Episode 18

Once we finally arrived at Corbett National Park, we were tired and disoriented, but still managed to make our way to the tourist office to catch the afternoon jeep safari. The safari was great fun and we loved being out in the middle of the wilderness, and began our search for one India’s last 1000 or so tigers. Fresh scratch marks on a nearby tree signaled that we had entered a tiger’s territorial zone, and we scanned the brush for anything that slightly resembled the rare feline. We then found fresh tiger tracks and passed by something that was stirring in the dense jungle. Yet after a few hours, we had yet to see a real tiger… Although we were a bit disappointed that we did not get to see a tiger, we did get to see numerous monkeys, spotted deer, elk, and birds. The beautiful jungle and open air jeep was refreshing, and we relished in the warm Indian sun as we drove through the park. We decided to try our luck a second time in another section of the park, however this time at an ungodly hour of the morning. We couldn’t even get the security guard of our hotel to wake up to open the gate, so we had to climb through the barbed wire fence to reach our jeep. Although we didn’t get to see wild tigers, we did see a beautiful wild elephant walking through the jungle just as the sun began to rise. I was now satisfied…

We spent the rest of the day lounging around the hotel and hiking around the park. We then sluggishly made our way to take yet another Indian sleeper train. Oh goody… I don’t know if it’s because the train wasn’t as crowded or just because we were so exhausted from the previous days of extensive travel, but either way, we slept quite well and awoke to the sounds of the bustling Dehra Dun train station.

Episode 17

With the help of one of the interns from Venu, Alex and I made our way to Old Delhi train station. And I thought New Delhi railway station was chaotic… Even at 10 at night, hoards of people crowded the platform, and we attempted to maneuver our way to the platform over the sleeping bodies sprawled out over the cold, dirty floor. Our train was about 2 hours late, and if it weren’t for a kind man who helped us find our seats, we would have never left that hectic station. One thing I am beginning to love about India is the helpfulness and kindness of so many of its people. Here, if you simply ask for directions or look the slightest bit lost, someone will go completely out of their way to see you all the way to your seat. Multiple times since I’ve been here, kind-hearted people have bent over backwards to make sure that we found our way. They don’t just point you in the right direction or show you the information kiosk; they do everything they can to see you to your destination, even if it means risking their own agendas. People just don’t help like that at home, and the kindness of some of the people here is something that still surprises me every time.

Having traveled quite a bit, I thought that I would be prepared for our night train to Corbett National Park. Wrong again… The train was even crazier than the station… Six tiny bunk –beds fit into the space of a small closet, and of course my seat was the top bunk below an entire car full of smelly, snoring, burping, talking people. The train car smelled of urine and the entire night, the bunks next to me thought it would be a great idea to play Hindi music as loud as they possibly could for the rest of the train. I think the luggage car would have resulted in a better sleep. With my bag as a pillow and earplugs in (my new most beloved item), I tried to get as much sleep as I could. And then on top of that, every single mosquito in the train feasted on my non-Indian, apparently tasty skin. What a night…. However as horrible as that train may seem, I really wasn’t all that bothered. I guess that’s when you know you love traveling; when the sleepless, dreadful thing they call a sleeper car becomes but a funny story from our adventure to Corbett National Park.

Episode 16

Last week was a short week due to the mad holiday they call Holi. We then spent the remainder of the week at Venu Eye Institute, a part charity- part private eye hospital in South Delhi. Venu is another one of those innovative organizations that has used creative ways to fund its philanthropic endeavors. The center is one of the best in India and due to its prestige, brings in many private paying clients and then uses the profits from the private clinic to fund the charity clinic. 70% of Venu’s patients can be funded by this private clinic, and the patients are able to obtain top of the line care at a price that even the poorest can afford.

This was a really fun week for me considering my interest and past experience with ophthalmology. We spent the first day in OPD in the Optometry department, and as much as I love ophthalmology, I definitely DO NOT like optometry. I found that out very quickly, much quicker than the duration of our stay in the optometry department…. However, we also got to see some of Venu’s other services, including their school for the blind, eye bank, and my personal favorite- the operating theatre. Our day in the operating theatre reminded me how much I love eye-surgery. As talk of cataract-removal techniques and retinal diseases brought me such excitement, I could hardly wait to get in the OR. I don’t know if ophthalmology will be the kind of medicine I go into, but it was really nice to wonder about my future and explore my fascination with the human eye.

After our week in Venu, Natalie, Alex, and I met up with one of the other interns and his friend to celebrate Natalie’s last night in India. We all went to a lovely Italian dinner in one of the big western malls in Delhi. I have never appreciated a glass of cheap red wine so much… We then wandered over to a Hard Rock Café to check out some American rock band that had somehow found its way to New Delhi. Although I had never heard of the band, Natalie spoke quite highly of “Saving Abel”, so we decided to give it a try. And what a night it turned out to be… We of course came straight from the hospital, and looked ridiculous in our collared shirts and khaki pants amongst the head-banging, rock-loving Indian crowd. Despite feeling completely out of place, we had a great time listening to good music and enjoying the company of our new friends. After the concert, one of the photographers asked us to come backstage to the VIP area where we spent the rest of the night sipping whiskey and sharing stories of India with the band. We couldn’t understand why on earth they wanted us to come hang out, but it was really nice to talk to other Americans about being foreigners in India. They even opened the Hard Rock store so that we could pick out t-shirts, what a wild end to a fun night.

We then said our goodbyes to Natalie, and Alex and I said goodbye to Delhi. Month one was officially over….

