India Part III

---

A Day in the Life

The following is an overview of my day-to-day life here in Chennai.

Work

At this exact moment I have been at Gremaltes for about 2.5 weeks, meaning about 13 working days. I can safely say that each day is different from the next.

The day begins for me usually around 7am. My body wakes up at this time naturally so it is refreshing. After I have breakfast, I report for work (downstairs) at 8. I work until 11-12 when I have a 1hr lunch break, then continue working until about 3-4.

The day's work can be divided between the morning and afternoon. The day could be in the hospital, out of the hospital, or both. When I am inside the hospital, I usually tend to the leprosy patients in some way - either by serving them food/tea, or by organizing some games/activities to pass the time. Many of the patients here are recovering from severe ulcers on their feet and hands, thus are in the hospital for the long haul. Thus, anything to break the monotony of life in a hospital bed is often much appreciated. Sometimes I sit and chat with them, as a few of them speak english.

When outside the hospital, I am with the hospital's health educator, Mr. Sreeni. Part of the Hospital's mission is its participation in Community-Based-Rehabilitation, which includes not just health services but health education provided to the community by the hospital. Mr. Sreeni goes out and gives presentations to local groups in the community, and I act as his "go-for", carrying all his equipment. We have visited local schools, factories, and slum areas. The presentations spread awareness of various infectious diseases, focusing mainly on leprosy, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS.

In India, these diseases exist as very real problems, problems that the government has thus far failed properly educate its people on. TB and leprosy are practically eliminated (if not tightly controlled) in America, so there is no need to educate its citizens - hell, I didn't know a thing about either before working here. HIV/AIDS, though still a problem in the US, has seen a huge campaign in education regarding the disease. Again, India does not have this luxury. Thus, it is up to non-governmental organizations (like Gremaltes) to pick up the slack.

What I like about accompanying Mr. Sreeni out in "the field" is that although I don't give the presentations, I've seen many facets of Chennai's poverty hidden from the eyes of most foreigners. How many non-Indians have walked the overcrowded elementary schools, that look more like prisons and sound more like zoos? Or the tucked-away garmet factories, that are in every sense of the word, "sweatshops"? Or the vast slums, that are nothing more than avenues of cramped shacks with thatched-palm-leaf roofs?

Such things you would never see in America.

Free Time: What Midd Student Would Ever Know It Existed?

There isn't a great deal for me to do after work. On the weekends, we've had visitors, volunteers from other placements around Chennai, who join us an various touristy excursions. But on normal days, I've learned to keep myself busy with a number of activities.

For the first time, I have taken up pleasure reading - something I've always wanted to do but never had the time. Since we live on the roof of the hospital, I like to sit out in the sun and read, either one of my books or one of the local english papers/magazines. I have developed a bit of a tan. I recently finished the Life of Pi.

I have also made it a personal goal of mine to teach myself how to do a handstand. This has actually proved much harder than I had expected, but I will keep at it until I can balance myself indefinitely.

Thus far, I've been pretty good at keeping a journal. Things like this take a lot of discipline, which under normal circumstances I would not have at all. We'll see if I can keep this initiative up.

I've joined the local gym. The first time I walked in there, I got a lot of crazy looks. By now, I have a reputation with the regulars whose respect I've earned by benching a lot. It is interesting that the whole machismo-culture amongst men in the gym seems to be universal. Here, I see the same vanity (guys casually checking themselves out in the mirror) and competitiveness (guys glancing over at you as you lift to "size you up") that was so common both in the States and Australia. I love it - I will always feel home at the gym. I could talk for ages about the differences in "gym culture" but suffice it to say the strongest deviations from what I am used to seeing include the persistent invasions of personal space and privacy (complete strangers coming up to you and spotting you or giving you pointers) and the complete absence of footwear inside the gym (everyone is barefoot).

Other tasks that keep me busy include simple house-maintenance (i.e washing dishes, doing laundry, cleaning the room). The laundry is interesting because for the first time, I have to do it by hand. Buying the soap, a bucket, and a clothesline w/ clothespins only costs a few bucks - similar to doing a couple loads of laundry at Midd. However, doing things by hand takes infinitely more time. It took me the greater part of the morning and afternoon to do two weeks (four buckets) worth of clothing. Also, I must have used up half of the hospital's reserve water supply in the process.

---