The Guest house

View outside my bedroom window

Another view out my window

Power supply to the house. This isn't the most impressive one I've seen either.

My bed. The mattresses are only about 5 inches thick, no boxspring.
It's comfortable enough though.

Shared living space with the other guests on my floor.

A very sea foam green-ish/teal bathroom. I'm just happy to have a flush toilet!

Front courtyard.

My super retro phone, the classic Nokia brick. I had some troubles getting the SIM card to work in my iPhone, so now I am carrying two phones.

The road from the guest house to the main road.

Driveway to the Office/Sarah's house

The office where I work everyday. Sarah's family lives on the upper level.

Well, that didn't go as planned: Episode 3

Last night we had a small tremor. I probably wouldn’t have even woken up except that the dogs suddenly went berserk and were barking up a storm. I think it was about 3am, not quite sure. It wasn’t even enough to make me turn over and check my phone, but once I figured out what was going on I did get a knot in my stomach. Mom, I know I said that I wanted to feel an earthquake while I was here. I changed my mind. That small one was enough and I don’t want to experience anything bigger. I haven’t even been here a week and I can check that off my bucket list.

I just asked around if anyone else felt the quake and Bob, who is a teacher from Arizona and also staying at the guest house, said that he thought he felt something. When I got to the office I asked Sarah and she said we had a 4.4 quake last night. She was hoping I hadn't felt it. So, it wasn’t just a dream! I found this site: http://www.seismonepal.gov.np/ Apparently we had some quakes the previous 2 days as well, although I didn’t detect those at all. Crazy! 

Sunday, or Saturday, wait, what day is it?

Today is actually Saturday, but it felt like Sunday because I went to church today. Here in Nepal, the work week is Sunday-Friday and Saturday is holiday, or the weekend. So church is on Saturday because that's the day everyone has off work. Having only one day off doesn't constitute much of a weekend to me, but people here are very relaxed and laid-back all throughout the week. While it is the norm is America to get up and get going early in the day, many people here don't get to work until late morning. So a typical week may be working Sunday through Friday 11am-5pm, with Saturday off. I don't know how I feel about this yet. Would you rather work 9-5pm 5 days a week, or work 11-5pm 6 days a week?

So, my day started with a hot shower, which wasn't hot by my definition, but it was a huge improvement from yesterday's shower. Then I went down to the kitchen and met Lana, who is the cook and housekeeper at the guest house. She may be related to the family that lives here and runs the place, I'm not sure. Anyway, she had never eaten oatmeal before or seen it prepared. She stood next to me and watched, asking questions. She speaks some English, so we can communicate well enough. She was surprised when I put brown sugar in it and asked to taste some. She described it as pie sugar. It was a good bonding experience and I found it funny that someone was watching me cook (I don't enjoy cooking. nor am I very talented at it, just ask my mother). 

Church was such a comforting experience. It is amazing to me that on the other side of the world, in the most foreign setting of my life to date, there is the church. The one familiar thing, the one constant part of my life. The doctrine is the same, and spirit is the same, and it was a great relief and comfort to me to find that peace today. There is a branch of about 80-100 people and we meet in the Shambala Hotel from 10am-noon. The church house was damaged by the earthquake, and the new one isn't quite finished yet, so that's why we meet in the hotel. I met the senior couple missionaries, the Branch President, a group of BYU students studying art here for a couple weeks, and Bishnu. Does that name ring a bell for anyone? He is one of the members interviewed in the documentary Meet the Mormons. This show came out last year and explores the lives of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all over the world. You can watch it on Netflix and Youtube if you are interested. 

Well, that didn't go as planned: Episode 2

On my walk home after church there was a group of dogs that started to get rowdy and it was clear they were going to fight. Unfortunately a young girl, probably 5 years old, and I were caught in the cross-hairs of the two dog gangs. The dogs started running at each other (consequently at us) barking and growling. Looking back I should have been more scared, but then again, I have experience with unruly dogs, and I knew they weren't coming for me. The little girl however was quite upset. She ran over to me and threw her arms around me. She said something in Nepalese, which I can only imagine was some expression of her obvious fear. I leaned down and put my arms around her at which point the dogs ran around us. I stood up, we made eye contact and she smiled at me, then ran off down the road. 

