Catch Up

The river valley we followed to find our health outreach (REMOTE!) 

So internet is very iffy so far in Dhulikhel due to a variety of complicating factors--electricity outages due to load shedding of electricity as much of it is sold to India (interesting. probably more on this if I ever feel like writing about challenges in Nepal), time in clinic, and slow/inaccessible computers.
The most recent posts were written about a week ago, but I wanted to write them up anyhow.
Other things that have been going on:
Two days ago we saw a TB hospital and the oldest hospital in Kathmandu! We learned about waste management at one of the hospitals--super interesting the creative methods.
Yesterday was my favorite day so far--a visit to a health outpost in a remote village: 2.5 hours driving and 45 minutes hiking to reach! I have some photos (and bruises from the bumpy jeep ride!) but it was FANTASTIC!!! We were with an OB doc who is doing research on HPV/cervical cancer, and got to see her give an education session to the health volunteers. Super interesting, and pretty complicated research: convincing remote, shy, conservative Nepali women to have Pap smears for a very abstract concept like cervical cancer.  Interesting stuff.
Today was also wonderful. We saw a patient with rheumatic heart disease and had a lecture from her cardiologist. He had us all listen to the murmurs, look at the echo, and I don't think I'll ever forget that clinical picture.
The day terminated with a discussion about challenges to healthcare in Nepal, often similar to challenges in the States but on a different scale. I feel as excited as I was at times at Carleton--constantly thinking about so many new things: medicine, culture, societal issues--my brain is buzzing! PUMP THE BRAKES! :)
Tomorrow we'll hopefully hike to a nearby town and maybe we'll get internet and I can put up more pictures from the outpost, the clinic, and the hikes we've been doing.
Sorry for the journalistic, flight of ideas post. I promise things will get more thought out and I'll spend more time fabricating posts later on--once the excitement fades a bit perhaps haha!
Love you all and miss you! 

From the TB hospital! There were posters explaining the TB treatment program (this is a worldwide effort to control TB, particularly drug resistant strains). 

a Stupa! (Buddhist shrine) 

Bolde health outpost--with Havar (or as Aarti says, Harvard, the Norweigian medical student researcher!)