It's 4 AM here and I can't fall back to sleep. I think part of it is the time difference between here and home, and part of it is that I'm so excited to be here! We arrived to Cheanni International Airport around 9 AM and went through the obligatory steps of customs, exchanging money, etc. The smile on my face stretched from ear to ear as I walked from the airport doors and into a throng of people...maybe a mob of people was a more accurate description...and looked for our driver. We missed him on the first pass through the line, but upon the second pass I found him with a sign with my name on it. He took us all to a tiny car and lashed our enormous backpacks to the car in under 1 minute flat. We realized after seveal attempts at conversation that he didn't speak English, so we sat back and were content to watch India unfold before our eyes as we drove from Chennai to Vellore, our final destination.
Riding through the streets of Chennai was an assault on every human sense, that's the best way I can describe it. Masses of people everywhere in the street, packed so tightly I shrieked inwardly every few moments as our driver drove unabashedly through them. The streets were also lined with shops selling everything imaginable-shoes, dead chickens,saris, fruit, flowers-and their owners sat grimly on the stoops, making conversation in the hot, dusty morning. The girls and I couldn't get over the anmals. Cows, bulls, goats, dogs, chickens were almost as numerous as people, and occupying the same spaces. I watched a man put out a bowl of food for his cow in the middle of his store, much like I do for my dog, Max. My eyes were drawn to the children we saw everywhere, running in and out of trash heaps, sticks in hand, chasing one another and seemingly oblivious to the fact that deadly traffic raced on all sides of them. The most impressive feat had to go to a family of six...all on one motorcycle. It's really incredible to see the balancing act they can accomplish on the motorcycles and mopeds. Men drive and women ride sidesaddle, often with a baby or a big bag of produce.
Getting out of Chennai was a bit of relief as we exited the city and entered the countryside. A canvas of beautiful green hills splashed with palm trees, lakes and rivers. I watched whole communities cooking, cleaning themselves and their cows or just congregating in the waters. The ride to Vellore was about 2.5 hours and we all nodded off several times on the way. I opened my eyes as we arrived in Vellore, and was relieved to see it was mildly less chaotic than Chennai. The same general din and colorful chaos was present, but in a less aggressive manner. We wound through the streets and I was delighted to see huge, red, rocky hills rising behind the town, giving some topographical variety to the scenery. We arrived at a guarded gate and were permitted entry into the Christian Medical College campus. My eyes took in the beauty of our home for the next month as we passed the various campus buildings and arrived at the blue and white International Modale Hostel where we would stay.
After an interesting conversation with the receptionist, we were led to our rooms. Michael's is on the fist floor and smells strongly of goat cheese since it's by the kitchen. Julie and Cristine are in another upstairs, and I am sharing one upstairs with an 18-year-old girl named Adendeyon. Her family is originally from Nigeria but she grew up in L.A., and she is here for 3 months in hopes it will help her get into medical school in Londn next year. She has already been here for 4 weeks, and although she's a bit timid and hasn't ventured out much, she was very helpful with practical information. She's about 6'1", thin as can be, and is constantly eating oatmeal (literally saw her eat 5 different bowls from 3pm on yesterday). Our hostel is full of international studens, mostly from Germany and Australia. I chatted with several of them for a long time last evening and we compared the differences between medical school there and in the U.S. They go straight from medical school to internship and one year of resdency that are very general years, and only after 2 years of post-grad training do they pick their specialty. My favorite Aussie, Luella, was shocked that I was already matched in ophthalmology, but also said she hadnt heard anyone speak as passionately about their specialty as I did when I told her my reasons or choosing it and that I want to be a pediatric ophthalmologist. :)
Jules and Cristine passed our on their beds and were semi-comatose in the afternoon despite my attempts to wake them up, so Michael and I went for a long walk to explore our surroundings. The CMC campus is absolutely amazing. I felt a bit like Mowgli strutting around the dense jungle that is the entire campus, discovering the various buildings that make up the CMC. We happened upon the gorgeous church, open to the air and surroundned by ponds, palm trees and blossoming flowers. We plan on attending a service later this week and it's sure to be an experience. We found that many of the doctors actually live on campus, and the back roads are marked with signs indicating that "Doctor-so-and-so" lives here. The best part of the walk was seeing the wild monkeys, and also slightly unnerving as they stalked our course overhead from tree to tree. Michael assured me if one was to pounce on my face he'd remove it with as little damage to my face as possible. The campus has a cantina and a little store which I know will be really convenient in the weeks to come.
The girls were awake when we returned, so we got ready and hailed an autorickshaw to the town center. After riding in one last night, I feel that everyone must ride in at least one in their life. It's essentially the body of a motorcycle with a small yellow open cab. Maybe 4 feet long, 3 feet wide. Really meant for 3 passengers, but we of course crammed all four of us in and hung on for dear life as we swooped by more cows, buses and the general insanity of Vellore on the way to dinner. We ate at a rooftop restaurant at the Darling Residency. The rooftop gardens were beautiful, and we had amazing views of the city as the sun set. Below the restaurant there was a stage where many men and women in vibrant costumes danced to the beat of music. Our dinner was absolutely excellent, some of our favorites like Chicken Tikka Masala but also some new dishes that were so hot all of our noses were running. We toasted to our first day of India with our glass bottles of Pepsi, and I know we all realized how happy and blessed we felt to be in this country. We talked a bit about where we'd travel this weekend, and then we hailed another trusty autorickshaw home where we all collapsed in bed around 9 PM. It's actually quite comfortable here at night with the windows open and the fan on. I love hearing the birds and monkeys talking to each other.
