Why was yesterday such a great day?

1. We had our first “sleep in” day – right up to 7:30am!

2. And then we awoke to Cathy peeking her head in our room and saying, “There’s a surprise outside!” What was the surprise? A total blue sky and the first clear view of the stunning Annapurna Range of mountains. We rushed up to the roof, giddy with anticipation, and were rewarded with amazing views of the massive mountains which have so far been covered by the clouds.

3. We had fun at Antenatal clinic at Gandaki Hospital, learning from the student nurses as they performed belly palpations and listened to fetal heart rates. Dozens and dozens of women were lined up and offered us welcoming smiles. It was good to be in the midst of pregnant women.

4. Our new placement in Baglung was approved! We’ll head out tomorrow.

5. We spent the afternoon at Lakeside and had our fave – Lassi’s.

6. We got our government approved letter to officially arrange our teaching workshop in Jomsom in early May.

7. We met Dharma Shila, a MIDSON member and nurse who will present the MIDSON portion of the workshop. She was so lovely and we look forward to getting to know her better. We are also glad to be working in collaboration with MIDSON for these workshops.

8. Our “peak” of the day: sitting in the little restaurant around the corner from our guesthouse showing Dharma Shila and Neelam (another MIDSON nurse) several videos (in Nepali language) about physiologic birth and watching for danger signs in newborns  to provide timely care. As soon as the other women in the restaurant heard the Nepali language they gathered around to watch too! It was so great. Three of the women who gathered were a grandmother, mother and daughter watching what good care immediately after birth could look like (and the videos are filmed in Nepal).