I spent the last two weeks of my journey teaching the Tilda nursing students and it seemed as if India wanted to throw me a grand going away party. In my last two weeks it felt like a lot happened. They were small things, but when added up they caused the end of my trip to fly by very eventfully. I'm grateful I kept such a detailed journal so I can recall the events clearly.
A day after my last post, I attended the graduation of several of our nurses from Tilda Nursing School. It was a long night but it was nice to compare it to an American graduation. Everything was so colorful and open (as is everything else in India). It wasn't what I expected at all, but I realized that nothing else about my trip had been what I expected so why should this be any different?
The last weeks of my trip, the heat swelled to about 110-120 degrees Fahrenheit. My body had adjusted so it wasn't as bad as if I'd experienced that in America. I was used to not having an air conditioning at that point. At least we had cold water thanks to our mini-fridge.
One of my triumphs in the last week was the fact that I memorized all of my nursing students' names. I can't pretend that I still remember them all, but I think there were 22 students total and I knew them all! At first I was discouraged with teaching, but when I realized the type of teaching they responded to best and gave them lots of time to practice on the computer it turned out very well.
During the two weeks I helped our maid/cook/surrogate mother cook dinner a few times and wrote down the recipe to my favorite dish she made (chili chicken). It started out with me rolling out chapati (tortilla-like bread) with her. I was just watching and then she asked if I wanted to help. At first I was horrible at it, but there's just a specific rhythm to it that you have to get used to and practice. I really enjoyed cooking with her. It felt like we kind of bonded. Her English isn't very good so we didn't say much, but it meant a lot to me to get to know her a little better.
I took lots of pictures the last two weeks, more than I did in the first 6 weeks. We got to travel to some villages even smaller than Mungeli when we accompanied the school teachers to recruit new students for Rambo Memorial English School.
We lived in the doctor's apartments and we were used to seeing cows break into our garden looking for grass and vegetables, but one afternoon we looked outside to see 5 or 6 cows in our tiny yard. We've never seen that many there and had to chase them all out. They were like a small herd. We continued to see cows in the village and we took notice of two in particular. One day we noticed a cow with a broken leg who had taken to hobbling around on three legs. Tanja and Habib and I had considered trying to fix it but weren't sure if it belonged to somone or if it was our place to try and help or not. We saw this same cow many times in worsening states and then one day we saw a companion with him, another cow with a broken leg it could no longer use. Everytime we saw them in the field on our way back from the market we fed them some vegetables or bread. The first time it was cucumbers.
The same day we saw the second cow we attended a local wedding. It was, like the graduation, very colorful and open. They had a huge buffet of traditional indian food and live entertainment, dancers. I couldn't believe how many people were there for the event! We had our picture taken with the bride and groom. The bride wore a bright red sari with gold trim. On our way home we drove through a small village and saw a fairly large group of people gathered around a television set outside, I guess it was movie night. It reminded me of the end of the movie Slumdog Millinaire where everyone was gathered around whatever TV they could find.
A couple of days before I left, Tanja and Habib and I got to take a tour of a rice factory in Mungeli. They had met the owner's son at the hospital eye camp before I arrived. The factory has two machines, both fairly old looking, one that produces/sorts 5 tons a day and the other which produces 10 tons a day. Only the smaller one was active when we visited. I've never seen so much rice in my life! There were huge mounds and bags of it everywhere. Afterwards we went to visit his house and meet his family. It was interesting to see the large gap between the rich and poor which exists even in a small village like Mungeli. The rice factory owner had a marble staircase in his house. We saw the son's "Bio-Data" sheet, which is pretty much his resume for finding a suitable bride for an arranged mariage. He said he will probably be married within a year; he's 23 years old.
I finally got to wear a sari for our going away party. We picked them up from the tailor in the afternoon and then helped with party preparations. Kavita and Chico helped cook. Kavita and Akibala helped Tanja and I put on our saris. It's so complicated I doubt I'll be able to recreate it effectively. It was a relaxed night. We all just ate and talked. Of course people brought us gifts even though we hadn't wanted any. The hospital staff was so kind to us duirng our whole stay. We got small gifts for them as well.
Tanja and Habib left the next morning and I hadn't expected to feel as lonely as I did. I was really glad to be leaving the next day. I'd hoped to get a good night's sleep for my trip home, but of course I encountered second near-monkey attack and first poisonous centipede encounter the night before I left. But I also got to see 20 or more monkeys on the wall outside our building migrate to a large tree at sunset and I got some great pictures. I hardly remember the trip home. I slept a lot and talked to lots of nice people on my plane rides. And when I got back I felt energized. I wanted to talk about everything and I was grateful to be eating beef for the first time in awhile, not to mention the fact that it was my mom's cooking!
I hadn't expected to feel so sad when I left Mungeli. I was certainly ready to come home, but as I was loading my bags into the jeep I got very nostalgic. I nearly cried when I said goodbye to Dr. Sonal. As I looked out at the vast dry plains around me I nearly wanted to stay there. I knew I'd miss the painted tree trunks and wandering, stubborn cows. And I do.
It's so hard to answer that simple question "How was India?" It's difficult to answer almost any question about my trip because nothing about India can be summed up. If I try to put a label on it or squeeze it into a few short stories, it'll just burst out of the mold I've pushed it into. If it weren't for my plethora of photos, I might think it was all a dream. Here in America, I'm comfortable and happy, but I miss never knowing what the new day will bring. It feels like maybe I got it all mixed up - my life at home is the dream, and India is the reality of life.
India is a largely undeveloped country, but it has potential. Mostly because of the kindness and resilience of its people. I saw that in my two weeks of travelling, but I saw it the most at Christian Hospital Mungeli. The people there truly accepted me and made me feel welcome. I saw it in the fact that children from 7 different religions can learn together in a classroom peacefully, can be friends. I never felt threatened in my time there, and even when I did, I later realized I was mistaken.
I can't wait to go back and see everything I didn't get a chance to see while I was there. I've been uploading pictures, slowly, of my time in India. So far, I've put up the photos of my first 6 weeks on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurynstravels
Enjoy!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Happy Easter!
