Monday, September 20, 2004
Taking some time to look for Kodak developing coupons (a lost cause I'm sure) because I have 11 rolls of film waiting for me at Meijer. At $7.50 a pop that's some expensive developing!! d'oh. But I'm so excited to see my India pictures that I don't think I can wait any longer.
This past weekend I went to the Earthworks Harvest Gathering (music festival at Bob and Seth Bernard's farm). There was so much great talent there; I loved that almost every set, the musician on stage would invite friends or peers up to play. The music was awesome! There are some very talented and underappreciated local musicians represented here. I don't have the complete list and can't find a site of just the festival, but look here for a simple-looking list of really neat people (don't be fooled! follow a few of them and you'll be amazed!)
The weekend was relaxing, I heard great music and got to hang out with my man just about the whole time. :) And some very great friends were there too, and I loved catching up with them too.
This past weekend I went to the Earthworks Harvest Gathering (music festival at Bob and Seth Bernard's farm). There was so much great talent there; I loved that almost every set, the musician on stage would invite friends or peers up to play. The music was awesome! There are some very talented and underappreciated local musicians represented here. I don't have the complete list and can't find a site of just the festival, but look here for a simple-looking list of really neat people (don't be fooled! follow a few of them and you'll be amazed!)
The weekend was relaxing, I heard great music and got to hang out with my man just about the whole time. :) And some very great friends were there too, and I loved catching up with them too.
# posted by Joanna @ 8:58 PM
Thursday, September 02, 2004
I am now up in Cheboygan; it's my first week of my "PCAC" portion of my "clerkship". Basically we do ambulatory primary care for 6 months out of my 3rd and 4th years of school. My base hospital is Traverse City Munson, but I do these six months in rural locations. So I'll be in Cheboygan Sept-Oct, driving to Onaway Nov, then moving up to St. Ignace for Dec and to Grayling for January. Not sure yet where I'll go February.
I'm working right now with Dr. Florek, a grad of COM who went through TC as a med student; he does OMM and also mixes in chiropracty (former career), so I'm looking forward to learning about his perspective on OMM. He's had me shadow him for a few days, and once in a while I see a patient before he does. It's good experience. Once in a while the other docs may grab me to show interesting patients. The Ear/Nose/Throat doc has shown me fine needle biopsies (I even got to try a pull at it) and how he stops a nosebleed (and I got to try on the light helmet and use the speculum to see up in the nose).
Next month is surgery, and the schedule there is pretty strenuous; my roommate has worked 12 and 10 hour days, as well as had topics to review at night. But I'm looking forward to it.
The cabin we're in is nice (we move next door to the house once the owners are done with it) but currently I have no phone (my roommate's works, most of the time, if you face the right direction) and no internet access at home (I'm at the library). We live across the road from Mullett lake, and the sunrise/moonrises have been gorgeous. It's been a bit cold lately but today is nice.
I'm working right now with Dr. Florek, a grad of COM who went through TC as a med student; he does OMM and also mixes in chiropracty (former career), so I'm looking forward to learning about his perspective on OMM. He's had me shadow him for a few days, and once in a while I see a patient before he does. It's good experience. Once in a while the other docs may grab me to show interesting patients. The Ear/Nose/Throat doc has shown me fine needle biopsies (I even got to try a pull at it) and how he stops a nosebleed (and I got to try on the light helmet and use the speculum to see up in the nose).
Next month is surgery, and the schedule there is pretty strenuous; my roommate has worked 12 and 10 hour days, as well as had topics to review at night. But I'm looking forward to it.
The cabin we're in is nice (we move next door to the house once the owners are done with it) but currently I have no phone (my roommate's works, most of the time, if you face the right direction) and no internet access at home (I'm at the library). We live across the road from Mullett lake, and the sunrise/moonrises have been gorgeous. It's been a bit cold lately but today is nice.
# posted by Joanna @ 12:53 PM
Just to finish up the narrative...
