Medical Internship in Chitwan, Nepal

Almost two years ago, I decided that I wanted to do some sort of volunteer work in a foreign country. At the time, I was a pre-med student, so I settled on a medical internship. That was the easy part. After I decided what I wanted to do, I had to choose a program and a country. I googled something like, "volunteering abroad," and one of the first sites to pop up was Projects Abroad. After exploring the site and reading reviews, I decided that the program was perfect for me! At this point, I had the two of the three parts needed to start my trip. I looked at the Projects Abroad map, and looked for the country that was farthest away from my home. That's how I settled on Nepal as my temporary home for a month.

I landed in Kathmandu, Nepal with an information packet and a list of contact numbers. My airport pick-up was arranged by Projects Abroad through the hotel that I would be staying at for the next couple of days. The next morning, I was met by one of the Projects Abroad coordinators, who went over my information packet with me and answered my questions. The coordinator was incredibly helpful and made me feel very comfortable.

The next morning, I boarded a bus to Chitwan, a small, rural town four hours away from Kathmandu. I was escorted by a Nepalese man employed by Projects Abroad. I was shocked when the bus finally stopped in the middle of nowhere--which turned out to be my final destination. I have to say I absolutely LOVED Chitwan, which was largely due to the amazing host family I stayed with it. My host family consisted of a husband, wife, and their two sons. They were all so welcoming and helped my get used to my new surroundings.

Every morning, I walked about 8 minutes to a tuk tuk (rickshaw) stop, and rode it to the equivalent of main street in Chitwan. I then walked a short distance to the hospital where I had the opportunity to be assigned to a variety of departments. I learned a lot about how medicine is performed in Nepal and I even got to observe a few surgeries! I had an absolutely priceless and life-changing experience and I never once felt unsafe while in Nepal. Projects Abroad provided some amazing coordinators and staff who where on site to help guide me and the other amazing volunteers.