4:00 pm, July 1
My day started here at 3 am. My body is incredibly confused, since India is 11 1/2 hours ahead of home. I am almost completely turned around, but I'll adjust eventually. I took a five-hour "nap" yesterday afternoon, and then fell asleep at night around 11 to wake up at 3am. It actually wasn't too bad. I did a sort of mini work- out, took a shower, and then watched The Bodyguard on HBO. I only get about 9 channels, but one of them happens to be HBO India. That and CNN are my only English options. I tried watching some Indian TV, Hindu soap operas, in order to soak up some culture, but I don't think I got much out of it.
I also found out yesterday that I have an unexpected roommate. I returned from emailing/blogging yesterday to a little green and brown lizard on my bedroom wall. I don't mind sharing my room with a little wildlife, he (or she?) is my only companion so far. I am supposed to have a true roommate, but she just arrived today and is spending the next couple of nights with friends. So the lizard and I get to chill together.
We had our first meeting as a group this morning. The other students are awesome. They are incredibly friendly, and I think we'll have a good time together. Eventually, we are supposed to get cell phones supplied by Unite for Sight. Maybe when that happens I will have a social life including more than just a lizard.
I learned a little about LV Prasad Eye Clinic and Institute, the place where I am volunteering. It's a great program. The clinic's goal is to provide the same high quality of care a patient would receive in the USA to all people of India. At least 50% of the clinic's patients are poor or rural and receive their care at no cost. It is also a major center for education, ophthalmology research internationally, and product development/improvement. Because of the research and development done here, donated tissue for corneal transplant may be used for up to four days after harvest, as opposed to only one day which was the situation prior.
Then, this afternoon, we got to go with Jachin (my program coordinator) and another woman from LV Prasad to a local school. They gave a program instructing teachers how to watch for signs of poor eye health and how to give vision screening to their students. We had a great time interacting with the children and the teachers. The shy kids stared at us while the brave ones talked, waved, and shook our hands. I definitely got the most stares, both from students and teachers. I would guess that I am the first white person most of these kids have ever seen. Overall, it was a good day.
Tomorrow is Sunday, and the Indian work week is Monday through Saturday. So I have to figure out what to do with my day off. I am going to try and get out of the LV Prasad complex. Unfortunately, I still know too little about safe transportation, but I really do not want to spend my entire day watching HBO. I am determined to find something more interesting to do.
Oh yeah, one final thought. I mentioned the crazy traffic in my entry yesterday. Today, while we were on the bus the other students were talking about all the honking horns. One of them mentioned how getting honked at the US is taken as a personal affront or a sort of insult. Honking makes people angry. In contrast, getting honked at in India generates a response more like "Thank you for acknowledging my existence." I just found that to be an interesting (and I think true) observation.
My day started here at 3 am. My body is incredibly confused, since India is 11 1/2 hours ahead of home. I am almost completely turned around, but I'll adjust eventually. I took a five-hour "nap" yesterday afternoon, and then fell asleep at night around 11 to wake up at 3am. It actually wasn't too bad. I did a sort of mini work- out, took a shower, and then watched The Bodyguard on HBO. I only get about 9 channels, but one of them happens to be HBO India. That and CNN are my only English options. I tried watching some Indian TV, Hindu soap operas, in order to soak up some culture, but I don't think I got much out of it.
I also found out yesterday that I have an unexpected roommate. I returned from emailing/blogging yesterday to a little green and brown lizard on my bedroom wall. I don't mind sharing my room with a little wildlife, he (or she?) is my only companion so far. I am supposed to have a true roommate, but she just arrived today and is spending the next couple of nights with friends. So the lizard and I get to chill together.
We had our first meeting as a group this morning. The other students are awesome. They are incredibly friendly, and I think we'll have a good time together. Eventually, we are supposed to get cell phones supplied by Unite for Sight. Maybe when that happens I will have a social life including more than just a lizard.
I learned a little about LV Prasad Eye Clinic and Institute, the place where I am volunteering. It's a great program. The clinic's goal is to provide the same high quality of care a patient would receive in the USA to all people of India. At least 50% of the clinic's patients are poor or rural and receive their care at no cost. It is also a major center for education, ophthalmology research internationally, and product development/improvement. Because of the research and development done here, donated tissue for corneal transplant may be used for up to four days after harvest, as opposed to only one day which was the situation prior.
Then, this afternoon, we got to go with Jachin (my program coordinator) and another woman from LV Prasad to a local school. They gave a program instructing teachers how to watch for signs of poor eye health and how to give vision screening to their students. We had a great time interacting with the children and the teachers. The shy kids stared at us while the brave ones talked, waved, and shook our hands. I definitely got the most stares, both from students and teachers. I would guess that I am the first white person most of these kids have ever seen. Overall, it was a good day.
Tomorrow is Sunday, and the Indian work week is Monday through Saturday. So I have to figure out what to do with my day off. I am going to try and get out of the LV Prasad complex. Unfortunately, I still know too little about safe transportation, but I really do not want to spend my entire day watching HBO. I am determined to find something more interesting to do.
Oh yeah, one final thought. I mentioned the crazy traffic in my entry yesterday. Today, while we were on the bus the other students were talking about all the honking horns. One of them mentioned how getting honked at the US is taken as a personal affront or a sort of insult. Honking makes people angry. In contrast, getting honked at in India generates a response more like "Thank you for acknowledging my existence." I just found that to be an interesting (and I think true) observation.
posted by Amy M at 5:37 AM
3 Comments:
Amy,
When I was in Ecuador, they told us that a gecko in your room was a good thing because they take care of the cockroaches. I thought that seemed reasonable. Glad to here you're there safely! Miss you.
Julia
Hey Amy! I hope that you're having a good time!
A kind of odd thing happened to me today: I ran into Vanessa Bowers in La Crosse. Kristen and I were coming back from the beach on her boat and the channel had been closed for an air show. Rather than sit out in the sun, we decided to go into a riverside diner and get something to drink. Vanessa happened to be working as a waitress.
*"It's a Small World" music plays*
Love you lots!
Happy 4th of July!!! Glad to hear you've found a new friend (I would have freaked :)) and are settling in nicely!
Post a Comment
<< Home