Cockroaches!!!! "everybody run......"

July 29, 2011

As I drink my last cup of authentic Indian chia tea and write my last blog from India I have mixed emotions.  When Chris, my partner/roommate, left two days ago I felt a little reverse culture shock.  I had been with him day and night for the last 4 weeks so we grew to know each other very well.  After he was gone I felt like I did when I left the US: alone and a little lost.  It was something new to be alone even though the rest of the group members were still here. 

Last night Jeff, Daniel, Joell, Matti, Felecia and I took out Mayank and Mr and Mrs. Mehta for a nice supper.  Mr. and Mrs. Mehta are our house parents and Mayank is the local coordinator.  It was really fun reminiscing and looking back on all our fun adventures.  After we got home I packed and should have gone to bed because I had a big day of travel ahead of me, but I stayed up and talked with some of the others.  Talk about amazing backgrounds…

Felecia:  won the national jump rope competition in 2009, competed on a team later for the world competition and placed 3^rd.

Matti: received her neuroscience masters studying in Denmark, speaks French, English, German, and Spanish, traveled all across the world, and rock/ice climbs with some of the best climbers in the world

Mary: went to Harvard undergrad and knows Marc Zuckerburg (inventor of Facebook)

How interesting are those people!!!!   The best part is I didn’t find most of these things out until the end of our stay because everyone here is so humble.

Anyways, after these conversations it should have been bed time but….. India couldn’t let my last night in the country be so relaxing.  As I was looking at ice climbing photos of Matti, I looked up to see a cockroach scampering across the floor! I had only seen maybe one or two in my life so I wanted to look at it more closely.  After capturing it under a cup and throwing it outside I went to the kitchen to put the cup in the sink.  I turned on the lights there were cockroaches EVERYWHERE!  In the sink, on the floor, under the stove…. Yuck!  I freaked out and started hop-scotching across the floor to escape.  Pretty soon they started flooding out of the kitchen into the living room where everyone was.  We equipped ourselves with spray deodorant, Off bug spray, flashlights and a broom to fend them off.  After searching throughout the house we killed 54 cockroaches (all adults, there were another 50 baby ones too).  I guess when it rains it pushes them out of the pipes and they invade houses…India strikes again! Haha

At least I had a memorable last night in India.  The taxi is coming to drive me to the airport in 30 minutes.  I’m going to miss India and the ridiculous adventures I had, but will remember them for the rest of my life. 

Top stories:

1.     Night in Mumbai

2.     Vacation in the Himalayas

3.     Hysterectomy gone bad

4.     Sleeper Bus Fiasco

5.     Cockroach invasion

6.     Homeopathic Treatment

7.     Mo-peds in Rishikesh

8.     Elephant Rides

9.     Driving in Goa

10.  Night on the town with Mayank

Au revoir India!

A Day on the Town

July 24, 2011

As I start my last week in India I realize I have neglected to keep up my journal as well as I should have.  Afer spending the week in Rishikesh I am again in Dehradun for my final week.  This weekend we spent relaxing around the homestay and hanging out with the local coordinator named Mayank.  Even though he’s 32 we’ve developed a really good relationship and he’s a friend instead of a coordinator now.

Friday night Chris, Navi, Mayank and I went out on the town for a meal and to just hang out.  Mayank took us to a bar/restaurant where we shared some brews and shared stories over our amazing Indian meal.  I’ve really started liking Indian food… guess that’s what happens when you eat it for two months. 

Me, Chris, Navi, Mayank toasting to India.

Saturday morning Chris and I slept in, and then Mayank came and picked us up to go to India’s National Forrest Institute Museum.  It was really pretty and fun to explore the different rooms.  All the wood on display had the same distinct smell I remember from my grandpa’s garage in Montrose, CO.  Mayank and I grew restless looking at all the plant diseases in each room and started goofing around taking funny pictures.  Chris on the other hand was enthralled by all of the information.  It was fun to watch Mayank give Chris a hard time for going through the museum so slowly.  Afterwards Mayank took us to one of his favorite hole-in-the-wall cafes where we ordered 3 meals and 4 desserts for under 6 dollars total (those US dollars sure go  long way in India J)  Then we went and bought a kilogram of mangos from a fruit stand because we hadn’t had mangos all week in Rishikesh.  So I need to inform everyone about mangoes in India.  I don’t think I’ve explained their deliciousness yet.