Hello All! I know it's been a very long time since I've written. I think my parents probably informed you all that I was going on a 2 week trip through the south of India. If you want to follow my progress on a map: We travelled from Mungeli to Raipur by car, where we caught a train to Bhubaneswar (in the state of Orissa). From there we took a shorter train trip to Puri. While in Puri we took a bus to Konark. From Puri back to Bhubaneswar and from there to Chennai for a day. From Chennai we took a train to Kollam (in the state of Kerala, on the western tip) and steadily travelled north to Allapuzha then Fort Cochin. Our train left from Ernakulam to South Goa (Palolem is the beach we stayed at for a day), then another train to Mumbai for a day, then back home to Bilaspur where we caught a bus to Mungeli. We left on Friday the 27th and arrived back Saturday night (April 11th). We were exahausted. It's now Monday night and I feel thoroughly recovered. I hadn't planned on travelling while here but because everything is so much cheaper here compared to America I was able to. We saw so many things, I hardly know where to begin this entry, so I'm looking at my journal as a reference.
I knew that this trip was going to be quite an experience right away.We arrived at the Raipur train station rather early and saw a Hindu temple under construction. We decided to go have a look and take some pictures and when we got closer, the men inside beckoned us in to have a look. The original temple had existed since the 50's but they had been adding on for the last few years. They took up up the flight of stairs to the very top of the temple, maybe seven stories high. It was adorned with colorful statues of the Hindu gods. It was a very cool experience. By the time I woke up on the train the next morning, my hair was frizzy. I coule feel the oppresive humidty that had set in and would remain for the rest of the trip. It was hard to adjust to. After we arrived in Puri that afternoon, we took a bus to nearby Konark, home of the famous Sun Temple. When I got my first glimpse of it, my jaw literally dropped and I gasped. It was so huge and beautiful!! The complex actually contains a dancing hall, a prayer hall, the sun temple (which is now actually mostly destroyed) and a temple for the sun god's wife. So what really made me gasp was the prayer hall (as I later found out). It wasn't colorful like the other Hindu temples we'd seen. It was all elaborately carved stone. I've never seen anything like it. It was built around 1200 by the king of Orissa at the time. He built it after a war with the Muslims to celebrate their victory and encourage reproduction (because of all the people killed in the war), which is why the prayer hall is carved with mostly kama sutra carvings. At first we were baffled by the fact that such carvings would be on a prayer hall, but it's a rather clever way to increase the population of your country. The prayer hall/sun temple is created to look like a chariot. At the stairs are seven horses pulling it and all around it are a total of 24 carved wheels.
Our hotel in Puri was very nice. The city is relatively small and right by the ocean. The place we stayed was mostly inhabited by fellow back packers and some European travellers so it was nice to get some travelling tips from them. The next day we went to Chilika lake which is Asia's largest brackish lake. They have dolphins there and we were lucky enough to spot some, though not lucky enough to get any pictures because when they surfaced they disappeared again so quickly. The boat ride was nice and we got to see the place where the lake meets the ocean. There was a beautiful view there.
Tanja and I woke early the next morning to see the fishermen go out to sea, but unfortunately it was too windy so we only saw 2 boats go out. We met a fisherman who had lived in the little fishing village there his whole life. He asked us if we wanted to see the village. I was unsure at first in putting our trust in a stranger, but we decided to go with him and we were very glad we did. We met his wife and 2 beautiful children and it was nice to see inside the village. His family lived in a one room house.
We travelled back to Bhubaneswar and saw several Hindu temples. We also visited some caves (though I forget the name) that were from before Christ was born. The monkeys are nice in Mungeli, but when I tried to get close enough to take a picture with one at the caves, it hissed at me and showed it's teeth. I was so scared! Since then I'm afraid to get to close to them (which is probably for the best). Luckily Habib got a picture in just the right moment on his camera. I look forward to showing it to you all - it's very funny.
On the train to Chennai we met a doctor and a 19 year old who has been in the Indian Navy since he was 16. He still has 12 years left to serve.The next day in Chennai was tiring. We hired an auto rickshaw driver for the day and went to Saint Thomas Mount (where Thomas was killed) and Little Mount. After that we found a place to eat by the beach which had hamburgers (I'd been missing them), it's not worth mentioning except for the fact that one of the burgers on the menu was called "Welcoming Obama". Everyone here loves him. Whenever I would say I was from America, it was practically the first thing out of their mouths. "Do you like Obama?" and then "He's a good man" or something like that. It made me so proud of America! I knew that his election would change the world's opinion of us but being here I have seen it first hand; I have proof of it. I'm on the other side of the world and that's the first thing everyone here associates with America.
So that afternoon we went to the Theosophical Society which is an organization that wants to unite all religions. They believe that all Gods lead to the same place. Being at Saint Thomas Mount and The Theosophical Society reminded me so much of Brookmeade! They had a beautiful garden with a 400 year old Banyan Tree and also had temples from all religions on the premises - Sikh, Farsi, Hindu, Buddhist as well as a "Liberal Catholic Church". I think most of the Christians in India are Catholics (though the fisherman we met in Puri turned out to be a Baptist). It's odd how many Christians we met on our trip, considering the fact that they only make up 2% of India's population.
Our train for Kollam (in the Southern state of Kerala - it's actually a Communist state) left the evening of April 1st. Our train was behind schedule and got in late the next morning and we barely made our boat to Allapuzha. After a few hours we got off early in order to spend a day at an Ashram. It was founded by Amma, one of India's most famous spiritual leaders today. It's like it's own community. They have a printing press, bank, and cooks who prepare food for everyone. My stay there for a single night (including 3 meals) was only Rs. 150 - approximately 3 American Dollars. Amma dedicates herself to the service of others all around the world and is famous for hugging everyone who comes to her in need. She wasn't at the Ashram while we were there because she was travelling in Europe. Some of the people at the Ashram had been there for 3 months and others had been there for 10 years. An older woman that I spoke to explained that many of the people there had been "hurt in past lives" which was why they sought refuge and were unwilling to trust. She said that most people who came there were looking to grow spiritually. Most of the people there were young westerners. Their days follow a strict schedule of chanting, meditation and self service to keep the Ashram in working order. The view from our room was spectacular. We were on the eighth floor. On the right side of our building was the ocean and on the left was a river and in every direction a forest of palm trees strectched as far as the eye could see. It was breathtaking.
