Despite the crazy ridiculous commute, 10 of us TPSers (that stands for Transdisciplinary Problem Solving, i.e., the beginning of our class title) have somehow safely arrived in Pondicherry. Let me explain why I've used the word "somehow":
So, I thought I've gotten used to the craziness that is "driving in India," as I barely flinch when motorbikes, autos, and pedestrians weave in and out of the road in front of barreling traffic. Last night, however, our Pondicherry commute took crazy to a whole new level. Let's just say that several cows and a family of monkeys were inches away from becoming roadkill. Ironically, the only animal I haven't seen crossing the road (or highway, in this instance) is a chicken. Then, when we were just about to reach Pondicherry, our driver pulled over on the side of the highway, and left us sitting in the van, in the pitch black, next to an empty field. Of course we were all thinking the worst, but five minutes later, he returned to the car, threw the car in reverse, "Jingle Bells" began playing (yup - best reverse song ever), and our driver explained that apparently we needed a permit to enter the city. Who knew!? Anyway, all was officially right in the world again!
Alright - back to today/tonight's festivities! Will post pictures/stories soon!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Blessings from an elephant!
Post 2 for the day (I'm playing catch up here...).
Today's class was pretty interesting, as we learned about oral health issues plaguing the area. Basically, I learned that the dentist to population served ratio here is upwards of 1:200,000. Clearly this paucity of dental health providers has far-reaching health implications... We also received our first "skills lab," in which we were trained to distinguish between normal and abnormal oral health. Unfortunately, my partner for the day, Nancy, had to put up with my mean case of the giggles in order to practice her oral health examination skills.
Tonight, some of us students were lucky enough to visit the Big Temple here in Thanjavur, with a guided tour set up by Ravi (our co-instructor). It was absolutely incredible. Not only did we get to enjoy the amazing architecture (which apparently took only 6 years to build), but we all got to go "behind the scenes" to be blessed by priests and even an elephant. In addition to being marked with red and white powders, we also received jasmine flowers. Interestingly, the priests put these flowers around the necks of the men in our group, but not the women, as presenting women with such flowers around the neck is a part of a marriage ceremony here in India. Just a fun fact for you all! :) The whole tour was such a beautiful and incredible experience.
And, as always, our group became a tourist attraction, with people posing in front of us for pictures and even asking us to take their pictures for our own cameras. Though some of that is still a bit strange, I definitely appreciate all of the young children, especially the little girls, who get so excited to welcome us to their country and inquire about our names. It's just too cute!
Well folks, that's all for tonight. I should head to bed, as tomorrow is a full day of GI-focused class, sari fitting, and Megan's birthday celebrations!
Until later,
e
Today's class was pretty interesting, as we learned about oral health issues plaguing the area. Basically, I learned that the dentist to population served ratio here is upwards of 1:200,000. Clearly this paucity of dental health providers has far-reaching health implications... We also received our first "skills lab," in which we were trained to distinguish between normal and abnormal oral health. Unfortunately, my partner for the day, Nancy, had to put up with my mean case of the giggles in order to practice her oral health examination skills.
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| Practicing the art of masking during class. (Thanks to Ramesh for the pic.) |
Tonight, some of us students were lucky enough to visit the Big Temple here in Thanjavur, with a guided tour set up by Ravi (our co-instructor). It was absolutely incredible. Not only did we get to enjoy the amazing architecture (which apparently took only 6 years to build), but we all got to go "behind the scenes" to be blessed by priests and even an elephant. In addition to being marked with red and white powders, we also received jasmine flowers. Interestingly, the priests put these flowers around the necks of the men in our group, but not the women, as presenting women with such flowers around the neck is a part of a marriage ceremony here in India. Just a fun fact for you all! :) The whole tour was such a beautiful and incredible experience.
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| I think the weirdest part of this experience was feeling her exhale on my head. That, and the ol' slobber on my scalp after the blessing. Delicious. |
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| Me and the roomie (Megan). Not the most flattering picture, but what do you expect when a boy takes it?!? Plus, it's the only proof I have of our "blessings." |
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| The Big Temple |
And, as always, our group became a tourist attraction, with people posing in front of us for pictures and even asking us to take their pictures for our own cameras. Though some of that is still a bit strange, I definitely appreciate all of the young children, especially the little girls, who get so excited to welcome us to their country and inquire about our names. It's just too cute!
Well folks, that's all for tonight. I should head to bed, as tomorrow is a full day of GI-focused class, sari fitting, and Megan's birthday celebrations!
Until later,
e
Andipatti
As I was sitting here enjoying some delicious "American Style Cream and Onion Flavour" Lay's potato chips and a "not hot" Pepsi (i.e., slightly cooler than room temp), I realized that I haven't posted an update in a day or two. Oops. (As a side note, I'm fully aware that as a public health professional, I should not be eating such junk food. However, I've decided to justify it with the fact that I've eaten almost a dozen hard boiled eggs in the last three days [no lie]! I'm not complaining, though! I just needed to mix things up!)
So, back to the scoop.
Yesterday, we had a second field trip to nearby villages Vanakkum and Andipatti, where we had the privilege of seeing another federally-run primary health center and an ICTPH-affiliated rural micro health center. After enduring a long, bumpy ride to the villages, staff at both of these centers graciously gave us tours and spent time answering our questions. (Quick shout out to Erin R. for some of the following pictures.)
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| As explained by Ramesh, "The road to Andipatti runs parallel to an irrigation aqueduct constructed by King Raja Raja I of the Chola Dynasty around 1000 years ago. It is still used to irrigate fields, which lie on the other side of the road." |
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| View from the Andipatti back door. Note the bore well that locals use to bathe. |
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| ICTPH clinic in Andipatti. It was a gorgeous facility. |
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| Nearby well that villagers use to gather water. Unfortunately, I believe it only runs once per day. |
Monday, June 6, 2011
Monkeys monkeys everywhere
Yesterday (Sunday) was an incredibly lazy day on my part. Besides venturing out for a quick walk to the market to get some toilet paper, I pretty much did a whole lot of nothing. I guess that's not entirely true, I did do a lot of research on water sanitation and GI diseases for my project and am more motivated than ever to get started on this beast of a project.
I would say the biggest event yesterday for our crew was the random monkey invasion of early afternoon. I strongly suggest you check out my classmate Eprise's blog post about this, as it is absolutely hilarious and offers a great perspective on the chaotic situation: http://roamingsocialworker.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/monkeys/
That's about it for our lazy Sunday! Today (Monday) it's back to the grind, as we have another site visit!
I would say the biggest event yesterday for our crew was the random monkey invasion of early afternoon. I strongly suggest you check out my classmate Eprise's blog post about this, as it is absolutely hilarious and offers a great perspective on the chaotic situation: http://roamingsocialworker.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/monkeys/
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| Thank you, Sonia, for maintaining your composure long enough during this situation to take a picture of the perpetrator! |
That's about it for our lazy Sunday! Today (Monday) it's back to the grind, as we have another site visit!
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