Mayank and I goofing around at the museum.

So there are fruit stands absolutely everywhere selling every type of fruit under the sun.  The fruit that outshines all the others is the mango.  THEY ARE SO GOOD!  You can peel them super quick, hold this giant juicy piece of almost pure fruit in your hand, and take large bites out of it until it’s gone.  The juices running over your fingers and down your chin.  The taste is sweeter than candy, and it almost melts in your mouth.  They aren’t stringy like the ones in the US.  Some days I’ve been known to eat 5 or 6 as dessert at a meal.  Because of my limited self-discipline when it comes to mangos or chai tea, I justify my indulgences by telling myself I only have such luxuries for a limited time.  Mangoes are probably the number one thing I will miss the most from India., second is chai tea. Haha.

Guard at the museum let me switch hats for
a picture.  Twins represent!

After mango shopping Chris, Navi and I went souvenir shopping in the markets.  By the time we returned home, Chris and Navi both had bags of new merchandise.  I couldn’t find anything that I really wanted because I had already bought most of my souvenirs in Mumbai.

Shopping for mangos.  I'm holding a papaya and a coconut.
Mangos are the ones in front.

Sunday (today) has been spent with me sleeping in till 10, having porridge and chia for breakfast, quiet time with C.S Lewis and now I’m listening to music and writing this entry.

I know it sounds kind of cliche to say I’ve changed a lot in two months, but I think I have changed in some regards. 

1. Self-confidence and independence is way higher (feel like I can kinda do anything on my own or at least survive in a new area and don’t define myself quite as much on how others value me)

2.  Understand homeopathy, naturopathy, reiki, acupressure, and some of the reasoning behind their invention.

3. Understand India allopathic medicine is DIFFERENT from US allopathic medicine no matter what someone says… they’re different.

4. Struggled with how horrible the poverty problems are here (this one was tough).

5. Understand that most strangers are really nice and anyone is a potential friend.

6. Realized that LANGUAGE is the hands-down most important tool in this type of environment

7. Most importantly: Felt like I’ve grown in a deeper, richer, one-on-one relationship with God and I’m way less “by myself” or lonely because God really is always there.  He’s the best best-friend, big brother, dad, and KING imaginable.
 

I’ve probably learned more, but these are just some of the highlights.  It’s impossible to describe everything I’ve experienced and even really hard to flesh out in tangible ways how I’ve grown.  Again, I’ve only been here two months, which isn’t that much time.  I’ve grown a little bit but I’m not like the hobbits of Lord of the Rings leaving the Shire as weaklings and returning transformed as warriors.

R&R

July 20, 2011

This one-armed monkey sat just outside
of our room on the walkway's ledge. 
Right after taking this photo the monkey
charged me and I ran back to our room
for cover.

This week seems like another vacation.  Chris and I are staying in an ashram in Rishikesh (Yoga capital of the world).  The place runs kinda like a commune with motel style housing.  We wake up at 7:55, go to Yoga, they deliver breakfast to our room, meet with Dr. Morgan for half hour lecture, free till 5 when we meditate for 30 min.  Because Chris and I aren’t flexible, the Yoga instructor usually has us stretch our ankles, wrists, and other easy stretches then has us lay on our back and “meditate” for the rest of the practice.  I always end up falling asleep.  For breakfast we get two bananas, chipati bread, and a bowl of beans.  I’ve stopped eating the beans because they aren’t exactly breakfast food.

In our free time we usually go to “The Little Buda Café” for lunch.  It is on the top floor of a building and overlooks the Ganges.  The place is decked out in bamboo for the ultimate tourist experience and serves a mean mango milkshake.

Just drinking a coke, overlooking the Ganges, watching the orange people bathing in the "clean"
river.

At the beginning of the week we rented scooters because walking stinks and we’re really lazy (we wear helmets and drive slow).  There are no cars on the roads because it’s small market area roads, but there are lots of people.  The reason there are so many people is because for the next two weeks, there is a festival going on here and Hardwar were 100,000 Hindu’s are making a pilgrimage to the Ganges.  They all wear bright orange head to toe and walk around shouting chants in big groups.

