every Nepali that we personally met has been so kind and gracious. It was a privilege to come here and very satisfying to be able to offer our little bit of help with dentistry to a few of the children of Kathmandu. We were able to experience this country from a different perspective than just as a tourist.
We understand there will be an election soon and we hope, along with many of the Nepalis, that there will be an improvement in the infrastructure of this struggling country.

May 10, 2009

     This is the first chance we’ve had to get on the Internet in several days. We are back in Kathmandu after a hard climb down and more great views of Everest. We’ve been trekking nearly a week and it’s nice to be back with a real bathroom and bed.

      Our Sherpa guide was incredible.  He speaks 4 or 5 languages, travels to Italy for 3 months a year to guide Italians up the Alps and maintains his family in Namche Bazar. He treated us like a mother hen, we always came first and while the conditions were primitive, he always tried to find ways to make things better for us. Right down to hot water bottles (there was never any heat and the temp dropped to freezing at night) and making sure we ordered our meals at least an hour early (it took at least that long for them to prepare our food).

     The Himalayas are incredible, they seem to be younger than the Rockies, much more angular with sharper peaks. Like the Rockies, there are beautiful pine forests everywhere. This is different from the Himalayas we saw in India; they were almost barren of vegetation.  Almost everywhere it is possible the mountainside has been tiered to accommodate agriculture, mostly vegetables for local use. There is not much animal agriculture. They have cattle, Yaks and Tzoes (mix between a cow and a yak) but they use them for work not so much eating. There is meat processing in Kathmandu and other cities but since everything has to be carried up the mountain, it limits the amount and increases the cost of meat.  Plus there is very little refrigeration available.  Chickens seem to be everywhere and so are more commonly found on menus.

     On the way up all our gear was packed on the back of a Tzoe. At Namche the Tzoe driver decided he could carry our luggage himself and make more money, so he loaded up everything,  put the strap around his head and headed off….amazing!! He beat us down by quite a bit. By the way, the washer and dryer I mentioned earlier were carried up on a man’s back not by a Tzoe, the load was too wide for the animal, it has to be balanced, equal amounts on each side.

     We flew out of the Lukla airport this morning for Kathmandu. The planes (twin engine props) start coming around 7am, they land on the short uphill runway dump their passengers and baggage, load up and take off within minutes. We saw at least 4 planes land and take off within about twenty minutes. The window of opportunity to get to this airport is very limited by the weather and usually by afternoon it has to close.

We had lots of trouble getting on the internet in Kathmandu and with a slow conection it was hard to upload photos and video. The power is only on for 12 hours a day and rotates in 4 hour segments. We always seemed to be working or asleep when the power was on, so we didn't get as much as we wanted onto the blog.
Now we are in Namche Bazzar at 12500 ft. in the Himalayas, it was very difficult getting here, very steep, it took us two days of trekking. Unfortunately, the toothbrushing clinic we were scheduled to give has been canceled. So this morning we hiked up to the Everest Visitors Center for photos of the top of the world. We are surrounded by spectacular mauntains, Everest is just the tallest. Namche Bazzar is the largest Sherpa community in the Khumbu Valley, you have to trek to get here, but our hotel has a shower with tub and they have a modern washer and dryer for laundry. The appliances were carried upon the back of a Dzo (sp.), a cross between a Yak and a cow . There are no cars or transport other than the rare horse and your own feet. The locals are very proud that they have full time electricity via a hand built hydro power plant, plenty of clean water, and no pollution, something Kathmandu ( the big city) can't claim. Internet seems to be easier to access here as well.
The living conditions in Nepal are so different from Nebraska. I wish there was a smell component to this blog. The people cope well with their limited resources but we are missing home.

5/1/09

Nepal is mainly Hindu but does have a large Buddhist population.   The area we are staying in is mostly Buddhist, at least partly because we are so close to the stupa. We are told that Buddhism is more a philosophy that a religion.  Buddhists seek purification or Nirvana. They must overcome six human frailties; jealousy, ill-will, hatred, addiction (or attachment), and ignorance to become like the Buddha.

 

We attended a Buddhist Puja or a religious ceremony last night, and as I understand, it could be compared with our Sunday church service. The monks were sitting cross legged in rows in a special room in the monastery, they read from books of meditative writings in unison to the beat of two large drums interspersed with chimes, gongs and horns, please play the short video clip that is attached.

 

This evening, in honor of May Day, there was a ceremony on top of the stupa.  We watched part of it from the roof top restaurant.   It was very similar to the Puja we attended but on a much larger scale. The stupa is decorated in colored lights (like Christmas lights) and hundreds of monks are chanting in unison following a leader with a loud speaker. Following the ceremony they all circumambulated the stupa clockwise. We have been told that any time we pass a religious structure we should go around it in a clockwise direction to show the proper respect

Nepal is an ancient country but really has only been opened up to the west in the past few decades. What we have seen so far in Kathmandu would attest to this. There are no sky scrapers, in fact we have not seen any “modern” buildings. The electric power poles are rats nests of tangled wires. The streets are not marked, some are paved but most are partially paved and filled with huge potholes, one reason the chaotic traffic I described earlier can function at all-it’s impossible to go fast. The dry conditions foster clouds of dust in the streets and there is usually a haze over the whole city. Most people walking or driving in the streets wear masks to protect them from the dust. The masks are hand made and look like surgical masks but are made of cloth. We’ve been wearing surgical masks we brought for the clinic because the local ones don’t fit our big American heads.

