Picture Perfect

Today was our 2nd day in the community and I have SO many great pictures! We went to 2 different schools and the children were so precious! We brought a slinky and they were all amazed. They loved playing with us and the mothers loved posing for our pictures. I have never seen mothers care for their children the way they do. It's so laid back but so so loving. The children are very young but really take care of themselves. They're calm and collected, when they fall down they get right back up. They raise their children to be strong people, which you can see from how strong the mothers are.

In the 2nd school we went to the environment was completely different. The walk there was filled with huge piles of cow poo, flies and bugs swarming, animals wandering through the yard and walkways. And unsurprisingly almost every child was ill. They were all anemic, all of them had worms, and the majority of them had pretty severe colds. The children had rags safety pinned to their shirts because their noses were continuously running.
These kids were the happiest kids though. We played for so long. One little girl kept holding my hand and showing me all around. She loved my earrings and treated me like I was her show and tell :) There was also a new born baby there and it was SO tiny and adorable! Today we had another doctor in training named Lucy join us. She's a med student from New Zealand. She was really good with the kids and she showed us how to check vitals and filled us in on what she was finding in the children.

After that we came back and did more mapping for the tuberculosis research. We all got together after we ate and shared pictures and talked with the group from the hospital about what they had done. Today they watched 3 major surgeries! Hearing about it made me lose my appetite.

We all hung out for a while in the boys room and began collaborating on what we wanted out of the trip and what our expectations of the staff and of our own research was. We all came to the conclusion that the trip was not what we were anticipating. So we compiled a list of the things we wanted clarification on and things that we wanted out of the experience. Once Heather and her mother came back from the market we all sat down and talked for several hours about how to meet these standards and what things needed to change. I think it went really well and we now have a better understanding of how to best manage our time for work while also enjoying the environment and the country itself.

Enjoy my adorable pictures!

Playtime

I did not write yesterday because honestly, not much went on.
We had our first day in the community where we basically just played with the kids in a local village's preschool. We were with Dr. Kathleen who is American, as you could have guessed, and is in Manali for 3 weeks doing her 3rd year residency. We went into the school to weigh and measure the children, which they do monthly to keep in check with the general health of the kids. The staff, who were also the mothers, were so wonderful and generous. They were radiating happiness, and the children were all so calm and quiet. We took digital pictures of them and showed the kids. They were amazed to see a camera and to see their own faces on the little screen. It was so great to watch.
There wasn't much for us to all do other than to keep the kids all occupied. They were adorable, and according to Dr. Kathleen, seemed to be fairly healthy.

We all felt so terrible because when we first arrived they gave us glasses of water, which none of us drank and left sitting on the floor. Afterward, one of the mothers invited us back to their home for drinks. We sat on their porch on small carpets and were handed fruit juice... which we can't have. Then they offered us freshly picked cherries which looked gorgeous, but had been rinsed so once again couldn't have them. THEN they brought us chai, which everyone could have but me since it is made with milk, so I pretended to drink it and then passed it along to someone else. They were really trying!

Afterward we came back to the hotel, did some mapping, had dinner. Then late that night the boys FINALLY took us out to their favorite place that they keep raving about called People. It's a little restaurant hot spot for foreigners. On the way we stopped at a cafe that Dr. Kathleen recommended called Dylan's which is dedicated to Bob Dylan. It was a really cute place, completely open, no windows or walls between the cafe and the street. Quite hip!
People was really neat. The whole place is covered in pictures that people from all over the world had drawn. And apparently Indians appreciate my weird artistic ability because they thought my picture was wall worthy. I have made my mark @ People in Manali :) I'll post a picture of my drawing later. Anyway, we all sat and had drinks. Some ate but we mostly just talked and it was SUCH a fun time! Finally having us all connect and talk was so great and it felt like we were all best friends and had known each other for years.

Unfortunately our food took forever and we couldn't get a rickshaw back because it was late and none passed us so we walked all the way back (20 minutes at least) in the dark, no street lights, lots of stray dogs. But we all survived. And also got a stern talk from Heather :/ Now we have a curfew which is at 10:45.

In India you have to "expect the unexpected" and so we'll have to give ourselves at least an hour in the future to make it home.

Gone Trekkin'

Wow. It's 8:16 pm and I am ready for bed.

This morning we had breakfast early at 8 so we could meet a tour guide at 8:30. We took autos to some new part of Manali, at the base of the mountains. We trekked for 4 and a half hours up into the himalayas. It was so gorgeous. To be at the base looking up, the mountains look so overwhelming. Then you reach the top and you look down and it's completely unbelievable that you're standing at the point you were looking at just hours prior. 

The walk through wasn't just scenery. We walked through a small village that looked completely disconnected from the world. But in the best way possible. We passed a guy on a tractor who took us for a ride haha you know you're from Maryland when you're riding tractors in India. And ironically, I got my first farmer's tan today. 

The further we got into the village the more shocked people were at our presence. If they were building houses, they stopped to stare. If they were farming, talking, gathering, they would stop and stare until we were out of sight. I don't think they were bothered at us being there, more so intrigued. 

Everyone was so friendly, they let us come into their homes to watch how shawls were made, into their mills to see how wheat was made.

I could really go on and on about the scenery so I won't. I'll just let you admire via pictures.

Afterward we went to an Italian restaurant because everyone is already craving food from home. Personally I could eat Indian food everyday and be satisfied. But we had pizza and pasta instead. Then we rushed back to have our first class at the hotel on tuberculosis and research ethics. It was really just a discussion and overview. Then we went downstairs for dinner although none of us were actually hungry. Now I'm sitting in bed ready to sleep.

Tomorrow I'm going running in the morning, then we head out to collect data and do mapping for tuberculosis demographics. 

