Opthalmology Day #2

Today was our second (and last day) in the opthalmology department. We got there in the morning and weren't really sure what to do. The doctor we were supposed to meet up with wasn't there when we got there so they just had us sit in one of the rooms where they saw patients. We sat and observed for an hour or 2 before anyone even talked to us. Then they had us go to the head of the departments office. She talked with us for a bit and then had us read a chapter in a textbook about therapy for the eyes. It was an ok time reading the textbook. It's been a few months since I last read a textbook and I can't say that I missed it. Then we talked with her for a bit before we went back into an exam room and observed before our lunch break. We weren't having the best time so we thought it woud probably be a long afternoon when we went back. We were proven wrong and the afternoon went much better. The residents talked with us more and explained a lot of the things that they were doing. They even let Courtney try using one of the instruments to look at a patients eye and attempt to find the fundus. She wasn't able to see it, but they did draw us a nice picture of what we should be looking for. We also took this opportunity to look at each others eyes and Courtney even took a picture of my eye. We also talked more with the residents and they were all really friendly. I took a few pictures of our day, but Courtney has more of the them and some better ones. I believe she is going to put them on her blog in the next couple of days so you should check it out here. 

Example of what the different languages look like

Our daily picture together (when we remember to take one)

We're pretty attractive I would say

With a couple of the residents who were very kind to us

“When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” – Clifton Fadiman

One of my friends posted this quote on facebook earlier this week and so I just saw it yesterday when I got online and it really stuck out to me as being true and something that I need to remember.

The first few days in India were really hard for me. My internet wasn't set up so I couldn't talk to anyone from home, the food wasn't good, and the program wasn't what I expected it to be. I also didn't have the most positive attitude so that didn't help matters. I was super excited to go to India, but when I landed that feeling quickly left and instead I was dreading being here for 8 weeks.  After a couple of days of having a crappy attitude, some prayer, emails with my mom, and talking with Courtney I decided that I needed to have a better attitude and really try and make the most of this experience.

I really love traveling and so at first I couldn't figure out why I wasn't loving India. I then remembered all of my other trips and missing home right away as you settle in to a new country and try to figure out a routine. I realized that though I did really love all of the other countries that I had been for the most part I only remember the good things and the things that I loved doing. The more I thought about it the more I realized that there were many times I had these same feelings. All of this was a good reminder for me that things would be ok and that I would enjoy my time here.

I think it was also somewhat of a blessing that I didn't have internet those first few days and so I really focused more on Jesus and getting my strength from him rather than relying on people from home. Even though this isn't a mission trip and the focus is supposed to be more on gaining pharmacy/health care knowledge I can already tell that my faith is going to be strengthened as I go out of my comfort zone and really experience Indian culture. It really was good for me to pray together with Courtney those first few days (and I hope we continue to do this throughout the trip) and really ask for the strength to get through this experience. We also prayed to really love these people as God loves them and to see them how he sees them. Also that we would be reminded throughout the day that he is there for us in all the small little ways.

Some of the ways that God has shown up already in those small little ways include:

• Amy giving Courtney a journal that she had written in on certain days and on the 2nd day was the verse Ephesians 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us." and she wrote a note about how much he can do through her even though she is probably doubting how she will be able to survive these 8 weeks
• The facebook status from Grace that is the title of this post
• Chris waking up in the early when I was seeing if my gchat would work and we were able to set up a time to skype (and then actually being able to skype with him)
• My mom emailing me back with wise words of encouragement

Those are just the examples that I can think of right now off the top of my head of the ways that God has shown up these first few days in India when I really needed him to. I am looking forward to the ways he will continue to show up and the ways in which I will grow more in my faith as well as in the healthcare profession. I am also really glad that I am starting to enjoy India and can't wait to see what the next 7 weeks have in store!

First Week In India

So I somehow used my technology skills this afternoon and got my computer on the internet so I am able to post on my blog earlier than I thought I would be able to.

