So it has been a long and interesting week since my last update.
I finally feel like I know my way around Manipal and the campus, and I’m starting to explore things here a little more on my own. I’ve become a regular at the coffee shop in the mess hall to the point where the lady just smiles at me and starts making my cappuccino as soon as I walk up to the counter. I’ve also started doing the Indian head wobble without even really thinking about it. I still, however, find it hard to interpret when other people do it. Every question I ask seems to get answered with a head wobble. It’s basically like both yes and no which definitely adds to the communication issue here. In spite of all the obvious cultural differences and what not, I’m pretty much settled down now and feeling quite at home.
Last Tuesday was our first ayurveda class. When we got to class, the professor asked one of us to volunteer to be the patient for the day. One of the very brave U.S. Students said he’d do it. We basically spent the entire one hour class watching him get a full body massage with tons of sesame oil by two ayurveda technicians. It looked amazing, but I don’t know how I would feel about everyone watching me get a full body massage. Our next practical is tomorrow and we will all be getting head massages since they only take about 10 minutes each. I can’t wait!
On Thursday I went to my first maternal and child health class. Most of the class is spent going to a different child and/or maternal health clinic every week in rural areas which surround Manipal. We went to a very small town about 45 minutes away from Manipal which had a small maternal clinic and then a children’s clinic across the street. We visited both while the professor explained everything from how they are run to what kind of help mothers and children can receive. The two clinics were actually established by the same man who established Manipal University. He noticed that there was a lack of health care in the villages around Manipal and established 7 (I believe) free clinics, all within 25 km from Manipal. They are still completely funded by Manipal University, and are considered to be some of the best rural health centers in the state. The clinics are very simple (1-2 rooms) but somehow manage to get to all of the patients who need help. It was vaccination day at the children’s clinic so we watched a little baby get two shots. She was crying hysterically, but at one point she looked over at us (the white people from the U.S.) and immediately started to laugh. I guess we have that effect on people.
Friday was similar to Thursday in that we spent the day doing a field visit. We went to a primary health center in a small rural town called Padubidri. We spent all of our time with a group of graduate students studying public health here, who were familiar with that particular clinic. We basically just observed how it ran on a day-to-day basis and spoke to some of the staff. The clinic was equipped with a small pharmacy, lab, and even a tiny morgue out back. The public health students explained to us how this was one of the better rural primary care centers in India, and how, in general, the state of Karnataka has been more successful than other states in giving rural populations access to good care.
On Sunday me and some other study abroad students decided to be adventurous and spend the day in Mangalore which is the nearest big city to Manipal. We took a nice air-conditioned bus (only $ 1.50) to Mangalore which is about a two hour drive. It was definitely a different feel to walk around in a big city. There was just a lot more traffic than in Manipal, more people, and more intense smells. It was fun to walk around aimlessly while not really knowing where we were going. Of course, our goal was to find good places to shop for Indian clothes, shoes and jewelry. After about 15 minutes of walking we looked in front of us and there was this big mall. It’s strange how we had no idea where we were going or what we were looking for and wound up at the perfect place. Beginner’s luck I guess. I splurged on a new salwar kameez at a very nice indian clothes store in the mall. The clerks there thought we were so funny because we spent about 2 hours in that store alone. After we left the mall we got caught in the monsoon and some pretty bad winds so we decided to call it a day. When we finally found the bus to take us back my clothes and hair were dripping and on the ride back I was actually a little chilly which is definitely a first for India.
On a side note, there are these tiny newborn puppies who live inside this pile of gravel right outside of my dorm. I think the mom burrowed a hole into it so she could keep her babies safe there. They are always sleeping inside the hole, piled on top of each other. I’ve seen them stretch and yawn every once in a while. The puppies are SO adorable and every time I pass by them I have to stop myself from picking one up and taking it back to my room to take care of it. It’s just so sad to have to think about their future lives as street dogs.
I better get to bed so I can be well rested for my ayurvedic head massage in class tomorrow. It’s such a hard life.
