Day 12:

The entire city was on strike today due to rising petrol prices, so everyone stayed home from work due to safety concerns. We spent the day relaxing, reading, doing work for our different organizations, laundry, and just hanging out.

Also some pictures from the dialysis unit…

Hemodialysis Unit

Nurse's Station

Dialysis Machine

Day 11:

Today I was back on the dialysis unit, and it was all about learning more about the process. The doctors usually do this procedure where they join a vein and an artery in order to make dialysis easier. Apparently veins don’t have enough pressure to support dialysis, so by joining the vein and artery, there’s much more pressure. It also forms this little bump (usually on the wrist or near the elbow) called a fistula that’s almost buzzing with such a strong pulse. Because it takes about a month for this fistula to fully form, sometimes the doctors also have to insert a catheter into the patient’s neck while they wait for the fistula to mature. They were doing this procedure right as I arrived, so I got to watch.

It’s interesting because in the US, placing a catheter would probably be an out patient surgery, complete with operating rooms and lots of formality. But here at the hospital, they did the procedure right on the unit with just local anesthetic, and I just watched as I pleased. It’s also interesting because the doctor was telling me that in the US, we have preventative screenings so we know if a patient will need dialysis, at which point we can do the fistula surgery and then usually move onto a kidney transplant. But here in India, it’s all about maintaining quality of life. There’s no preventative screenings, transplants are almost non-existent, and usually patients can’t pay anyways. That’s why catheters have to be placed, because oftentimes patients come to the hospital so much in need of dialysis that they can’t wait even four weeks for a fistula to mature.

The rest of the day I spent wandering around the unit watching the nurses and doctors work, getting a better explanation of the actual dialysis machine itself, helping with rounds, and also taking patients’ blood pressures whenever I got the chance!

Day 10:

Because I did nothing exciting today besides spend the day (literally all day) in the FRRO office registering, here are some pictures of the last couple of days….

Our room

Balcony/dining area

Happy birthday Maria!

Proof that we are all in India, even if nobody's looking at the camera!

Day 9:

First day of work was a success! I’m starting this week on the dialysis unit, and I’m realizing just how laid-back Indians are. The doctor on the unit pretty much told me to do whatever I wanted, so that’s what I did. I followed the nurses around, watched them start and finish the dialysis procedures on the patients, tried to ask questions, learned the different parts of the machine and how they worked, attempted but mostly failed (due to language) at talking with patients, and learned how to take blood pressure!

Being on the unit also made me realize just how big of a language gap there is. I partly chose India because I knew English was spoken here; however, I didn’t anticipate how little it is actually known. There were maybe 2 nurses the whole day who could explain in detail what was going on, and even when they do speak English, both my and their accents are so great that it’s still hard to understand each other.

Today was also the first day that I really felt like a foreigner. I guess there are benefits to being in a foreign country: you can get away with a lot more cultural mishaps, and I definitely had a couple today! Besides getting to work way earlier than needed but much later than I was originally told, I also had a crazy adventure at lunch. The unit’s doctor practically pushed me out of the unit around lunchtime to go to eat with the other nurses, and then once I got outside the women nurses seemed completely surprised that I was actually coming with them. I also thought we were going to a restaurant, but then we arrived at this house where everyone went upstairs to give offerings to the household shrine and then back downstairs for a big lunch. Thank god this Russian lady arrived (she’s apparently married to an Indian doctor) and kind of explained things to me, because I was so completely and totally lost as to what was going on! I’m still not sure….from what I understand, apparently the house belonged to some hospital supervisor and apparently he’s moving, and I guess it’s customary to have some sort of gathering when you move places. I also thought I was invited, but it’s really quite possible that unintentionally invited myself to this lunch by tagging along with the nurses! I guess we’ll never know, because they spoke little to no English, and I still have no idea whether they were laughing among themselves or laughing at me the entire lunch!!

Day 8:

Whenever I told people I was going to India, they all told me to expect to get sick. And after a week of trying all sorts of food and feeling great, I must have eaten something bad because I’ve spent the last 24 hours feeling pretty crappy. It’s also kind of ironic because I didn’t even eat Indian food yesterday, we just made American food here at the suites! But luckily we’ve had time to just hang out and I’m feeling much better after a 5 hour nap this afternoon!

Also on the topic of food, we had to make a list of all the different types of dishes just so we would know what to order. Just so I won’t forget, here it is:

Roti/chapatti- bread

Parathas- stuffed roti

Panir- dish with cheese

Biriyani- dish with rice

Masala- spices

Aloo gobi- veg sauce

Ghee- butter

Dosa- crepe-like bread

Dal- lental dish

Chutney- type of sauce/dip

Idli- rice cake

Day 7:

We had a nice relaxing morning just hanging out in the main building and talking with everyone. It was especially nice for Abby and I because we’re staying across the street and don’t have internet, so we brought our computers over and were able to catch up on the world. We also washed our clothes and then did some shopping for food at the little convenience store down the road. We’ve all decided we want to eat out less and save money on food, so we’re going to start cooking meals in.

This afternoon we headed to Commercial Street for some Indian clothes shopping! I bought several pairs of leggings and kurtas, which should be perfect for my internship! There are so many different types/varieties of fabrics it’s hard to choose, but we all found some really nice stuff! I’m excited because these clothes will be so much cooler than the jeans I’ve been sweating to death in the last week!

Day 6:

Today we visited two different organizations to learn about their businesses. It was mainly for the GSE kids but I tagged along too, and it was pretty interesting. The first was a disabilities school where they not only treat their disabilities with things such as prosthetics, wheelchairs or therapy but also educate the kids in a trade so they can go into the workforce. The second was an organization that provides affordable home-lighting systems to people living in poverty.