I finally made it to India on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning after some interesting travel situations. After our delays and flight changes we made it to the Des Moines airport on Monday and were pretty excited to get to India. We found out that our plane was delayed because of weather in Newark (where our plane was coming from). The plane finally arrived and they had us board the plane thinking we would take off soon, but because there were still storms in Newark we sat on the runway for almost 2 hours. We finally arrived in Newark, found our gate and grabbed some food before we boarded the plane to India. It was about a 14-hour plane ride. I ended up watching some movies and then Courtney and I slept the majority of the flight. We then were picked up at the airport after going through customs and drove to Loni. We were told the drive would take anywhere from 4-6 hours and it ended up taking about 6 ½ hours. We were ready to be there after so many hours of traveling. We then got to our rooms at about 4:30 am and slept until about 8.

Finally getting to leave the DSM airport

During the first day we were here we met with the other Drake students and they showed us around a little bit. We then went to the Center for Social Medicine (the college we are getting the certificate from) and met with the director. He tried to catch Courtney and myself up a bit on what they had talked about the previous 2 days. He also explained how Pravara Medical Institute came to be. It started out with a co-operative of farmers who started a sugar cane factory and eventually included schools, medical clinics, and farming technology. We then went on a tour of a sugar cane factory that was started in Loni and also toured a dairy. We tried some of their milk drink called Lasse that was pretty sweet. In the afternoon we toured some schools that are also part of the Pravara Education Trust and so we met students and saw the grounds. After touring we went to some stores to buy clothes for Courtney and myself. I ended up buying 7 tops to wear while in India. They clothing here is pretty cheap. The currency they use is called a rupee and the conversion is about 50 rupees to 1 US dollar. The majority of the tops cost 300 rupees (~$6).

Founder of Pravara

Sugar cane factory

Sugar cane by-product is alcohol

Dairy

Trying some lasse (a milk/smoothie thing)

Chemistry room at one of the schools we visited

Wearing some Indian clothes

The second day we were here we toured some more schools and learned more about the different education systems that they have.

Artwork done by some of the students

Trash cans at many of the schools

Friday was the first day that we did the actually program that we are here to do. It seems to be my understanding that for the next 7 weeks we will go to different areas of the hospital and clinics and do shadowing. We will be at each of the locations for 2 days before we rotate to the next area. Courtney and I are together and we went to ophthalmology.  The people in this area were very nice and friendly and talked to us about the drugs that they use for the eye exams. It was very busy and the residents say that in the department they see an average of 90 patients per day. We thought that sounded like a lot, but the resident said that in the government run hospitals the department would see about 1000 patients each day.

Eye chart

Drug list

Saturday we went to a school for their founder’s day. We sat through the program and were the “special guests” and then we went and had some cake. It was my first time eating sweet Indian food and it wasn’t too bad. Then we watched some of the kids play tug-of-war and cheered them on. After the winner was announced the Americans played tug-of-war against the teachers. We ended up winning both of the games we played. Then we hung out with the kids and played some games with them and also talked with them. A lot of the kids also wanted our autographs so we felt a little like celebrities as they shoved pieces of paper into our hands for us to write our names on, some of them even had us sign their hands since they didn’t have paper. I ended up talking with a group of boys for quite some time and we discussed popular culture things such as movies, singers, and games. It was very nice to talk with them all. The kids at the school were all very smart and spoke very good English. It is always amazing to me how many languages people from other countries can speak and makes me wish that I would have done a better job of learning another language while I was a student.

Playing tug-of-war

With some of the boys I talked with

Today we went ate breakfast on campus and then went back to our rooms. I did my first "load" of laundry and so I washed my clothes in a bucket in the bathroom. It was an interesting experience. I'm not sure how clean any of my clothes are, but they at least got wet and have some detergent on them. I'm also not sure if I rinsed them out very well so they may still have a little soap in them as I wear them. After lunch we decided to explore campus a little more and walked around and saw a temple that is on the one end of campus. We then did a little more shopping and bought some bananas as well as ice cream. Everyone else bought some more clothes at a shop that we hadn't been to before. I didn't see anything that I really liked so I didn't end up buying anything. The days are a little long when we don't have anything planned, but it is still nice to just have some time to relax. I think next weekend we are going to go to a nearby town for Saturday and Sunday and do some touristy things so that should be fun if we can work it out.