After we left Amalapuram we didn't have email access so I couldn't email; it was also harder to make phone calls b/c there wasn't an ISD across the street and we were always on the road or in the hotel during calling hours (the hotel phone would've been expensive $2-3/min if I'd used it)
The 31 hour train ride went well (as well as expected!)... lots of sleeping, some eating, and a 2-hour "Speed Uno" game. Then we were met at the train station by Esli's uncle and cousin and went back to their apartments (for a glorious shower). The first day we went out to see the Qtub Minar (tower and ruins from 1500s), the B'hai Lotus Temple, and drove past the India Gate, Parliament, the Secretariats (offices but they look fancy) and the President's Residence. He was too busy to have lunch with us so we went to an Indian (duh) restaurant; Steph had a Subway sandwich). I found that North Indian food was much more what I expected to find-- creamy sauces and thick gravies, with bread (not rice). We still ate south indian food at JC Rao's house (Esli's uncle); he likes to put more food on your plate b/c we all need to eat more. They spread us out to different houses and shuttled us around.
We went Sunday night to Agra, and Monday morning saw the Taj Mahal. It was absolutely breathtaking; the impressive thing is the craftmanship; details like the symmetrical design (like having a building JUST to mirror the mosque on the West side), the inlay work, even thinking about perspective so that the letters of the Koran around the entrance look the same size despite the greater distance to the top (They're larger at top!). I took so many pictures. Then Seth and I got railroaded to our guide's friends' shops to see how they do inlay (and shown items to buy) and to see the Star of India and Star Ruby stones (high pressure sales tactics :( ) so we barely saw the Agra fort.
Next to Jaipur. The hotel was full so they brought us to another full hotel... only the luxury suites were open, so that's where we stayed! It was huge, and our room had a bench swing in it! We went Tuesday to see the Amber Fort from 17th century, and got caught after by the monsoon rain; it took 2 hours to get back to the hotel! We saw the City Palace Wednesday and a bit of shopping before going back to Delhi. (Each of these drives were 4-5 hours, the driving was more tiring than sight-seeing!)
Back to Delhi for a couple days; we saw a large corporate hospital (opposite end of the spectrum from Amalapuram) and shopped at the Dilli-Haat, an open-air market for craftspeople to sell their items; they all come in from their different states and sell for a week or two. Some haggled, others didn't; I got some good deals (and felt a little guilty afterwards-- but they wouldn't sell it to me if they didn't want?) and my two suitcases were full.
All in all a great vacation! It feels SO good to be home though! I was missing everything from lettuce to bathtubs to driving on the correct side of the road and staying IN the lanes.
After we left Amalapuram we didn't have email access so I couldn't email; it was also harder to make phone calls b/c there wasn't an ISD across the street and we were always on the road or in the hotel during calling hours (the hotel phone would've been expensive $2-3/min if I'd used it)
The 31 hour train ride went well (as well as expected!)... lots of sleeping, some eating, and a 2-hour "Speed Uno" game. Then we were met at the train station by Esli's uncle and cousin and went back to their apartments (for a glorious shower). The first day we went out to see the Qtub Minar (tower and ruins from 1500s), the B'hai Lotus Temple, and drove past the India Gate, Parliament, the Secretariats (offices but they look fancy) and the President's Residence. He was too busy to have lunch with us so we went to an Indian (duh) restaurant; Steph had a Subway sandwich). I found that North Indian food was much more what I expected to find-- creamy sauces and thick gravies, with bread (not rice). We still ate south indian food at JC Rao's house (Esli's uncle); he likes to put more food on your plate b/c we all need to eat more. They spread us out to different houses and shuttled us around.
We went Sunday night to Agra, and Monday morning saw the Taj Mahal. It was absolutely breathtaking; the impressive thing is the craftmanship; details like the symmetrical design (like having a building JUST to mirror the mosque on the West side), the inlay work, even thinking about perspective so that the letters of the Koran around the entrance look the same size despite the greater distance to the top (They're larger at top!). I took so many pictures. Then Seth and I got railroaded to our guide's friends' shops to see how they do inlay (and shown items to buy) and to see the Star of India and Star Ruby stones (high pressure sales tactics :( ) so we barely saw the Agra fort.
