Medical placement Bharatpur, Nepal

It’ll be a bit of a stretch to give you a proper insight into my experience, and at the same time not say too much because part of the magic is that you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. Here’s my attempt: I was 18 when I started my roughly four month long trip, which is over a year ago now, had just finished school and wanted to go abroad before starting university. I loved the idea of a fairly small country with high mountains as well as tropical climate and a rich culture. And I love Asia. Arriving at a crowded airport alone, in a different part of the world, anxiously waiting for my luggage to finally show up, knowing I had this big trip ahead of me, felt very surreal but fantastic. A Nepali lady offered to wait with me for my luggage. The transport to the hotel was organised perfectly well, as was everything else during the trip, without exception. I spent the first day exploring Kathmandu on my own before other volunteers arrived with whom I travelled to our final destination: Bharatpur, the second biggest city of the country, located farther south. This in itself can be quite the experience as the roads are in questionable conditions, especially during monsoon season. As a medical volunteer, this is the usual location as there is a large private hospital of relatively good standard, but it is also possible to stay in Kathmandu for the medical placement, which from what I’ve heard, is great too. We had a lovely welcome and were brought to our wonderful host families. From that point onwards, new, incredible memories were added each day. Medically speaking, It is fascinating to see how different medical care is there to what one is used to from home, what the interaction between nurses/doctors and patients is like and how patients and their families deal with diseases, and especially psychiatric conditions. You’re getting the chance to get an insight into all kinds of medical specialties and experience how medical care works in Nepal. There is a lot to learn, watch and observe. It is also possible to teach hygiene to school kids and participate in other outreach projects. All in all, It is the combination of everything being new and exciting and so very different for a while and getting into an entirely different routine after some time, that truly makes the experience. The amount of wonderful people, other volunteers and locals alike, that I have met during my time still overwhelms me. I still sometimes find myself in disbelief about it. I would also like to mention the time of the year that I travelled to Nepal: I was there from summer to late autumn/early winter which meant experiencing monsoon season as well as the start of the cold season, being there for trekking season and experiencing almost all of the big Hindu festivals first-hand which was absolutely incredible and magical. I definitely recommend this time of the year. I could talk all day about some of my dearest moments of the trip, but I’m sure you’ll make your own marvellous memories. So take all the numerous opportunities thrown in your way to make some once there ;).