TRAVELMAN NEPAL: Volunteering at a Hospital and School in Pharping, Nepal (Part 1, the homestay)

On the Sunday a week before Christmas I went to the Manmohan Memorial Community Hospital to begin what turned out to be nine days of volunteering. I’d have to say it leaned more toward “voluntouring,” but more on that later.

Despite much of what you’re about to read, it was a fantastic experience. The lack of daily comforts I’ve taken for granted all my life, the little things, made it more enriching and memorable. Now that I’m sitting comfortably in Pokhura in a coffee shop that caters to westerners and plays Beyoncé, Coldplay, and John Mayer songs, it’s simply fun to describe the horrible hardships I, an insufferable and entitled American, endured.

I was up early because I’d gone to bed early. Saturday night in Pharping is non-existent. The entire town shuts down shortly after dark. There’s nothing to do but bundle up and crawl under the covers of your bed.

****—-Saturday night in Pharping- Monks in a kitchenware shop looking for that perfect set of cookware for their next dinner party—-****

Saturday night was my second night at the homestay. The temperature drops to between 3-6 degrees Celsius. There was not heat in my room. Beyond that the bathroom toilet and shower drain emitted some kind of nauseating bacterial, mildewing smell. I couldn’t get my bathroom door to shut all the way to trap the smell. There was also a tram open above the door. So, tired and cold, I opened my windows and wore my two jackets, pants, two pairs of socks, and my thermal undershirt to bed. I was warm until I had to get out of bed.

****—-The old-fashioned key that goes in the key-hole lock—-****

In the middle of the night, I woke up freezing because the blanket inside the duvet had bunched itself up at the top end. I had to get out of bed, find the corners, shake it out to flatten it out throughout the duvet, and quickly hop back in bed. This became a nightly ritual.

****—-My room. Overall, okay. Private.—-****

The stray dogs of the town began barking around two A.M. This cacophonic chorus of howls, growls, and barks turned out to be a nightly performance (The doberman/beagle mongrel had a particularly striking sopranic howl to be envied by the greatest of the kanine performing community). Around 4:30 A.M. a melodic, yet simultaneously unmelodic, bell rang. I don’t know if it was a singing bowl, a bell, or both, but it was my morning alarm everyday. As though the bell knew that I’d go back to sleep, it went off like a snooze button about every nine minutes for an hour.

****—-View outside my window—-****

I got up to shower. I knew it wouldn’t be warm but didn’t know it would be shockingly cold. Instead of hot and cold, the taps were cold and ice cold. I ended up using a hand cloth to quickly wipe around my dirtiest parts. I passed on washing my hair.

****—-Outside my window. Smell that fresh mountain air, the daily early morning trash fire. The smoke usually wafted into my room and filled it with a potpouri of toxic fumes—-****

After an hour and a half of trying to use the wi-if connection by sitting on the end table in the corner, next to the door and in front of the bathroom, and disconnecting and re-connecting to get that unexplained surge of bit-rate for the first few moments, it was time to meet Jahn outside my room and head off to the hospital.

. ****—-Morning, standing outside door to my room—-****

It was morning, it was Nepal, and I was loving every minute of it! Seriously, it was awesome, a great experience! Next post will be at the hospital...

****—-Jahn, the brilliant, earnest, eighteen-year-old, German volunteer traveling solo throughout Nepal from one volunteering gig to another for five months—-****

If you like this check out my other posts at
https://steemit.com/travel/@travelman/travelman-s-first-edition-of-a-weekly-table-of-contents-for-your-reading-pleasure

Travelman log, day 184. Down with a bad cold in Pokhura, hopefully trek tomorrow...
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