Pune and Mumbai

I made it to Pune! The journey here was full of memorable moments including falling down the Delhi train station stairs. Yes, I just happen to slip and fall down the stairs of one of the biggest, most crowded, dirtiest railway stations in India... with about 50kg of luggage attached to all sides of me. Oh the joy of having 20 men grabbing at me and my luggage to “help” me up continues to linger in one’s mind. Everything went smoothly after that though, even the plane ride on Spice Jet airlines (such a secure sounding name isn’t it?). I really like Pune. It’s a big city, but still pretty easy to get around. I live in a guest house with two rooms and an outdoor kitchen area. It’s really cozy... wow it’s amazing how much my mentality about this place had changed. In reality, I’m sleeping on a two inch thick mattress, still using a bucket to shower, eating food from a fridge that doesn’t run, and yesterday I spent ten minutes attempting to scoot a 4 inch long cockroach out of my room. I know this may sound pretty rough to people back home, but here it’s nothing. I’ve seen slums where houses are made of sticks and mud, where families eat, sleep and defecate in one room the size of our king size beds. Hundreds of these homes crammed together like people in a rock concert. Streams of mud, feces and garbage run between a two foot wide pathway and the endless line of huts that make up this area called the slums. I’ve seen enough to know that where I am staying is truly a blessing.
The clinic rotations so far have been spectacular. I’ve seen vaginal births, c-sections, tubule ligations, and so much more. Yesterday I held the a speculum (tool that keeps some body cavity open) and assisted the doctor while she sutured after a birth (looking so official in my cap, mask and white coat I might add). I also gave my first injection, which might have gone better had the patient not seen my shaking hands right before penetrating her skin. Needless to say, I’m getting more medical experience here than I could have ever dreamed of in the US.
Outside the clinic life has been great also. I’ve spent two weekends in Mumbai, which might be my favorite city I’ve been to... ever. I rode the local trains, literally crammed elbow to elbow with people, by day and at night we hit the disco techs. The club we went to clearly had never heard of something called maximum capacity and the only way to shut it down was for the Indian police to show up. We then hopped into a taxi, in which the driver was even more intoxicated than us and were whisked away to the flat which lay on the 12th floor overlooking the streets of Mumbai. Riding the local trains there are just as crazy. The train stops for about 5 seconds and people elbow, shove, grab, whatever it takes to make it on and off at your stop. I went to the endless markets where things are so cheap you feel like you’re stealing. I had tea in the Taj Hotel, the place where the 26/11 attacks took place last year and one of the most astounding hotels in the world. The second weekend I attended a wedding that rivaled that of royalty. The setting, the dress, and the food were all so indescribably incredible. It was like a fairytale in so many aspects and nothing I could have ever imagined beforehand. I find my self saying more and more that I could just stay here in India, simply forget to catch my plane back home. Not realistic I know but with only two weeks left in the program I plan to make the absolute most of my time here.

