Eat, Sleep, and Shop

June 20, 2015 and June 21, 2015

            This Saturday we decided to stay in Trichy for the weekend, partially because we were running out of money and partially because we were still exhausted from last weekend’s travels to Pondicherry. My body still hasn’t adjusted to the time difference, so I enjoyed staying up until 6am and then sleeping until lunch. I wonder if once I get back to NC, my body will finally decide to adjust to Trichy time, leaving me stuck in the same situation. I don’t know if I would laugh or cry, maybe both. We spent Saturday afternoon shopping in the street market, even though it was hot, and the market was crowded with hundreds of people, I was happy to be living in that moment. I don’t know if it was the thrill of blowing my money on inexpensive knick-knacks, or the pollution fumes making me delusional, but I enjoyed myself on those streets. I wonder if I could organize a market for the school, in which different clubs could have the opportunity to sell their handmade goods along Stanford Mall. It would be during homecoming week, in order to reach to the parents who come for the football game. Definitely an idea I should suggest to the homecoming committee.

                I would think by now that I would be used to the employees following us around every time we shop, but I’m not. It’s very uncomfortable to shop with a constant presence next to you, trying to get you to buy every item possible. I am an indecisive shopper. I don’t go into a store knowing what I want, I just hope to stumble upon something cool. It is very hard to make a decision when you don’t know what you want, and there is somebody breathing down your neck. For this reason, I have been led to make many hasty decisions that have resulted in my acquisition of multiple odd knick-knacks. I don’t regret any of my purchases though, because now every gift I’ve bought has a funny story to tell each receiver. One of the girls I met at a store, gave me a free henna book, and that pretty much made my day. I was proud of my achievements today. I found the skirts the girls from last year bought. I bought gifts for all of my friends and family, and even bought backup gifts for people that I forgot. Overall it was good. Sunday came around fast, and I spent all of Sunday sleeping and occasionally getting up to be feed rice and nom. It was much need resting day.

    Day 21 and 22 in Trichy and I’m feeling accomplished. 

Good Talk

June 19, 2015

            Several days ago I made a little boy cry. How? I’m not sure. My theory is, that to him, my face resembles a monster. However, I saw him again today at the clinic, because his mom was due to give birth in a day or two, and yet again, when he saw me, he burst into tears. I hope I get to see him again, my goal is either to befriend him or make him cry harder. It’s surprising how a country filled with people with beautiful brown skin, seem to find beauty in only light skin. Even Dr. Jeremiah unconsciously made an insensitive comparison between dark skinned and light skinned. Since it was a slow day at the clinic, she was telling me stories about babies who have been abandon by their parents. One child, Ruby, was born to an unmarried 17 year old girl, whose father wanted to kill the child, rather than face the shame. As a result, Dr. Jeremiah kept the child at the hospital. Another, name unknown, was also a girl, a light skinned baby, abandoned on their church steps. The only description I got for Ruby, was that she was a dark skinned baby and that was it. For the other baby, she described her as a very beautiful baby with fair skin. I know she probably didn’t think that Ruby was ugly, but the difference in description made me think about how big of an issue skin color is. I have seen multiple TV commercials about skin lightning cream, and all the female stars are light skin girls. I can see that light skin is valued and I want to say that I understand, but I don’t. As an African American female, whose skin color is much darker than their own, I wonder what they think of me. Hopping off of my soap box, the two babies had a happy ending. Ruby was adopted by a Swedish couple and the other baby was taken in by a nurse’s aunt. Dr. Jeremiah showed me pictures of the girl all grown up, and she is a very pretty little girl.

Day 20 in Trichy and I don’t know how I’m feeling. 