We’re finding out that our jet lag is just now hitting us… everyone is soo tired so we’re cooking dinner here in the suites and heading to bed early tonight!

Also, some pictures that I finally figured out how to upload:

A common sight on the streets

Fruit stand near the hospital

One of our neighborhood streets

View from a rickshaw

Day 5:
(5/24/12)

Today was really great because we (Cathy and I) visited the hospital where I’ll be working! Mr. Ramesh was so nice and it sounds like he’s put a ton of thought into the next six weeks. Basically I’ll be rotating through the different areas of the hospital- stem cell research, dialysis, oncology, OB, pediatrics, eye care- which should be really interesting and keep me extremely busy! Hopefully it’ll all come through (I’m thinking it will), but we are on India time, where nothing is on time and one thing is said and something completely different can happen as a result!

Later the entire group went out to eat at a nice restaurant. We got to try a bunch of different sauces with rice and roti (bread). It was all pretty good, although I’m still not a fan of really spicy food, but my favorite part with this mango dip- so wonderful!

Day 4:

Spent literally all day at the FRRO office trying to register with the government, only to be told that we were missing some forms and have to come back. So onto a more interesting topic…

It seems like in America we define so many things by appearance. There’s a certain “look” to wealth and a certain “look” to poverty. And the majority of the time it seems like people are influenced by these looks and pressured into following a specific standard. But here in India it’s completely different….. trash everywhere, cows that get right-of-way in the road, pollution, noise, poverty, wealth…. All right next to each other. The interesting part is that the people seem completely unaffected by it all. In America, people would be appalled with the trash or by having to ride a noisy rickshaw through tons of traffic and pollution. But here, people grow up in this environment and really just seem unfazed by it all.

Also fun fact about India: the steering wheel is on the right side of all cars!

Day 3:

(5/22/12)

Today was one of our last free days before everyone is here and our programs start…. So we decided to spend it by visiting a temple! About 7 of us went to the Ishkan Temple, which was a really incredible experience. It really did not seem like a destination for westerners, meaning we were definitely the minority as we walked through. After removing our shoes, we walked through this maze of walkways up to the first of three shrines. At each shrine there were different statues, flowers, figurines, and incense burning. The final shrine was located in this huge room and was so impressive… three huge statues with this huge gold pyramid, people everywhere, Brahmins (like monks) performing different ceremonies, and one

Brahmin even did a little prayer with our group. Pretty incredible! And really neat to see, although unfortunately no pictures allowed. We bought snacks for lunch at the temple, and then eventually made it back to the suites after being taken far out of the way by rickshaw drivers who just wanted to charge us much more money than necessary. Later this evening we went to get phones as a group (by now, almost everyone is here) and then went to dinner at one of our favorite local places.

Day 2:

Today we decided to adventure around the city again. There are five of us here and we’ve really been enjoying our time alone and exploring the city at our own pace. The manager of Mathyoo was talking to us this morning and wanted to give us advice on where to go so we “wouldn’t waste our time exploring.” Needless to say we didn’t tell her we had spent the previous day aimlessly walking around Bangalore for 5 hours! After breakfast we found our little neighborhood convenience store, where we bought water, snacks, and lunch to share- maggie, India’s version of ramen. This past afternoon we ventured to the Bangaluru Palace. We took an audio tour and listened to the history of the different people and rooms and then sat in the garden for a while talking- a really nice break from all the walking we’ve been doing lately! Afterwards we headed back into town for dinner at a small local place and now we’re back at the suites ready to go to sleep!

In terms of jet lag, I think we’ve done a pretty good job with the time change! We’ve stayed so busy in the last 48 hours that we really haven’t had time to sleep during the day, which is good because I feel like I’m pretty much on India time already. We’re all waking up earlier than normal and going to bed earlier, but other than that we’re doing pretty well.

Also, just a little about the transportation here: it’s crazy! There are traffic laws and they’re generally followed, but for the most part cars and autos (auto rickshaws, little motorized vehicles) and scooters just weave in and out of each other trying to find the nearest opening in traffic and quickest route to where they’re going. Normally we just wave one down and usually they know where to take us, but we also have to negotiate the price. Because we’re foreigners they try to charge us at least double what the fare should be, so we either have to argue or make sure they use the “meter” so we’re getting a fair price.

Day 1:

We have arrived! After three flights and two days since leaving Ohio, we’re finally in Bangalore!

The flights went well, and I’m proud to say I crossed the Atlantic Ocean for the first time! But I think I was more impressed with the 10-seat-across and two story plane! Also, you won’t believe who I sat next to flying to Paris…. An Indian couple who have been to Bangalore. The lady is an internal medicine doctor, three of their four kids want to be pre-med, and the oldest daughter just finished up her first year of med school! Coincidence? I don’t know, but it was nice talking to them!

After a 9.5 hour flight from Paris, we arrived in Bangalore and luckily didn’t have any problems getting through customs. As we flew over the different continents, it was interesting to see all the changing landscapes. French countryside is so beautiful, with different colored fields that almost look like a patch-work quilt. But flying into India, it’s such a drastic change, with a very harsh-looking desert and mountain landscape.

After spending a couple hours in the airport waiting for a couple people to arrive, we got to the suites around breakfast time. Even though we felt like sleeping all day, we decided to try to stay awake. And what do you do when you need to stay awake but feel like passing out at 9am? You go exploring! So pretty much we took ourselves on a giant walking tour of Bangalore, and then had to take naps when we got back because we were so tired from walking all morning! We also went out for dinner, and I had my first real Indian food. It was actually very good and not too spicy (although we did get mild stuff).

Off to bed because jet lag is catching up...I'm actually surprised I'm still up!

PS- internet here is really terrible but is hopefully getting fixed soon.