Day 2

Day 2

May 25, 2011

Today was a great day! I feel myself slowly beginning to fit in with the India culture. We had breakfast this morning eating traditionally with our right hand only. According to those who have done this much longer than me, they claim that by eating with your hands the food tastes much better because you can feel its texture and really get a feel for the food you are about to eat (literally). Our driver who picked us up from the air port also took us down to the General Bazaar to get our first Indian wear. The Bazaar is in a place called Paradise…it is not the typical tropical paradise that the word in normally associated with but for those who take time to appreciate the Indian way of life it really can be considered such a place. People are everywhere! The sounds may drive the anxious in sane, but everything is so lively! Pictures and videos can no way do this place justice! If you go to India you one rule I learned is you must act like you know what you’re doing even if you have absolutely no clue and you can’t be afraid to say no. Shopkeepers do everything they can to get you to buy from their shop. If looking at a Salwar-Kameez (long tunic like dress and trousers) they will pull everyone out of the bags and off shelves until they can convince you to buy one. If you are Indian women they often shuttle you to sit down and they bring the cloths to you…a really interesting experience. Also religious background is very evident in the different shops. In Muslim owned shops you are required to take off your shoes before entering. Today was kinda considered my shopping spree day just because I needed to get enough cloths that I could properly work in and be respectful. I got four outfits, earrings, and mangos all for  Rs 3540 (rupees) that is just around $80.00 American dollars. Alls I can say is that I am going to love shopping here. It’s fun to try and haggle prices although being white does not do you much justice here. After rinsing off and changing into our new Indian outfits we made our way down to the clinic here on base. I am so excited to begin my work here. We will be observing basic surgeries and stitching ups, but eventually we will be allowed to give steroid shots into the joints to help ease some patient’s pain. We will also be allowed to give other injections and draw blood. They also have a dental room and pharmacy in the clinic. Although the clinic will be such a great experience and training I am really looking forward to other opportunities off base. We will also be going down to different slums in the mobile clinic one being Pipe village where families live in sewer and metal pipes as their home. We may also have to opportunity to go to some surrounding villages to work in the schools and in another clinic that specializes in AIDS and HIV. I’m especially interested in the health care workers here. I feel like they really have an important role in directly helping the people mainly though basic education regarding hygiene, health, and nutrition. I really feel that nutrition is the foundation for all aspects of health. It is in Indian tradition that the man of the house eats his feel first in food til he is full, then the children, and if there is any left the women eat. Can you imagine what this means for the women in the slums who have to go though childbirth! Why do you think there are so many premature deaths in the women here! I can’t wait to be exposed even more to the Indian life and culture…I’m starting to slowly pick up on some Telgu language although I can hardly pronounce anything. I feel so amazingly blessed to be working with the people around me!!! So diverse, and so amazingly nice. We went with two of the other girls today down to the cross roads where there are a lot of local vendors and shops as well as to Spencers which is the grocer right down the street. Of course everyone stares at you because you are white, but by wearing Indian cloths it shows respect and they look at you in better terms than they would a westerner. After we got back from our short little adventure we went up to the secret kitchen and made homemade chi tea (Kristina you should be jealous) and then came back to our rooms to play cards. We had so much fun laughing and getting to know each other and how we all ended up here. I can’t help but smile upon the fact that this meeting was totally planned by God in advanced. It’s going to be hard to see some people come and go. Our recent and short term friend from Germany had to leave today to go back to his work on the mission ships. Although we only met for a short time he is going to be missed…this goodbye was only the first…I can’t imagine what it will be like to see some of my friends who have become my family leave. We are excited to start planning trips on the weekends… although we may not be able to do everything on the list I really hope we can take advantage of our free time off work as much as possible. We want to go to Goa before the monsoon season starts so we can spend some good time at the beach…we hope to go there by train, but we must book tickets a few weeks in advanced. If were really lucky we want to take a plane to Deli to visit the Taj Mahal. This weekend we are planning another shopping adventure with our friend to the “Department Stores” and back to the Bazaar in Paradise. So many things to do and see! India has a way of capturing your heart in a way you would not understand until you visit this magical place for yourself.