The next evening we were in Allapuzha and booking a houseboat. Tanja really wanted to have a true backwaters experience. The houseboat wasn't able to go into the small channels and little towns though so when we anchored for the night we took a guide with a canoe and ventured into a channel. It was nice to see the villages up close. All the little girls threw us flowers! I also fished that night for the first time in my life. Tanja actually caught a small fish. I can tell you, having a house boat for 24 hours was about the last thing I expected to do in India!
The next morning we took a bus to Fort Cochin, which is famous for it's old-fashioned chinese fishing nets, which are difficult to describe. They're huge. On one side over the ocean there is a large net and on the other are ropes and heavy rocks. They lower the large net into the water and after a few mintues use all their manpower to quickly pull it up again. Tanja, Habib and I got to help them pull the ropes, but we were too slow so they didn't catch anything when we helped. But it was really fun. Habib was so enthusiastic that he got rope burns on his hands. The shore was lined with stands selling fresh fish, from Baracudas to giant red snappers. That night we went to the Kathakali Theatre, a traditional combination of drama and dancing, with emphasis on the facial expressions. It is performed by men who wear elaborate face paint and costumes. There is no dialogue so the story is expressed through dance, facial expressions, eye movements and gestures. The next day we saw Ernakulam (they were selling Barbie Dolls wearing saris), and the Jewish Town and Dutch Palace in Fort Cochin. Tanja and I went to see a South Indian violin and tabla concert. It was so amazing! The violinist and tabla player were so talented and the music was beautiful. They played 4 ragas. We bought a good-sized Red Snapper at the fish market and brought it to a restaurant which cooked it for us.
We had another long train ride to Palolem Beach in Goa. We arrived around 7 am and just spent the day relaxing on the beach. Because it's a "tourist beach" we actually got to swim as well. Indian men rarely swim and the women never do (it would be considered improper to wear so little clothing). We tried to enjoy our time there as much as possible because we knew the rest of our trip would be crazy, and we were right. Our train left at 3 pm the next day and arrived at Mumbai at 4 am. We checked our luggage at the cloak room at the station and took a taxi to Sassoon Dock, where the fish market is located (it's also a military base so photography was not allowed). We got there around 5 while it was still dark. When we were first venturing in I was a little bit skeptical, it just looked like an alley with tons of trucks parked along the sides - and also it smelled really horrible - but when we reached the actual dock I was amazed. There were so many large fishing boats tied to the dock. In fact there were so many that they were all crowded together around it, about 5 or 6 boats deep because there wasn't enough room for them all. The men on the boats were sorting through their day's catch and other men were bringing up basketfulls more from below deck. I've never seen that many fish in one place and it wasn't just normal, everyday fish. They had small and large sting rays and red-eyed fish that looked like eels, baracudas, large fish the length of one of my legs, baby sharks. As we wandered around the dock we saw something I will never forget. I'm still not sure what kind of fish or shark it was. It was more than 12 feet long. It had two huge fins on either side of it's bodyand one large fin on top. The lower half of it's body was covered with tarps and burlap to keep it moist. It's mouth was wide with tiny teeth and had huge yellow eyes. But the most remarkable thing was the attachment coming off it's nose, right above it's mouth. It was maybe 3 feet long and on either side were about 12 sharp teeth (it looked like a chainsaw). I think it may have been a sawtooth shark. It was a monster! Habib called it a "killing machine". The fishermen had shot it and were trying to sell it, but it was so huge I can't imagine who would buy it! I've never seen a creature like that, let alone stood right next to it.
So after all that excitement it was about 6 am and the sun was rising. We wandered in the general direction of the Gateway of India and arrived there just as the sun was coming up. Across the street from it was the Taj Motel, the site of one of the terrorist attacks on November 26, 2008. We had our whole day planned out of what we should see in the city when a guy pulled up on a motorbike and asked if we wanted to be extras in a Bollywood film. After some consideration we decided to abandon our site seeing in favor of the opportunity which we figured was once in a lifetime.We met several other tourists outside the Salvation Army Hostel and were taken on a train to a Studio where we were put in makeup and some horrible costumes. We were all laughing at how surreal it was. The other tourists there were very nice - I met Americans from Colorado, New Hampshire, Florida and California. The greatest thing was that it's a huge movie and it's supposed to go international. It's called "Kites" and stars one of India's biggest heartthrobs and actors, Hrithik Roshan. Tanja and I both got to stand right next to him! He actually has 6 fingers on his right hand. We had a really great time and were glad we'd decided to go. That evening our train left Mumbai to return to Bilaspur, and finally back to Mungeli.
The last few days I have been teaching computer classes to the 20 or so nurses visiting here from Tilda. They are so eager to learn! The course covers basics of computers, computer parts, Microsoft Word and Excel. Next week Rambo Memorial English School will be back after exams so I'll be juggling teaching between the two places. I teach the nurses here at the hospital. Above the Outpatient Department are several classrooms. We were able to get a hold of a computer to use there which makes it easier for them to learn. I'm trying to focus a lot on practicing on Word and Excel, the two programs they're likely to use the most in the nursing field.
I'm sure all you UCC'ers have heard about Anil's mother Nancy's condition. She fell from a train upon arriving from a trip to Orissa and was severely injured. Anil has felt a lot of stress trying to keep up with his hospital obligations as well as take care of her, not to mention planning his upcoming trip to the US. He is currently visiting his sons for their birthday because Nancy's condition is stable. The hospital has also been very busy as of late. Please keep Nancy and all of Anil's family in your prayers. I've visited her a few times. She is in a great deal of pain and needs a lot of rest right now.
So I guess this is all for now. I know it's a long entry. I'll try to keep you all updated on what's going on here at the hospital.
