Two Week Countdown

Tick-tock, tick-tock, time to start the countdown. Fingers are still crossed because it's all so unpredictable...knock on wood. In the meatime, while I wait and work on the lesson plans, it's a good time to learn some of the language. Could I find a Nepalese phrase book at the library? No. Am I going to buy one? No. So, of course, I headed to the ol' internet and came upon some good sites. I'm starting with this video tutorial and am writing out the phonetics. It's not scientific or accurate but it will get me started and comfortable with the sound of the language. There's no chance I'll be able to read any of it. Let's be realistic. So where do I start. At the beginning: Namaste. K chhaa? Teekai chha!

Getting ready to go again...fingers crossed.

Oh yeah! I'm starting the re-education process before leaving for Nepal early October: reading up on current affairs (always interesting), examining the language (with some trepidation), getting updates on my task while there (it's expanding...gulp).

So today I'll try to sort out my work plan. I've been given this mandate:

IDS Nepal is a non-profit, non-government, developmental organization established by professionals who have experiences in engineering, energy, environment, health, sanitation, skill development and social development field.

The main objective of IDS Nepal is to uplift the life of poor and underprivileged people by conceptualizing, formalizing and facilitating implementation of community managed development projects through their active participation in every step of the project cycle. IDS Nepal focuses on their capacity build up and their ownership of development process. Its’ major working area is on infrastructure engineering, alternative energy, environment, drinking water, health, sanitation and skill upgrading training in related field.

Uniterra and IDS Nepal have been working together for the past two years to promote Bio-Briquettes as alternative source of energy and livelihoods for the forest users. Through intervention of two Uniterra volunteers in the past, a BGRCNN (Bio Briquette Resource Centre Network) has been established that counts as members major Bio Briquette promoters of Nepal. Currently, there is a long term Uniterra volunteer who is working on marketing of Bio-Briquettes. At the same time, a Bio Briquette marketing company has been established in order to provide marketing support to the producers. IDS still plays a strong role in technical support and knowledge dissemination.

The purpose of this assignment is to revise the IDS, Bio Briquette Marketing Company and BGRCNN websites, propose appropriate change and interlink them so all of them can be used for the promotion of bio-briquettes nationally and internationally.

Since the skill for web design and update is in demand from most Uniterra partners, the volunteer will also be responsible for conducting training on web layout, design and update to the interested partner organizations including IDS.

And I've been told that October 17th-20th is the Festival of Tihar in Nepal so I will have to work around these public holidays.

BTW, here's a great Nepal travel guide online

Back on Track

All systems go! I've heard back from L4C and they're waiting for me in Kathmandu in October. I liked hearing that..."they're waiting for you". It makes me feel welcome. I've been hearing some concerns from other L4Cers who are currently overseas and feeling less-than-welcome. I thought, oh, please don't let that happen to me. It's reassuring.

I'm really looking forward to this and I hope I can give them what they want. For now, I'm too busy to worry about it; swamped at work organizing the Festival of Learning in August. Festivals, events, technology, design...I love my job.

A New Coordinator at L4C

Things look a bit uncertain for me at the moment. I saw my posting advertised online and thought it wise to drop the new coordinator a line. She got back to me and let me know that the program's changing a bit and my posting may or may not change...depending. I'm not worried, just a little curious about where I may go: Africa, Asia, who knows...

Roller Coaster Ride

Well, I received word from Uniterra that I am good to go for June 5th. Unfortunately this isn't going to work out - and I'm getting a little swamped at work. So it looks like I will have to wait until the Fall to go. Again a bit disappointing...missed it by 2 weeks...

On another note, I received some emails from the insurer which were kind of weird. They were asking about results from the medical test. I was told that a short term leave didn't require a medical examination and said so in an email to them. That seemed to be OK. The questions on the insurance application form were crazy though. They wanted to know all about my family, their ages and if they died, when and how. I'm not sure they're allowed to ask these questions. Be prepared for a weird form.

This is turning into a roller coaster ride and I'm cool with that. I'm pretty flexible but I can imagine how this might frustrate a lot of folks. If you have some disappointments, no worries. It makes the journey all the more intriguing, stay tuned...

SNAFU!

• Police Record Check - done
• Immunizations - done
• Passport - done

All systems go? Not quite. Due to political instability in Nepal I cannot leave for Kathmandu on Thursday as scheduled. Unfortunately I do not know when I will be able to go. Although this is dissapointing it is not totally unexpected. having read the political history of Nepal, political volatility is frequent. I've considered delaying the trip until the Fall becasue of an increasing workload at my work.

Hopefully I'll hear back from the Nepalese partners soon so I can make plans. At least everything else is done. No more needles...YAY!

To read up on the latest political news in Nepal, click here. I recommend keeping up on the latest news to be better prepared for the trip.

Vaccinations...sigh...

Rule of Thumb: Do your research first!

I was given a list of vaccinations for Nepal: typhoid, hepatitis A&B, Japanese encephalitis, malaria (in Terai).

Here's some advice:

• Start your shots a month ahead of time. You will need 21 days for the hepatitis A & B which is a series of three shots, 1, 7, 21 days. By the way, it's about $70 per shot. I won't have time for the 3rd shot before I leave but my Doctor recommends getting the third shot when I come back.
• I had all perscriptions filled at the pharmacy except for the Japanese encephalitis. The Typhoid shot had to be ordered, which only took a day. It's cheaper going to your doctor than a travel clinic. The doctor charges $10 for the injection.
• I'm not an expert but I would recommend thinking twice about getting the Japanese encephalitis, unless you will be in Nepal for more than a month. It's insanely expensive ($600) and the travel doctor thought it would be nuts..and it would have to be ordered in. I didn't get the shot. This is not something you can get through your regular doctor and pharmacy.
• Malaria is not 100% necessary but recommended if going to Terai. I hope to go to Terai so I got some pills. There are different pills you can buy. I splurged on the expensive Maleron that you take everyday. Super expensive ($5/pill) but less chance of going squirrely with hallucinations. Also found out that the Leave for Change program doesn't cover Maleron. Lesson learned, read the fine print.
• Check out this useful website for vaccination details: http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/destinationList.aspx#N

If anyone asks...and for some reason I was asked...about Typhoid Mary, tell them she was a cook in the early 1900's who infected a lot of people with Typhoid. She was a carrier and was in denial so did nothing to prevent spreading the disease: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoid_Mary