Tuesday... I am packed for an 11-day adventure

 It was another day of examinations in the Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics. I was just an observer for these oral exams. I can't tell you how impressed I am with the knowledge of students. They are hands-down more knowledgeable than any dental students in the US that I know. In fact, I would bet on these students in a head-to-head competition with US endodontic residents. These students are smart.

Here, the German students, Paula and Julia, are working with a Nepali student.

After work, I walked into town for a meal. I saw this typical scooter-load -- a man driving with 2 kids and his wife on the back. This is a Nepali mini-van! Only the driver is required to wear a helmet.

Seeing this backhoe is a very unusual sight. More typically, manual labor handles such tasks.

My late afternoon meal was a "Chicken Sizzler." It is a common dish at any restaurant in Nepal. It includes french fries, steamed vegetables, and grilled chicken breast-like-meat. There's usually some gravy drizzled over it and it sets on a bed of cabbage. This is served on super-heated iron skillet plate that resembles those of fajitas at US Mexican restaurants. Can you see the steam rising from it here?

I am packed and ready for my back-to-back trips to Bangladesh and India. I am required to notify Fulbright of my travel plans and did so accordingly. The Fulbright office thoughtfully called me today and suggested that I could travel directly from Dhaka to Kochi. I explained that my tickets were already set and the logistics seemed reasonable as planned. I appreciated their thought of trying to make my life/travel easier. They have been very supportive.

I'll go to Kathmandu with Dr. Kafle tomorrow late afternoon. I don't think I'll be back here to Dhulikhel until a week from Sunday. I am not taking my laptop to Bangladesh, so it may be a while till you see another posting here. But keep checking -- there should be one no later than Sunday -- and I should have some crazy stuff to share.

Namaste