Love, Lauryn
I knew that this trip was going to be quite an experience right away.We arrived at the Raipur train station rather early and saw a Hindu temple under construction. We decided to go have a look and take some pictures and when we got closer, the men inside beckoned us in to have a look. The original temple had existed since the 50's but they had been adding on for the last few years. They took up up the flight of stairs to the very top of the temple, maybe seven stories high. It was adorned with colorful statues of the Hindu gods. It was a very cool experience. By the time I woke up on the train the next morning, my hair was frizzy. I coule feel the oppresive humidty that had set in and would remain for the rest of the trip. It was hard to adjust to. After we arrived in Puri that afternoon, we took a bus to nearby Konark, home of the famous Sun Temple. When I got my first glimpse of it, my jaw literally dropped and I gasped. It was so huge and beautiful!! The complex actually contains a dancing hall, a prayer hall, the sun temple (which is now actually mostly destroyed) and a temple for the sun god's wife. So what really made me gasp was the prayer hall (as I later found out). It wasn't colorful like the other Hindu temples we'd seen. It was all elaborately carved stone. I've never seen anything like it. It was built around 1200 by the king of Orissa at the time. He built it after a war with the Muslims to celebrate their victory and encourage reproduction (because of all the people killed in the war), which is why the prayer hall is carved with mostly kama sutra carvings. At first we were baffled by the fact that such carvings would be on a prayer hall, but it's a rather clever way to increase the population of your country. The prayer hall/sun temple is created to look like a chariot. At the stairs are seven horses pulling it and all around it are a total of 24 carved wheels.
Our hotel in Puri was very nice. The city is relatively small and right by the ocean. The place we stayed was mostly inhabited by fellow back packers and some European travellers so it was nice to get some travelling tips from them. The next day we went to Chilika lake which is Asia's largest brackish lake. They have dolphins there and we were lucky enough to spot some, though not lucky enough to get any pictures because when they surfaced they disappeared again so quickly. The boat ride was nice and we got to see the place where the lake meets the ocean. There was a beautiful view there.
Tanja and I woke early the next morning to see the fishermen go out to sea, but unfortunately it was too windy so we only saw 2 boats go out. We met a fisherman who had lived in the little fishing village there his whole life. He asked us if we wanted to see the village. I was unsure at first in putting our trust in a stranger, but we decided to go with him and we were very glad we did. We met his wife and 2 beautiful children and it was nice to see inside the village. His family lived in a one room house.
We travelled back to Bhubaneswar and saw several Hindu temples. We also visited some caves (though I forget the name) that were from before Christ was born. The monkeys are nice in Mungeli, but when I tried to get close enough to take a picture with one at the caves, it hissed at me and showed it's teeth. I was so scared! Since then I'm afraid to get to close to them (which is probably for the best). Luckily Habib got a picture in just the right moment on his camera. I look forward to showing it to you all - it's very funny.
On the train to Chennai we met a doctor and a 19 year old who has been in the Indian Navy since he was 16. He still has 12 years left to serve.The next day in Chennai was tiring. We hired an auto rickshaw driver for the day and went to Saint Thomas Mount (where Thomas was killed) and Little Mount. After that we found a place to eat by the beach which had hamburgers (I'd been missing them), it's not worth mentioning except for the fact that one of the burgers on the menu was called "Welcoming Obama". Everyone here loves him. Whenever I would say I was from America, it was practically the first thing out of their mouths. "Do you like Obama?" and then "He's a good man" or something like that. It made me so proud of America! I knew that his election would change the world's opinion of us but being here I have seen it first hand; I have proof of it. I'm on the other side of the world and that's the first thing everyone here associates with America.
So that afternoon we went to the Theosophical Society which is an organization that wants to unite all religions. They believe that all Gods lead to the same place. Being at Saint Thomas Mount and The Theosophical Society reminded me so much of Brookmeade! They had a beautiful garden with a 400 year old Banyan Tree and also had temples from all religions on the premises - Sikh, Farsi, Hindu, Buddhist as well as a "Liberal Catholic Church". I think most of the Christians in India are Catholics (though the fisherman we met in Puri turned out to be a Baptist). It's odd how many Christians we met on our trip, considering the fact that they only make up 2% of India's population.
Our train for Kollam (in the Southern state of Kerala - it's actually a Communist state) left the evening of April 1st. Our train was behind schedule and got in late the next morning and we barely made our boat to Allapuzha. After a few hours we got off early in order to spend a day at an Ashram. It was founded by Amma, one of India's most famous spiritual leaders today. It's like it's own community. They have a printing press, bank, and cooks who prepare food for everyone. My stay there for a single night (including 3 meals) was only Rs. 150 - approximately 3 American Dollars. Amma dedicates herself to the service of others all around the world and is famous for hugging everyone who comes to her in need. She wasn't at the Ashram while we were there because she was travelling in Europe. Some of the people at the Ashram had been there for 3 months and others had been there for 10 years. An older woman that I spoke to explained that many of the people there had been "hurt in past lives" which was why they sought refuge and were unwilling to trust. She said that most people who came there were looking to grow spiritually. Most of the people there were young westerners. Their days follow a strict schedule of chanting, meditation and self service to keep the Ashram in working order. The view from our room was spectacular. We were on the eighth floor. On the right side of our building was the ocean and on the left was a river and in every direction a forest of palm trees strectched as far as the eye could see. It was breathtaking.
The next evening we were in Allapuzha and booking a houseboat. Tanja really wanted to have a true backwaters experience. The houseboat wasn't able to go into the small channels and little towns though so when we anchored for the night we took a guide with a canoe and ventured into a channel. It was nice to see the villages up close. All the little girls threw us flowers! I also fished that night for the first time in my life. Tanja actually caught a small fish. I can tell you, having a house boat for 24 hours was about the last thing I expected to do in India!
The next morning we took a bus to Fort Cochin, which is famous for it's old-fashioned chinese fishing nets, which are difficult to describe. They're huge. On one side over the ocean there is a large net and on the other are ropes and heavy rocks. They lower the large net into the water and after a few mintues use all their manpower to quickly pull it up again. Tanja, Habib and I got to help them pull the ropes, but we were too slow so they didn't catch anything when we helped. But it was really fun. Habib was so enthusiastic that he got rope burns on his hands. The shore was lined with stands selling fresh fish, from Baracudas to giant red snappers. That night we went to the Kathakali Theatre, a traditional combination of drama and dancing, with emphasis on the facial expressions. It is performed by men who wear elaborate face paint and costumes. There is no dialogue so the story is expressed through dance, facial expressions, eye movements and gestures. The next day we saw Ernakulam (they were selling Barbie Dolls wearing saris), and the Jewish Town and Dutch Palace in Fort Cochin. Tanja and I went to see a South Indian violin and tabla concert. It was so amazing! The violinist and tabla player were so talented and the music was beautiful. They played 4 ragas. We bought a good-sized Red Snapper at the fish market and brought it to a restaurant which cooked it for us.
