home at last

Sorry it has taken so long for me to write but things have been hectic with school starting. My flights all went great...customs in Seattle was a joke! The first guy just asked me if I had meat or vegetables, and when I said no, he sent me to guy number 2 who asked me what I do for work, how long I was in India, and if I went with anyone or met anyone over there. After guy number 2, I was sent to guy number 3 who just motioned me through the barriers and that was the end of customs. I rechecked my bags at a kiosk right outside of customs and found my final flight to Anchorage. I will post my pictures to a picture sharing website and post the link on this blog. Thank you again for all your support and contributions to make this trip possible!

final days

Last night we got home from the Uma Eye Clinic and dinner at Kumarakom to find that the cockroaches in our bathroom had bred and there were little baby cockroaches all over the bathroom sink. Thankfully we had the hotel staff clean it and I haven't seen too many yet.

Today, Anna, Jean, and I went to the Lasik Center instead of camp and since there were no patients, we watched videos of how it was done. That didn't take long at all and afterwards, we went to Spencers Plaza to do some shopping. Right after shopping, Anna and I went to the Uma Eye Clinic because there were free patients there and we could do more hands on work with them. The free patients are ones from the slums and villages that need cataract surgery. Again, the sanitation here is not as good as it should be. The instrument we were using was a probe that was touched to the pupil of the eye for a few seconds. Between patients, the probe was not washed, nor were our hands washed. I was able to do the exams/checkups mostly by myself and it was pretty cool to experience that.

In 24 hours, I will be at the airport in Chennai. I'm hoping I don't run into any problems in Mumbai, but we'll see. I heard that I also may have to go through customs in Germany even though all I have is a layover. I'm not sure if I will have to do that in Germany, Seattle, and Anchorage or just Anchorage. Hopefully just my final destination because that would be a pain.

Keep your fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong in Mumbai again! I'll see you all soon!

Kanchipuram

We went to the Uma Eye Clinic two days ago and watched some eye exams. After that, we went to a Bollywood (Hindi) movie called Aisha which was supposed to be really good but it was TERRIBLE! It was about a girl named Aisha who decides she is going to be a matchmaker for all her friends. Awful movie. I ordered food at the movie and they brought it to me in the theater. It was like bears tooth but the food wasn't as good.

Yesterday, we woke up at 6 am to go to Kanchipuram. Prashanth's grandpa got a van and picked us up from the hotel. We saw many temples, including one that is the oldest in India. You aren't allowed to wear your shoes once you get to the entrance, but much of the temple is outside and the stone tiles badly burn your feet. Yesterday was hotter than usual so the tiles burned even more. At one of the temples, I paid 5 rupees to get blessed by an elephant (the elephant taps you on the head with its trunk) and 100 to ride it! It was so scary being up so high! I was sitting right at the back of its head and every time it moved its head I thought I was going to fall. I have many pictures that I will post in a few days when I get home. For lunch we went to an upscale restaurant. When we arrived, there was a cockroach on our table that was laying on its back and moving its legs in the air. It was supposed to be a vegetarian restaurant but they put meat in my food! There was a large unidentifiable bug in my ketchup and a worm in my noodles. The noodles tasted good though! After lunch, we went shopping for shawls. My bill was 5700 rupees but I was able to get it down to 4600. Part of that discount was because I was paying with cash and they don't tell the government about sales in cash, so they make a bigger profit. Jean and Sonia got their thumbs read after that, and for Jean it took 2+ hours. Everyone was bored to death. She didn't want us in the room while her past, present, and future was being told so 5 of us sat outside. A few times we were startled by loud firecrackers being lit off close nearby. When a person dies, there is a procession in the street and firecrackers are lit off, not pretty ones, usually just ones that are loud. After that, we went back to Chennai. It took about 3 hours because we didn't take the road we took to get to Kanchipuram. Apparently there are a lot of accidents and fatalities on that road, especially at night, because it is one lane and people try to overtake other vehicles when there is not enough room to do so.

Today, we went to a village camp. This is the only village camp I have had the opportunity to go to because they are far away and more difficult to organize. Anna and Caitlin handed out glasses while Jean and I sat with Dr. M. and looked at everything that people had wrong with their eyes. He is a very hands on teacher so when I shadow him, I get to do and learn a lot. On the way back to Chennai, all the doctors and volunteers stopped for lunch. I had chicken lollipops, which is the Indian version of a drumstick. They were delicious. Tonight we are going to the Uma Eye Clinic again.