It was a sweet moment, and one that made me realize the human factor of why I am here. These dogs are more than an annoyance, they are a danger to human health in many ways, not just rabies. Although my project is focusing on rabies, I am working within HSI's larger project of changing the culture of dog care and ownership. One goal is to increase responsible ownership and thus decrease adverse interactions with dogs. Another goal is to decrease the stray dog population by implementing spay and neuter programs. We are also doing mass dog vaccination against rabies and public education campaigns. The work is still in the planning phases, but we will be underway soon. I am grateful for the opportunity to spend my summer here, to help improve the lives of humans and animals alike. I believe that being a veterinarian is my calling and I am so grateful for the opportunity to receive an education and pursue my dreams. 

Alright, enough mushy-gushy stuff, I promise to post some pictures tomorrow. 

Abbreviations:

HSI = Humane Society International 

Nepal - day 1

But first, some pictures!

I am smiling, but don't be fooled. I absolutely LOATHE packing!

All set for flight #1 of 3. Here we go!

Flying into Seattle

Flight #1: SLC to Seattle
Flight #2: Seattle to Dubai
Flight #3: Dubai to Kathmandu

I finally made it to Nepal! I arrived to my guest house about 11:30pm last night. I did little more than change into pajamas, send a quick message home, and then crash into bed. Today was my first day actually experiencing the city and it was amazing! 

I woke up about 5:15am, because my body thought it was a good idea? I tried to go back to sleep, but was very unsuccessful, even with an eye mask and ear plugs. It is so noisy here! For starters, somewhere, there was a rooster crowing, which should have made me feel at home, except that this sounded like a normal rooster. The rooster at my parents house has some issues with his cock-a-doodle-doo. Imagine a strong start that fizzles out to sound like the bird is being strangled.  It is special, at least it makes me laugh. There were dogs barking and fighting outside, which instantly got my mind jump-started, since, ya know, dogs are the whole reason I am here. Also, everyone here drives with their horns. In the words of Niraj, one of my associates here, "We have rules, but nobody follows them." People drive on the left side of the road, but it is completely normal to drive wherever you can in order to get to your destination. There are no cross-walks, well, I think I saw one, but no one yields for pedestrians. Sidewalks are crowded, so it is normal to walk on the side of the street. Which is why everyone drives with their horn, to warn pedestrians that they are coming and you need to get out of the way. It's dangerous. My mind will be blown if I leave here without seeing an accident. I just hope it doesn't involve me getting hit. Sorry Mom, didn't mean to scare you. Niraj taught me how to cross the street and I am very cautious. Try not to fret. 

Anyway, so, it's early and I am now wide awake. I read for a bit, check e-mails, struggle to figure out how to get a hot shower, eventually give up and just wash my hair in the cold shower, and a little while later Niraj arrives. I should take a minute to introduce him. Niraj works as an accountant for HSI. He is a local and speaks both English and Nepali. I think he has been unofficially assigned as my babysitter. We are the same age, and he is very caring, so it works quite well. Together we walk around the city, he's pointing out good restaurants (one of them he said is a good Italian place--hallelujah!), teaching me how to cross the street, and helping me purchase a local SIM card. We make our way to Sarah's house, which is also the office, think of it as base camp. I FINALLY meet Sarah! We've only been e-mailing for months and months, so it is great to finally meet her. She is tall and beautiful and has a wonderful British accent. She is from the UK, although she has lived in Nepal for about 4 years now, is married to a Nepali, and has 2 kiddos. They are adorable, pictures will no doubt be coming soon. 