We had another long train ride to Palolem Beach in Goa. We arrived around 7 am and just spent the day relaxing on the beach. Because it's a "tourist beach" we actually got to swim as well. Indian men rarely swim and the women never do (it would be considered improper to wear so little clothing). We tried to enjoy our time there as much as possible because we knew the rest of our trip would be crazy, and we were right. Our train left at 3 pm the next day and arrived at Mumbai at 4 am. We checked our luggage at the cloak room at the station and took a taxi to Sassoon Dock, where the fish market is located (it's also a military base so photography was not allowed). We got there around 5 while it was still dark. When we were first venturing in I was a little bit skeptical, it just looked like an alley with tons of trucks parked along the sides - and also it smelled really horrible - but when we reached the actual dock I was amazed. There were so many large fishing boats tied to the dock. In fact there were so many that they were all crowded together around it, about 5 or 6 boats deep because there wasn't enough room for them all. The men on the boats were sorting through their day's catch and other men were bringing up basketfulls more from below deck. I've never seen that many fish in one place and it wasn't just normal, everyday fish. They had small and large sting rays and red-eyed fish that looked like eels, baracudas, large fish the length of one of my legs, baby sharks. As we wandered around the dock we saw something I will never forget. I'm still not sure what kind of fish or shark it was. It was more than 12 feet long. It had two huge fins on either side of it's bodyand one large fin on top. The lower half of it's body was covered with tarps and burlap to keep it moist. It's mouth was wide with tiny teeth and had huge yellow eyes. But the most remarkable thing was the attachment coming off it's nose, right above it's mouth. It was maybe 3 feet long and on either side were about 12 sharp teeth (it looked like a chainsaw). I think it may have been a sawtooth shark. It was a monster! Habib called it a "killing machine". The fishermen had shot it and were trying to sell it, but it was so huge I can't imagine who would buy it! I've never seen a creature like that, let alone stood right next to it.
So after all that excitement it was about 6 am and the sun was rising. We wandered in the general direction of the Gateway of India and arrived there just as the sun was coming up. Across the street from it was the Taj Motel, the site of one of the terrorist attacks on November 26, 2008. We had our whole day planned out of what we should see in the city when a guy pulled up on a motorbike and asked if we wanted to be extras in a Bollywood film. After some consideration we decided to abandon our site seeing in favor of the opportunity which we figured was once in a lifetime.We met several other tourists outside the Salvation Army Hostel and were taken on a train to a Studio where we were put in makeup and some horrible costumes. We were all laughing at how surreal it was. The other tourists there were very nice - I met Americans from Colorado, New Hampshire, Florida and California. The greatest thing was that it's a huge movie and it's supposed to go international. It's called "Kites" and stars one of India's biggest heartthrobs and actors, Hrithik Roshan. Tanja and I both got to stand right next to him! He actually has 6 fingers on his right hand. We had a really great time and were glad we'd decided to go. That evening our train left Mumbai to return to Bilaspur, and finally back to Mungeli.
The last few days I have been teaching computer classes to the 20 or so nurses visiting here from Tilda. They are so eager to learn! The course covers basics of computers, computer parts, Microsoft Word and Excel. Next week Rambo Memorial English School will be back after exams so I'll be juggling teaching between the two places. I teach the nurses here at the hospital. Above the Outpatient Department are several classrooms. We were able to get a hold of a computer to use there which makes it easier for them to learn. I'm trying to focus a lot on practicing on Word and Excel, the two programs they're likely to use the most in the nursing field.
I'm sure all you UCC'ers have heard about Anil's mother Nancy's condition. She fell from a train upon arriving from a trip to Orissa and was severely injured. Anil has felt a lot of stress trying to keep up with his hospital obligations as well as take care of her, not to mention planning his upcoming trip to the US. He is currently visiting his sons for their birthday because Nancy's condition is stable. The hospital has also been very busy as of late. Please keep Nancy and all of Anil's family in your prayers. I've visited her a few times. She is in a great deal of pain and needs a lot of rest right now.
So I guess this is all for now. I know it's a long entry. I'll try to keep you all updated on what's going on here at the hospital.
Love, Lauryn
Friday, March 20, 2009
3rd Week
I have been in India a total of 3 weeks. Today it rained for the first time since I've been here and it only lasted about ten minutes. Now it's sunny again and hot. I enjoyed the cool air and wind while it lasted though.
Last Friday Tanja, Habib and I accompanied Anil Henry to Raipur for the day. He had a meeting to go to so the three of us walked around the city, saw the market, went to a mall there. We ate at a very nice restaurant, which Anil later told us was famous. I ate Chicken Tikka Masala and nan bread. It was so delicious! While we were there a Muslim festival and parade were taking place to celebrate Muhammed's birth. The main streets in the town were closed off for several hours.
One young man came up to talk to us and asked where we were from. When I said America, he replied, "You know Muslims hate America." I was a little intimidated by his forwardness, but he was trying to give us a warning because of the festival going on. He asked what I thought of Muslims and I told him I had nothing against Muslims and I didn't know anyone who didn't like Muslims.
The parade consisted of some trucks driving through the streets blasting music. Following the trucks were people with green flags and blue cloths dancing in the street. It was amazing to see just masses of people in every direction. It was so refreshing to see so many young people there who were so enthusiastic about their religion.
The market in Raipur was very large and colorful, of course. Tanja and Habib and I stopped in a bakery ad got a box ful of all sorts of Indian sweets and cakes to try. They don't really have chocolate here so the treats were made of almonds, cashews, coconut and mango.
Yesterday Tanja and I walked to the market in Mungeli. There is a woman there who we always buy peanuts from because she shells them and roasts them and most other vendors don't. She introduced us to her nephew who had a fruit stand beside her. I looked over at the other side of the fruit stand and there was a cow eating a very large amount of grapes right off the table. I was kind of shocked at first and didn't know if I was allowed to shoo it off (because they're holy here) so I just pointed and exclaimed "That cow is eating your fruit!". The boy ran him off, but not before the cow had grabbed another bunch to take with him! Anil says that the cows here are so used to be treated with respect that they act different than cows in any other country. They're always walking in front of fast-moving vehicles at the most leisurely pace. We even saw them in the street in Raipur, which is a lot larger than Mungeli.
