Sensei...or Grasshopper?

So what, if anything, did I learn from my time in India?

1. Puppies don't discriminate...we are all just playthings! RIP Angel.
2. Cats do discriminate...feed them and they will tolerate you.
3. People really and truly just want to be heard...even if you don't speak the language.
4. Stopping everything at 11am for Chai...is about a lot more than tea.
5. An elephant blessing is about a lot more than snot in your hair.
6. It's hard to tell the difference between a funeral procession and a temple celebration...both seem like a party.
7. I'm a much better scrabble player than I thought...or am I?
8. I like the big mangos better than the small mangos...or is it the other way around?
9. I am much much older than pre-med students...who don't know who Dr. Quinn is.
10. Sometimes you're the Sensei, sometimes you're the grasshopper. Be prepared for both!
11. One person can indeed make a difference.
12. There is nothing so wonderful as a glass of ice water!
13. There is no place like home.

That's a wrap people. Thanks for reading.

Faces

These are a few of the faces that I'll remember from my trip. There are many faces to go along with many stories. The man who walked a mile to get an Xray of his broken foot. The sister in law with a migraine. The man who shaved for his last visit with me. The retired English school teacher who insisted I stay with her next time I go to India. The son who carried his disabled Dad with loving patience. The woman whose main symptom was loneliness, who brought me homemade treats. The man with a leg length difference that had never been addressed. The woman I thought was cursing me under her breath, who was actually blessing me! The Oregonian, who was my sidekick for 2 weeks. An Raja, my gracious clinic host...quick to laugh and quick to try new things.

How do you say "Push?"

I took the time to learn a few words of Tamil before I went to Kodai...and they served me well, but...the physio clinic rang with the words "how do you say...?" during my 2 week stay! I would shout out my request and somewhere over the din, Raja or Arun, or even occasionally, another patient, would shout out the Tamil for me to use. Try performing PNF patterns without speaking the language if you want to be humbled quickly! We worked it out...a lot of demonstrating, a lot of miming, and A LOT of laughing by both parties. No worry, laughter is indeed the BEST MEDICINE.

My second week in Kodai, I was joined by 10 young pre-med students/volunteers. Arkansas, Temple, Notre Dame, Michigan and Ohio State all in the house. Several of them shadowed me and got their first taste of acupuncture. Hopefully, it was a good taste. I give these young guns credit for traveling so far away at such a young age. This will change them, if they let it!

Second Week...

This gentleman came to see me almost everyday with a diagnosis of bilateral OA of the knees. He had been to some sort of tribal medicine doctor and gone through tattoo therapy, where peacock oil was the main medicine used. Clearly not a problem with needles! He had really good results with acupuncture treatments.

Land of Spices!

Sunday is market day in Kodai. It's like a giant flea market that closes down the street. Everything Indian is for sale, but mostly it's fruits, veggies and spices! It's an overload for the senses...beautiful colors, overwhelming noise, and pungent smells!

Therapy for the therapist!

After much negotiation and good ole' fashioned finagling...I was able to arrange massages for 2 of us! This place was definitely a little slice of heaven amid the chaos of Kodai. Our massage therapists were from Northern India and did not disappoint! Such gracious hosts, they even offered up their own shower for our use. 1 hour = 1000 Rupees = $15. No charge for the badminton!

Is there something in my teeth?!

Volunteers were given weekends off to travel and explore the regional area. On this weekend, there were only 2 of us (our third being laid low by a broken ankle...long story) so we hired a driver to do the "tourist loop" around Kodai. We stopped at local natural beauties called "The Pine Forest" "Pillar Rocks" "Suicide Point" and a few others. The views were spectacular ...and apparently, so were we! Every where we went, we received Rock Star welcomes...rushed by every Indian family that had a little girl to pose for family photos. Maybe it was the fact that I was traveling with an 8 foot giant of a woman...but pretty sure, it was our white faces. At any rate, we graciously acquiesced to all requests. Somewhere out there, we are the talk of someones family photos!

Tea Tea...

Nowhere in my pre travel packet did it say, "don't say Chai Tea...you idiot!" Among the things I learned very quickly, "Chai" means TEA...so asking for Chai Tea will get you a good old fashioned Indian snicker! My bad.
Without question, immediately behind the people who befriended me, what I miss most about Kodai is the MILK Tea. A ridiculously sweet and rich concoction of black tea powder, raw whole milk and lots and lots of sugar...milk tea was more than the perfect 11:00am snack. It was a gathering of entire hospital staffs around a common table (come hell or high water). It was a genuine expression of humanity amid the chaos. It was a heartfelt gift...I know you love this and I have made it just for you!
I have been making it for myself since I returned, but it is missing the raw milk and the ridiculously sweet...people.

