I told you in this post from last week that I was going to have a BIG surprise for you! This summer, I am going…
Wait.
Before I tell you, let’s first see what I’ve done in previous summers! You can click on the link to see the page.
- I spent last summer in Paris, France, with my sister, where we took care of a friend’s sister’s son and explored the world’s gastronomic capital.
- That summer, my family and I spent a week in the beautiful Sunshine Coast of British Columbia.
- The summer before that, I spent six weeks in Montreal, Quebec, where I lived in a homestay family, did activities with our YMCA group, and learned to speak French (kind of).
As you can see, I am a firm, firm believer that summers should certainly not be “wasted”!
Anyways…
I am going to be a medical intern in Kathmandu, Nepal, during the month of July!
Here are some of the details:
- I will be there for four weeks. Three weeks will be volunteering all day at the hospital, and one week will be for touristing and fun!
- I will live in a group home with a Nepalese family.
- I will be leaving from Vancouver at the end of June, and coming back in August.
- The hospital is in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital.
- I have to get shots 😦
- My aunt Mimi and uncle Charles have been to Nepal a couple of times.
- I will be going with Volunteering Solutions, an organization that does trips like this one. My school’s academic advisor recommended it.
- I will definitely be blogging there (hopefully every day) to keep everyone updated, and do it in a journal form.
I know.
Have you ever done a volunteer trip? What did you think of it? If you could go back in time to a summer that you didn’t do much, would you want to travel to volunteer?
I am so excited, but nervous of course!
Check out some of the interesting information I found online 🙂
22 Cool Things About Nepal
- HALF the population of Nepal survives on $1 per person per day.
- Nepal spends $68 on each person for healthcare each year.
- 80% of the world’s highest mountains are in Nepal.
- Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, is located here. Tourists attempting to conquer the great mountain helps the Nepalese economy.
- In Nepal, Everest is called “Sagarmatha”, which means the “forehead of the sky” (see #11).
- Nepal had never been colonized, despite the many attempts. There is no independent day.
- Nepal is South Asia’s oldest country.
- Buddha was born in Nepal.
- Nepal is sandwiched between India and China. Nepalese people aren’t Indian or Chinese, but rather proud to be Nepalis!
- 45% of Nepal’s population speaks Nepali (official language).
- 81% of the population is Hindu.
- The head is considered a sacred part of the body.
- Namaste, said with hands pressed together, is a Nepalese greeting. No handshakes here!
- According to the Nepali calendar, it is now the year 2073 and Nepali New Year is celebrated in mid-April.
- Cows are the national animal of Nepal. Slaughtering cows is absolutely banned.
- Nepal has the densest concentration of World Heritage Sites.
- Touching anything with the feet is considered offensive.
- Nepal’s flag is the only national flag that is NOT a square or rectangle! On the flag, blue represents peace and red is a sign of victory in war. The triangles symbolize the Himalayan mountains, and the white symbols show the two religions (Hinduism and Buddhism).
- Momo, a type of dumpling, is the most popular Nepalese fast food.
- 75% of adult women have NEVER had alcohol!
- The left hand should not be used for eating in Nepal.
- There has never been a clash in Nepal because of a religious or ethnic riot. In other words, religion has NEVER caused war or disagreements in Nepalese history.
What do you guys think?! I am so curious about your feedback, first impressions, and ideas!
Firstly welcome to Nepal. As we Nepalese say “Swagatam”. Its good to know that you are travelling this far to helping us with medical services. I am also a medical student and I wish to do the same thing like you. How do you organise these trips? And of course thanks for choosing Nepal. Visit again. Soon. Nepal loves you. 🙂
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[…] I’ve been to Disneyworld and Disneyland in California and Florida (as a kiddo) and lived in Taiwan and China for a couple weeks. Two summers ago, I lived in Quebec and spent last summer with my sister in France (BEST. SUMMER. EVER). We’ve also visited the lovely Sunshine Coast before I moved to Waterloo, Ontario. This summer I’ll be able to add to this map because I will be living in Nepal! […]
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Wow that’s such an amazing opportunity! I hope you have an awesome time there. (:
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Thanks Rachel! I can’t wait to see all your updates from KOREA! Are all the plans set?