Today at school I taught grammar as usual and read some to the kids from the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I've played hangman with them so that they could guess some difficult English words, but am currently trying to find other educational games to play with them. I'm thinking about Heads Up Seven Up or Simon Says, but if anyone has more suitable suggestions I would love to hear them! Email me or write a comment on this blog with any suggestions. I need games for any age group, but especially 7 to 13 year olds.
The day before yesterday a car pulled up to the hospital just before rounds began. The patient was an old woman who had very advanced Tetanus. She was immediately taken to the Operation Theatre where they performed a tracheotomy so that she could breathe because her body and airway were seizing. They then administered a shot in her spine with some type of antidote. Her whole family (about 8 people) had accompanied her there. The sad thing is, that after all the doctors did to save her, her family took her away the next day when she was supposed to stay at the hospital for 10-12 days to be monitored and treated further. The odds are that she won't survive at home. Maybe the family didn't have enough money to keep her at the hospital though.
There are lots of successful stories at the hospital, but there are also lots of failures. Lots of times, a patient can't receive all the treatment they need in Mungeli, but the family don't have enough funds to transfer them to a bigger city.
I'm hoping to go on a long weekend soon with Tanja and Habib, perhaps to a waterfall nearby here. I'll write more soon,
Lauryn
Last Friday Tanja, Habib and I accompanied Anil Henry to Raipur for the day. He had a meeting to go to so the three of us walked around the city, saw the market, went to a mall there. We ate at a very nice restaurant, which Anil later told us was famous. I ate Chicken Tikka Masala and nan bread. It was so delicious! While we were there a Muslim festival and parade were taking place to celebrate Muhammed's birth. The main streets in the town were closed off for several hours.
One young man came up to talk to us and asked where we were from. When I said America, he replied, "You know Muslims hate America." I was a little intimidated by his forwardness, but he was trying to give us a warning because of the festival going on. He asked what I thought of Muslims and I told him I had nothing against Muslims and I didn't know anyone who didn't like Muslims.
The parade consisted of some trucks driving through the streets blasting music. Following the trucks were people with green flags and blue cloths dancing in the street. It was amazing to see just masses of people in every direction. It was so refreshing to see so many young people there who were so enthusiastic about their religion.
The market in Raipur was very large and colorful, of course. Tanja and Habib and I stopped in a bakery ad got a box ful of all sorts of Indian sweets and cakes to try. They don't really have chocolate here so the treats were made of almonds, cashews, coconut and mango.
Yesterday Tanja and I walked to the market in Mungeli. There is a woman there who we always buy peanuts from because she shells them and roasts them and most other vendors don't. She introduced us to her nephew who had a fruit stand beside her. I looked over at the other side of the fruit stand and there was a cow eating a very large amount of grapes right off the table. I was kind of shocked at first and didn't know if I was allowed to shoo it off (because they're holy here) so I just pointed and exclaimed "That cow is eating your fruit!". The boy ran him off, but not before the cow had grabbed another bunch to take with him! Anil says that the cows here are so used to be treated with respect that they act different than cows in any other country. They're always walking in front of fast-moving vehicles at the most leisurely pace. We even saw them in the street in Raipur, which is a lot larger than Mungeli.
Today at school I taught grammar as usual and read some to the kids from the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I've played hangman with them so that they could guess some difficult English words, but am currently trying to find other educational games to play with them. I'm thinking about Heads Up Seven Up or Simon Says, but if anyone has more suitable suggestions I would love to hear them! Email me or write a comment on this blog with any suggestions. I need games for any age group, but especially 7 to 13 year olds.
The day before yesterday a car pulled up to the hospital just before rounds began. The patient was an old woman who had very advanced Tetanus. She was immediately taken to the Operation Theatre where they performed a tracheotomy so that she could breathe because her body and airway were seizing. They then administered a shot in her spine with some type of antidote. Her whole family (about 8 people) had accompanied her there. The sad thing is, that after all the doctors did to save her, her family took her away the next day when she was supposed to stay at the hospital for 10-12 days to be monitored and treated further. The odds are that she won't survive at home. Maybe the family didn't have enough money to keep her at the hospital though.
There are lots of successful stories at the hospital, but there are also lots of failures. Lots of times, a patient can't receive all the treatment they need in Mungeli, but the family don't have enough funds to transfer them to a bigger city.
I'm hoping to go on a long weekend soon with Tanja and Habib, perhaps to a waterfall nearby here. I'll write more soon,
Lauryn
Monday, March 9, 2009
First Week
I can't believe I've been here over a week now. I've done a lot and experienced lots of new things, but it's gone by very fast. I can hardly remember everything that's happened since I last wrote. I manage to keep busy and when nothing is going on I catch up on my reading. I've almost finished The Hummingbird's Daughter.
Saturday night Tanja and Terry and I went shopping. All the clothes here are very colorful and flashy, not at all like American clothes, so it was difficult to find something that fit with our simple tastes. All the clothes are beautiful, but they're so fancy I wouldn't know when to wear them! Tanja and I were so picky we left the store in a bit of a mess. The men started off showing us outfits and pulling them out for us but we eventually started to scan the shelves on our own and pull out the ones that interested us. We asked Terry if people normally did that at the clothes shops and she said they didn't; they just usually sit and let the sales people handle everything.
After we returned we had an arrival dinner party at Anil's house. We sang karaoke (Anil loves to make everyone sing) and ate Biryani. It was chicken so it was a special treat since we mostly only eat vegetables here. Everyone eats with their hands here which is hard to get used to. I'm trying but I mostly just make a mess! The food is sometimes spicy but I find that if I keep eating it gets easier after a few bites and the sensation disappears quickly once I'm finished.
Last week we went to market to buy a few neccessities (including an alarm clock for me) and food. We went to the place where they sell chickens. They kill them right in front of you. I was a little disturbed, of course. I picked out the chicken, but then felt guilty afterwards because who am I to choose which should have it's life ended? I'm sure they all had the same end anyways.
This weekend I saw the birth of two twin boys in the labor room. It was a really amazing experience. I'd never seen a birth before, except in films. It was very different than watching it on a screen. It's not something I'll soon forget.
Most of the women at the hosptial are there for birth, hysterectomies or cesareans. The men are often there for accidents. This one man was chasing monkeys up a tree and fell and broke his leg and both wrists! There is one patient here now, a woman, who has malaria.