The kitchen is closed!

An Indian kitchen consists of a small two burner propane stove and a couple of pans. Our wonderful cook Bavani, about the size of a gnome, whipped up 5 star Indian cuisine for us every evening. Her English was only slightly better than my Tamil, but we managed some great conversations while cooking the evening meal. She tolerated my hovering and pointing and laughed a little too loudly at my attempt to roll out Paratha (mine looked like an amoeba)! My final memories of Bavani are of her shouting very clearly, "THE KITCHEN IS CLOSED!" which I apparently said more than once to intruders who didn't understand rules of a cook's kitchen.
My roomie Elena was a kitchen whiz in her own right! Pancakes and French toast in an Indian kitchen were no gimme...and never tasted better! Note: cinnamon bark...tastes like bark first, cinnamon second! Note: Domino's Pizza does indeed deliver :-)

Modern day Dr Quinn

Without question, the highlight from this day was the afternoon spent at one of the Rural Clinics. First of all, the 20 minute commute was BREATHTAKING! This is by far, one of the most naturally beautiful areas that I've ever seen. Rural Clinics are exactly as the name implies...small one room clinics out in remote farming areas, servicing people who don't have access to the city. They are staffed daily by a nurse, and twice a week by a doctor. Dr. Arun Kolhatkar is an orthopedic surgeon by specialty, Dr. Quinn by necessity! It was inspiring to see him interact with his patients with great compassion and humor. Without the options of MRI's, ultrasounds, even blood tests immediately available, Dr. Arun relied on listening, looking and palpating...and listening. And listening. Oh, and we still had time for tea! Is this really the first time I've mentioned THE TEA?

Cows are Queens in Kodai

We've all heard that cows are sacred in India. Hearing it and actually witnessing the love/hate relationship that exists between the bovines and the residents is two different things. Every morning I sat with a cup of "coffee" outside and watched free roaming cows wander down the road into town. It was common to see said cows lying contentedly in the middle of an extremely busy street, motorists beeping incessantly "please sweet cow, move your ass!" The traffic in China, the crazy driving in Italy...believe me, none of it compares to the daily commute in India!
This day I also got my first exposure to Pasam Trust, my office for the next 2 weeks. Pasam means Love. This free clinic was founded and funded by a group of German doctors and yearly hosts huge burn and plastic surgery camps attended by folks from all around the world. For reasons I'm not quite sure of, the funding is dwindling and patients now do give a donation to help defray the cost of their treatments (think pennies not dollars). This is a photo of the wound care suite...the facilities are extremely lacking, to say the least.

Day 2...an elephant never forgets!

We left the guest house in Kodaikanal around 6:30am for a 4 hour car ride to Karala, India...known  for its animal preserves. Another beautiful ride, this time down the mountains. The early morning, the jet lag, the elevation, the general propensity I have for motion sickness did indeed catch up with me and left me briefly heaving on the side of the road. Thankfully, no photos of that! I am happy to say, I did not revisit that feeling at all the rest of my stay in India! In Karala we visited and rode elephants. Before you scream at me, I did my research and the elephant preserve really does honor and take care of these gentle giants. You can see my view from Melody in the top photo. I can honestly say...it was a super uncomfortable hour! The highlight for me was the second picture, when Melody put her trunk on my head and blew (gross) an elephant blessing on me! We are not in Kansas anymore.

Day 1...India

After 24 hours of travel, the last bit by this smallish prop plane, I arrived at Madurai, India. My driver was a personable chap...good thing as the drive to Kodaikanal was 3 hours. 3 hours of hairpin curves and steady climbing. I am very grateful that I'm not afraid of heights. The higher we climbed, the more the temperature dropped and soon we left the extreme heat and humidity of the plains behind! Met some housemates, went out to dinner and made plans for an elephant adventure, with a very early start in the morning!

Donations For India

Donations of Pain Medication, Acupuncture needles and surgical scrubs...makes for an interesting suitcase!

New fan of acupuncture

Jason completed his third acupuncture treatment and is now ready to run in the Danbury half marathon! I think he's now convinced of the power of acupuncture when it's combined with manual therapy techniques...but you be the judge! Go here to read his blog.

Jason's blog