"Taxi? Taxi?"

I landed in Kathmandu at 7:50pm local time, that's GMT+5.45 after a minor delay in Hong Kong, and here I am.
I can honestly say on first impressions, it beats everything I imagined it would be.  The houses are bigger, the smells stronger, the people busier - it's a real assault on the senses.  Amid cries of "Taxi?  You want taxi?"  I shuffled my way through Immigration, where I finally managed to get a Tourist's Visa for £70 (roughly $100 US) but contrary to everything I've read on the internet, my maximum stay on this visa is only 90 days.  For me that's fine, because Dhulikhel Hospital will be extending my visa, but if there is anyone who wants to stay in Nepal for longer than this duration, you will need to renew it.  Renewal isn't a problem, they barely checked my passport, except you have to make your way back to the airport in order to do so.
My driver was a lean smiling man who spoke little English, and refused to let me push my own luggage.  Meeting him made me realise I need to learn Nepali - and fast.  Very few Nepalese speak English beyond the basics, and while the Devanagari script is pretty much impossible to read straight away, the Nepali language is a distant cousin of the French language.  Nepali and French share the same grammatical structures, so with that in mind, I shall see how much progress I make learning Nepali.
After around 45 minutes of darkness, narrow roads, big cars and lots of motorbikes, we arrived at our destination - Dhulikhel Lodge Resort.  Dr Biraj had kindly informed me that for my first night, he wanted me to sleep comfortably and had checked me into the hotel with food ready and waiting for my late arrival.  The best part?  I had internet!  I spent most of the night on my laptop, fearing that it could be the last time I use it for a while.  Nepal is notorious for power cuts, so anyone travelling without a torch or candles (i.e. me) is silly - come prepared!  A headtorch would be even better, if you can get a hold of one.
I woke up today forgetting where I was, then panicking I had slept in and my ride had been and gone.  After a cold shower,  I spent a day back and forth from Dhulikhel Hospital for lunch and dinner with some new found friends.  Everyone I've met today has been lovely.  From the two little boys who wanted me to take their picture to the land lady's daughter, I've never met people who want to help a foreigner out so much.  Especially when I started to pull a push gate and one of the said little boys hopped across the road to let me into my own apartment... My guide/new found friend C has been wonderful to me.  It's been so daunting, every minute I've been left alone has felt like an hour, but he's been chauffeuring me back and forth on the back of his motorbike along with my other new found friend P.  They both work in Community Programme Development at Dhulikhel Hospital, and I'll hopefully get to see their work on Friday at one of their Outreaches.
Dhulikhel is green, really green.  There are what look like rice paddies across the road from my bedroom, and lots of little convenience stores dotting the distance between where I live and the hospital, which looks like it could be around a half hour walk.
This is utterly the scariest thing I have done my whole life, but I think I'm ready for it.  I'll keep you posted because tomorrow is my first day at work, and I sure do need a shower.