We just completed our first week of work.

In-country-training ended for us last week us and while the out-of-valley volunteers shipped out to their placements this week, most of the Kathmandu valley volunteers started work already, including me. Working an 8 hour day again after a 2 month hiatus took some time to get used to. Morning rituals now include using an alarm clock and beating the rest of the PGH guests to the showers before all the hot water is all used up.

My morning commute to work is always an adventure – battling chaotic traffic while trying to breath through the pollution and odours of Kathmandu. My body, which is used to living in one of the cleanest cities in the world is now trying to adjust itself to living here. By the end of each day, it either coughs up flem and/or sneezes out black gunk that is has accumulated. If my body could talk (or perhaps it already is), it is probably asking “What the heck are we doing here?!?!?”

I met with my first partner organization, General Welfare Pratisthan (GWP) and they seem to be wonderful people to work for. Already, I can probably guess what areas they need assistance in – MS Office application training, web site maintenance, anti-virus updates, and document management. They also have a larger field office in Hetauda which I have a feeling I will be making many site visits to. I am really looking forward to that and to getting out of the big city.

(this post was written while experiencing my 5th cold since I have arrived).