Mussoorie and the train the Delhi

This past week has been full of ups and downs, ending with a shocking tragedy. We went up to the mountain town of Mussoorie. It rests at 7,000 ft high in the Himalayas. Just when I thought I was no longer phased by the driving around here, I am taken up this road of terror in yet another rickety SUV by a wannabe NASCAR driver! We passed cars, trucks, and buses on blind corners, in the dark, with a mile long drop right next to us. We made it though, and it was well worth a little dribble in the underpants. As a popular tourist place, the town was absolutely beautiful overlooking Dehra Dun and engulfed by an endless array of mountains. Although gorgeous in scenery, it was very cold compared to the rest of India. And since heating isn’t real practical there, I stayed in long johns, scrubs and a winter jacket the whole time (yes sleeping too). We stayed and did rotations in the hospital. The clinical experience was definitely the best so far. I observed 3 surgeries and one birth. One of the surgeries, lasting 4 hours, was a total reconstruction of a man’s elbow. I made it through the cutting, the peeling away of muscle, the breaking of the bone, and even through the drilling part. It was when I saw the man’s paining face, while the doctor was stabbing around his neck with a needle trying to find the nerve that goes to the arm, that things started going hazy and I felt the knees go weak. Luckily this birth went a lot better than the last one. I guess by a woman’s third child, it’s kind of like a slip n slide down there and the baby just plops out without a lot of complications. Sorry for any image you may have experienced right there. Point of this though is that I’m learning a lot about medicine and it’s really incredible that I am able to see all that I have so far. The town of Mussoorie was basically one road that wound its way up the mountain lined with shops, hotels, and restaurants, crammed with people and festivities. It was a lovely place to end my Northern Indian experience with. Things took a drastic turn, though, today on the train back to Delhi. Only 30 minutes outside of Delhi I woke up to the train stopped and a bunch of commotion. Someone told me our train hit and killed 5 men that were working on the tracks. When I looked out the door, it was like a scene from CSI. Bodies were strewn beside the railway. One man lay dead right outside my window and remained there until we pulled away nearly 30 minutes later. I was expecting a lot coming to a new country, but what happened today is almost too disturbing for words. In an Indian family, the man works and the wife stays at home with the children. Not only did five men lose their lives today, but five women probably lost their husbands, kids lost their fathers, and families lost their only supply of income. How are they going to recover I wonder? Where do they go now? While I was only effected for 30 minutes, the events of today will forever alter the lives of these women and children. God give them strength. I am now in Pune, ready to see what the next five weeks will bring me.

An Indian Wedding

This last weekend, the five of us rented a hotel in Patiela to attend a wedding. Weddings here last for days and we were invited to the last two days which include a night of dancing on each side of the family and then the ceremony the next night. Saturday night we celebrated with the bride’s side of the family at a beautiful home lit up with bright lights, colorful saris, dazzling jewelry and some of the best food I’ve had here so far. So while everyone back at home was out celebrating Halloween, I danced the night away to Punjab music while enjoying endless Indian food, oh and a full open bar J The next night was the actual ceremony and it was hands down the most spectacular display I’ve seen since being here. You’ll have to check out the pictures because it’s way too much to explain in writing. Family flew in from all over the world and the guest list was probably around 500. The catering tables literally lined the entire perimeter of the huge courtyard while tons of servers meandered throughout the party with endless amounts of appetizers and drinks. There is a gathering/celebration when the groom arrives and then the bride and groom sit and take pictures with anyone who wants them for 3 hours! I was dragged onto the dance floor by some of the party goers and had one of the most insane experiences of my life. A huge group of men and women started dancing in a circle around me and suddenly the men started throwing money up in the air above me. It was literally reigning money on me for a good 5 minutes! I thought this was kind of hookerish, but I was informed later it was normal and for fun. Ask me about it when I get home, it was straight up the craziest thing ever. The actual ceremony didn’t start until 1:00am and we left around 3. Check out the pics on my picassa page.