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i won’t be going to Korea anymore this year.. ): but i will be going to Taiwan and visiting home in China again 😀
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WOW! Amazing. How long is the trip? Are you gonna be in BC during August? 😀
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yess! im leaving at the beginning of July and coming back the second Tuesday back. are you coming back? :3
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Yeah! I’ll be back for all of August, which is so exciting! 🙂 Can’t wait to see good old Coquitlam again
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oh wowww thats awesome! we must hang out 😀
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I know! I can’t wait. Any café/restaurant ideas? Have you been anywhere delicious recently? Miss you!
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too many delicious places recently! we gotta brainstorm for cafes/ restaurants though bc we both know how indecisive we are (; miss you too girlie!
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Definitely! I’ll message you as soon as I’m unpacked in BC and ready to explore 🙂
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😁😁😁😁😁😁
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Oh my goodness! I’m so excited for you Cindy! I’ve never been to Nepal, so I can’t wait to live vicariously through your travels haha. Good luck with those shots 😦 😦 You’ll get through them!! I feel for you though! 😦
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Oh, shots are the worst! But it’s definitely worth it to explore the new country, and to (possibly) avoid getting sick 😛
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Looks like you have an exciting summer planned! You will have to keep us all updated on the blog! 🙂
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Thank you! 🙂
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That sounds like it will be quite an adventure 🙂 Good luck!
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Thanks Annika! Hope you can “come along with me” by checking out the blog this summer 🙂
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Of course, I’ll keep an eye on it.
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[…] Super exciting plans for this summer! […]
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The cows and Buddha facts about Nepal are so wonderful 🙂 I am SO jealous that you’re going to such an exotic and beautiful country! I am very excited to see your documentation of your time there! If I could do a volunteer trip, I’d also want to visit Asia or Australia!
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Girl, you made me realize that I’ve NEVER seen a real cow before in person :O
Join me! It would actually be so cool if we had a blogger rendezvous… in Nepal, haha! Do you have any plans for the summer?
Australia seems beautiful as well. The coral reefs are on my bucket list!
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Very very cool! I went to boarding school in those very same mountains 1,106km from there. You will love it!
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Did you really?! Oh my goodness! That is so cool. The blogosphere is really filled with some amazing and interesting people with the coolest stories and connections 🙂 That sounds incredible and I’m happy that you think I will enjoy it!
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Yes, just next-door in India. I know you will enjoy it! They will be forever memories.
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Ahh!! How exciting! I can’t wait to read a long. I’ve done mission work in Ethiopia and absolutely loved my time there.
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Wow! How long were you there for? Did you live with a host family? What kinds of things did you do? 😀
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Awesome! I’m so excited for you! I really mean it. I’ve been wanting to go to Nepal myself for a while now. This is going to be an incredible, memorable, and life-changing experience for you, I’m sure! 😀
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You travel everywhere! I am surprised you haven’t already been 😉
Thanks for the kind wishes! I will try to be as diligent as you are about updating everyone via the blog.
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I look forward to reading all your posts from Nepal!
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Thank you Elle 🙂
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Wow this is an awesome opportunity & I am so happy for you! Looks like you enjoy traveling :). I wish you the best in your medical career and adventures. Blessings
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Thank you Yadeï! Your comment made me smile. Thanks for the kind wishes and I hope you have the loveliest weekend.
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This is so awesome that you are doing this!!! Good job! I am travelling quite a bit this summer too so I’m glad to see we are both spending our summers doing things we enjoy! It’s a big step for me, since my job won’t allow me to take so much time off and I will have to talk to my boss soon about my options for this summer, you’ll hear all about it in a blog post sometime in the future I’m sure, I’ll stop going off on a babble and leave it for that post haha!
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Stephanie! 😀 I didn’t know you were working while in school – is it part-time. Does McGill have a co-op program? I really do want to hear all about your work and summer plans in a future post, so I am looking forward to that!
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Nope, I actually work part time at a bank! Very unrelated to nutrition or my field of study haha. Since people from my job read my blog, I’ll only really share it once I’ve settled everything with my boss! For now, I will see how things play out 🙂
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Good luck, Stephanie! Rooting for ya!
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You’ve had some great summers trip wise and Nepal sounds like it’s going to be an amazing trip as well. Congratulations on your outgoing and humanitarian spirit. 🙂
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Thank you very much! Your comment really means a lot to me. I appreciate it. 🙂 Sending a big hug from Waterloo!
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