This morning I was at the hospital by 6am to catch the shuttle to Nepalganj – a city on the terai (the flat land along the border with India). We're off to a meeting there with others who work in Community Based Rehabilitation, to discuss how we can better help paraplegics in their communities. The first 6 hours of the trip involved well paved but winding roads going up and then down. I had been warned of this and took something to avoid motion sickness, but two of the patients we were transporting were not so lucky. It was a beautiful drive though, through the hills.
After lunch we made it down to the terai, and I got to experience a different part of Nepal. It's flat, so there are many more people on bicycles, and bicycle rickshaws abound. There are more people who look Indian, and the houses are different. There are lots of rice fields – things are much less green in the terai than in Pokhara (which I have learned is the rainiest place in Nepal), so the rice is not yet planted here. I was surprised that we also drove through so much woodland - I had understood that the terai was all cultivated, but apparently this is not so.
Sita (who is paraplegic) is also attending this meeting – she works with us in the Occupational Therapy department as a peer counselor at Green Pastures Hospital. Who better to advise on the struggles paraplegics have in Nepal? However, because she is in a wheelchair, she and I have to stay in the best hotel in town. I had my hopes up for something spectacular (1000 Rupees a night worth – very expensive for Nepal. Instead instead it is only $15 worth, what that is equivalent to). However, I very much appreciate the excuse to stay in a place with air conditioning and a pool, now we are staying in the hot plains.
No comments:
Post a Comment