Flashing the gang signs while driving scooters around Rishikesh.
This was the average size of the roads, with LOTS of people
staring and walking by.  Indians honk continuously, so when I drove
I let out my frustrations by honking A LOT! Hey...when in Rome.

Anyways, I have a funny story.  Yesterday we were at an Internet café working on secondaries and checking e-mails when it started to monsoon downpour.  We had an appointment for a massage we didn’t want to miss so we decided to try and ride scooters in the rain.  After buying 20 rupee (50 cents) ponchos made of garbage bags sewn together, we hopped on the mo-peds and were off.  It was the most fun mo-ped ride I’d ever taken.  The water in the streets was about 6-10 inches deep with even deeper puddles in spots.  As we crashed and swerved through the torrential rain, I couldn’t help but laugh.  The poncho kept me dry for probably the first 30 feet.  Chris was in front and speeding because he owns a mo-ped in the states.  He missed a turn and tried to hit the brakes which made him tip over.  Before I knew it he was on the ground with 8 orange people swarming him to help him up and pick up his scooter (even though the people here stare, they are the nicest, most helpful people ever).  He was probably on the ground for less than 2 seconds and wasn’t hurt at all.  However, the mo-ped wouldn’t turn on.  Finally after 10 minutes of trying to kick start it, the engine turned over.  We arrived late to our massage so we had to reschedule it for today.  The only reason we’re doing massages in the first place is the fact there 5 bucks for 45 minutes, and it will “help us understand naturopathic therapy better.” 

The oldest man in India, reading the
oldest book in India! bahahaha

This month’s program is proving to be much more structured with built in vacation time.  It’s nice.  Only 1.5 weeks left.

Mysterious Medicine

July 12, 2011

Today was our second day (Chris and me) in Derhadun.  Morning clinic is from 12-2:30 shadowing a cardiologist.  He is SO busy.  He told us he sees around 50-60 patients a day, and he treats all kinds of things.  He is an allopathic doctor.  However, he comes off as very pompous and arrogant.  He doesn’t let us take blood pressures that often and is always on his phone.  It’s hard to understand him when he talks to us because it’s so fast and quiet.  Today there was an ambulance because a man fell and was paralyzed from the neck down.  The doctor didn’t tell us where he was going, stood up and left the room.  Chris thought we should follow so we did, and discovered the Dr was going to the ambulance to see the new patient. 

We then take lunch from 2:30-4.  Today we ate at a roadside/street vendor/snackshop that was amazing.  I ate 3 vegi burgers (pre-made) and a mango shake all for around 60 rupees ($1.50).  The burger patti’s were potatoe deep fat fried in between a fresh bun that had also been deep fat fried.  Gut bomb but OH did it taste so good J.  It seems that most street vendors in India are frying stuff. 

Next we had our Reiki lecture with a Dr. who had received 5 or 6 diplomas and was around 95 years old.  He talks very slowly and methodical and asks rhetorical questions he expects us to answer.  So far we have covered the 7 chakras with their matching symbols, colors, smells, and sounds.  For instance, the lowest chakra’s smell is “earthy” (like after a fresh rain) and it’s sound is the sound of fire (LUUNG….LUUUNG)  It’s really cool to be learning such an ancient type of medication from such a wise old man.  However, there are times I stifle giggles trying to imagine ancient cavemen sitting around going “LUNGGGG, LUNGGG” learning the different chakras.  Reiki is a different way of thinking that I’m working on opening up to.

Chris diagnosing Mary with Dr. PremNath (Reike Dr.) using
a pendulum.  If it swings clockwise her chawkra is healthy,
if it swings counterclockwise/not at all her chawkra is unhealthy.