-Mia
I finally feel like I know my way around Manipal and the campus, and I’m starting to explore things here a little more on my own. I’ve become a regular at the coffee shop in the mess hall to the point where the lady just smiles at me and starts making my cappuccino as soon as I walk up to the counter. I’ve also started doing the Indian head wobble without even really thinking about it. I still, however, find it hard to interpret when other people do it. Every question I ask seems to get answered with a head wobble. It’s basically like both yes and no which definitely adds to the communication issue here. In spite of all the obvious cultural differences and what not, I’m pretty much settled down now and feeling quite at home.
Last Tuesday was our first ayurveda class. When we got to class, the professor asked one of us to volunteer to be the patient for the day. One of the very brave U.S. Students said he’d do it. We basically spent the entire one hour class watching him get a full body massage with tons of sesame oil by two ayurveda technicians. It looked amazing, but I don’t know how I would feel about everyone watching me get a full body massage. Our next practical is tomorrow and we will all be getting head massages since they only take about 10 minutes each. I can’t wait!
On Thursday I went to my first maternal and child health class. Most of the class is spent going to a different child and/or maternal health clinic every week in rural areas which surround Manipal. We went to a very small town about 45 minutes away from Manipal which had a small maternal clinic and then a children’s clinic across the street. We visited both while the professor explained everything from how they are run to what kind of help mothers and children can receive. The two clinics were actually established by the same man who established Manipal University. He noticed that there was a lack of health care in the villages around Manipal and established 7 (I believe) free clinics, all within 25 km from Manipal. They are still completely funded by Manipal University, and are considered to be some of the best rural health centers in the state. The clinics are very simple (1-2 rooms) but somehow manage to get to all of the patients who need help. It was vaccination day at the children’s clinic so we watched a little baby get two shots. She was crying hysterically, but at one point she looked over at us (the white people from the U.S.) and immediately started to laugh. I guess we have that effect on people.
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| The maternal health clinic |
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| A doctor examining a baby before the vaccination |
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| Children waiting to get their vaccines |
Friday was similar to Thursday in that we spent the day doing a field visit. We went to a primary health center in a small rural town called Padubidri. We spent all of our time with a group of graduate students studying public health here, who were familiar with that particular clinic. We basically just observed how it ran on a day-to-day basis and spoke to some of the staff. The clinic was equipped with a small pharmacy, lab, and even a tiny morgue out back. The public health students explained to us how this was one of the better rural primary care centers in India, and how, in general, the state of Karnataka has been more successful than other states in giving rural populations access to good care.
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| The Primary health center in Padubidri |
On Sunday me and some other study abroad students decided to be adventurous and spend the day in Mangalore which is the nearest big city to Manipal. We took a nice air-conditioned bus (only $ 1.50) to Mangalore which is about a two hour drive. It was definitely a different feel to walk around in a big city. There was just a lot more traffic than in Manipal, more people, and more intense smells. It was fun to walk around aimlessly while not really knowing where we were going. Of course, our goal was to find good places to shop for Indian clothes, shoes and jewelry. After about 15 minutes of walking we looked in front of us and there was this big mall. It’s strange how we had no idea where we were going or what we were looking for and wound up at the perfect place. Beginner’s luck I guess. I splurged on a new salwar kameez at a very nice indian clothes store in the mall. The clerks there thought we were so funny because we spent about 2 hours in that store alone. After we left the mall we got caught in the monsoon and some pretty bad winds so we decided to call it a day. When we finally found the bus to take us back my clothes and hair were dripping and on the ride back I was actually a little chilly which is definitely a first for India.
On a side note, there are these tiny newborn puppies who live inside this pile of gravel right outside of my dorm. I think the mom burrowed a hole into it so she could keep her babies safe there. They are always sleeping inside the hole, piled on top of each other. I’ve seen them stretch and yawn every once in a while. The puppies are SO adorable and every time I pass by them I have to stop myself from picking one up and taking it back to my room to take care of it. It’s just so sad to have to think about their future lives as street dogs.
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| Sleeping puppies |
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| The hole that the mom dug for her puppies |
I better get to bed so I can be well rested for my ayurvedic head massage in class tomorrow. It’s such a hard life.
-Mia
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