Seventh Godchild

June 18, 2015

            Today I witnessed the birth of my seventh godchild. The mother, who came in yesterday, decided to give birth early, as her child was smaller than average and lacking in fluids. For a premature baby, the baby boy seemed healthy and there weren’t any complications during the surgery. Dr. Jeremiah surprised me when she suddenly stuck her finger into the baby’s rectum. I wasn’t sure what to make of that, I have never seen another doctor do that before. I guess it was to get the baby to defecate or to start crying, I’m not sure, but it was very shocking. Afterwards, the mother underwent the process of sterilization. Of course, after the operation there was tea, juice, and snacks for everyone. I have officially decided that once I become a doctor, I will require tea and snacks after every surgery. Another woman came in because she was experiencing abdominal pain. After examining the patient, Dr. Jeremiah concluded that it was an abdominal wall hernia. Apparently, she had had a hysterectomy completed a couple years ago, but the stitches weren’t completed correctly, so now there are multiple holes opening up in her abdomen. As a result, some of the contents within the abdominal cavity, like the intestines, are protruding out. To me, it sounds painful, but the lady didn’t look like she was in pain. In terms of treatment, she will need to undergo surgery to patch up the holes. I am glad that Dr. Jeremiah explains the medical conditions we see so well. Not only have I learned a lot about the female reproductive system in these past 3 weeks, but I have also learned the qualities that it takes to become a successful doctor.

Day 19 in Trichy and I’m grateful for this wonderful opportunity. 

New Friends

June 17, 2015

            Now that our family has 5 members in it, as the self-proclaimed head of the household, it is my responsibility to show the newbies new things. Today we took a trip to my favorite ice cream shop and we showed them the wonders of IBACO ice cream. The workers were probably surprised to see our numbers increasing. Even though there are slight language barriers, we are still able to communicate together well. Later on, we taught them how to play our favorite card games. Alex the French student has become quite competitive, but I’m still the reigning champion.  

            Today at work, a lady talked to me in Tamil for a good five minutes. I didn’t have the heart to interrupt her and tell her I couldn’t understand, so I let her continue. I assume she was talking about her daughter’s pregnancy. Her daughter was about to give birth to her second child, however, the baby’s weight was lower than average, and the baby wasn’t receiving enough fluids. Dr. Jeremiah plans on delivering the baby early so I might see another cesarean section operation soon. It still amazes me how many people forget to take their pills properly and then complain that the medication is not working. A lady came in today after being prescribed hormone medicine to regulate her period, she was supposed to take the pills for two weeks in order to see results. Yet, after less than a week, she returns claiming the pills aren’t working. Another important lesson learned: as a doctor, you can’t have a short temper, because sometimes you will have difficult patients. Patients won’t follow directions, they will complain, but as their doctor, you still have to give them the quality healthcare they deserve. I guess my current job working in a customer service setting is preparing me to be a good doctor.

Day 18 in Trichy. 

All I want is ice cream!!

June 16, 2015

            Our international student family is getting bigger, today we welcomed a new student from Indonesia. Now we have five people sitting at our dining table which has made things much more exciting. Today work was slow, we didn’t see as many patients but Dr. Jeremiah and I had great conversation. We talked a lot about the difference between Medical School in India and the U.S. It is incredible that Indian students apply for medical school at the age of 18 and once accepted, are in medical school for five and half years. Whereas in the U.S., we apply for medical school at the age of 22 after 4 years of undergrad. They find the idea of doing undergraduate prior to medical school confusing here in India. I have developed a nasty craving for sugar in India, and all I want now, is every sweet available to mankind. Emily and Sarah find it hilarious that I occasionally start talking about all the sweet things I want to eat, but all I really want is some ice cream. Maybe tomorrow my wish will come true.

Day 17 in Trichy and I need sugar. 

