Woke up feeling the same as yesterday. Hit snooze twice in the morning. Went to breakfast around 8:45am: omelet and onion curried mashed potatoes. I bought pulpy Minute Maid orange juice for 30 rupees and started a trend. Ashley and Nikki got it too. Anna said she really liked the taste. Taniqua asked how much it was.
The bus arrived at 9:30am to take us to the maternal and child health center.
Upon entering, we saw the family of patients sleeping on the floor in the waiting area. Our guide noted that the building had poor ventilation.
Neonatal intensive care unit. Blue light for jaundice.
- 200 deliveries per month
Pediatrician
- Respiratory (due to indoor air pollution) and gastrointestinal infections are most common ailments he sees.
- Population burden.
- Limited resources.
- Logistic problems.
- So much pressure from parents about antibiotics because they think it’s a quick cure. Pressure from government to give out antibiotics. Don’t see much antibiotic resistance. 75% are viral infections. Give antibiotics first.
- 140 kids per day – depends on season.
- Starting a screening process for all children free of charge.
- Those not covered are migrant workers (labor workers). They don’t have identity – no proof of residency.
- “In last 20 years, so much has changed in medicine.”
Pharmacy- similar to US, but their practices are moving towards being more stringent because sometimes medications don’t need prescription. Different depending on region (ex. North India). Common for medications to be in miscellaneous packaging.
Back to hostel. Lunch at 1:20pm with Taniqua: barley rice, chickpea curry, veggie curry, roti. Walked to class with Paul at 2pm.
Dr. Raj’s advice of the day: Communicating well is important for future career.
Fun fact: Indian democracy is modeled after the British parliament. Leader of party becomes prime minister. President position is just ceremonial.
After class, some people went to Udupi. I stayed back. Read some case studies, but started falling asleep, so I napped for half an hour at the foot of my bed again. Originally wanted to go to tea time at 4:30pm, but woke up too late so went around 5:20pm instead. Good thing I decided to go because they had the French toast bread that is sooo good. I also had tea and coffee.
Seen in the cafeteria bathroom.
Ran into Sesen on the way back to the hostel. She was talking to a German girl named Ellie, who is here to teach German. I asked when she’s leaving and she said around June. Her boyfriend is meeting her and they’re gonna travel around India. That sounds so nice. Back to room and dealt with miscellaneous things like uploading pictures. Only when a housekeeper knocked that I tried reading more case studies. I was grateful that the housekeeper came spontaneously because it gives me a sense of security and comfort when the room is cleaned.
Went down to Lauren’s room to ask if she wants to go to dinner. One minute later, Kelsey R came by! Ran into Kelsey F. too. We took a look at the cafeteria food, and decided not to eat there because they had the spicy corn dish. We ended up at Subway upstairs.
Great choice. From looking at the menu last week, I knew the sub of the day for Wednesday was the chicken breast, so I was all for it. I got the chicken breast on multigrain honey oat bread with lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, pickles, onion, and chipotle sauce for 105 rupees. The chicken breast looked different than the US’s, but ended up tasting so much better. It had more flavor and wasn’t so chunky. I think I’m gonna eat at Subway every other day or so!
We were getting ready to go to the library when it started raining even harder. Kelsey R and Lauren did not bring umbrellas and were concerned about their laptops, so we waited awhile for the rain to subside to no avail. When the rain decreased slightly eight minutes later, we made a run for it. Literally. The closest entrance to the library was closed off, so we had to run to the further entrance. The sidewalks and roads were filled with puddles of water. We walked into Café Coffee Day to work on our field experience essay.
I didn’t completely finish because I was having a hard time getting started. I typed out all my notes to get a better grasp of what the whole paper will be about. I’ll probably finish tonight. I ordered something at the coffee shop for the first time. I tried their cappuccino for 80 rupees. Kelsey and Lauren got cookies and Aasam tea. Lauren let me try a sip of hers and it tasted like the tea I had on the plane. I am such a tea enthusiast. The cappuccino was very foamy and overall good. I am not a huge fan of coffee, so it wasn’t anything too mind-blowing. Indians seem to really enjoy their dance/remixed music. I really enjoy it. In the coffee shop, I have heard Priyanka Chopra’s “Exotic”, JLo, and Gangnam Style.
Back at the hostel, I washed my clothes, showered, skyped mom, updated blog with group photos, read more case studies, and took notes on buruli ulcers.
Ghrellen 