The rest of the day consists of sitting in on a meeting with the HSI team and understanding where their project is at and figuring out how mine fits in to their work. Sarah takes me grocery shopping, which, I have to get picture of the place. You can find just about anything, and most things are labeled in English, but it's just different. I was having a minor culture shock moment. However, people again were very friendly and wanted to know if my hair was naturally curly. I can't escape that question even on the other side of the world! That's fine, it started some conversation, so that was nice. 

I came back to the guesthouse and desperately needed a nap. I know, you are supposed to just power through jet lag, but I love my sleep. Seriously, it's a favorite past-time, or a hobby. Can sleeping be a hobby? I took a long nap and it was glorious! 

Momma cow and her calf I saw while running errands today.

Dubai

Guess where I am right now...Dubai! I am sitting at the gate, waiting for my last flight which will take me to Kathmandu. I have been travelling for about 19 hours now, and I still have a couple hours layover here followed by a 6 hour flight. 

This is my first time travelling internationally and thus my first time crossing major time zones and it is trippy! I left Salt Lake City at 7:45am. Then I arrived 2 hours later in Seattle, but local time was 8:45am. Then I left Seattle an hour later, so about 10:00am, and arrived in Dubai at 10:30am the next day. On the plane they served lunch and then breakfast. No dinner, because the way we were flying, we just skipped dinner and it was now breakfast time. Granted, breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, so no complaints from me. Currently, it is 1:55pm on May 12th in Dubai, but my body thinks it is 2:58am May 12th, because that's what time it is in Idaho Falls. Are you confused yet? Me too!

Last night Mom and I were talking about this blog and came up with the idea to do a segment about things that are unexpected, or that go awry. I think this would be hilarious, at least to me. You can laugh at my naivete, and struggles, and maybe learn something along the way. So, this is the first installment of Well, that didn't go as planned. 

Well, that didn't go as planned: Episode 1

Allow me to set the stage, I just got off an airplane that was my home for the past 14 hours. I am stiff and tired, and in a foreign airport for the first time. I go through security and enter the airport. All I can see are A gates...I need gate F4. I follow the signs and end up on the other end of the airport where I take an elevator down to where I am supposed to get a train that'll take me to the F gates. No one is there. Not a soul. Then I see the sign says the train comes every 45 minutes, alright, so maybe the staff is on break. I take a seat. Ten minutes later a custodian comes by and tells me that I am in the wrong spot, this train isn't running and I need to go to gate A19. Back up the elevator, talk with an employee, now I walk to the complete other end of the airport, down an elevator to another train station that'll take me to F gates. This time there is an employee, he says the train just left and I can either wait an hour, or I can take a combination of buses and trains to get to the F gates, I just need to meet the metro on floor 2. Okay, back up the elevator, walking around the main airport again. Find an escalator and take it down only to discover I can't access floor 2 for some reason, go back up the escalator and talk with another employee who says I need to walk to the middle of the airport and take another elevator down to meet the metro. Walk through the airport again, silly American girl. Find another elevator that takes me down to the metro. Meet Grant, another American who is having a heck of a time getting to F gates. Turns out he is from Tri-cities and we are on the same flight. Huge blessing! We do the rest of this adventure together. We get on the metro and arrive at B gates. Now get off the metro and walk to meet the bus. Get on the bus and drive for, no joke, probably 15 minutes to a completely different terminal. This airport is unbelievably huge! Now I get off the bus, and go through security again. After security I finally see F gates, eventually I find F4, where I am currently sitting. How did I even get here? I don't think I could do it again, and man am I grateful for a 6 hour layover! Take a breath with me- inhale...exhale. 

So, why Nepal?

In almost exactly 24 hours I will be boarding my first of 3 flights to get to Nepal! Am I excited? What do you think, c'mon. Am I nervous, yep. This is my first time travelling internationally and I am doing it solo. Not to mention, my housing plans fell through and I don't have a place to rest my head Thursday evening. It's all part of the adventure ...right? 

Yesterday my little brother Daniel asked me, "Jess, soooo...why are you going to Nepal?" I thought I had made that clear, but apparently not. So for Daniel, and anyone else who I haven't yet told, I am going to Nepal to do rabies research. If I have already talked your ear off about this, just skip ahead to the next post. 

