Good News and Bad News

---

I'm a Good-News-Firster. I am of the mind that it makes it a lot easier to take the bad if you already know the good.

So to that end, I have finally received my placement for the month of July! I will be living and working at Devaaki Hospital which is based in Karaikudi, Sivagangai District, Tamil Nadu (South India). It sounds like the hospital is privately funded, and it has several departments including Pediatrics, Obstetrics, Gynaecology, Orthopaedices, and Urology, as well as general surgeries. The hospital has five doctors, twenty nurses, fifty beds, and is apparently open 24 hours (we'll soon see the Indian definition of "open 24 hrs", I have my doubts). By Indian standards, this is most likely a medium-sized hospital. My supervisor is the chief doctor and general surgeon, and his wife is a gynaecologist who also works at the hospital.

I will be working Monday-Friday, 9am-8pm (with a break in the middle!). The main purpose of my being there is to observe and learn from my supervisor, but I will (hopefully) be able to do some of the work that the nurses do. My accomodations are in the top floor of the hospital, but I will take meals with a local family living about 15 minutes walk away.

Karaikudi is, from what I can tell off of Google Maps, approximately 8 hours drive from Chennai (where PACT, the HIV/AIDS hospice is located). This is a little further than I wanted to be, but it could have been worse. I plan to go to the hospice after my placement in Karaikudi is finished and visit, as well as accompany the staff on home calls in the neighborhood. More on this later.

So the unfortunate news is that I've been having extreme difficulty in securing an Indian visa to enter the country. This presents a rather large problem, and I am crossing my fingers that it will resolve itself before my departure date. I'm not sure what I will do if it doesn't...I guess I'll have to change my flight tickets to a time when I know I will for certain have a visa.

Other GREAT news! The children I was teaching English and Math to last summer at the hospice (who are HIV+) have been admitted to a local school. This is a HUGE step towards crossing the divide between the HIV+ population and the HIV- population. Those of you who may have read my emails or spoke to me last summer know about the stifling social stigma attached to HIV/AIDS in India.

Hm, time for bed. Last day of sailing training tomorrow before I leave the continent (providing I have the paperwork to do so! AH.)

---