National Geographic

Disclaimer: being up in the mountains has provided me with a lot of down time. This post is long, but my favorite so far.

October 9, 2011 Saturday

National Geographic: The Taj Mahal

Guess what?!

I saw the Taj Mahal! I can officially cross off a world wonder on my bucket list! Wooo! I traveled a total of 24 hours in less than 72 hours. It is located in the city Agra, how privileged I am to have seen the white marbled wonder.  It was a bumpy ride in a poorly air-conditioned van, but in the end it was worth every minute.

It was amazing. It was beautiful.

Side note--similar start to the adventure through the ruins-- we went to buy our tickets and there were two lines, foreigners and natives. Yes, I know I am a foreigner, thanks for reminding me… again

My experience.

We walked through an entrance into a big open courtyard, and even though we couldn’t see the Taj yet, I was ogling at everything around me. Such intricate details carved into red sandstone and marble.

After roaming around we strolled through a large arch, which perfectly framed the biggest monument ever constructed out of love.

It was an odd view to swallow at first, it didn’t look real-- it looked like a painting. There were crowds of people everywhere.

It was so hot, a whopping 95+ degrees. Scorching by Oregon standards. I can’t imagine how cold it is going to be for me when I get step off that plane in PDX. I hope you are all enjoying the rain :)

October 10, 2011- October 14, 2011

National Geographic: Patti, India

After our weekend in Agra, India is was time for our next clinical rotation.

We were dropped in the middle of the Himalayans at a rural community medical center in the village of Patti.

How very different Patti is from the city. It amazes me the magnitude of change that came from a 45-minute drive. It is so much quieter here, no horns honking or people bustling through the streets. No packing 11 people into a tiny space, just mountains, open space and fresh air. It is nice to see a blue sky and not a smoggy haze. In the city the air is so polluted, it was not until coming to Patti I realized how bad it actually was.

Onto my duties….

I was to work with Dr. Paul, a man who has been working in villages on the outskirts of Dehradun for the past 12 years.  He lives in the city (Dehradun) during the weekend but stays in the clinic Monday through Friday. This medical center is solely funded by the program I am working with, CFHI  (child family and health International). It feels good knowing that the money I spent to go on this trip actually supports a facility I can see in person, and not just in pictures. It was only built three years ago, but salary, supplies, everything is paid for in full by CFHI. For all who make the trek to the clinic, health care and medicine is free.

Although medical supplies are sparse, it has what is necessary.

A little bit of perspective:

The closest village is at the very least a 20-minute walk

The furthest is a 20+ hour walk

I had a great time with Dr. Paul and the crew. Everyone is so nice, and while everyone takes their job seriously, for the most part they are all jokesters. I cant count the amount of times Dr Paul, Varinder, and the cook Rico has made me laugh with jokes and by scaring me. Everyone knows that I am easily spooked, and they all have taken advantage of that.

I titled this post “National Geographic” because the past several days I feel as though I have been living in a feature story for the National Geographic magazine. Small huts constructed with tin, vines, strings, wood or whatever else is accessible. Villagers cutting and harvesting rice with handmade tools, and women and children carrying huge loads on their heads however long the distance necessary.

Paths and roads only made by few footprints. Water trickling down the mountain side through hand carved divots. I am working in a clinic villager’s walk minutes, hours and even days to receive healthcare. I never thought I would be able to say leopards, cobras and monkeys walk on the same rocks I do anywhere else but the zoo. I now can.

I think I am in the Jungle, or at least it feels like it.

The sky is blue here, and at night I can see a couple stars. Let me assure you it is nothing like the sky we see in Oregon, it is nothing like my view of the little dipper from my backyard. I view the sky lying on my back after finishing our nightly yoga session. Two times a day we have yoga lessons from a private yoga instructor. It is wonderful and it brings me back to the flexibility I was capable of many years ago when dancing everyday.

Let me tell you, this whole week has been a wild ride. Monday, Wednesday and Friday we have yoga from 7-8, breakfast at 8:15, morning clinic from 9AM-1, we have lunch and a break followed by tea time at 3. After that, it is evening clinic 3-6, yoga 6-7 and dinner is served promptly at 8.

