About coffee, um, I mean water....

The coffee blog post was conceptualized over nine months ago when a long awaited Moka pot arrived with a visitor from the US. Since then we've done multiple taste tests with various brewing techniques and probably (definitely) consumed more than 1,000 cups of coffee in our home. But lest we get ahead of ourselves, this time of year reminds us just how precious the water is that's required to brew said coffee. So as a prerequisite to writing about coffee, we'll explain how the water gets to us in the first place.

Nepal's climate (and just about every other aspect of life) is dependent on the South Asian monsoon. Rains arrive predictably in June and stay till September, driving the annual agricultural cycles. April and May, however, are the hottest, driest months of the year, bringing with them often severe water shortages throughout the region. Furthermore, due to contamination of surface and ground water by things we'd rather not mention, safe water is even scarcer. Add to this our weak foreign stomaches and, well, lets just say a clean glass of water has become one of our most precious, appreciated commodities. (So is albendazole, but that's a different post all together.)

So how does a household get clean drinking water? There are a few options, really. But since our necks are as weak as our stomachs, we don't carry our own water up from the local tap. Rather, we've learned how to truck it in. And pump it. And filter it.

Step 1: Call the water truck. Pray that they have both water to fill their tanker and fuel to reach your house. (The tanker's hose runs down our driveway, into our ground tank.)

Step 2: Wait as 7,000 liters of water fill your ground tank.

Step 3: Pump water up to the roof, where 2000 liters can (and should) be stored.

Step 4: Turn on the tap -- but don't drink it! (And please don't judge our dishes.)

Step 5: Again, multiple options here that include boiling, bleach, UV light, and others. We prefer a simple carbon filter to make our water safe for drinking.

Step 6: Finally! Poor clean, drinkable water into your coffee brewing mechanism of choice. More on this step soon....

Ke Garne? (What to do?)

In my Nepali language classes, we are currently studying the Nepal wilderness. We learn about the forest, animals, bugs, etc. The community assignment for this chapter includes a trip to the zoo. However, I am learning even more about Nepal's wilderness in my own home.

While tackling the usual suspects (e.g. mosquitoes, geckos), I noticed a bug on our table. After killing and disposing of it, I noticed another... and another. Soon, it became very clear that the bugs were coming out of the table, boring holes through the wood. What?!? Not knowing what to do... I videotaped it. 

Afterwards, I sprayed insecticide in the holes. One little creature got caught halfway with his head at the hole opening. I couldn't quite live with him still in there but wasn't sure how to get him out. No worries, I remembered the good ol' scotch tape test for worms in med school and... voila! To all my medical friends, I promise the worm came from the table. =) 

After some consultation with Christine, our carpenter who built the table, and the internet, it appears these little creatures are powderpost beetles. Thankfully, they can cause some cosmetic damage, but not any extensive damage or further infestation. We're hoping their presence adds to the "distressed wood" look, rather than discourages future dinner guests. Ke garne? 

A Brilliant Move

What is going on here, you might ask? Well, often things don't quite fit down the narrow stairs. In this case, it's the couch. Nepalis are incredibly creative, and well, fearless. So, why not just send the couch over the balcony?!? Catch!

         Guess what happened:
            a. We need to buy a new couch.
            b. We learned more about the Nepal medical system from the patient perspective.
            c. Everyone survived and the couch looks great in our apartment.

Disasters - Ready or Not...

This small, beautiful country of Nepal has seen more than its fair share of natural disasters. Year after year, monsoon rains bring floods and landslides. And after the devastating earthquakes, the country has been looking to improve their disaster preparedness. Patan Hospital has led the country in developing and implementing a disaster plan. As a result, other hospitals have asked Patan for assistance to develop a similar, site-specific disaster plan.

Over the past month, Patan Emergency Department has worked with another hospital, Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre (SIRC), to improve their disaster preparedness. Recently, we ran a disaster drill to evaluate their response and implementation. Can I just say - this was a blast! We bused 50 medical students, make-up artists, videographers, and photographers an hour away to this hospital. Additionally, officials from the Ministry of Health, World Health Organization, and Army attended as participants, observers and evaluators.

SIRC did a great job. It was good learning experience for all of us. With the fresh memories from the recent earthquake, everyone understands all to well the critical nature of this preparation. Overall, this was a sweet day of watching hospitals and organizations work together to build the emergency response system in Nepal.

Make-up artists did a great job making wounds/injuries realistic.

One of the Emergency Medicine Fellows gives instructions to the army for the disaster drill. 

"Patients" being dropped off at the hospital. The hospital did a great job of triaging and managing all of the patients.

The medical students did an awesome job acting as patients injured in a building collapse.

The Restock

What would you do with 200 pounds? I'm not talking about the spendable pound sterling, but rather the precious and often pricey luggage weight allotted to air travelers. Thankfully we were two individuals flying internationally, so these pounds cost us nothing extra at all. (Until you consider the airfare itself.)

While I almost always avoid checking bags, preferring to travel light and avoid lost luggage, that rule definitely does not apply when it comes to the restock. That is, the glorious opportunity to fill our bags with favorite commodities from the US.

It won't take you long to notice the themes of this year's restock.

1. Coffee. By far our most regularly imported item. Customs officers must think we're running an illegal cafe out of our home. The post office may think the same, as we have amazing friends that send us regular supplies. Thankfully, the value-to-ounce ratio is--in our caffeinated opinion--quite high.

2. Canning supplies? We'll concede that neither of us is your typical canner. But seasonal produce includes exotic lychees and amazing mangoes, such that we'd even risk botulism to preserve them. (Hopefully there won't be any blog posts about that in the near future. But then, who would be able to type it?!)

3. Wool anything. This past month it was socks, but the last restock included long underwear. Unlike standard fabric blends, you can go for months without washing wool and it doesn't stink. Not that we've tried....

4. Emergency gear. Whether it's a large-scale disaster or a power outage due to shortages, camping stoves and backup batteries are our MVPs.

5. Shoes. Mainly because our 'merican-sized feet can't fit into anything here. That, and the trails tear through them quickly.

6. Chocolate. A perennial favorite. The high temperatures in South Asia require increased paraffin content to keep chocolate from melting. So while the wrapper may say "Hershey's," if it comes from Delhi it's just not the same. We love sharing real Hershey's s'mores and baked treats with expat and Nepali friends alike.

Before I get carried away, an essential clarification: I would much rather spend these pounds on people if I could, missing them a thousand times more than anything listed above.

But TSA frowns upon that practice, so for the time being, I'll enjoy baking Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookies. If only I could find some cooking fuel....