I still am short on time to write these posts, so I apologize for scatteredness and/or improper grammar (sorry Mom!). As I was trying to fall asleep last night, I realized that I forgot some awesome details about our 12 hour bus ride to Jamkhed yesterday! I had many firsts:
1. My first monkey spotting in real life! They were just chillin on the side of the highway - it was hilarious! We were driving through more of a highland region when we saw them. Cute litte things, though I'm sure they're full of diseases.
2. My first experience using a squatty potty. Here are some good tips: spread your feet wide, and squat low. I managed to do this successfully without getting anything on my pants or feet. Success!
3. My first experience eaing real Indian cuisine came when we stopped for lunch at a hotel restaurant on the side of the road. I think we frustrated the waiter a lot (he actually ran his fingers through his hair and pulled it at one point), but we tried two dishes at my table: Chicken Methie and Chicken Chili and Noodles. They were surprisingly good! We also had buttered nan on the side, which is similar to a thick tortilla. The only downside to the eating experience is that my pee smelled like the dishes that I ate for about the next 12 hours. Weird.
So those are the bus ride details that I forgot to write about yesterday. I'm rooming with Michelle Busscher and Beth Cousinau, two other senior nursing students. Don't remember if I said that in my last post? We're having a lot of fun figuring out how to use the water heater in the shower (which only keeps water warm for about 1.5 minutes, seriously.), looking for spiders underneath our bed, and reminding each other to take our malaria pills and use bottled water to brush our teeth.
At 6am every morning, we learned, hundreds of crows descend upon the compound in trees right next to our window. Convenient. They sqwak like nothing I've ever heard - they're so loud that they actually wake us up! Then, after we're good and wide awake, the crows leave around 6:45am. Thank you, crows. Thank you for a consistent wake up call. Apparently there's also a lot of gekkos here, which help keep the mosquito population down. No sign of those yet, though.
This morning we heard from Dr. Arole himself - one of the original doctors who began CRHP. His story of how this compound came to be, and how they were successful, is incredible. I'll write more about this later, I'm sure, but they used the caste system to both empower women and those in the lower castes to improve their health and the health of their communities as a whole. As we are learning, health = development for communities, especially those in poverty. Health does not equal medical care, but instead correcting problems such as poor drinking water, unsafe environmental conditions, and malnourishment. 50% of children in India do not have enough to eat. These are just some of the detials that we are learning about, and we have so much more to learn.
How is the weather in Michigan? Outside the sun is shining, it's 76 degrees, and my face is actually a little bit burned. Just thought I'd rub it in a little :)
Love,
Car
Car Bear,
ReplyDeleteIf your pee is smelling like the food, you're doing everything right! Embrace the smell of your sweat, the taste of the different food, and the way your stomach churns at the food that looks more like goop than eatable material. That's what a developing country is all about!
While you are soaking up the sun, we're soaking up puddles of melted snow in the apartment. I heard on the radio this morning that some parts of Michigan will get 10 inches of snow today alone. Oh, Michigan.
Hugs and kisses are crossing the ocean from Theta 33.
It's 28 degrees in Ann Arbor with light snow, and I was just about to get a little lunch today when the fire alarm sounded in the building, so instead, we assisted patients down the stairwells and out of the building into the cold where they had to stay until we received the "all clear". It's NOT 76 and sunny here, but we're glad that it is where you are!
ReplyDeleteOh, you nurses, telling it like it is... loved your squatty potty tips and additional comments about food and pee. We appreciate all the great details and descriptions about what you are learning and experiencing!
Have to get back to work, but will write more later. All my love, Mom :)
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.
1 Peter 4:10
It's so nice to read your updates from half way across the world! Sounds like you are TOTALLY immersed in everything different from what you know...as you should be. (Though apparently there are crows everywhere in the world.) How amazing it is to be surrounded by more of God's children and to see another corner of the earth He created.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right that changes in health care (and thus in quality of life) begin from the ground up, and not from national policies unless they address the day to day issues. Can't wait to hear more about the work being done to help with these issues in this area of India.
Thanks for rubbing it in about the temperature ;) I have been worrying that the cans of food in my car might freeze while I'm at work. Sending love, prayers, and hugs. -Kris