Last but not least we go to a homeopathic doctor from 6-9pm.  This dude is my favorite!  So the principal behind homeopathy is this…. If person is sick with watery eyes and running nose, give that person the medicine that would give a healthy person the same symptoms.  Example: If someone can’t sleep, homeopathic doctors give caffeine as the medication.  Second tid-bit from homeopathy is the way they prepare the medication.  Example: They take 1 part arsnic and 100 parts ethonal, shake 100 times, take 1 part of new solution and 100 parts ethonal, shake 100 times….bla bla bla.  Every time they dilute it’s one more “C” so 200C has undergone this process 200 times.   The funny thing is: the more dilute the solution, the more potent it is supposed to be.  Also, after 12C there is no longer a single atom of arsnic in the ethonal solution.  It’s kinda hard to imagine how something without the starting medicine, that has been diluted to basically ethanol is MORE powerful than plane arsnic.  Once they have the solution there is no experation date.  To take it, you put a drop of the solution (different powers like 200C, 1,000C) on a sugar pill and let it dissolve on your tongue.  In the next couple days your immune system should be boosted and the majority of the problems should heal on their own. 

This doctor was JUST like Yoda!!!!

After listening to his amazing stories of curing tumors and appendicitis and allergies I asked to become his patient (when in Rome right?).  To be treated he needed to know everything about me including what I eat, my personality, my emotions, family background bla blab la EVERYTHING.  After much thought he told me that my “drug” is sulfur.  You see… each person has unique qualities that match a certain medication.  Homeopathic medicine boosts one’s immune system instead of curing the symptoms.  It’s a more holistic natural approach.  Anyways myself, like sulfur, am empathetic, afraid of snakes, big eater, emotional, affectionate, likes to be surrounded by people, organized, and never really thirsty (sulfur’s a rock so it’s not thirsty either).  When he explained how my personality was exactly like sulfur’s I kinda wanted to laugh but at the same time I was fascinated.  I am scheduled to take the sulfur/sugar pill concoction in the morning because another one of sulfur’s properties is its sleeplessness. 

Taking my homeopathic sulfur medicine
in the morning. Thumbs up!

Right now I need to eat, shower, and pump out essays for Stanford, Loma Linda, and University of Arizona.  Hope all is well in America!  I’m getting a little antsy thinking about seeing all of you in less than 3 weeks!

Dehradun, India

July 10, 2011

The weekend in between Patti and Dehradun we hiked
16 kilometers up into the hills to a small tourist town called
Mussoorie.  While there I monkey attacked me and stole
my bag of bananas.

I’m back to real life after my amazing week retreat to Patti.  This week Chris and I will be in Derhadun (the main city in this program’s rotations) where we will be shadowing cardio, ER, homeo, acupressure and getting lectures from a very old man (90’s) on ayruvedic medicine.  The last group members said that they loved the doctor and he was a very good teacher. 

After getting back  into the city I checked my email and received my phone for the program.  Facebook exploded with different people with news from home (Jason!!) and more dreaded secondaries to fill out.  I’ve completed St. Louis, Boston U, Mayo, and Creighton but I just received Duke, Stanford and Loma Linda.  It’s a hopeless feeling having to write so much while I’m here in India away from home.  Except my amazing sisters and some friends have been helping me edit them a lot, which I am EXTREMELY thankful for.

This was during our hike.  It started raining and became
foggy because we were so high in elevation.

The way this month’s program works is the following:  there are 15 students split up into groups of 2 or 3.  Each group rotates weeks between rural villages and urban areas.  My group buddy is Chris, who is a “Wheatie” (goes to Wheaton College) just like my big sis Rachel.  He’s a great guy and we get along like we’ve known each other for years.  Anyways, about the program.  2 groups rotate at each site, each week which means I get to meet 2 or 3 new people every week.  This is nice because then I’m forced to spend more time with few people so I really get to know everyone really well.  So far I’ve met two 3^rd year Canadian girls who were really nice, 2 first year med students from Ohio, a med student from UCSF (top medical school in country) and another Canadian who has been to like 15 countries with a masters in neuroscience she got in Denmark!  Talk about an amazing group of people to inspire greatness!  Everyone is so interesting here it makes me feel very mediocre, but it also allows me to learn so much.

Chris posing by the excellent sanitation system of Dehradun.
(the dog walking by is one of many wild dogs)

The home stay I’m at in Derhadun is pretty much a mansion that has maids and a gym upstairs.  If I didn’t have to fill out secondaries and keep up on my blog I would love to spend some time in the gym.  Maybe I will, who knows.  They cook three meals a day for us, serve us whenever we want, and do all the dishes (it makes me feel spoiled).  Tomorrow my clinic doesn’t start till 12 so I’m going to wake up early and get some work done. 