Tuesday and Thursday however is slightly different. Yoga is from 7-8, breakfast is served at 8:15 and around 9 we leave to hike to a village. Dr. Paul and his team walk to a different village, once every month. The villagers know when to expect the medical crew in their town but otherwise; if it cannot wait they come to the clinic. Tuesday we went to the village Bakarna, population: 300.

 It was not busy but one case intrigued me. A woman came in with scars on her face, and a hazy look in her eyes. She didn’t speak English, but Dr. Paul told us she had Epilepsy. She had seizures when she was child, which went away and then came back during puberty. The scars were imprinted on her face from a fire, which she had collapsed into during a seizure. She had been prescribed Phenobarbital for the epilepsy (common under specific circumstances) and ayurvedic Brahami tablets for memory. I will definitely be looking more into the tablets when I return home as it has significantly helped her. 

October 13, 2011 Thursday

I had the best time. We worked at a small health care camp in the Village of Dhalani. Even though it is dubbed a “health camp”, it is actually a Jr. High School, grades 6-8. Dr. Paul and the crew (aka us and the pharmacist) were there checking up on all the children. We were doing physical exams on all persons-- 43 kids and 4 adults. The check ups included, eyes, tonsils, pulse, ears, lungs, weight, teeth and any other complaints they had. If there were any other problems, they were treated. Main problems, CAVITIES!!! Such poor dental hygiene, it even looked painful. Other problems were gastritis, scabies, worms, and ear pain due to wax build up. Also, it is winter here so just as in the states… there were several coughs and colds.

My experience.

It was wonderful, definitely the most rewarding day thus far.  When we arrived, the kids scattered trying to get chairs and tables for all of us. I have noticed the kids are very well behaved and respectful in India. Although the doctor was present, it was Taylor and I who were doing all the examinations. Being here and getting to perform even remedial health assessments has made me very confident in using different instruments. Dr. Paul puts his full trust in us to do a satisfactory job, and so far, so good.

Now I have a few stories to share from the day.

First, in India a proper and respectful greeting includes folding your hands together on your chest and saying “Namaste” while titling your head down. Secondly, extreme respect includes the usual greeting along with touching the other persons feet (I know this is unusual, but it is what it is). All the boys and girls greeted us, but one little boy greeted us and touched our feet. It melted my heart, as this was above and beyond the usual.

After we were all done and cleaning up Taylor and I went classroom to classroom (only 3) and wrote our names on the board. I had learned how to write my name a few months back when I took a Hindi class, but this was Taylors first time! It was awesome cause even though to us it is only a few symbols they were able to pronounce our names. How exciting!!  The top one is Taylor, the bottom one is Shelane.

When we were leaving the camp three girls from 7^th grade picked a flower and gave it to me. It was precious.

Finally as we were leaving all the kids sent us off with a loud goodbye.

October 14, 2011 Friday

We were in for a special treat today. Morning clinic started at 9 this morning, but because there were no patients waiting we took a stroll through the back yard. We looked at plants and herbs that are used for ayurvedic, homeopathic and other natural remedies. I wrote down a full page of plants, roots, leaves, seeds and bark. The different smells, textures and color were very fascinating. 

My notebook is becoming a gold mine of knowledge. One simple spiral notebook contains thoughts, remedies, perspective and unbelievable experiences. YES! I cant wait to keep soaking up more knowledge.

Moving on…

I am getting better at communicating with everyone. I have picked up a few words from watching patient-doctor interactions; I now can give small orders to check lungs, throat, liver, and blood pressure. Along with that, Taylor and I are getting good at hand signaling communication. It has been very successful--- except when getting lost. In that situation nothing seems to work (see previous post).

Also, to comment on the amount of English in Patti, it is a lot more limited than in the city. Dr paul speaks English well but everyone else speaks what I call Hinglish (hindi + English… get it?!) :)

As I mentioned in a previous post, the more I learn about alternative medicine the more intrigued I am about its potential success. I am bringing a lot of knowledge back home to help myself, and friends and family. I am excited to share what I have learned. In the future I see myself incorporating multiple treatment methods into my own medical practice. 