Next to Jaipur. The hotel was full so they brought us to another full hotel... only the luxury suites were open, so that's where we stayed! It was huge, and our room had a bench swing in it! We went Tuesday to see the Amber Fort from 17th century, and got caught after by the monsoon rain; it took 2 hours to get back to the hotel! We saw the City Palace Wednesday and a bit of shopping before going back to Delhi. (Each of these drives were 4-5 hours, the driving was more tiring than sight-seeing!)
Back to Delhi for a couple days; we saw a large corporate hospital (opposite end of the spectrum from Amalapuram) and shopped at the Dilli-Haat, an open-air market for craftspeople to sell their items; they all come in from their different states and sell for a week or two. Some haggled, others didn't; I got some good deals (and felt a little guilty afterwards-- but they wouldn't sell it to me if they didn't want?) and my two suitcases were full.
All in all a great vacation! It feels SO good to be home though! I was missing everything from lettuce to bathtubs to driving on the correct side of the road and staying IN the lanes.
# posted by Joanna @ 12:39 PM
Sent out August 14
I wrote last on Wednesday morning, when we took the morning off to sleep in and relax a little bit (we'd been pretty busy up til then). Since then we have been busy again, and the only way I'm keeping it all straight is that I've been writing it all in my journal each day.
Wednesday afternoon we went to a clothing store in Amalapuram so I could buy a punjabi (pants and a long tunic shirt). You sit down on a stool at the counter. They've got stacks of folded punjabis in bags, which they pour out for you onto the counter. There are so many colors and styles. He put out literally 40 different ones, and though I tried to tell him which colors his assistant kept pulling out oranges and reds and dark colors too. I ended up choosing one (but it really didn't fit in the shoulders, and I almost couldn't get it off again when I tried it on at home!!!) Then we went downstairs and we sat down again to pick a sari as a gift for the doctor who's been planning things for us, and they gave us cokes. Very interesting.
Then we went to a leprosy mission, where they welcomed us with two songs. We got a lecture from a doc there and then saw some patients. It's called "hanson's disease" b/c leprosy has such a bad connotation. They were all on treatment, so they were not very contagious. Most people there won't leave again, because they have some deformities and aren't very well accepted in their communities. They lose feeling and movement in their hands/arms, and then the muscles atrophy and their bones can resorb (no fingers). Very interesting.
We visited the Women's Hospital Thursday, and we'll be going back there Monday-Wednesday.
Yesterday we went to visit their new teaching hospital, which they hope to get accredited next year; til then the hospital itself is running. They're offering free surgeries for now to build up a clientele. Lots of hydroceles (due to microfilaria) so we saw 3 surgeries yesterday. (swollen testicles... the guys here were feeling sympathy pain durins surgery) We also drove an hour to "the beach" on the Bay of Bengal. The road was bumpy, and the beach was just a strip of coastline, no sunbathers, only a few men trying to catch fish in some offshore nets.
Today is another day off (I was feeling bad last night; I'm blaming the diarrhea on my malaria meds b/c I haven't had a fever and I've been real careful about drinking only good water)
The weather has been rather nice lately; it rained Tues, Wed, and Thurs nights (hard rain, but while we were sleeping) so the next days were pretty nice (almost pleasant). Today the sun is hot.
I wrote last on Wednesday morning, when we took the morning off to sleep in and relax a little bit (we'd been pretty busy up til then). Since then we have been busy again, and the only way I'm keeping it all straight is that I've been writing it all in my journal each day.
Wednesday afternoon we went to a clothing store in Amalapuram so I could buy a punjabi (pants and a long tunic shirt). You sit down on a stool at the counter. They've got stacks of folded punjabis in bags, which they pour out for you onto the counter. There are so many colors and styles. He put out literally 40 different ones, and though I tried to tell him which colors his assistant kept pulling out oranges and reds and dark colors too. I ended up choosing one (but it really didn't fit in the shoulders, and I almost couldn't get it off again when I tried it on at home!!!) Then we went downstairs and we sat down again to pick a sari as a gift for the doctor who's been planning things for us, and they gave us cokes. Very interesting.
