Today was yet another great day at Stephen Nursing Home! We officially met our driver, Raja, this morning. I wasn't sure if his name was Raja or Roger (due to the accent), so I had to ask him to spell it! Turns out it really was Raja. On our way to the clinic, I noticed a few very interesting signs, such as the ones that say, "Avoid Drunk and Driving" and "Avoid Cell Phone Driving." I thought the wording of these signs was very funny, but the signs themselves were very important, especially when driving is already so terrifying in India!
The first case I saw this morning at the clinic was a boy with down syndrome and, just like I'm used to, he was smiling the entire appointment. It was wonderful to see someone so happy! We also saw LOTS of pharmaceutical representatives. Because the reps have to see eight doctors per day, many, many, many of them come to see Dr. Ravi and Dr. Rohini. They also all speak English, but they speak so quickly that I can't even tell they are speaking it… One of the medicines given by a rep today was called "Ferocious XT." When I google it, nothing comes up, but I know it has folic acid in it. I'm not sure exactly what the medicine is for, but I liked the name!
I also talked to Dr. Ravi and Rohini about their work even more today. They were telling me how they often don't charge the people they know very well, but they leave a donation box outside. When there is enough money in the donation box, they will go buy protein powder for their HIV+ patients in order to build up their immune systems. I thought that was pretty awesome of them. We talked a little bit about how when everyone comes in they think something very serious is wrong with them. So Dr. Ravi often jokes with his patients and puts a smile on their face. When they see the doctor joking and not taking everything so seriously, they start to feel better. Dr. Ravi and Dr. Rohini really are amazing doctors.
Apparently chiropractic doesn't exist in India, so every time someone asks me what my parents do, they know immediately what mom does as a dentist, but everyone is confused about what dad does as a chiropractor. I've figured out it's also pretty hard to describe… The best I've come up with is "he works on the spine and the bones, but in more of a natural way, not with surgery," because they automatically think he is either a surgeon or a "physiotherapist." I've also figured out it's easiest if I just say my name is "Rissa;" everyone gets that a lot quicker than Marissa.
During my lunch break (12:30 - 5:00) I came home to not only eat lunch and rest, but also to explore the surrounding areas of Trichy with Morgan. Though it was VERY hot and we were VERY sweaty when we finally got back to the hostel, the adventure was well worth it. First we walked to down the street to this little shop that sold earrings and such and I got my first pair of "traditional Indian earrings." Though I don't wear earrings much, much less long, dangly earrings, I'm very excited for them and I would like to get another pair of less dangly ones, but these are the traditional kind, so I decided to buy them anyways!
We also got a coconut from a vendor, and we were lucky enough to have a man get a coconut before us that spoke English, so he was able to communicate with the street vendor for us! Because the coconuts sit outside in the hot Trichy air, the water gets very warm, so we had to put it in the fridge to cool off first, but it was even good warm!
I went back to the clinic at 5:00 and at 6:00 I was able to see another C-section - another little boy! Before we got started in the operating theatres, all the doctors had coffee and also gave me some. The people here take their coffee breaks very seriously, so if you turn down coffee, they give you the most confused (and almost hurt) look. I tried saying no once before so this time I just went for it. And that coffee was worth it; it was absolutely delicious! Then we all got suited up and walked in for the birth of a new baby boy!
After the great ending to my day at the clinic, I came back to the college and the cooks had prepared a very American meal for us: veggie burger, french fries, coke, and pomegranate seeds. It was very sweet of them to prepare something so American for us, but also kind of strange since we are so used to getting traditional Indian meals! And finally, after dinner, we went for a walk down the street to the ice cream shop that we love! It was delicious as always, and on the way back we saw approximately 7 cows sleeping on the side of the road, which is a fairly normal sight here. But now I'm on my way to join them in slumber land!
Until tomorrow,
"Rissa"
P.S. (pictures)
The first case I saw this morning at the clinic was a boy with down syndrome and, just like I'm used to, he was smiling the entire appointment. It was wonderful to see someone so happy! We also saw LOTS of pharmaceutical representatives. Because the reps have to see eight doctors per day, many, many, many of them come to see Dr. Ravi and Dr. Rohini. They also all speak English, but they speak so quickly that I can't even tell they are speaking it… One of the medicines given by a rep today was called "Ferocious XT." When I google it, nothing comes up, but I know it has folic acid in it. I'm not sure exactly what the medicine is for, but I liked the name!
I also talked to Dr. Ravi and Rohini about their work even more today. They were telling me how they often don't charge the people they know very well, but they leave a donation box outside. When there is enough money in the donation box, they will go buy protein powder for their HIV+ patients in order to build up their immune systems. I thought that was pretty awesome of them. We talked a little bit about how when everyone comes in they think something very serious is wrong with them. So Dr. Ravi often jokes with his patients and puts a smile on their face. When they see the doctor joking and not taking everything so seriously, they start to feel better. Dr. Ravi and Dr. Rohini really are amazing doctors.
Apparently chiropractic doesn't exist in India, so every time someone asks me what my parents do, they know immediately what mom does as a dentist, but everyone is confused about what dad does as a chiropractor. I've figured out it's also pretty hard to describe… The best I've come up with is "he works on the spine and the bones, but in more of a natural way, not with surgery," because they automatically think he is either a surgeon or a "physiotherapist." I've also figured out it's easiest if I just say my name is "Rissa;" everyone gets that a lot quicker than Marissa.
During my lunch break (12:30 - 5:00) I came home to not only eat lunch and rest, but also to explore the surrounding areas of Trichy with Morgan. Though it was VERY hot and we were VERY sweaty when we finally got back to the hostel, the adventure was well worth it. First we walked to down the street to this little shop that sold earrings and such and I got my first pair of "traditional Indian earrings." Though I don't wear earrings much, much less long, dangly earrings, I'm very excited for them and I would like to get another pair of less dangly ones, but these are the traditional kind, so I decided to buy them anyways!
After the great ending to my day at the clinic, I came back to the college and the cooks had prepared a very American meal for us: veggie burger, french fries, coke, and pomegranate seeds. It was very sweet of them to prepare something so American for us, but also kind of strange since we are so used to getting traditional Indian meals! And finally, after dinner, we went for a walk down the street to the ice cream shop that we love! It was delicious as always, and on the way back we saw approximately 7 cows sleeping on the side of the road, which is a fairly normal sight here. But now I'm on my way to join them in slumber land!
Until tomorrow,
"Rissa"
P.S. (pictures)
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| My second Salwar Kammez. I hope to get more as well as a saree this weekend! |
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| An old woman outside the clinic (who is always there, but I'm not sure why) handed this to me today and pointed at the woman on it and pointed at me and gave it to me. I think she was saying something along the lines of, "She's white, so are you!" |
I like that you get to go eat ice cream, have veggie burgers and walk around cows in a single day. Doctors with a mission and a heart as an example for you to observe.... priceless!
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