Hello all!

It is the end of week one, and the end of our first clinical rotations in Dehradun. It has been a wild ride trying to adjust to Indian life while simultaneously soaking up the many aspects of their health care system. My notebook is dirty and getting very, very full. For those of you who know me—normally I would not be happy with a dirty notebook, but here it is an excellent sign. This must be a good indicator of my adventures.

Thursday, October 8.

I had the opportunity to enjoy the Indian festival Dussehra, it is one of the many celebrations of the month long Diwali. In short, the festival is about celebrating good triumph over evil. It is the story of Lord Rama and his nemesis Ravana. His wife was stolen by his evil brother Ravana. Ravana was a jealous man, who was malicious and deceitful. In the end, like all heroic tales, Ravana is killed with a burning arrow and Rama is triumphant. Sooooo… how is the holiday celebrated? Everyone claps and cheers that Ravana is dead, children run around with bows and arrows, and at the end a huge paper statue is set on fire--blown up in a firework fiasco.

Also take note of the crowds of people.

Before

After

Moving on… As promised here is a list of some of the things that has caught my eyes about the way Indians do things here.

The Indian head bobble:

When having a discussion the involved persons tend to bobble their head back and forth. It is a way of showing that you are being an interactive listener. I would compare it to our way of smiling and nodding when listening to somebody speak. I didn’t recognize it at first, but it became very noticeable while observing doctor patient interactions.

Doctor-Patient confidentiality doesn’t exist.

All of the patients wait in a crowded room, so there is no room for privacy, literally. The doctor lifts up patients shirts to listen to their heart beat, or pulls down there pants to check their vasculature. It doesn’t bother the patients, this is how they live.

Lets just say HIPAA goes out the window!

Bacteria, dirty hands, and hygiene:

In one day I used my hand sanitizer 14 times. As Americans we are bacteria conscious making us aware when things need to be disinfected. Here, that is not the case. Doctors will examine patient after patient, touching their eyelids and chest infections without gloves or without a hand washing in between. There is no system, but the system works. By American standards this place is very dirty, but to everyone else, this is just the way it is.

A family member accompanies every patient:

No exaggeration. Everyone has someone with him or her whether it is a family member or a friend. It doesn’t matter if it is a short, simple examination or overnight stays in the high-risk ward/ intensive care unit. Someone is there. Family and friends come first. This is one thing I wish Americans would catch on to. However, on the flip side, I found it interesting that unless kids are the patients, not many children are found in the hospital.

Allopathic versus holistic medicine OR allopathic and holistic medicine

Medicine is different here, I have found that out really quick. The approach I have found most interesting is treating the symptoms vs treating the cause. Chew on that awhile—within the next month I will expand on this thought.

This is my Accupuncture and Reiki Master, Doctor Nath.

ESL

I am continually surprised by the amount of English they speak here. It is the second language, and is found in most advertisements. Most all adolescents speak some sort of broken English; many of them talk to us, and take pictures of us.

^^side note—we are in a big city, next week we will be in a village. ESL might not necessarily be true.

Blank stares

In my last point I mentioned people staring at us and by this point I have mostly gotten used to it. However this guy topped the charts on his appearance, smell and actions. Our program director, Mayunk said he was drunk, but I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get a snap shot.  Surprisingly even a camera didn’t even discourage him. 

Don't let this blurr your vision of all Indians, he was just a special case.

Indian time, or lack of time.

I was warned about Indian time, and how it doesn’t exist. People mosey, take naps, take breaks, take picnics, take whatever time they want. Taylor and I showed up to an empty hospital room nearly everyday, just to wait around for 30 minutes or so. It was a little hard getting used to, but after a few meals at restaurants we began to catch on. We would consider 20 minutes for our server to come, 30 minutes for food delivery and 45 minutes for the check “terrible” service; but here it’s the preferred way. I must admit however it was actually kind of nice to have some down time. I can see why they take pleasure in moving slowly.

Also, stores, shops, offices and everything are open from 9-1:30 and 5- 8. People take long lunches enjoy nap and team time. There are no deadlines or time limits, just don’t expect the shop to open until 9:30 or 5:30.

First interaction with typhoid fever, and tuberculosis. No mask.  Don’t worry I survived.

Storm devastation.

Hospital wards are ruined

In Oregon, the slogan for road construction is “put Oregon back to work”, keeping that in mind India is in need of some SERIOUS road work. I now understand why flat tires are so common; bottoming out your van or car is nothing like getting stuck in potholes. Gravel, ditches, slopes, potholes, cracks, large rocks like I have never seen; traffic is bad, but the roads are worse.

Cows, dogs and monkeys, oh my!

Everywhere. Mating season just ended so baby monkeys are everywhere. Why are the little guys so darn cute?

On a side note- no rabies yet! Woo!!!

I am posting my schedule I received  from mycoordinator so you will have an idea of where I will be the next four weeks. As far as I know I will be in very rural villages and may not have access to Internet. Perhaps do some research about where I will be, maybe you will end up knowing more than I will! My schedule is on the left: Intro to Traditional Medicine.

Regardless of how different it is here, I can still find beauty in this environment.

Also, thank you for all of the love an emails. It makes me feel like I am not 8000 miles away, but only around the corner. I will try and answer them all, but normally I am only allowed very limited time on the world wide web. Keep sending them I love to hear from home.

Xoxo,

India and Shelane

Oh yea, I saw the Taj Mahal this weekend!!! No big deal :) I will tell you all about it in the next post. Now you have something to look forward to