Then we went to a leprosy mission, where they welcomed us with two songs. We got a lecture from a doc there and then saw some patients. It's called "hanson's disease" b/c leprosy has such a bad connotation. They were all on treatment, so they were not very contagious. Most people there won't leave again, because they have some deformities and aren't very well accepted in their communities. They lose feeling and movement in their hands/arms, and then the muscles atrophy and their bones can resorb (no fingers). Very interesting.
We visited the Women's Hospital Thursday, and we'll be going back there Monday-Wednesday.
Yesterday we went to visit their new teaching hospital, which they hope to get accredited next year; til then the hospital itself is running. They're offering free surgeries for now to build up a clientele. Lots of hydroceles (due to microfilaria) so we saw 3 surgeries yesterday. (swollen testicles... the guys here were feeling sympathy pain durins surgery) We also drove an hour to "the beach" on the Bay of Bengal. The road was bumpy, and the beach was just a strip of coastline, no sunbathers, only a few men trying to catch fish in some offshore nets.
Today is another day off (I was feeling bad last night; I'm blaming the diarrhea on my malaria meds b/c I haven't had a fever and I've been real careful about drinking only good water)
The weather has been rather nice lately; it rained Tues, Wed, and Thurs nights (hard rain, but while we were sleeping) so the next days were pretty nice (almost pleasant). Today the sun is hot.
# posted by Joanna @ 12:37 PM
Sent on August 11
The trip to Hyderabad was fine-- I was almost falling asleep before the flight in Frankfurt's terminal, so I slept almost the whole way to India (waking for meals and water). I met some nice people on the plane going to Hyderabad so they walked me through getting through immigration/customs and switching to the domestic terminal.
Esli met me in the airport, and then to his cousin's house. We toured an Ayervedic hospital there. Then a night train to Rajmadra and car to Amalapuram. Rosie's family is taking very good care of us. It's quite hot here-- you can sweat just standing. But we have A/C and fans. We were warmly welcomed in their church (they introduced us and gave us flower garlands and all the kids wanted to shake our hands). They think we're real doctors.
They had a "medical camp" Mon and Tues (health screening for all who came) and we saw 120 people or more each day (4 hours). Most had aches and pains, some needed surgery or drugs. and most were sent away with some vitamins-- B complex, iron, and A&D for the kids. The room was small and hot (sweaty!) Then both days we watched surgeries-- hysterectomy, hernia, and a tonsillectomy, biopsy, and thyroid cyst. Today is a day of rest. More medical experiences to come. We will spend time here til 19th, then go to another place to catch a train to Delhi.
The trip to Hyderabad was fine-- I was almost falling asleep before the flight in Frankfurt's terminal, so I slept almost the whole way to India (waking for meals and water). I met some nice people on the plane going to Hyderabad so they walked me through getting through immigration/customs and switching to the domestic terminal.
Esli met me in the airport, and then to his cousin's house. We toured an Ayervedic hospital there. Then a night train to Rajmadra and car to Amalapuram. Rosie's family is taking very good care of us. It's quite hot here-- you can sweat just standing. But we have A/C and fans. We were warmly welcomed in their church (they introduced us and gave us flower garlands and all the kids wanted to shake our hands). They think we're real doctors.
They had a "medical camp" Mon and Tues (health screening for all who came) and we saw 120 people or more each day (4 hours). Most had aches and pains, some needed surgery or drugs. and most were sent away with some vitamins-- B complex, iron, and A&D for the kids. The room was small and hot (sweaty!) Then both days we watched surgeries-- hysterectomy, hernia, and a tonsillectomy, biopsy, and thyroid cyst. Today is a day of rest. More medical experiences to come. We will spend time here til 19th, then go to another place to catch a train to Delhi.
# posted by Joanna @ 12:34 PM