So we didn't get pizza the other night with Dr. M. At the city camp that day, I sat with him and he showed me several things and explained diabetic retinopathy. It was very interesting and he is hilarious. For lunch, I was craving non-Indian food so when we went to Saravana Bhavan, I got Indian Chinese food instead and it was pretty good. That evening Jean, Anna, and I all went exploring. Not too much happens on Friday nights here but we still had fun. At 3:30 am the next morning, we were woken up by our doorbell being rung incessantly. Indian doorbells are extremely loud...much louder than need be. Apparently slept through all but the last time the doorbell was rung, so Anna opened the door while I was still in my bug tent. She wasn't too pleased to be woken up so early and the hotel guys were outside our door so she opened it and said, "What?!". They responded with, "Police!" and then several men with machine guns came into view. I was still in my bug tent and they walked over and said, "Two ladies?" and then just walked off. They were there because Indian Independence Day was happening in a few days and they were doing room searches. They didn't search our room or give us any trouble but they searched Jean and Sandra's room. Apparently they were looking for terrorists.

Waking up the next morning after not much sleep was rough. We went to a city camp where I first handed out glasses and then sat with the doctor, Dr. Katherine. That camp was particularly difficult for me because as soon as I got out of the van, I saw a baby goat that had bow-legs, was so skinny, and could barely walk. It obviously was dying and seeing that just really affected me. Thinking about it makes me tear up. It was one of the saddest things I have ever seen. I didn't really enjoy that camp much because I kept thinking about the baby goat but the people were very nice at the camp. That night for dinner, we met Dr. M at an Italian place, called Zara. He made reservations for 7:30, the volunteers showed up at 8:30, and he showed up at 10:00. That's Indian time for you! I had chicken alfredo for dinner and it was so amazing! After eating so much Indian food, I was thankful for something else.

The next day was Independence Day. Thanraj gave us all flags of India to pin on our shirts. We went to a city camp that was sponsored by Rotary. Before camp started though, they raised the Indian flag. There were a bunch of flowers tied in the flag so when they rose it, they all fell out. They wanted all the volunteers right next to the flag and in all the pictures with the prominent figures at the camp. After camp, we went to the Cottage Imporium, hoping to find cheap souveniers. No such luck. What I bought for 100 rupees in Mamallapuram was 850 at Cottage Imporium and it wasn't as high of quality. What a ripoff! Jean wanted some things so she bargained with the workers. The men there were very nice (only the carvings guy...the scarf man was very rude!). They were Muslim and recognizing Ramadan. Surprisingly though, even with the lack of food all day, he was very friendly and joked easily with us. While we were there, the sun went down and he didn't wait two seconds to start eating. After the Cottage Imporium, we went to dinner at Tuscana, the pizza place Dr. M recommended a few days ago. I got a calzone with mushrooms and spinach in it and it was also very good.

Today, we went to a school camp. The kids asked for our autographs and we went in their classroom and spoke some English for them. One of the women that worked at the school was very grateful for our assistance and gave us gift packs of pens. We also introduced Thanraj to craigslist today. He seemed very interested in it...I'm sure he will be looking things up on there for hours tonight. I think the volunteers are going to Uma Eye Clinic tonight and maybe a Hindi movie since we didn't go the other night.

Now that the time to come home is closer, I don't want to leave. There is so much still that I want to do! I'm having such a good time and the people are just so nice.

gokarting, coconuts, emus, and the beach

So yesterday after the hospital, we all rented a car and went exploring. We went gokarting an hour away from Anna Nagar first and it's way better here than in the States! They were fast so we wore helmets but they also had cushions so my back didn't get brusied again. The track had u-turns and sharp turns but they weren't so bad that I spun around on them. After gokarting we drove 30 seconds down a back road to Prashanth's dad's farm where they have coconuts, almonds, flowers, and several other things. His uncle manages and watches the farm so he cut open some coconuts so we could drink the juice and eat the fruit. It was delicious! After that, we went to a really lame petting zoo that had love birds, cats, rabbits, emus, and geese. I went in the cage with the emu. There was a restaurant affiliated with the petting zoo (it was legit!) so we ate there. I just had a lassi because I was still full from my chicken biriyani lunch but the lassi was good! Our waiter had a terrible cataract in his left eye. After we left the restaurant, we went to Marina Beach. There is a fisherman slum right next to the beach and as we were driving through it to the safe, nicer part of the beach, our driver told us that at least 2 people get killed there a night. The beach was beautiful. I stood right where the tsunami hit, and it was incredible! The waves were so big so close to shore. Since it was dark when we were at the beach, someone lit off firecrackers in the distance. It was very pretty. Today I think we are going to a Bollywood movie, unless Dr. M gets pizza with us.