In a few hours we go to the main office to receive our postings for the month. I'm hoping to get to work in the rural areas as much as possible, because I feel like that will be the most different than medicine back in the US.
Back to bed for a few hours, and then I'll greet my second day in the Indian sun.
Riding through the streets of Chennai was an assault on every human sense, that's the best way I can describe it. Masses of people everywhere in the street, packed so tightly I shrieked inwardly every few moments as our driver drove unabashedly through them. The streets were also lined with shops selling everything imaginable-shoes, dead chickens,saris, fruit, flowers-and their owners sat grimly on the stoops, making conversation in the hot, dusty morning. The girls and I couldn't get over the anmals. Cows, bulls, goats, dogs, chickens were almost as numerous as people, and occupying the same spaces. I watched a man put out a bowl of food for his cow in the middle of his store, much like I do for my dog, Max. My eyes were drawn to the children we saw everywhere, running in and out of trash heaps, sticks in hand, chasing one another and seemingly oblivious to the fact that deadly traffic raced on all sides of them. The most impressive feat had to go to a family of six...all on one motorcycle. It's really incredible to see the balancing act they can accomplish on the motorcycles and mopeds. Men drive and women ride sidesaddle, often with a baby or a big bag of produce.
Getting out of Chennai was a bit of relief as we exited the city and entered the countryside. A canvas of beautiful green hills splashed with palm trees, lakes and rivers. I watched whole communities cooking, cleaning themselves and their cows or just congregating in the waters. The ride to Vellore was about 2.5 hours and we all nodded off several times on the way. I opened my eyes as we arrived in Vellore, and was relieved to see it was mildly less chaotic than Chennai. The same general din and colorful chaos was present, but in a less aggressive manner. We wound through the streets and I was delighted to see huge, red, rocky hills rising behind the town, giving some topographical variety to the scenery. We arrived at a guarded gate and were permitted entry into the Christian Medical College campus. My eyes took in the beauty of our home for the next month as we passed the various campus buildings and arrived at the blue and white International Modale Hostel where we would stay.
After an interesting conversation with the receptionist, we were led to our rooms. Michael's is on the fist floor and smells strongly of goat cheese since it's by the kitchen. Julie and Cristine are in another upstairs, and I am sharing one upstairs with an 18-year-old girl named Adendeyon. Her family is originally from Nigeria but she grew up in L.A., and she is here for 3 months in hopes it will help her get into medical school in Londn next year. She has already been here for 4 weeks, and although she's a bit timid and hasn't ventured out much, she was very helpful with practical information. She's about 6'1", thin as can be, and is constantly eating oatmeal (literally saw her eat 5 different bowls from 3pm on yesterday). Our hostel is full of international studens, mostly from Germany and Australia. I chatted with several of them for a long time last evening and we compared the differences between medical school there and in the U.S. They go straight from medical school to internship and one year of resdency that are very general years, and only after 2 years of post-grad training do they pick their specialty. My favorite Aussie, Luella, was shocked that I was already matched in ophthalmology, but also said she hadnt heard anyone speak as passionately about their specialty as I did when I told her my reasons or choosing it and that I want to be a pediatric ophthalmologist. :)
Jules and Cristine passed our on their beds and were semi-comatose in the afternoon despite my attempts to wake them up, so Michael and I went for a long walk to explore our surroundings. The CMC campus is absolutely amazing. I felt a bit like Mowgli strutting around the dense jungle that is the entire campus, discovering the various buildings that make up the CMC. We happened upon the gorgeous church, open to the air and surroundned by ponds, palm trees and blossoming flowers. We plan on attending a service later this week and it's sure to be an experience. We found that many of the doctors actually live on campus, and the back roads are marked with signs indicating that "Doctor-so-and-so" lives here. The best part of the walk was seeing the wild monkeys, and also slightly unnerving as they stalked our course overhead from tree to tree. Michael assured me if one was to pounce on my face he'd remove it with as little damage to my face as possible. The campus has a cantina and a little store which I know will be really convenient in the weeks to come.
The girls were awake when we returned, so we got ready and hailed an autorickshaw to the town center. After riding in one last night, I feel that everyone must ride in at least one in their life. It's essentially the body of a motorcycle with a small yellow open cab. Maybe 4 feet long, 3 feet wide. Really meant for 3 passengers, but we of course crammed all four of us in and hung on for dear life as we swooped by more cows, buses and the general insanity of Vellore on the way to dinner. We ate at a rooftop restaurant at the Darling Residency. The rooftop gardens were beautiful, and we had amazing views of the city as the sun set. Below the restaurant there was a stage where many men and women in vibrant costumes danced to the beat of music. Our dinner was absolutely excellent, some of our favorites like Chicken Tikka Masala but also some new dishes that were so hot all of our noses were running. We toasted to our first day of India with our glass bottles of Pepsi, and I know we all realized how happy and blessed we felt to be in this country. We talked a bit about where we'd travel this weekend, and then we hailed another trusty autorickshaw home where we all collapsed in bed around 9 PM. It's actually quite comfortable here at night with the windows open and the fan on. I love hearing the birds and monkeys talking to each other.
In a few hours we go to the main office to receive our postings for the month. I'm hoping to get to work in the rural areas as much as possible, because I feel like that will be the most different than medicine back in the US.
Back to bed for a few hours, and then I'll greet my second day in the Indian sun.
Beautiful descriptions, Sara. I feel like I'm there with you!
ReplyDeleteSounds so beautiful! Keep these blogs coming!
ReplyDelete