Temple 

Temple from the bottom of the hill

Courtney, Heather and Jill with their ice cream

Wing and me

I’m also starting to get used to the Indian food, but it is much spicer than I am used to. I really like the naan and rice :) We are staying in the international center and each have our own room and bathroom. It is a very nice facility.

Typical meal

Kitchen area of my room with sink, counter and cupboards

Bathroom

View of my room

Now that I think I will have more consistent internet access I should be able to do a blog post every day or 2 to keep you updated instead of this one really long post once a week. 

I made it!

I finally made it to India on Wednesday and am just now getting my wifi sort of set up. It's working now only iPad but not on my computer. I have a blog post all ready to go on my computer with pictures so on Monday I will post that after I go to the computer department to get it all fixed.

Things so far have gotten much better and I'm not feeling as overwhelmed as I was the first couple of days. Continued prayers would be appreciated as I continue to adjust to India. I will have much more for you all later :)

We will get there someday

Well I wish I was writing to say that I was in India, but I am actually still in Des Moines. Because of weather our flight from Des Moines to Chicago was delayed almost 2 hours so we would have missed our connection in Chicago. The earliest flights that Courtney and I could get on that would get us to India leaves on Monday. So we will now be flying out on Monday from Des Moines at 12:45 and going to Newark and then having a 15 hour plane ride straight to India. We are scheduled to arrive in India on July 2nd around 9:30 pm. Please pray that these new travel arrangements will go smoothly so we can finally get to India and start our adventure.

Right now we are both hanging out in Des Moines at one of the pharmacists and friends Courtney works with because all of her stuff is packed away and in boxes at her house. Last night we ended up going to a drive in movie of White House Down and World War Z. White House Down was good and I fell asleep during World War Z so I'm not really sure how that was.

It hasn't been too bad to be stuck in Des Moines. I would obviously rather be in India right now, but it is better to be stuck her for a couple days then in a random airport in either Chicago or Munich when we would have missed our connection and had no open flights until the 1st. Your prayers for safe and now uneventful travels are appreciated and I will hopefully be in India the next time I post.

India

I'm all packed to head to India tomorrow. I was going to take a picture of what my bags looked like, but decided that it looked exactly the same as my luggage picture from when I went to Ethiopia so you can check that out if you are interested in what my suitcases look like (except this time I don't have the smaller suitcase).

I believe my bag is exactly 50 lbs after having to take out some clothing that I didn't think was necessary and putting some food into my carry on.  I'll be flying out from Des Moines to Mumbai with stops in Chicago and Munich. It will be about 21 hours of travel all together so it will be tons of fun. It honestly shouldn't be that bad since I'll be with Courtney so I will have someone to talk to.

While I'm in India I will do my best to update this blog as much as I can and when I remember. I'm still not 100% sure what we will be doing over the 8 weeks that I am there. I know that I will be staying at Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences in Loni. We are staying with other international students and eating and doing most of our activities on campus. I will also be getting a certificate in social medicine and doing some clinical things as part of my rotation. There will be 4 other Drake students with me the full 8 weeks and 2 more students joining us for the last 4 weeks.

It's crazy that I'm actually going to India and still doesn't feel like I will be there so soon. I'm feeling more excited than nervous so I'm feeling good about that.

Here's a couple of pictures from google maps of where Loni is located in India so you can get an idea if you are interested in the location.

The red A is Loni

Here's the distance between Mumbai and Loni

Bethany's Wedding

On Saturday my cousin Bethany got married to a guy named Khord. The wedding was on a farm and was supposed to be outside, but due to the rain had to be moved inside. It still worked out really well and they made the best of it and had a beautiful ceremony and reception. I had fun hanging out with my family and taking tons of pictures per usual at family events. I uploaded the majority to facebook, but will add some here so you can have a small taste of the fun that was had. So Khord welcome to the crazy Hanson extended family.