RIDING RAILS

Saturday, February 23, 6:00pm: Charlie and I arrive at Jewel’s house for dinner. Jewel is an occupational therapist from the same batch as Neeraj and Alok. She is posted in neuro for her bond period at CMC. Shortly after moving to Mrs. George’s house we found out that Jewel was pretty much our neighbor. Since then we have used her as a reference point when people ask us where we live… “Do you know where Jewel lives? Well, we are further down that road and to the right.” She and Anumeha, a physio student, invited us to dinner on Saturday. The food was incredible and the fellowship was wonderful. Meha’s friend, Jerry, joined us halfway through the evening to add a small male perspective to our conversations. I had come to dinner packed and ready to head off to the All Indian Occupational Therapy Association national conference in Trivandrum, Kerala. My train was scheduled to depart Katpadi station (Vellore) at 9:30pm. Although not my preference, I ate and ran.

AN INDIAN WEDDING

Last week Charlie and I made our first public saree debut. It was epic. Not just because we were two white girls in sarees, but because of the event surrounding the reason for donning sarees. The occasion was an Indian wedding. Somehow we managed to snag an invitation to the reception and wedding ceremony of one of the physios who currently works at the CMC Rehabilitation Institute. We had purchased sarees with the hope that we would be able to wear them at a wedding here. Cultural (diving in), ya know? And to a wedding dressed in sarees we went!

TRAVEL BY BUS

I have written a few lines about travel in India and few lines about being the only blue eyes on the bus. I’d like to describe in a little more detail what it is like to travel by bus during “rush hour” in India. Before I give much detail, I’m sure you immediately imagine a crowded bus bumping along at a fairly high rate of speed. You would not be wrong. Imagining this situation and being in this situation, however, are two very different things. I’d like to try and transport you to a place of “being” in this situation.

TO NEW HEIGHTS

Charlie and I had originally intended to go to Pondicherry this past weekend, but with our lackadaisical approach to weekend travel we found ourselves without accommodations. Lesson learned: do a little planning next time! Instead of exploring Pondi, we decided to explore our own backyard from a different perspective. We climbed College Hill.

College Hill is a small hill on CMC property that offers lovely views of the surrounding landscape. Alok, being an avid trekker, agreed to take a few of us to the top of the hill for breakfast on Sunday morning. I wanted to see the sunrise from the peak. ‘Twas a little selfish of me, but I think most would agree that trekking in the cool morning air is far better than catching a few more zzz’s and trekking in the muggy hot temperatures.

VILLAGE LIFE

Over the past two weeks I have spent a bit of time in the surrounding villages. I have loved seeing the way of life in each village, and have tried to capture a bit of that for those back home to see. This post is mostly photos of village life.

JUST AN ORDINARY WHITE GIRL

I left Seattle, Washington, USA a little over a month ago. I can still visualize that walk down the jet way to board my first flight. You would have seen a nondescript five foot-something, blonde-haired, blue-eyed (slightly teary) girl ambling down the jet way like any ordinary passenger. In fact, this passenger would probably be so ordinary that you wouldn't even notice her. This is still my perspective.

SINK OR SWIM

The mercury is on the rise here. So far it has not been unbearable, but we keep getting warned about the temperatures ahead. I hope I will learn to not complain when the temperature does soar. One of the locals told me that summer temperatures can reach 48 degrees Celsius. (For those keeping score in the land of Fahrenheit that is approximately 120 degrees.) I also plan to get a monthly pass to the local pool. Swimming to cool down may help me keep my sanity. The theory was tested this weekend. It worked, then again maybe it had something to do with the company…

THE CAPTIVATED HELD CAPTIVE

As mentioned in previous posts, I am now at CHAD (Community Health and Development). I will be here for about three weeks. I will be honest. This has not been my favorite post. I was excited about it because I knew it would be an opportunity to see what OT in the community looks like through the Indian perspective. After hearing stories like my young patient in Q3 with the spinal cord injury, I was interested in seeing how others like him were doing and what was CMC doing for them. I started the week with great expectations.

