Monday 1st of July 2024

After what may well have been the deepest sleep of my life, my roommate, Sahithya and I got up late, enjoyed breakfast and chatted with the other two new housemates. One was a paramedic sciences student from London and the other was a med student from Toronto studying in Belfast. We had a very chilled out morning before meeting with the programme manager, Sean.

Sean explained some general bits and pieces about the house and what to expect from our time there, then he went through each of our programmes and planned placements. We confirmed that I would spend my placement time at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) and the village as follows:

• Week 1 – Cath lab at Manmohan Cardiothorac and Vascular Transplant Centre
• Week 2 – HDU and Theatres in the Orthopaedics department at TUTH
• Week 3 – Adult ICU at TUTH
• Weeks 4 and 5 – Emergency Department at TUTH
• Week 6 – Village Healthcare Experience at Nuwakot District health outpost

We asked lots of questions and were buzzing with excitement, ready to begin our adventure.

Assistant Programme Manager Samichhya met us to take us out for our Kathmandu orientation, giving each of us a map and a run down of the plan for the day.

We caught the bus to the hospital for a whistlestop tour of the main building and some of the departments we’d be working in. Samichhya pointed out the Admin Building where we would go for our meetings with Sean before orientations or department changes, where we could leave our belongings in lockers or get water and hot beverages through the day. This was the international elective hub at the hospital where we met other students from different organisations and programmes later on.

We then caught a different bus to Thamel, the main shopping, nightlife and tourist spot. We wandered a while to get our Nepal SIM cards and an ATM to withdraw some Nepalese Rupees to last us the first week.

Once we were all sorted, we strolled down through the main streets of Thamel, taking in the hustle and bustle of busy vendors and the markets, getting used to the sounds, smells and vibes of Kathmandu. The heavens opened while we were picking up some bits and pieces, experiencing Nepal’s monsoon season rains for the first time.

Ducking under awning and umbrellas, skipping over puddles and avoiding splashes from passing bikes we avoided the rain until the shower subsided. We headed to a nice spot called the New Orleans Cafe where we ordered cold drinks and lunch, enjoying getting to know one another and asking Samichhya any questions that came to mind.

After a lovely break, we headed out to the road where Samichhya surprised us with a colourful rickshaw ride to the next stop, Asan.

I rode with Jaabir (Jabz) a paramedic sciences student and we giggled all the way, bouncing over potholes and dodging oncoming motorbikes and bricks in the road. We followed the others, looking out at the gorgeous shop displays welcoming us to this lively and beautiful city, which we were ready to embrace with open arms.

At the other end with legs wobbling, cheeks and bellies sore from laughing, we wandered through Asan, marvelling at the markets before we hopped in two taxis back to the house, narrowly avoiding the next downpour.

The culture shock of this afternoon was the lack of seatbelts in taxis – we’d all reached over our shoulders to buckle up and found only air. This automatic reflex to getting in the back of a taxi never left me, it was bizarre that at the end of my six weeks, I was still reaching over my shoulder for a seatbelt I knew wasn’t there.

Back at the house and buzzing, we changed into comfy clothes and enjoyed chatting away with our housemates who were all delighted to see us smiling away and eager to hear how we found our first day.

At 17:00 every Monday and Tuesday, we could meet Durpata, our visiting language teacher for Nepali lessons in the lounge upstairs. Sahithya, Jabz, Anna-Lisa and I had our first lesson together, learning manners, respect culture in Nepal, how to introduce ourselves and basic phrases we could use to build rapport with our teams and patients at the hospital. Durpata made the lesson fun, encouraging us to practice together and playing games (which Jabz and I won).

After this we had dinner together, piling up our plates and trying a little bit of everything, starting to get a taste for Nepali cuisine. Our housemates gave us a list of food and drink recommendations, showing us their top spots near the house, the hospital and in Thamel.

Now in pyjamas, we all headed up to the lounge and watched Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! to wind down, enjoying a sing along and a giggle. Jabz popped in and out, telling us he had a huntsman spider in his room (spoiler alert: it wasn’t a huntsman) and that he’d convinced the security guard to get it out of his room while we all laughed, comparing spider stories and finishing the movie in tears.

The group of housemates who’d been away for a weekend to Chitwan got back late and piled out of the mini bus with bags and snacks, chattering about the trip and the long bus journey, overlapping introductions with excited noise and brief “Lovely to meet you!”s.

With thirteen new names and faces, we sat together in the dining room hearing snippets of news and seeing safari pictures and sunburns before most people peeled away to get showered and grab some leftover dinner before bed.

The house was abuzz with activity, then peaceful and quiet with only the hum of ceiling fans to be heard. Everyone was resting, ready to get to work at the hospital the following morning.

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