So, why rabies and why Nepal? 

I personally find rabies to be a fascinating disease. Horrible, neglected, and fascinating. (In an effort to keep these posts from being long dissertations, I will write another post about the disease in the future) Rabies is a worldwide problem with direct animal-human transmission. Thanks to science, we have an affordable and effective vaccine that can offer protection and halt transmission of the disease. However, rabies still claims thousands of human lives every year, with the vast majority of those deaths resulting from rabid dog bites.  

Rabies is, 

by no stretch of the imagination, 

a disease of the past. 

In America, it is well controlled and we only hear of the rare occasional case. But in developing countries, particularly Africa and Asia, it is a very real threat to human life. This fear and death is unnecessary and I feel compelled to do something about it. As a veterinarian, I see a niche where I can really make a difference. By working with the animals, I can help save human lives. Which brings me to answer the question of why Nepal. 

Nepal, particularly Kathmandu, has a huge stray dog population, with the latest estimates around 30,000 stray dogs*. There are no vaccination laws and essentially no animal control programs in place. As a result, rabies is endemic in the dog population of Nepal. The disease can easily and rapidly spread among dogs and when these dogs bite humans, humans can be infected with rabies. My research is focused on determining the risk factors for dog bites. I aim to answer questions like, is it the stray dog population that is inflicting more bites or are more people being bitten by their own dogs? Is there a certain breed, health condition, or sex of dog that is more likely to bite? What are the general attitudes of the local people towards dogs? What do they know and believe about rabies? 

I am working with Humane Society International while I am over there. They are implementing a self-sustaining rabies vaccination protocol and population control program in Kathmandu. My research will be utilized by them to determine where to target their efforts and also to campaign for more vaccine compliance and government involvement. I will also be a part of their other efforts, such as vaccination clinics, spay and neuter clinics, and education campaigns. 

So, why rabies, why Nepal, why my entire summer? Because I can. Because it needs to be done.

References:  

*Thapa, G. (2016). A dogged drive against stray dogs of capital.

  

Geography Lesson

It's been a while since high school geography, at least for me, and just in case some of you haven't yet turned to Google Maps and Wikipedia, I thought I might take a minute to tell you about Nepal. 

Nepal is situated between China and India. At just over 147 square kilometers or 56,800 square miles, Nepal is slightly larger than Arkansas. The last population estimates (2014) were at 31 million. The 2014 estimate for the population of Arkansas? 3 million. 

(Image from http://www.visitnepal.com/travelers_guide/where_is_nepal.php) 

The prominent belief system is Hinduism (81%), followed by Buddism (9%), and Muslim (4%). That being said, I have been told that Nepal is a very tolerant nation and many Nepalese people practice a combination of religions. I'll have to get back to you on the accuracy of this statement, but I have already found a small gathering of members of my church in Kathmandu and plan to attend church with them every week. 

Nepal is most famous to westerners because...that's right, Mt. Everest! The Himalayan mountain range makes up the Northern border of Nepal. How far is Mount Everest from where I will be spending most of my time? I will be in Kathmandu for the majority of my time, with side trips to Bhaktapur, Pokhara, and Chitwan. Remembering Nepal is only the size of Arkansas-ish, it really isn't too far away. 

(Image from: http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/lgcolor/npcolor.htm) 

However, I have no intentions of going to Everest Base Camp. Aside from the extreme cold, it is quite expensive. Another bummer, I will be in Nepal during Monsoon season, so my chances of even seeing Mt. Everest aren't good. I am not too terribly disappointed by this, as I seriously hate the cold and fail to see the appeal of dying of the mountain, but for you Dad, I will try to get a picture at least. I'll be there all summer, there's gotta be at least one good day, right?

Alright people, I need to study for my Radiology final tomorrow. ...I should come up with some sort of smart little sign-off phrase...any suggestions?