THIS IS INDIA

This post would probably be more accurately entitled “These are the villages around Vellore“ but that just doesn’t sound as catchy. India is a big country. It is a country with great diversity and variety. For instance, there are fifteen different languages used on the rupees notes as there are about that many “official” languages spoken throughout the country (I understand that there are many, many more than that actually spoken). So to post a blog that declares “this is India” is a rather bold move.

REPUBLIC DAY CARNIVAL

Last weekend was Republic Day in India. My understanding of Republic Day is that is the day India has chosen to celebrate their ability to come together and establish a government capable of ruling themselves. (I am willing to be corrected on this, so if anyone can confirm or clarify this, please do.) It is different than Independence Day. Regardless of the details, it is a day of celebration. A national holiday. This means that we got the day off. This year Republic Day was on a Saturday. For those from the US that would mean that the day would be spent like a typical Saturday, but since Saturday is a work day here, having it off was a big deal.

COMMUNITIES

When I first arrived here, I griped about being alone. It was true. Then. Now I find myself interwoven in two diverse webs of ever-changing, ever-expanding communities. “Lonely” is a term of yesterday. In one arena, you will find me exploring the world around with other international medical students who, like me, want to experience this new place before we have to return to our “normal” lives. In the other arena, you will find me experiencing “normal” life with the local CMC staff and learning the ways and means of life in Vellore. Both are incredible webs to find myself caught it.

TRANSPLANTED

Last Friday marked the beginning of my fourth week here in Vellore, India. The fourth week since my little world was shaken around. I am amazed at how time has both stood still and flown by. It seems like forever ago that I was walking away (teary-eyed) from my (even more teary-eyed) sister as she dropped me off at the SeaTac airport. And yet, that day could have been yesterday.

FACES OF VELLORE

The work week here is five and a half days long. Saturday the staff works from 8am to noon. This is their normal. International students are given the option to take “a holiday” on Saturdays, but I decided to work this Saturday. (I am completely in love with what I am doing here, even if I don’t understand the language much and can’t communicate with most of my patients, that going in on Saturday morning is a blessing.) After work, Charlie met me at the hospital for an afternoon of exploration.

FRIDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY

I have already mentioned, and introduced to you, Divya and her husband Paul and their friends, but I wanted to post a little more about them. Divya and Paul are a Christian couple who work as OTs at the CMC. Divya is a therapist in out-patient pediatrics, and Paul is a therapist in acute care (A2 Ward). I have been working with Paul the last two days, and will continue to work with him and Elizabeth during the next week.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT DINNERS

Every Wednesday night the international students go out to dinner at the Darling Hotel. It is very good food and not too expensive (four of us ate our fill for $20) for American standards. This is apparently a long-standing tradition. This Wednesday we had a group of close to sixty people. The typical size is about twenty people, I guess. The food reminded me of American Indian food, in fact, the dish I ate was the same as something I would have eaten at Gateway to India back home. The restaurant is on the rooftop of the Darling Hotel. I didn't count the flights of stairs, but there were a lot! I was able to take a shot off the rooftop at night, but it is not very clear.

THE COLOR OF VELLORE

Sunday afternoon I was able to spend some time wandering the streets of Vellore with my camera. This post will mostly be photos, as photos are worth a thousand words, right? Vellore is much like the other areas of India I have seen. One of the striking differences between the people of Vellore and people of Kolkata, in my opinion, is that there are fewer beggars in Vellore. I remember people with their hands held out tapping constantly at my elbows in Kolkata. There is some of that in Vellore, but not much. I did have a number of children tapping me asking me to take their pictures. I loved to do so, however I wish I was able to capture the moment where I show them the picture I took. Their dirty little faces absolutely light up and the giggles spill out.