 

It’s all a great adventure. Our comrades in the clinic are a dedicated and interesting bunch. It’s pretty much a first name group so that’s the way I’ll describe them. There are 3 “staff” volunteers, I suspect they get some of their expenses covered,  but I’m not sure.

 

The clinic director is Dr. Tom, a retired dentist from Durango Colorado. He has been a clinic director for many years and will be working at the next clinic in Kathmandu and immediately after that goes to the clinic in Ley, India for 4 weeks. He opened a not-for-profit practice in Kabul, Afghanistan were he works a few weeks every year and has an Afghani dentist (interestingly a woman) who works part time.  They saw 1000 patients last year for free. At our clinic,  he screens all the patients and does a treatment plan, then numbs them up if necessary. Dr. Tom chants “this is good” in Nepali as he administers anesthetic to the often frightened children.

 

Dr. Mark is a pediatric dentist from southern California, he is semi retired from a large practice that he started. Like Dr. Tom he will attend the next clinic in Kathmandu and the upcoming one in India. Dr Mark has worked at many humanitarian clinics including some not affiliated with Himalyan Dental Relief (the sponsor of our clinic). Even with his wide range of experience Dr. Mark does no dentistry at the clinic, he is in charge of the volunteers (making sure we have lunch coordinating dinners etc.) and more importantly making sure we have patients to see. He makes phone calls to schools and uses an interpreter to make sure the students arrive when we need them. Even though everything has been arranged in advance there always seems to be some snag to over come.

 

Garth is a paid employee of Himalayan Dental Relief Project, he is probably in his late 20’s and I’m sure does it for the adventure and of course the chance to help others. He is in charge of the functioning of the clinic, procuring supplies, coordinating student volunteers (they act as dental assistants, child wranglers, sterilizers and more. Garth and Dr. Tom live in a small apartment HDRP keeps near the school.

 Dr. Sanjay is a volunteer from New Zealand. He is specializing in doing composites but like everyone will do what needs done. He is of Indian decent and speaks (as you might imagine) with a heavy Kiwi accent.  He joined the project from information he read in a magazine article. It’s surprising how many cultural references we all share, because of the common begging in Kathmandu and Sanjay's India heritage, “Slum Dog Millionaire” is a frequent topic. He carries a bottle of hot sauce and Marmite (like Vegimite sandwich from the song "a land down under".

 Dr. Gary is a dentist from Washington; his home overlooks Puget Sound across from Victoria, Canada. Gary has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Mont Rainier and more. He is in his early sixties, single but with a fairly new girl friend that he seems to be very serious about. He searching for appropriate gifts for his girl friend and female staff.

 April is our youngest volunteer,  she is a hygienist from San Diego, she is married to a career marine officer who has seen two tours in Iraq and is ready to be deployed to Afghanistan. She a pretty blond who draws instant attention in this dark headed country. The minute you meet April you’re friends.

 Then of course there’s Charlie and I. Charlie has been working doing record keeping and sterilization and me…I’m just drillin’ and fillin’.

 That’s our crew, they are all fun to be with, smart and interesting. We’re having a lot of fun.

 

 We are staying at a small guesthouse associated with a Buddhist Monastery it’s about a 10-minute walk from the clinic and from one of world’s largest  Stupas.  Bodhnath stupa is a Buddhist shrine that attracts hundreds of people every day to circumambulate the stupa, spin prayer wheels and meditate. It’s a ritual that combines religious observance with a social event. There are many monks and nuns dressed in colorful red robes.

 

 Our guesthouse has a beautiful garden with a vegetarian  restaurant (the food is quite good). Our room is about 10 feet by 12 feet with a double bed (the mattress is little more than a mat) and a small closet. The bathroom is about 4 by 5 with the shower situated so that the whole room gets wet when you take a shower (no curtain); we lost the toilet paper the first time I took a shower. The power is only on 12 hours a day, in 4 hour stints, on a rotating basis and some businesses have generators they use sparingly, so we’re never really sure when or where we’ll have power. Nepal is in a serious drought (no rain since October) so public water is only available three days a week. Everyone stores water in underground tanks and then pumps it to the top of the building to let gravity provide water pressure. Water has not been a problem for us, except of course that can only drink bottled water.

 

The clinic is set up at a local school, some of the students are full time boarders, some are day timers (they come in the morning for breakfast and stay until after dinner only sleeping at home) and some are more traditional students only attending from morning until late afternoon. We have seen students from other nearby schools as well.   One is called Child Haven and I believe it’s an orphanage.  We also saw children from a government school. All the schools accept students from all over Nepal which  is a very small country only about 150 mile north to south and 300 miles east to west. Most of the children that are boarders are there because they have no parents or no school in their area. The children are mostly from 5 to 15 years old.

We are in Kathmandu. The clinic started today. The kids are great. The work is hard, but rewarding.  Between the 4 dentists and 1 hygienist, we saw 122 patients and did 95 fillings, 8 extractions, and 18 cleanings. We're making a dent and will do more tomorrow. 

Kathmandu is an ancient city with a beautiful medieval feel. The chaotic streets are juxtaposed by the serenity of spinning prayer wheels, red clad monks, gongs and bells. While the metro area contains nearly 2 million people there are virtually no traffic controls, no stoplights, no stop or yield signs, no traffic cops. Officially they use the British method of driving on the left, in reality they drive wherever there is room and with very few sidewalks pedestrians, cars trucks, buses, bikes and motorcycles all vie for the same space. The term “steering with your horn” had to be coined in Kathmandu. But we have seen very few accidents, one of the volunteer dentists here with us is from New Zealand and says it's organized chaos, it's hard to see the organization. More later.