Monthly Archives: January 2013
Rooftop Clinics and Motorbikes
Ramesh kickstarts his motorbike and looks at me expectantly. “How should I get on?” I ask, thinking about Nikki, our clinic director, instructing us not to wrap our arms around our interpreter when riding the motorbike. “Don’t grip with your knees,” Nikki said with a grin. I look at her blankly, thinking that you ride […]
My First Day at the Vajra Varahi Clinic
Coffee in hand, I stroll downstairs into the Vajra Barahi Health Clinic’s waiting room to prepare for my morning. Before the clinic bustles into life, I have the privilege of traveling out to a nearby Newari village and treating Asa Maya, a sweet, elderly woman, who recently had a stroke. I have been hearing about […]
Coffee in Thamel
At eight a.m. we venture out for breakfast. The streets are relatively sleepy compared to last night. Only a handful of cars weave through the streets and we can walk normally across the ring road. At various intervals along the sidewalks, people huddle around temporary fires built from scrap wood, and I wonder if they […]
Stepping off the plane into a new world
I arrived into Kathmandu on a Korean Air plane. Most of my fellow passengers were Korean or Japanese trekkers. I deduced this from the hiking boots and high end gear they wore. Despite my inability to speak Korean, the excitement as the plane began its decent palpably filled the cabin. A frenetic energy shifted into […]
Stick Out Your Tongue 