There is lots of construction going on at the hospital. They are trying to make room for 20 female student nurses and their teacher. They are currently putting in a walkway outside our building and expanding the lower ward. That way they can move the upstairs ward patients down there and renovate the top floor. They are constantly updating and improving things!
I'm currently helping Anil load a new program onto the computer so that the school can do it's records on computer rather than by hand. I love all the children at the school. Whenever I walk through the school yard in the morning or at recess, all the little children run up to say good morning and shake my hand. It's hard to teach the little ones, but the middle-aged students know me very well and always want me to come to their class. They're fascinated by foreigners. I like the teachers as well. I just wish I could communicate with them better! Their english skills aren't very good. This one English teacher named Mrs. Masih translates some for me, though. She's very nice and I sit in on her classes often.
In between classes and during the walk to the gate I speak with a girl named Srishti and on the walk from the school to hospital (going home) I walk with Abijah ( I think this is the spelling). They are both in the 6th class. Abijah likes to talk about comic books and superheroes like Spider-man and Batman. I found out today that Srishti is a Jain and Abijah is Hindu.
I have watched the sunset here several times. It's so different than at home. The sun is always perfectly round, like a big orange egg yolk. There are rarely clouds here to cover it. The colors are beautiful though. Just before sunset in the afternoon it gets very still and right after the sun has disappeared the commotion begins. I guess it's the equivalent of rush hour. In town, the cows crowd together in the center of the round-a-bout to avoid all the cars and there they stay until it quiets down. I'll have to get a picture of it; it's very humorous. Everyone goes out at night and stays inside in the afternoons to avoid the scorching heat. Sometimes when I walk back from school (it only takes 5 minutes from our apartment) the living area will be completely deserted.
The wards are another matter. There are always people hanging around outside and inside them, as well as at the outpatient department. And the afternoon is the time when all the surgeries take place in the Operation Theatre.
School is out for the next two days because of festivals going on in town. I'm not sure what I'll do with myself! I'll probably work on getting the computer program for the school running. The dentist here, Ashwin, also wants to organize a dental camp for the school and wants my help in planning it.
I guess that's all for now. I'll try to write again soon!
Love, Lauryn
Saturday night Tanja and Terry and I went shopping. All the clothes here are very colorful and flashy, not at all like American clothes, so it was difficult to find something that fit with our simple tastes. All the clothes are beautiful, but they're so fancy I wouldn't know when to wear them! Tanja and I were so picky we left the store in a bit of a mess. The men started off showing us outfits and pulling them out for us but we eventually started to scan the shelves on our own and pull out the ones that interested us. We asked Terry if people normally did that at the clothes shops and she said they didn't; they just usually sit and let the sales people handle everything.
After we returned we had an arrival dinner party at Anil's house. We sang karaoke (Anil loves to make everyone sing) and ate Biryani. It was chicken so it was a special treat since we mostly only eat vegetables here. Everyone eats with their hands here which is hard to get used to. I'm trying but I mostly just make a mess! The food is sometimes spicy but I find that if I keep eating it gets easier after a few bites and the sensation disappears quickly once I'm finished.
Last week we went to market to buy a few neccessities (including an alarm clock for me) and food. We went to the place where they sell chickens. They kill them right in front of you. I was a little disturbed, of course. I picked out the chicken, but then felt guilty afterwards because who am I to choose which should have it's life ended? I'm sure they all had the same end anyways.
This weekend I saw the birth of two twin boys in the labor room. It was a really amazing experience. I'd never seen a birth before, except in films. It was very different than watching it on a screen. It's not something I'll soon forget.
Most of the women at the hosptial are there for birth, hysterectomies or cesareans. The men are often there for accidents. This one man was chasing monkeys up a tree and fell and broke his leg and both wrists! There is one patient here now, a woman, who has malaria.
There is lots of construction going on at the hospital. They are trying to make room for 20 female student nurses and their teacher. They are currently putting in a walkway outside our building and expanding the lower ward. That way they can move the upstairs ward patients down there and renovate the top floor. They are constantly updating and improving things!
I'm currently helping Anil load a new program onto the computer so that the school can do it's records on computer rather than by hand. I love all the children at the school. Whenever I walk through the school yard in the morning or at recess, all the little children run up to say good morning and shake my hand. It's hard to teach the little ones, but the middle-aged students know me very well and always want me to come to their class. They're fascinated by foreigners. I like the teachers as well. I just wish I could communicate with them better! Their english skills aren't very good. This one English teacher named Mrs. Masih translates some for me, though. She's very nice and I sit in on her classes often.
In between classes and during the walk to the gate I speak with a girl named Srishti and on the walk from the school to hospital (going home) I walk with Abijah ( I think this is the spelling). They are both in the 6th class. Abijah likes to talk about comic books and superheroes like Spider-man and Batman. I found out today that Srishti is a Jain and Abijah is Hindu.
I have watched the sunset here several times. It's so different than at home. The sun is always perfectly round, like a big orange egg yolk. There are rarely clouds here to cover it. The colors are beautiful though. Just before sunset in the afternoon it gets very still and right after the sun has disappeared the commotion begins. I guess it's the equivalent of rush hour. In town, the cows crowd together in the center of the round-a-bout to avoid all the cars and there they stay until it quiets down. I'll have to get a picture of it; it's very humorous. Everyone goes out at night and stays inside in the afternoons to avoid the scorching heat. Sometimes when I walk back from school (it only takes 5 minutes from our apartment) the living area will be completely deserted.
The wards are another matter. There are always people hanging around outside and inside them, as well as at the outpatient department. And the afternoon is the time when all the surgeries take place in the Operation Theatre.
School is out for the next two days because of festivals going on in town. I'm not sure what I'll do with myself! I'll probably work on getting the computer program for the school running. The dentist here, Ashwin, also wants to organize a dental camp for the school and wants my help in planning it.
I guess that's all for now. I'll try to write again soon!
Love, Lauryn
Monday, March 2, 2009
Beginning
I left Nashville at around noon on Wednesday and arrived in Mungeli Friday at 11 am, or around midnight Nashville time. Travelling was exhausting; Newark airport was especially confusing. It was slightly nervewracking to come into Delhi and have a military man with an extremely large gun check my pasport. I was picked up in Raipur by the hospital's driver (he also drives the bus to school etc.). It was easily the most terrifying car ride I've ever been on. The road was bumpy and they don't have traffic laws like we do in the US. No stop signs or lights. People honk all the time (it's the first thing I hear in the distance in the morning after the roosters crow) and cows and monkeys roam the streets at their leisure. They are lots of bikes and scooters here.
