Hello everyone,

This is my first one of these so I may be a little rusty at it but I’ll go ahead and give it a shot.  Nepal so far has been an incredible experience.  I was just telling the others today how I was already starting to become disheartened at the thought of leaving (even though we have more than half our trip to go).  My favorite things so far have been the people, especially the warm and lovable children, the food, the sunrises and sunsets, and of course all the work we’ve had the opportunity to do.  I think almost all of the things above have gone hand in hand with each other.  The medical couldn’t be as enjoyable as it has been without the helpful doctors and pharmacists volunteering their time to guide and engage us during their examinations and diagnosis. For example, today consisted of us examining the children at a local orphanage in Pokhara.  Although most of the children were very healthy, each had some form of ailment or other ranging from diarrhea to ear infections.  The doctor guided us through an entire physical examination on almost all the children, something they may have never received until this point, and gave clinical background concerning their conditions if they had any.  It was great to apply and finally comprehend some of the simple things we had learned throughout first year such as the Rhinne and Weber tests.  After all the examinations the children enjoyed learning about and using our medical equipment on each other.  It was great to see and satisfy their curiosities about them and their smiles were more than rewarding.  Experiences such as today’s have been just a handful of the things Nepal has given to us and I think that if we are able to give back even a fraction of it I will have found the trip a success.  Can’t wait to see what tomorrow’s work will have in store for us.

shweta