Disappointment comes in many forms

June 15, 2015

            We only have two weeks left of our amazing adventure. I have a feeling they will go by fast. Since I don’t have the ability to slow down time, so I will have to savor my time here in Trichy. We arrived back at Bishop Heber from Pondicherry at 3:30am, so I was very tired going into work, but work was fun as always. Dr. Jeremiah has become my hero and getting to spend time with your hero is every kids’ dream. So I guess I’m living the dream. Per usual, most the patients that came in to the clinic, were pregnant women having their monthly checkup and infertile women trying to become pregnant. Once in a while, we had patients that didn’t have problems dealing with pregnancy. A woman, her husband, and her eldest daughter came in today, the mother had a tumor growing on her brain and was experiencing multiple seizures. They have gone to multiple doctors but received the same answer, it would be too dangerous to operate because the operation could leave the mother paralyzed. Becoming desperate, they came to Dr. Jeremiah because she has been their family Ob/Gyn for two generation and they trust her. She advised them that the best solution currently, was to wait it out and see if the growth becomes cancerous, if it does, they would operate. It was awkward to watch the family cry, so I kept my head down the entire time, hoping to make myself invisible. Not quite sure if it worked…

            I treated myself to two scoops of ice-cream tonight, I thought it was well deserved after making it back safe from our crazy adventure in Pondicherry. It might just be my sweet tooth craving tons of sugar. India has given me a crazy sweet tooth and I’m not sure if my weight will ever be the same after this trip. A worker at the ice cream shop was very disappointed to see that I was only wearing one ankle bracelet, instead of one on each leg. She couldn’t understand why I chose to only wear one. I must have looked unstylish in her eyes. If I ever had a list of people I’ve majorly disappointed, this woman would be on the top of that list.

Day 16 in Trichy and I must buy another ankle bracelet. 

Adventures in Pondicherry

June 13, 2015 & June 14, 2015

Our beautiful hotel room

My goat friends

            Ever since we arrived in Trichy, Emily, Sarah, and I, had our eyes on Pondicherry. Last night we made it to Pondicherry safe and sound. I am very proud of us for getting all the way to Pondicherry. The bus ride might have been scary and the environment a little bit dangerous, but we made it. When we first arrived in Pondicherry at around 3:30am, we were little bit scared because we didn’t think our hotel was going to let us check in eight hours early and we would have to wait in the street until morning. There were people burning stuff out on the streets. Thankfully, the hotel manager allowed us to check in early and we didn’t have to spend the night with pyromaniacs. If you ever find yourself in Pondicherry, the Richard Hotel is an amazing place to stay. The staff are amazing people and the hotel itself is beautiful. Even after a tiring journey we were up by 9:30am and ready to explore even in the torturous hot sun. The beach was beautiful, but what I enjoyed watching, was the herd of goats walking along the beach. Why were there goats? Not sure, but did I want one? Yes!  

Mahatma Gandhi Statue

          We spent most of Saturday going store to store and spending our money on anything and everything that caught our eye. By Sunday, we had become more conscious shoppers, as we were running out of money. I have officially become a loyal customer for a lovely restaurant called Le Chateau, the food is delicious, the service is excellent, and they had great A/C which was a bonus. We spent Saturday night along the beach with hundreds of other tourist, it was quite chaotic with all the people there. At one point, this man came up to us with his child asking for a photo, not being able to say no, I ended up with a child on my lap for the picture. It was the last time we took a picture with a stranger.

Walking around Pondicherry

            Sunday was a little rough. We clocked out of our fabulous hotel at 12pm but our bus wasn’t schedule to leave until 11pm, as a result we had several hours in the unbearable heat. We started out strong in the heat. We went to the famous bakery, Baker Street, and walked around to the shops we hadn’t hit. Unintentionally, we found the park, where we took a nice stroll around, then we toured the museum. The museum wasn’t exactly like any museum you would find in the States, but it had a lot of interesting history. I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t dying from the heat, as the building didn’t have A/C. After a few hours in the heat, we started to fall apart so we took shade at Le Chateau, my favorite restaurant, which had A/C. We spent the rest of the evening lost in Pondicherry, but it was alright, we eventually found our way back and found some great shops along the way. We made it to 11pm without losing anything, or anyone, and found our bus pickup spot, which was a major accomplishment. Overall, our Pondicherry adventure was amazing, a little bit hectic and terrifying, but fun.

Day 14 & 15 spent in Pondicherry and I’m feeling reenergized.