Feeling Good

I can see why people who come as tourists may not like India. Being here for three weeks, moving every week, and never really integrating really puts you at a disadvantage. Nothing seems to make sense. Everything is complicated and you never know you're way around. Tourist India is just no fun. I'm very glad that I had the chance to live here. My first experience definitely made me appreciate so many things that I wouldn't have caught just as a tourist.

I'm feeling better about being in India now. I don't feel so lost and I'm back to bargaining. I had forgotten the cardinal rule about living in India: roll with the punches. It can be incredibly frustrating when nothing is what it's supposed to be and nothing works the way you think it would work, but if you let go of some of the control and just go with whatever comes your way, India is a great place to be. If the bus doesn't stop when you signal for it, you wait for the next one. No big deal. Coming from the States, I'm so used to being in "control" of everything. But if you really think about it, we're really not in control at all. I think what makes many people uncomfortable is that India makes it more apparent how powerless we really are. But I feel like it's more real, and that's why I like it. In a way, I'm more responsible for myself than I ever was in the States. I can't count on the police to protect me. If I walk through a puddle, I may fall in to the sewer, and there will be no one to blame but myself. I can't sue the city. No one will be outraged at all.

I'm such a tourist

Today I ate a pomelo while dangling my feet in the Ganga. It was wonderful.

I need to catch up on my laundry

I am now back in Dehra Dun after my week long stay in Landour. It was nice being at the hospital, away from the city, noise and pollution. Tomorrow I head off to Rishikesh to do yoga and learn about Ayuervedic medicine. This should be a very relaxing week since I won't be seeing patients. Just doing yoga and taking classes.

I saw my first cesarian section! That was incredibly exciting. I also learned how to measure the height of the uterus, feel for the head of the fetus in the womb and listen to the heart beat. And then I saw my first ultrasound and saw the fetus move around. I'm not going to lie, that was pretty amazing.

I love the kids here. They're all so bite sized and have these huge eyes with thick eyelashes. And when they have to wear their little uniforms for school! I walk by a whole group of them and hear a chorus of "Good morning madame." There was this one Tibetan kid in the hospital with bronchitis. He was always smiling and cheerful. When the doctors would come around he'd be flipping through magazines while they listened to his chest. I'd always make faces at him. I know you shouldn't play favorites with kids, but he was definitely my favorite.

After seeing all these kids with boils and abcesses to be drained, I have decided that sanitation is very important. Baths are not overrated and I take more bucket baths this time around. Especially since it was cold and rainy in Landour so I couldn't really do my laundry, it was very important to be clean. And I very much appreciate hot water. Washing long hair via a bucket bath is no fun if the water is freezing.

Um sorry for anyone who is trying to reach me. All week in Landour I didn't have cell phone service or easy access to internet. And now that I have internet access, gmail is not working. This is the first time it has failed me and I am sorely dissapointed. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to you soon.

Namaste!

Landour

Namaste!

This week, I am in Landour, which is the hillstation that I lived in for a month last time I was here. It's so nostalgic to be back here. I can remember the restaurants and the stores that we went to last time. I'm staying at the Landour Community Hospital. It's a pretty small hospital with about three or four doctors. The cases that I have seen are a little more serious that what I saw in the villages. In the villages, people mostly had colds and fevers.

Yesterday, I saw a tubal ligation, abcess drainage, and removal of a benign tumor. And today I got to see them remove a cyst from the top of a man's head. It was super cool. The power went out during the tubal ligation and it took a few minutes before the generator kicked in, but otherwise, it was all pretty standard.

You would faint if you saw the conditions that the doctors and patients have to deal with. Chipping paint, stains on the sheets and surgical gowns, rusty tables, power outages....the list goes on and on. It's quite shocking, but then again, what other choice do they have? The patients do get better. They come in with worms, infections, and abcesses and leave as healthy as they can be.

This trip has been very eye opening. Last trip I was learning about the country, its history, people, and culture. Now I'm actually confronting and facing the history, people, and culture. It's one thing to see people living in makeshift tents on the side of the road when I drive by. It's quite another thing to see the people come to you with tuburculosis, boils, and worms that they have to deal with in their day to day lives. We try to help them, but there's only so much that cough syrup, acetaminaphin, and antibiotics will do if the people continue to live in dank and unsanitary conditions. It's very sad to know that they'll probably come back in a month with the exact same symptoms.

I know it's been awhile...

Someone said my Hindi was very good!!!!

Sorry, I was just so excited about that, I just had to blurt it out. I mean, I wasn't exactly speaking Hindi. I was repeating the puja at the Ganges before giving an offering, but I guess I'm really good at reapeating in Hindi. Still, it was "very good!!!"

The reason I haven't been returning e-mail or posting is because I'm been in the village of Than Gaon for the past week. It's very nice up there and I sleep in a hut, take bucket baths, and wash my clothes by hand. Naturally, there is no internet. There is electricity, which is a plus, but no internet.

But yes, Than Gaon is a little village with about 200 people living in it. I was living in the Nature Quest compound which has a free clinic and school. I was observing Dr. Paul who is the doctor in charge up there. He's really sweet and I like him a lot. He's about 5'4", has a little pot belly, and pronounces "fish" as "pieze." We thought he was talking about peas and had no idea how you "catch peas" or what "salt peas" were until he pointed to a picture of a fisherman. He's also really interested in what Chinese people eat. Everyday, "Do you eat snake?" "Do you eat cat?" "Do you eat dog" on and on. He's especially interested in eating snakes. Dr. Paul is a very wise man. He was like, "In India, girls very good. They work very hard cleaning, cooking, and in school. The boys, they're all lazy." I'm looking forward to seeing him again next month.

There's not much to do in the village. I went to clinic twice a day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday we went on hikes to two villages, Bartoli and Masraj. Tuesday's hike was quite brutal. About three hours to get there and most of it was very steep and rocky. I didn't realize how much I was neglecting my body until I tried to use it. My bum was very sore the next day. There's also yoga offered twice a day. I went for the first three days, but then stopped. I guess I'm not sophisticated enough to appreciate it. I get bored and I feel like it's not very effective.

Next week we're off to Mussoorie to live in a hospital. I'm super excited since that was where I was living for a month last time I was in India. I think I'll have internet connection up there, so I'll be able to post some more stuff. And I have a cell phone! My number is 9319895522 and I get free, unlimited incoming calls (hint, hint) I don't know what the country code is for India, but I'm sure you can look that up on the internet. FYI: India is about ten and a half hours ahead of the East Coast.

That about it for now!

I'm Back!

I spent a couple of days visiting Laura in Norwich, England. That was a lot of fun and we went to visit Cambridge. So glad I got to go see her. I saw some Percy Pigs and it was weird to see them in their natural habitat. Usually, it's a great event whenever I see a pig.

Delhi is great, and it's almost like I never left. I must admit, I was a bit nervous coming back. I was afraid that I had romanticized my whole experience last time and I was going to come back hating it. But no, it's still as great as ever. It is a bit scary that I'm all by myself. No Brinda here to make sure I don't get Delhi Belly. No Marla or Mira to wander the streets with me. For the first time, I'm on my own and making my own itinerary. It's kinda nice. I'm still missing my India folk like crazy though. Wish you guys were here!

Now I've got to work on my Hindi and my crossing the street skills. Where's my cow?