I have wanted to volunteer overseas for many, many years. I tried to do so when I turned 50, but couldn't get my practice covered. Now in my IT job, it's much easier to get extended time off. With a great boss, supportive colleagues, and my terrific wife, I arranged to spend a month teaching internal medicine in Bhutan through Health Volunteers Overseas. HVO is pretty cool, and more on them as we go along.
I generally don't think of myself as a particularly interesting person, and I'm certainly not self-absorbed enough to think that anyone really cares what I do on a day to day basis. I'm not sure I care what I do on a day to day basis. However, this little gig is a bit different, and maybe worth tracking, at least a little bit.
My interest in Asian culture is longstanding, and Bhutan has particularly tantalizing-- Tibetan Buddhism, the Himalayas, and a concerted effort by the country to maintain its identity and prevent global homogenization. The cost of that has been limited access to things Westerners take for granted: roads, Internet, access to a wide variety of products, etc. Over the past several years, the current king has made a successful effort to balance between some progress and access to the better stuff the west has to offer, while maintaining a national identity.
So... I have gotten my act together to do this and leave on November 28th. It's going to be cold there, so I've got my cold weather gear. Apparently, it's not so much that it is cold outside, but it is cold inside. There's no central heating anywhere, and apparently hi tech polypropylene long underwear is a lifesaver at the hospital during long procedures. I have a netbook loaded with UpToDate, a couple of pulmonary physiology books, my Little Black Book of Pulmonary Medicine, and my usual medical tools. I have two cameras (I'd kill myself if I brought one camera and it failed!!), a water purifier, and a bunch of other creature comfort things. I brought lots of earplugs. Semi-feral dogs roam the streets of Thimphu and carry on all night-- earplugs according to previous volunteers are a must.
I will be the third internal medicine volunteer working in Bhutan under the auspices of HVO. They've sent lots of anesthesiologists, ER docs, physical therapists, and orthopedists. There are no subspecialty trained internists in the country, I believe, and I'm not sure what they are going to do with me; I think we will be doing a lot of singing a capella here.
I start from Portland early Sunday morning (the 28th), fly to Chicago, and then fly to Tokyo. I change planes in Tokyo and continue on to Bangkok, where I will lay over two nights, catch my breath and try and adapt a little to the time change, and then on to Paro International Airport in Bhutan via Druk Air, the only international airport in the country and the only airline authorized to fly into Bhutan. Apparently, the airline is really strict about weight limits so uncharacteristically I booked business class on this leg, because I get 30kg instead of 20 kg allowance. With all the books and equipment I'm bringing (and that I'm staying for a month) my baggage is a little on the heavy side.
Next installment: Getting to Paro.
My interest in Asian culture is longstanding, and Bhutan has particularly tantalizing-- Tibetan Buddhism, the Himalayas, and a concerted effort by the country to maintain its identity and prevent global homogenization. The cost of that has been limited access to things Westerners take for granted: roads, Internet, access to a wide variety of products, etc. Over the past several years, the current king has made a successful effort to balance between some progress and access to the better stuff the west has to offer, while maintaining a national identity.
So... I have gotten my act together to do this and leave on November 28th. It's going to be cold there, so I've got my cold weather gear. Apparently, it's not so much that it is cold outside, but it is cold inside. There's no central heating anywhere, and apparently hi tech polypropylene long underwear is a lifesaver at the hospital during long procedures. I have a netbook loaded with UpToDate, a couple of pulmonary physiology books, my Little Black Book of Pulmonary Medicine, and my usual medical tools. I have two cameras (I'd kill myself if I brought one camera and it failed!!), a water purifier, and a bunch of other creature comfort things. I brought lots of earplugs. Semi-feral dogs roam the streets of Thimphu and carry on all night-- earplugs according to previous volunteers are a must.
I will be the third internal medicine volunteer working in Bhutan under the auspices of HVO. They've sent lots of anesthesiologists, ER docs, physical therapists, and orthopedists. There are no subspecialty trained internists in the country, I believe, and I'm not sure what they are going to do with me; I think we will be doing a lot of singing a capella here.
I start from Portland early Sunday morning (the 28th), fly to Chicago, and then fly to Tokyo. I change planes in Tokyo and continue on to Bangkok, where I will lay over two nights, catch my breath and try and adapt a little to the time change, and then on to Paro International Airport in Bhutan via Druk Air, the only international airport in the country and the only airline authorized to fly into Bhutan. Apparently, the airline is really strict about weight limits so uncharacteristically I booked business class on this leg, because I get 30kg instead of 20 kg allowance. With all the books and equipment I'm bringing (and that I'm staying for a month) my baggage is a little on the heavy side.
Next installment: Getting to Paro.
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