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Published: January 14th 2008
so after my great day on saturday...yesterday was not off to such a great start! i got up super early, eager to venture on down to vellore. my taxi was supposed to arrive at 9 am. being me, i showered, ate breakfast, packed, checked out and was sitting in the lobby by 8:30. 9 rolls around and no taxi. 9:15, 9:30 no taxi. 9:40 comes and i ask the front desk guy if this was normal. he said not at all and he could call me a taxi. this taxi was going to cause >2x as much cause i would have to pay for the driver to go the 3 hours both ways. boo hoo. i didnt know what else to do (wasn't ready to brave the train with all my stuff yet) so i told him to get it. we leave at about 9:55. this was where things got scary. me-the girl who won't drive in my own driveway without a seat belt- was put in taxi without seatbelts. ahhh....and you can not even imagine the drivers here! they make new york drivers seem super sane! pretty much everyone just blares there horns at all times and passes everyone and everything-cows, trucks, pedestrians, cars, rickshaws, bikes-it is terrifying! i held on so tight for 3 hours that i swear my hands were numb!! we passed everything on that drive, including dead hanging animals that resembled dogs and old ladies at the side of the road selling raw hunks of meat. yucko!
we get to vellore and the driver (who speaks not a word of english by the way) tries to drop me off at the hospital. hmmm...i have no idea where but i do know that the campus where i would be staying is 7km from the hospital. i had the name written down so he kept stopping and asking people. eventually we made it. i had warned him in advance that i didn't have enough cash and would have to go to the atm. luckily there waas one right across from campus and i didnt have a problem using it-i may have had to give him my ipod or first born for the drive if not! i arrive on campus to find a note at the reception for 2 other people and a phone number to call. i search far and wide, find the phone and find out the key was for me. there was some sort of confusion, but alas i am home!!! the room is very much like a typical dorm room with a bathroom. its simple but clean and i was ready to unpack! oh but first i called and woke up my parentals at 3am. oops-i thought it was 11! sorry renee and jose!
i left my door open for awhile hoping someone would walk by so i can figure out where things were cause i didn't find anything by just wandering. at about 6pm as my stomach was about to eat itself, the security guard came and brought me outside...there were a group of guys there to greet me! it was bernadette's other friend and 2 of his friends. Rubby is a PT from this area who lived and worked in texas for years. him and his wife returned to vellore to open up an orphange for girls. they have 14 girls living there currently and are trying to work on fee--free adoption in india (i guess currently it is only possible for the super rich to adopt). His friend, Manoah who is an OT also helps out with the orphange and was here visiting his family. He currently runs PT/OT clinics in Chico! They took me to dinner along with Lou Knowles, who is the director of the Vellore board in the US-he lives in Long Beach. They thought i was staying in the hotel i was originally supposed to, but somehow hunted me down to make sure i felt welcome here after the whole taxi incident (how they knew that i have no idea!) we went to a chinese restaurant which was really indian food posing as chinese food. it was really yummy and so nice to meet such great people! they also gave me a survival kit of water, soda and cookies! the people here are way too nice! the water was super handy since i hadn't been sure where to find safe water and hadn't had any all day!
I later met a brother and sister from Australia who are staying across from me. They were super sweet annd said the dorm had only been quiet all day cause everyone went on a trip this weekend. They are med students here for about 2 months but are leaving this week.
The campus is so quiet and amazing. i slept with my windows open and there were no horns blaring all night like in the city! it was great! i was told to take the 7:40 bus this morning to the hospital. i met a bunch of people staying in my hostel who are all med students. they are all really friendly and helpful. i needed help ordering breakfast and ended up with toast!
the hosptial is amazing!! there are about 5000 beds and they see about 5000 outpatients a day. they have every sort of program for students...it is like a city! more populated than ringwood i bet! it was started by the daughter of an american missionary who had experienced 3 mothers/babies die because they refused to be seen by a male doctor (her father). she felt that she needed to go to med school and left india to go to cornell. she then returned and started seeing patients in their villages even though initailly people were afraid of her and her white skin! it grew and grew and then became a med school and one of the best hospitals in india!
i got oriented all morning and met a bunch of the PT staff. its so weird how PT is PT is PT! seriously it looks the same no matter where you are! i wont begin my teaching until wednsday and will spend tomorrow hanging around the clinic. when i told them my plans to donate my computer they were so excited! they have been trying for years to get a laptop and haventbeen able to. they said it will be espcially good for the other volunteers who come because then they won't have to bring their own! i think i won them over already!!
The director of internaltional relations was hilarious- one of the first things she asked me was about how on my resume i had put that i had worked on "wicked"...she said "what is that? i was scared!!"i had to explan how it was a show about the witches of oz before the wizard of oz!! very funny! she also explained why it is ok that the nurses wear saris with their tummies completely exposed, but it is not ok to show your shoulders-tummies are not sexy here!
i may have a problem when i get up from the computer...i went to the potty before and forgot to tie my super large pants high on my waist and they may fall down. the tops are too long to try to reach under and tie them! oh well! is it much worse than hiking my skirt up to go in the water?
ok i think i am now babbling. i will share some pics when i get a chance...
comment or email me everyone...no phasing me out-i'm too scrappy!!
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luke
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the whole beach was looking at her.... hahaha i love the beach scene your scandaliz sista... oh my ,'-) tummies aren't sexy thats my type of place cause i;'d be checking all those mid sections out yo.. what if you tatoo a womans shoulder onto your tummie then exposed that?? hmmmm interesting?? i guess they wouldn't welcome the naked drummer with open arms?? thats ok most don't... make a difference and leave them with that spirit of yours and always make them laugh.... good job by the way i look forward to your next adventure.... waiting in the rose garden drumming out the beats that will rock the nights sky....... later skater