III.II.VI GUILTY PLEASURE Our time in Pokhara was not all spent on fun and games. Once there, we started a clinical placement in emergency medicine at Gandaki hospital. I was particularly excited for this rotation as I had no experience in emergency prior to that, not to mention that emergencies are the coolest thing to study when you’re a student […]
III.II.V – City of Lakes
III.II.V CITY OF LAKES The second leg of our journey involved a super bumpy eight-hour bus ride that took us straight to Pokhara; the City of Lakes. Aptly known as the tourism capital of Nepal, Pokhara is a destination for many avid adventurers seeking to brave the Annapurna Circuit. Though we wouldn’t get to do that, the scenic drive there already […]
III.II.IV – Difference
III.II.IV DIFFERENCE Keep in mind that the universe loves to prove me wrong. Much to my surprise and as busy as we were, we still had plenty of time to roam about and discover the city. And when we were done with orientation, it was finally time for us to roll our sleeves and start our volunteering. After being introduced […]
III.II.III – The Great Divide
III.II.III THE GREAT DIVIDE Over the first week in Nepal, we were kept busy with the orientation program. We were taught some basic Nepali, informed about their customs and told what we were to do. We parted ways with the rest of the group who’d be participating in other programs; mainly construction, female empowerment and teaching, and, as the only […]
III.II.II – Land of the Gods
III.II.II LAND OF THE GODS I might be in love with travelling, but if there’s one thing I hate, it’s long-haul flights. Seriously, hate them with a passion. My nose alternates between being as dry as a fistful of Martian soil and bleeding like a stuck pig, my joints and muscles age by fifty years and my hypothalamus suddenly decides […]
III.II.I – Gearing Up
III.II.I GEARING UP Islander lifestyle be damned. Something much better was in store for me. Something my friends and I had been planning for months on end was now just around the corner. Something… Okay, I’m done with all the suspense. As soon as exams were done and dusted, we were gonna fly off to Nepal! But it wasn’t just […]
II.III.I – Departure
II.III.I DEPARTURE Colombia… Half the world away it stood. And I was going there. The furthest I had ever been from home was Manchester; three hours away from Malta by plane. And now I was going to friggin Colombia – some 10,000 kilometres away. “It’s okay, it’s okay – he’ll be there with me!” I told myself as I was […]