The Taj and Chandigarh

This week started off with a spectacular viewing of the Taj Mahal. It was everything I was expecting and more. By more I mean the journey to the Taj was something in itself. The plan was to take an 8 hour taxi ride overnight on Friday, visit Agra, then take another one back Saturday night. The plan was to get plenty of rest in our air conditioned, SUV cab. The plan was far from what happened! The ‘8’ hour journey turned into 12 hours after the driver got lost several times. It didn’t help that he spoke no English and we had no idea how far we were, not that the driver seemed to know either. And as for the sleeping part, imagine trying to rest your head against a window while off-roading…for 12 hours. Between speed bumps, giant pot holes, dirt caked roads and the fact that every driver here is gas and brake happy, the thought of sleep slowly slipped away as I popped around in the cab like a popcorn kernel. Although we were tired and beaten up from the long night, the sight of the Taj Mahal seemed to brighten everything up instantly. It truly is an astounding piece of work. With thousands of tourists around though, it’s sometimes hard to really enjoy even the most spectacular places. While in Agra, we were ‘blessed’ with the craziest rickshaw driver we’ve had yet. His name was Vikki which he decided was best to say while holding up a peace sign as a V. He wore tight white pants, a button down shirt that could have used a few mores buttons up top, and had a wanna be Italian fro. After spending a full day with Vikki, it was time for a long night in the cab again. We got back to Dehra Dun and a few hours later we boarded a bus to Chandigarh, the only planned city in India, which took another 5 hours. Bouncing around while attempting to sleep was getting to be normal by then. And if that wasn’t enough, apparently the men on the bus hadn’t seen too many white girls, so I got the pleasure of being stared at for 5 hours while looking like a bobble head doll. I wish I could say things got better since starting a new rotation, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. We stayed in a homestay, but it was more like a hostel/orphanage. Girls would stay there and rent beds. There were 10 girls sleeping in one room and apparently respect for others sleep wasn’t part of their routine. The clinic aspect was interesting as well. The focus was public health, so we would listen to a presentation on a project this non-governmental organization was doing and then go visit the sight. We saw a lot between visiting below poverty level slums to talking with female sex workers. At least the host family was especially friendly. It got a little weird though when they had me stay after the others to give me a special gift. I'm guessing I was the blonde daughter they always wanted lol, or maybe it was because the host dad walked in on me in the shower, awkward. Anyway, I definitely wasn't sad about leaving this odd little situation. Although the week hadn’t gone quite as expected, I was excited to head off to an Indian wedding all weekend.

Happy Diwali!

Well I made it through the weekend. So much has happened in the past week. We celebrated Diwali Friday and Saturday night. Just a reminder, Diwali is the biggest festival of the year in India celebrating the Goddess of wealth. Friday night we were invited to a place called Dun club. It’s for the elite of society to come together and celebrate, eat delicious food, and watch incredible firework displays. It was quite the change from what I see in the city. The women were in beautiful saris with gold jewelry hanging off every part of them. Some had their hair down and some even showed parts of their legs! Just for the record, I haven’t seen knee caps since I got here. Needless to say, everyone here is very conservative. The following night was the big celebration. Me and the four other students stayed at the homestay to enjoy the festivities from the rooftop. The family’s son is our age and had about 15 of guy his friends over. We all ate, drank, and danced the night away while fireworks exploded all around us. The amount of fire crackers that go off on Diwali is about 10 times as many as our 4th of July. The sky is literally lit up with explosions until dawn. With that though came a downpour of ash so thick you can only make out the outlines of people in some of the pictures. I’m not complaining though, Diwali will probably one of the greatest experiences I’ll have here.
Monday we started a new clinical rotation. We go to an OBGYN doctor in the morning and a cardiologist in the evening. The first day of clinic started very exciting. A woman came in with a spontaneous abortion, and I watched as the doctor vacuumed out the premature fetus. I know it sounds intense, but that is nothing compared to what I saw the next day. Later that day we caught an auto rickshaw to our next clinic. On the way there, the driver side swiped a bus. On the way home, he stopped for food (let me remind you this is like a taxi you hire to drive you somewhere, not to stop randomly at his convenience!) . As the three of us are crammed in the back, we notice the rickshaw starts slowly scooting towards the oncoming traffic and our driver is no where in sight,. We laugh with each jolt forward because when you spend two weeks riding around in a rickety piece of metal with three wheels and no traffic laws, you eventually just close your eyes and laugh at each “should have been accident”. Tuesday was just as crazy. I saw my first live birth! The baby being delivered was incredible, but things kind of went downhill after that. The doctor used a suction to pop the baby out, so the actual birthing only took like 10 seconds. The aftermath was more dramatic though. The mother had post partum hemorrhaging, which means she doesn’t stop bleeding. The uterus wasn’t contracting like it’s supposed to and on top of that, she had a LOT of tearing, probably from the baby coming out so fast. So I then watched her being drugged and sewed up for almost 30 minutes. That’s when things started going hazy. Luckily I made it to a chair right before the bright light took over, and then managed my way to the toilet seconds before my breakfast made a second appearance. But don’t worry everyone, both the mother and I are doing fine now. Later that day we went to our second clinic. This time we took a vickram, the cheaper more crowded version of a rickshaw. Halfway there we were pulled over by the police and our driver was arrested. Someone told us later the it was because he had too many people in the vehicle. I guess 12 people crammed into a vehicle the size of a smart car isn’t allowed, the maximum is 10! And here I was beginning to think there were no rules around here. All the women here have intense nose jewelry and lots of gold earrings filling their ears. Today I went to the plastic surgeon to get my nose pierced, to further immerse myself in the culture you know :). He told me about an American woman coming to get surgery done. I guess it’s only $1,700 for breast implants and equally as cheap for other cosmetic surgeries. Hey maybe I’ll come home with more baggage than I thought lol just kidding mom and dad. Well that sums up the week.
I’ve finally uploaded pictures! They’re on picasa so go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/nicolefoti1/NicoleInIndiaFavorites?feat=directlink#
Next stop is Agra, home of the Taj mahal!