Episode 15

With the blink of an eye, over a week has passed by since I last wrote. I can’t believe I have been here for over a month, and been out of the states for almost 6 weeks. It’s really quite odd, the transition that happens between about the 3rd week and the first month. A place that once seemed so foreign, so different from than anything you could ever imagine, starts feeling familiar and more and more like a home. Two weeks ago the excessive honking, odd smells, and chaotic nature of India made my days long and difficult, and left me exhausted at the end of the week. But now, I seem to be deaf to the honking and instead, look forward to the smell of spices simmering and that comforting scent of chapatti being warmed over the open flame. You still value and miss all that reminds you of home, but you also begin to love and appreciate the new place more and more and worn out by it less and less.

So what have I done for the past 10 days…

Last weekend, I went with 2 of the other students to Goa, which was absolutely a mid-20’s traveler’s beach paradise. Complete with beautiful beaches, fabulous night clubs, and tons of other travelers, Goa was such a nice break from all that we had experienced in the past weeks. We stayed at the Taj in Panaji, which definitely put any American 5-star hotel to the test, but for the price of a Holiday Inn. None of us wanted to leave, and we even tried to change our flight to stay an extra day. However, the travel gods did not grant us another day in our new-found oasis, so we sadly boarded the plane and went back to Delhi. Although it was a very relaxing weekend, Goan night clubs and bars tend to keep the music going until after the sun comes up, and so we arrived in Delhi sleepless and sun burnt.

As bummed as we were to leave Goa, we got back to Delhi for one of the best holidays of the year, Holi. Holi is the festival of colors and a fantastic spring holiday. The colors reminded me of Easter, but instead of painting eggs with messy bright colors, Indians paint each other. Holi is essentially a full day of eating, drinking, and massive amounts of the messiest, most permanent colors they can find. And let me tell you, we made excellent targets. We spent the holiday with Natalie’s family, and the minute we stepped outside their house we were attacked with buckets of blue and bags full of red, green, and yellow powders. All of us resembled a mix between an avatar and a Jackson Pollock print. Despite being blue for about a week, we had such a lovely time with Natalie’s kind and welcoming family and felt like we had truly experienced something that was uniquely India.

 
 
 
 

Episode 11

On Saturday, we had an HIV counseling workshop for most of the day. The workshop was at Sahara, which is an NGO that works with injecting drug users, HIV patients, addiction cases, and battered women. At the end of the workshop we did a bit of role-play, where we got to be the counselors and test our new skills on a few past patients. I volunteered, and of course, got the most difficult case they could think of. He was impossible, argumentative, and thoroughly enjoyed taking a piss out of me. I immediately realized how hard the counselors working at Sahara really have it. When we talk about counseling in the US, it’s usually for things like depression or drug problems. But at Sahara, their kind of counseling is in a league of its own. Try counseling someone who has no family, a serious heroine problem, is HIV +, lives in the underbelly of the slum without a rupee to his name, and dwells in a world where life is cheap and the government doesn’t care…. An entirely different kind of counseling.

After the counseling workshop we went to Khan Market, which is one of the ritzier markets in Delhi. We looked around for a bit, at items that were far too expensive, and ate my new favorite treats- Momos and Papri Chawt. After, we ventured over to this medical art exhibit, where our coordinator’s sister in-law was showcasing her new works. The art was fantastic! Colorful, provocative, and intellectual, the exhibition was a real treat. We then went to “Big Chill”, a restaurant started by an American expat, and filled with delicious American diner food. It was a taste of home in the middle of New Delhi! Natalie and I indulged in a fudge brownie topped with cookie dough ice cream, and I nearly melted…

Episode 14

On Wednesday we worked in a drop-in center for injecting drug users. We went to the underbelly of Old Delhi, where drug users swarm to score their loot and use. We saw how Sahara was implementing their “harm reduction” program, which focused on needle-exchange, counseling, and oral-substitutes for rehabilitation. It was quite sad, as Sahara use to do much much more for this community, but due to a lack of funds, they have had to severely cut back their program to merely “harm reduction”.

Thursday was definitely another eye opening day as we were working with street children. The street kids live in the slums and squatter settlements, have no parents, and generally beg or pickpocket in order to survive. We went with the Sahara outreach staff to one of the freeway overhangs, where underneath, the street kids congregate. I noticed that every single one of the kids had this wad of cloth held up to their nose, and quickly found out that all of them were sniffing some variation of glue, paint thinner, and nail polish remover. They were all completely strung out… We talked to one of them and asked him a few questions. He did not know his age and after showing him a picture of himself, he didn’t even recognize his own face. We asked him where his parents were, and he pointed to a dark corner where a huddle of adults were sitting doing smack. I guess that would explain it…

We then went to one of the centers for these street kids, where many of them would come to play and act like real kids instead of on the street begging for their drug addict parents. Many of the kids had been abandoned or had run away from their abusive parents. There was one girl who sat huddled in a corner, and after asking about her, I found out that she had run away to the center to avoid being sold into prostitution by her father. She looked no more than 12 years old…

We played with the kids for a few hours, tossing a ball around, doing things that kids their age should be doing! They were all so sweet and absolutely loved having their picture taken. The minute a camera comes out, they all jump around, trying to push the others out of the shot. After playing with the kids for a while, a woman came into the center screaming at the volunteers. Apparently she was upset that her kid was in the center playing and not begging on the street for money. She then accused the center of using the children for child labor and spouted some pretty unnerving things. I hope to go back to the center and work with the kids for a while. It was really fun interacting with them and they could even understand some of my Hindi!