I’m alive and well.  No snake bites mom.

Kids, Boils, and Snakes

Leah teaching some of the children
songs as they wait to be checked up by us.

July 7 2011

7:45am:  I’ve been up since 5:30.  While it’s hard for me to drag myself out of bed to do yoga, afterwards it’s nice being awake and ready to start the day.  I laid in bed for probably an hour afterwards reading my book.  I’ve finished another book and have moved onto “The White Tiger,” which is an autobiography on an Indian’s life who grew up in poverty.  I’ve probably had 7 cups of tea.  It’s like eggnog during Christmas; because I’ll only have it for a limited time, I need to ingest as much as humanly possible.  IT’S SO GOOD!  Crap... forgot what time it is... I gotta go. Getting yelled at to get ready! Chao

1:45pm: We were supposed to go on another hike to a village today but instead we did a “health day” at the local school and checked all the children.  It was probably my best clinical experience yet!  We checked lungs, heart, ears, throat, teeth and weight of 59 children in 2 hours.  I got to practice my stethoscope skills and my ear-wax investigation skills (I don’t know the name of the ear-light looking tool).  I was surprised by how awkward I was at touching the patients at first.  After I looked over to see Dr. Paul twisting a little boy’s head all over the place to look in his mouth, I took his lead and started being more hands on.  The 3^rd year medical students let the three pre-meds (Chris, Maggie, me) do most of the work and explained everything so well to us.  I learned to look for the tympanic membrane that’s white in the back of the ear, what dried earwax looks like (black nasty stuff) and what level 4 swollen tonsils are.  The grossest thing I “diagnosed” was a bug that had crawled into a little boy’s ear and died.  It was nasty. Haha.  I said, “Leah? I think there is a bug in this boy’s ear…” haha!  Never thought I’d say that line, but it doesn’t surprise me.  Classic India.  My favorite part of the school was listening and feeling the beating of all the small children’s hearts.  Each was slightly different with faster or louder beats.  I could literally hear the blood flowing through their alive little body’s.  AMAZING

Listening to a little girl's heart during the "throat, teeth, ears,
lungs, heart etc." checkups.

Afterwards we went back to clinic to treat a patient who had a cist-like infected boil on his butt.  This was another experience that really opened my eyes to what being a doctor is all about.  It’s not about the white coat or being smart or having power or respect.  It’s about rolling up the sleeves to help people who are SO vulnerable and helpless.  As Dr. Paul started injecting the local anesthetic the guy started screaming in agony.  I was closest to him so Dr. Paul told me to rub his back and comfort him.  My first thought was, “but I don’t even know this guy.  I don’t rub my friends backs.  That’s weird.  The patient will think it’s weird.  I don’t want to make him uncomfortable. Do I have to?”  However, I did as I was told.  As the doctor started cutting open the cyst to drain it, the medical students told me to kneel down and hold the guys hand and reassure him with “You’re doing great.  It’s ok.  It’s almost over.”  Now this was even more out of my comfort zone, but I followed orders.  As he screamed I rubbed his back and did the best I could to keep him calm.  It made me feel like an awkward mom taking care of their little kid who is sick and crying.  After it was over I kept small talking with the man as he lay there recuperating.  I asked him if he was getting hungry for lunch, which made everyone laugh (stupid question).  We talked about his job as a teacher, how Dr. Paul is second to God, and how much the procedure hurt.  When it was done he left to get his prescription drugs and then popped his head back in to thank the doctor and single me out to thank me for helping him through the surgery.  It was kind of mind blowing and took me off guard.  During the procedure I felt super awkward and in the way.  I know if I was helpless with my butt showing in pain I wouldn’t want some foreign kid in my face trying to comfort me. (I don’t think so at least)  Being a doctor is about forgetting the red tape of “professionalism” in order to connect on a human level of sympathy with the patient.  Today I experienced a small piece that J  You can’t learn that first hand by job shadowing in the U.S.