Than Gaon

So I just got back from Than Gaon, a very rural place in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains. I could probably write forever about how beautiful it was, but basically, think about the most incredible picture of the himalayas you've ever seen and multiply that by at least 10, that's how amazing it is. I think I finally understand the meaning of having your breath being taken away. The road up to the town was something in itself. It was basically offroading on rocky terrane in a rickety, windowless SUV. Talk about parts of the body All over the place. A massive cliff was a mere 2 feet away as well, as we attempted to chug up the mountian, similar to a sketchy rollarcoaster climbing up it's first big incline. Anyway, we get there and like I said it's absolutely incredible. We got to our room which was a little stone hut with four beds surrounded by mosquito nets. We played volleyball (surrounded by the Himalayas, I'll be saying that a lot btw) and the guys were better than those I play with at home (Greg and Mike!). We walk into our room later that night to find a HUGE spider on the wall! Biggest thing I'd ever seen, well until a couple days later. The clinic there is a small building that provides free service to people in surrounding villages. We observe the doctor and we actually help out quite a bit. I've learned how to check the heart for abnormalities, the lungs, and blood pressure. The next day we hiked to a nearby village, Batoli. It was a two hour hike each way in the mountians. We basically went from one peak to another, crossing a small river below, and running into herders, cattle, and sheep on the slim, steep, rugged path. We sat up a make shift clinic in a courtyard and people came to see the doctor that comes once a month. We then hiked back in time for yoga. We did yoga twice a day... surrounded by the himalayan mountians :) It was quite the experience! Especially practicing neti. This is where you pour salt water in one nostril and it comes out the other. All I can say about that is... horrifying. There is a free elementary school next to our hut as well. The children are all in little uniforms and when we come out in the morning, we are greeted by a symphony of "Good morning maam". Today they celebrated Diwali at school. Diwali is an indian holiday celebrated by days of fireworks, sweets, and festivities. The actual Diwali is on Sunday, but tomorrow will be the big celebration. Let's hope I make it through to tell you all about it's craziness. There have been tons of warnings about the danger of fire crackers and the big mobs of poeple. It's time to get crazy, Indian style!