pictures of Chennai

This is the room Anna and I stay in. My bug net is the one by the window. They do a fairly good job of keeping most of the mosquitoes out.
This was my very first camp. It was a school camp.
This little boy was so scared but nobody knew why because he couldn't talk! The girl beside him is Kim, another volunteer.
Giving a kid an eye exam
Me with some boys at a school camp
The kids at the school camps are so excited to see us!
The slums in the city
I took this picture on our way to a village to pick up patients for cataract surgery. The scenery outside the city is so different.
In India, the garbage is burned so the air is often thick with smoke.
This kid helped me give visual acuity exams at the school camp.
This is me giving visual acuity tests.
This was a little boy getting his vision checked.
This was a little girl getting her vision screened.
This was at one of the school camps. Kranti is the girl in the back. She is visiting her grandparents and wanted to help out. The girl on the left is another volunteer Jean, and the girl in the middle is 19 years old and was the optometrist.
This is a typical southern Indian meal. It cost me 140 rupees plus another 40 for the watermelon juice.
This was the first slum I went to.
Here is more of the first slum.
This little boy was at the camp. He was so shy but he eventually warmed up. You can see the black band around his waist to protect him from evil.
This is several of the optometrists, opthamologists, Jean and I, and the man beside me is Muthu, our driver and bodyguard.
This was the second and worst slum I have been to so far.
The people live in little huts like this one.
The sun peeking out from behind the clouds was beautiful.
This was on the bus ride to Mamallapuram. Worst bus ride of my life.
People in India just throw their trash out wherever they please.
This was the view out of the bus on the way to Mamallapuram.
This is the baby goat in Mamallapuram. Isn't it so adorable?!
The rock carvings in Mamallapuram.
This is the town of Mamallapuram.
Cows on the beach in Mamallapuram.
This was the beach in Mamallapuram.
This was me doing the phaco on the goats eye.

Jean, Anna, and I went to the hospital this morning at 8:45 to help out with the hair implantation surgery. Indian time is so frusterating! We waited there until 11:00 for the surgery to start only to be told that the patient was embarassed and didn't want anyone but the doctor in the room. Apparently the doctor had just found that out. So this morning was a big waste of time, but we did get to meet Dr. Hande who I guess at one time was the most influential doctor in India.

shadowing at the hospital

Well on Monday, Anna, Jean, and I watched cataract surgeries for a little bit. The hospital is unsanitary...the doctor didn't even change gloves between patients. It was interesting but also pretty boring to see the same procedure over and over. For dinner, all the volunteers went to a new place. I don't think it will be a place we will go back to. The food was pretty gross and thankfully I noticed that when Anna ordered a juice, they put tap water in it. I have a huge canker sore on my lip that hurts all the time. The spices in the food here just aggravate it more. I went to the pharmacy to see if they have cream for it and they tried to give me pills! I decided I would rather be in pain haha.

Yesterday, 3 new volunteers showed up and one old one, Kim, left. The new volunteers all went to a different camp than us though so we haven't had a chance to get to know them yet. The camp the rest of us went to was a camp for hermaphrodites, prostitutes, cross-dressers, and abused women. Apparently all these people are shunned in society so it was nice to help the people nobody cares about. At the camp, they gave us a veg puff (the plate was newspaper) and some orange soda. Both were delicious. Since I didn't get sick from the food, I would assume I can eat street food now but I don't want to risk it. After camp, Kim, Jean, Anna, and I all did phaco (cataract surgery) to the goats eye. It was hard! And apparently my goats eye was bad cause they'd had them since that morning and we did the surgeries around 4 pm. We all paid 200 rupees for the cost of the goats eye. I went to a different pharmacy yesterday too and they had some numbing cream for my canker sore. It helps a bit.

Today, Jean and I went to Hande Hospital. We watched cataract surgeries, a hand surgery where the lady had inflamed tendons and a circumcision. We also saw a man with elephantiasis! It was so crazy to see in person! I'm sure I'll never see that again. When we were done at the hospital, Prashanth's grandpa brought us all food and the three of us ate in my hotel room. Apparently his grandpa didn't think there was enough food so while we were still eating he went out and bought more food! He came back with chicken biriyani and more chicken. He put a handful of the biriyani on my plate and reached for another handful but I was getting really full so I said I didn't want another handful. He looked offended so of course I had more, and 2 extra pieces of chicken! I don't normally eat big meals so that meal was 7 hours ago and I'm still not hungry. The food was very good though. Normally there are no eye camps in the afternoon/evening but today Thanraj called and wanted Prashanth, Jean, and I to go to the piston factory again. We were there from 1:30 to 6:30 and it was the third and final camp there. Tonight we are all going out to an Italian restuarant for dinner. Everyone is pretty tired of Indian food.

Tomorrow we are supposed to help with a hair implantation surgery (like actually scrub in I think!) and then we will probably go speedkarting and picking coconuts at Prashanth's uncle's coconut farm. I'm still enjoying myself. Apparently it's really cold in Alaska. I'm starting to get used to this 100 degree weather. :s