I ate breakfast at Anil's house when I arrived and his mother (who was in town for a couple days) showed me around and found a key for my room. I share an apartment with Tanya and her significant other Habib, from Denmark. They are older than I and are medstudents. They're very good at what they do, and have made the transition to Mungeli life easier for me.
Saturday I woke up at 7 for chapel and at 8 I went to the school to observe. It's a small school, but the children are very sweet and so are the teachers. They presented me with a garland of fresh flowers upon my arrival!
After leaving school I went to O.T. which is where the surgeries are performed. This is where Tanya and Habib spend most of their time every day. I watched a little, but it was difficult to watch and I'm not good at seeing things like that. I'm interested to learn more about this aspect of the hospital.
Yesterday, we went to the market in Mungeli. It's a fairly long walk, especially in the hot sun. We bought lots of vegetables which our cook, named Kavita, will use to cook for us. It's nice to eat traditional Indian meals. Tanya and I looked at saris, but all the fabrics are so beautiful I don't know if I could ever choose one! We're going to go back with Teresa, Anil's wife, because she knows where the tailor is and where to get the best deals. I need to go soon because I didn't bring many clothes along with me.
The town had beautiful architecture, but was mostly fallen into disrepair. You can pretty much buy anything you need here. All the people, especially children, like to approach us foreigners and always wave when we walk by or introduce themselves. They ask questions about where we're from and how we like Mungeli.
Our apartment is nice except for all the bugs. I've had a couple of lizards living behind the tank for my toilet for almost 2 days now. I guess they're eating the bugs so I don't mind them. There's no AC but we have lots of fans and it stays pretty cool inside during the day.
Today I taught at school again and delivered school supplies which they really appreciated. And Anil was so greatful for the sutures I brought. I'm getting a hang of things there, and the 6th class taught me how to count to ten in hindi today. I'm trying to teach them some grammar and how to carry out conversations in English. They know the basics but not how to apply them in a broader use. I also got to teach some six year olds in the 1st class and they're adorable! I drew pictures on the blackboard to illustrate words and had them spell them. They're all so full of questions about everything!
Overall I feel like my adjustment to life here has gone smoothly and quickly. I'm still getting a hang of the teaching thing, but I feel comfortable and happy mostly (though I still miss home, my family and friends often, especially at night when I'm not really busy).
Need to go now, but will write asap.
Mom, Anil says don't send sutures over mail because they won't reach them here.
Love, Lauryn
I ate breakfast at Anil's house when I arrived and his mother (who was in town for a couple days) showed me around and found a key for my room. I share an apartment with Tanya and her significant other Habib, from Denmark. They are older than I and are medstudents. They're very good at what they do, and have made the transition to Mungeli life easier for me.
Saturday I woke up at 7 for chapel and at 8 I went to the school to observe. It's a small school, but the children are very sweet and so are the teachers. They presented me with a garland of fresh flowers upon my arrival!
After leaving school I went to O.T. which is where the surgeries are performed. This is where Tanya and Habib spend most of their time every day. I watched a little, but it was difficult to watch and I'm not good at seeing things like that. I'm interested to learn more about this aspect of the hospital.
Yesterday, we went to the market in Mungeli. It's a fairly long walk, especially in the hot sun. We bought lots of vegetables which our cook, named Kavita, will use to cook for us. It's nice to eat traditional Indian meals. Tanya and I looked at saris, but all the fabrics are so beautiful I don't know if I could ever choose one! We're going to go back with Teresa, Anil's wife, because she knows where the tailor is and where to get the best deals. I need to go soon because I didn't bring many clothes along with me.
The town had beautiful architecture, but was mostly fallen into disrepair. You can pretty much buy anything you need here. All the people, especially children, like to approach us foreigners and always wave when we walk by or introduce themselves. They ask questions about where we're from and how we like Mungeli.
Our apartment is nice except for all the bugs. I've had a couple of lizards living behind the tank for my toilet for almost 2 days now. I guess they're eating the bugs so I don't mind them. There's no AC but we have lots of fans and it stays pretty cool inside during the day.
Today I taught at school again and delivered school supplies which they really appreciated. And Anil was so greatful for the sutures I brought. I'm getting a hang of things there, and the 6th class taught me how to count to ten in hindi today. I'm trying to teach them some grammar and how to carry out conversations in English. They know the basics but not how to apply them in a broader use. I also got to teach some six year olds in the 1st class and they're adorable! I drew pictures on the blackboard to illustrate words and had them spell them. They're all so full of questions about everything!
Overall I feel like my adjustment to life here has gone smoothly and quickly. I'm still getting a hang of the teaching thing, but I feel comfortable and happy mostly (though I still miss home, my family and friends often, especially at night when I'm not really busy).
Need to go now, but will write asap.
Mom, Anil says don't send sutures over mail because they won't reach them here.
Love, Lauryn
Monday, February 23, 2009
Thoughts Before Leaving
I can't believe I'll be leaving the US for India in less than 48 hours. There's still so much left to do! I was able to get in contact with the ELL office of Metro Nashville Public Schools and the woman I was referred to was very helpful. She gave me several workbooks which have proven to be the most helpful in their program.
I don't think I'll post again until I'm settled in Mungeli. Probably on the 27th or possibly later. I'm trying not to think about the trip too much, because then I start worrying. I've never done anything like this before. Even though I've tried hard to prepare myself, it will still be difficult; especially being away from my friends and family.
I don't really know what to expect once I'm there, so I'm trying to go in with no preconceived notions or ideas. That way I can truly absorb everything around me and experience life in India to the fullest extent possible.
I don't think I'll post again until I'm settled in Mungeli. Probably on the 27th or possibly later. I'm trying not to think about the trip too much, because then I start worrying. I've never done anything like this before. Even though I've tried hard to prepare myself, it will still be difficult; especially being away from my friends and family.
I don't really know what to expect once I'm there, so I'm trying to go in with no preconceived notions or ideas. That way I can truly absorb everything around me and experience life in India to the fullest extent possible.
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