One week down, 9 to go

I have just finished up my first week in Dehradun, India. The host family experience was wonderful and the city itself was...well quite an experience. I've gotten used to walking around here without gasping constantly. I find myself weaving in and out of traffic like a true native...well except today when a bike came out of nowhere attempting to end my trip early. At least the many people around me got a good laugh at the foreign girl scream while almost getting ran over in the middle of the square. The square (I don't think it's really called that but I tend to make up a lot of words which I don't know here) is a massive market with hunrdeds of outdoor shops. There are alleys shooting off in every direction with the most colorful items for sale. It's packed with people. I've come to miss the "No Motorized Vehicles" signs in the US because here even though you can't see two feet in front of you, you always have to be ready to dodge the speedy motorcycles that creep up behind you without warning. At least everyone has LOUD working horns which I get the pleasure of hearing 24 hours a day. Just a warning, I may come home half deaf. This place is so different (Duh I know). A massage lady comes to the house everyday for only 50 rupees per hour (that's $1 btw!) yet I find my self crouching in the corner of a dusty bathroom attempting to rinse my hair with the drizzle of cold water that might come out of the spicket if I'm lucky. I find that services here are extremely cheap. I got two pairs of pants tailored for 40 rupees (80 cents) and I spend 5 rupees (10 cents) to get anywhere in town I want on the auto rickshaw. Maybe that's also because it's the sketchiest thing I've ever been in lol. It's finding normal goods here that's the hard part. I asked about where a grocery store might be, a place to find food, products, and what not. They pointed me to the MEGA MART down the street. Basically it's half the size of the smallest market in the most rural towns. I leave to go to Than Goan for the next week. I'll be without internet and phone and living in a stone hut. Oh ya I have to carry a 4 foot long stick with me everywhere for... reptiles? Here goes nothing!

Hello from India!

For those of you that don't know I'll be living in India for 3 months and this is my first time out of the country. I got here 4 days ago and let me tell you, so much has happened so far. The weather is great, but really humid. It gets a little sticky since I have to wear long pants and nothing showing the shoulder. I live with a host family for this first week with 4 other interns. The house is truely beautiful, and they cook homemade Indian food for us 3 times a day! I share a room...oh ya and a bed with another girl in the program. The Indian culture has a different take on "personal" space, if any at all. I've become accustom to that fast though. Between sharing a auto rickshaw (I'll post pictures of those soon hopefully) with 8 people in 4 seats or attempting to make my way through hundreds of people in a strip of market, I'm feeling the Indian culture in so many ways. India is crazy as I expected. Nothing can really prepare one for a mad house of bumper cars in the streets or getting kicked off the sidewalk because a gang of donkeys is taking up the whole thing and refuses to let a person share this small piece of paradise. The first time I saw a sidewalk a few days ago, I said "Oh my god! A sidewalk...my savior!" Walking along the side of a road where cars are trying to pass each other at any means gets a little scary. One foot to my left is a garbage filled sewer which I'd prefer not to step in and one foot to my right are cars whizzing past me, horns blaring in order to "politely warn" me they are about to take my arm off. Oh the sounds and smells of India are like nothing you'll ever experience outside of here. There have been a few disturbing things since my stay here as well. The day after I flew in, we took an 8 hours train ride from Delhi to Dehradun, which is where I'm at. I got off the train for only 5 minutes at one stop and immediately two little boys were at my side begging in Hindi for money. They began grabbing my arms and shouting at me. Everyone around me was staring. I had nothing with me to give them, and they stayed with me the entire time until I got back on the train. Anther eerie sight has been the tons of wild dogs running around. Today I saw a dead one upside down, rigid in the garbage can. The few dumpsters in the city are always a sight to see. The usual sights are either cows, dogs or small children digging through the most fowl trash I have ever seen and smelled. The images tend to stay with me throughout the day. I go to two different clinics each day. I will attempt to describe the scene at the doctors office. Patients come into the doctor's personal office and he see's the patient as other patients barge in, he's aswering his cell phone, the office phone, talking to us. It seems so informal and like each person does not really matter and their illnesses do not need to be kept confidential. It seems to work though. Doctors are like Gods here and we are too just for being American and here for medicine. A little boy came in the first day I was here with a dogs bite on his elbow and neck. He was developing rabies and needed treatment immediately. I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot more cazier stuff though to come. There are many postive and negatives about this place so far. The trash and filth consumes the streets, yet the people here are incredibly friendly. I don't think they see a lot of blondes though, so maybe that's a part of it :) I'll be travelling to a new town almost every week, so with each place will come many more experiences I'm sure. Until next time. Namaste.