Additionally:

Tea time has become one of my favorite parts about India. Two or three times a day, Chai is made and everyone sits around a drinks a delicious cup of tea. It doesn’t matter if clinic started 10 minutes ago, we are on Indian time; enjoyment of your tea is of great importance. It doesn’t matter if villagers have nothing to give, you will get tea for coming into their home. Indian hospitality.

Bug Bites!

So many flies up in the mountains, especially in Bakarna!

All over India cultural dynamics are so different. I expected this, but it is odd to see and experience it. For example at the clinic, a little girl came in to get help with her wrist; she had fallen and sprained it pretty bad. However an older man knocked on the door, and without any hesitation the girl walked out of the room, waited for the man to be helped and then reentered.

I always thought Americans didn’t have any filter on what they say, but some Indians take it to another level. People, well actually just the men can be very rude. There have been times when Taylor and I have wanted to slap them in the face, but we resisted. I will never forget some of the situations we have been in. However, while at first we were appalled, now it just makes us laugh. Just one more memory that will stay with us forever.

I posted previously about Indian time. Patti time is no different; nothing is done in a hurry. Even when a patient is present, there is no urgency. If Dr. Paul is mid tea, or reading a newspaper article, he finishes before he begins his assessment. Also, in the time when we don’t have patients we take time to talk about life, our surroundings, our families and the future, as corny as it sounds it is very therapeutic. We have touched on the many similarities and differences between America and India. Topics such as pregnancy, AIDS, marriage, scenery, shoe prices and candy prices. It is amusing because they can’t fathom spending $60 American dollars on shoes (3500 rps.) and I have a hard time with only paying 2 cents for a candy bar. 

I have decided that being here has given me the opportunity to expose myself to different bacteria. If done correctly I will return with a strengthened immune system. So to do this I have started brushing my teeth with the water. Next will be a ¼ of a cup — still healthy, not sick yet.

^^^knock on wood

Yoga is wonderful, just like I imagined. We start our day with yoga at dawn and finish our day with yoga at sunset. Can’t complain about that. It boggles my mind I am practicing yoga in the country where it all began. Shelane for the win!

Dr. Paul has never seen a case of cancer in all of his 12 years of experience throughout the villages. There is nothing to cause cancer here besides chance and natural mutation, even that rarely exists. Don’t get me wrong it is just as prominent in the bigger cities as it is in America, but in the villages it is not the case. I thought this was also captivating.

I have been reading a book called The Neuro Revolution; it is about up and coming neuroscience and neurotechnology. It is a great book and I am enjoying it but it constantly reminds me of how lucky I am to live and have grown up in America. We have so much access to education and opportunities to learn and grow, and push ourselves outside of our “bubble”. To put it bluntly, 98% of certain village populations will never pursue higher education or even enter high school. I don’t think any of the people of Patti could even imagine what the Untied States is like. They couldn’t imagine a multi-stall bathroom with self-flushing toilets, automatic faucets, soap dispensers, and hand driers, a cereal aisle, or a grocery store for that matter. Baffling. 

Likewise, Americans would not be able to fathom what this place is like. Pictures are nothing, comparatively.

Also Dad and other builders, I thought you would get a kick out of this. When I was in Dehradun there was a lot of construction being done. Since it was the Dusshara holiday many of the people clean, improve, re-paint, and remodel their homes. This is a picture of the scaffolding used to build a deck/expansion or something of the sorts. I am pretty sure this is not up to code.

Shout out to all my blog readers. I love to know people are following me on my journey and actually spending the time to read my posts. It means a lot to me, and I hope you all are enjoying it!

Also, shout out to my ducks!! I miss all of you in Eugene and hope you are enjoying all the football games without me L I am in there in spirit.

OOOOOOOOO! Go Ducks!

Sometimes I still catch myself trying to wrap my head around the environment around me. It feels surreal that I am in India, almost like a movie. I worked so hard for this and now I am already two weeks into my adventure. Crazy.

Even after a days worth of helping so many patients, practicing yoga and ”expanding my horizons” , when I look at the night sky I still miss the little dipper. 

Xoxo,

India and Shelane

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