This is what our work stations looked like.  Dr. Paul (on bottom)
was the records keeper; Maggie, Leah and I on left at one station;
and then Chris and Star on the right at another station.

10:15pm: How much living can be done in one day?  I put my journal away thinking that nothing else meaningful could happen today but I was wrong.  After another round of tea at 4:30 we took a walk to visit Kamela’s house (volunteer pharmacy tech lady) and her family.  She helps Verubai in the pharmacy and jokes with the patients and Dr. Paul.  The first time Chris and I saw her we were both mesmerized.  She’s really pretty with a great big white smile and laughs all the time.  The only problem is the fact that she’s married with 3 boys even though she looks like she’s about 20 years old.  When we got there we drank more tea and Leah handed out Canadian hats, balls and candy to the children.  It was fun seeing their faces.  Then we climbed up to their roof to take pictures. 

It was getting dark so we headed back home and stopped at the man’s house who we did surgery on earlier in the day.  Again they brought out tea (probably my 15^th cup of the day by this point) and the most amazing onion/potato French fry things ever (same thing Verubia shared as a snack the first day I came).  We then started talking about snakes….  Dr. Paul and Verubia had told us during our hike, “There are no snakes. I have never seen a snake in 9 years.”  I’m not sure if there was a communication problem or something but now they were swapping snake stories.  The man told us the paper usually writes about 2-3 deaths from snakebites per day, and the other day he almost stepped on a black cobra.  The topic then meandered to the 20 foot Cobra killed earlier in the summer, the snakes three miles north that are bigger than Anacondas (they tried to call Discovery channel to have them come) and how cobras over 15 ft tall can stand taller than a man and bite him in the face.  Quote of the night.. Me: “If I get bit is there medication?” Dr. Paul: “You get bit, you live 3 minutes…. No 2 minutes… no 1 MINUTE!” Other man: “Yeah! You get bit, there is no escape.” Bahahahaha After the group is shell shocked with snake horror stories it’s time to hike back to base camp.  However, it’s now 8:30 and pitch black outside.  As we walk back Dr. Paul and Aki (Yoga master) repeatedly run ahead, hide in the bushes, and scare us with their umbrellas.  It was another action packed day.  Phew

Back left to right: Leah, Maggie, Teacher 1, Teacher 2
Middle left to right: Chris, Star, Teacher 3, Dr. Paul
Front: ME (I wore India's baby blue cricket team's shirt "Sahara" to impress the children) haha

Meinam Alex hai?.. (My name is Alex?...maybe)

July 6, 2011

Local lady waiting for her cows to walk up the valley.

9:00am: Three cups of tea down and it’s only 9am.  This morning there was no Yoga because we had a monsoon downpour.  We ate and now I am drinking tea as I journal.  It’s a clinic day so we will be heading upstairs to see patients.  I’m late and need to get going!

9:15pm: Today was another good day. Clinic this morning was pretty uneventful.  Our doctor does a good job of using both allopathic and aruvedic practices.  It reminds me of doctors in the US prescring cranberry juice for a UI while also giving antibiotics.  His clinic isn’t like a witchdoctor shop.  We take turns taking blood pressures and checking the lungs.  The MIII girls (3^rd year medical students) gave a girl an enima as well.  Maybe T.M.I (too much info) haha.

Aki "the Yoga Master" helping me REALLY stretch
out those pesky back and leg muscles.

Tonights Yoga session was pretty funny.  Now that everyone knows each other the mood stays light as I groan in agony as the Yoga instructor pushes on me to bend more.  It slightly helps, but my muscles are like a tawt bow about to SNAP!  The instructor is only 20 so he’s really fun to joke around with.  He also likes when we take lots of pictures of him in his poses.  He also likes when we hold him in the air as he does poses.  It looks more professional.  The two best quotes of the night that he said are 1) “Alex, you are like a stone.” (Referencing my outstanding flexibility. 2) “Alex, if you bend your knees I will kill you.”

I’m sitting out in the cool mountain air, it’s dark outside, and the girls are teaching Akki (Yoga instructor) how to play cribbage.  Last night we played Uno. 

Words of the day:  swadisht: delicious, Nilla: blue, Pilla: yellow, Sahi: Right, Hara: green