And I guess now that we are almost a week in it's about that time. Everyone's gettin reealll sick.. :/ 

Bath Bucket Mishap

Just had to share since everyone here is fast asleep.

The bucket we bathe with is right next to the toilet. Our toilet happens to be broken at the moment, meaning it has yet to be flushed. Our only bar of soap just flew out of my hand and right into the toilet.

And that is all. 

Vegan sweets & Hospital visits

The title helps to explain the two highlights of my day :)

We got up, had a very unsatisfying breakfast. Afterward we walked up to old Manali again to sightsee. Found a little doggie tour guide and looked down off the cliffs onto the water. It was gorgeous! Minus the mass amounts of cow poo.

On the way back we stopped at a pizza cafe where everything was made of carved wood! The tables were rooted in the ground, it was amazing. Obviously didn't have any pizza, but I got a mint green tea, plum juice, and litchi juice. All were so delicious! Afterward we came back for lunch at the hotel and got dressed in our salvars. We headed into town, lots of very curious looks being white girls dressed like Indians. But Mili said they would enjoy it and respect our attempt to adapt haha

We walked over to the Willington Hospital where we met Dr. Philip Alexander for the very first time. He was so very charming! He took us on a short tour of the hospital. Only 50 beds and around 350 patients a day! He is the ONLY surgeon in the entire hospital and only about 7 doctors. Amazing.
He talked to us about what we would be doing in the hospital. Told us we can work inside of the operating room alongside the doctor. We will see and assist deliveries!! And we will work one on one with a doctor learning about procedures and documenting data. We're all so excited, I can't wait to start!

AND there is a nutrition ward! I told Dr. Philip I will be back for a full time job :)

Afterward we changed back into our clothes and sat around at the tables outside reflecting. We talked about how to collect the demographic data on the tuberculosis patients. We have to design a google map and locate all of the homes of the patients and try to find factors contributing to their illness.

The opportunities that Willington is offering us is something we could never even imagine having in the US. While I have strange feelings about inflicting on people's privacy, I also feel like having this opportunity is going to change our lives and prepare us for anything we wish to do in the future which will hopefully involve changing other people's lives.

So we hiked back to old Manali AGAIN! haha we might as well just live there. But I went with 3 others and we bought some things, talked to A LOT of really amazing, (some crazy), friendly people along the way. Everyone tried to convince me that I need to dread my hair. We shall see, we shall see..

Noah and I bought some Mango wine!! He is pouring it right now! I also found some vegan cookies and couldn't stop smiling the whole way back. We had a delicious dinner. There was a yogurt dish and a lamb dish but I easily filled up on curried veggies, rice, bread, peppers, and black tea.

Now we're all sitting outside blogging and playing Indian music which I am totally in love with. Heather and Sunny brought us all sweets and found wheat free for Abby and dairy free for me. They are so sweet! And everything is absolutely delicious!
Finding those cookies made me the happiest girl in India. 

We're famous!!

Today was quite an adventure!

We started off with taking baths which really wasn't too bad. We managed to have hot water this morning, so that was nice. The only difficult part was attempting to stand directly over the drain so that the water didn't go all over the bathroom floor. But it of course went all over the bathroom floor. And also washing your hair upside down while trying to avoid water running into your mouth or eyes is quite a task in itself.

We had breakfast afterward which consisted of omelets so all I had was bread. Then wandered out into the town. It was rainy and cold this morning and everyone had different ideas of where they wanted to go so we split into small groups. I went with Noah and my roommate Abby. After a while we came back to the hotel and played cards.

Lunch was AWESOME! So delicious. Curried potatoes, dal, red beans, rice, and paranthas. Then we got ready to go out and pick out fabric for handmade salwars. Except, as usual, I cut myself and had to run up to the room to get a bandaid. When I came back out the entire group had left..

So I probably shouldn't admit it in this blog, but I broke the rules and wandered off by myself. After walking for a few minutes I met a little boy who was on his break from school. He knew perfect english and was so cute and so intrigued by the way I looked. We talked for a while and I told him I would bring him an American dollar tomorrow haha
After that I continued on only to be stopped by a mother who asked if I would shake her daughters hand. So... I did. And then she also wanted to shake my hand. I wandered on and called people in the group, no one answered. After walking for almost half an hour I found a few people from the group. By this point everyone had already purchased their fabric so I had nothing to wear to the hospital tomorrow.

Once everyone was reunited we walked all the way to "old Manali" where things got very strange. So many cows! So many cars, and sooo very much gawking. We bought some handmade scarves and pants and whatnot. No lights in the shops so you couldn't even see what you were buying. While walking we were stopped almost every 5 minutes by Indians to ask if they could have their picture with us. SO FUNNY! They were so excited, wrapping their arms around us and smiling, so many cameras! Little girls kept asking for their picture with me and one asked if we were Bollyworld stars haha although obviously not because we are not Indian. Or maybe that doesn't matter..

After a while we took an auto rickshaw back into town where I saw my little friend again and we talked for a bit. He was confused as to why my shoes didn't have shoelaces and asked if I wanted to know where to buy some.

We had dinner at the hotel and then Milli took Abby and I out so that I could pick out some fabric. I have such picky taste when it comes to Indian clothes apparently. I just know what I like! The women here are dressed so beautifully in bright colors and lots of gold jewelry. 800 rubies (about $17) for 2 full outfits hand tailored for me. We had to buy the fabric and walk it about 10 minutes down the road to a tiny little room the size of a closet to get measured. The streets are all lit up now and everyone is dressed very fancy and eating ice cream cones. Guess friday nights mean party time no matter what country you're in.

It's only 9:06 but we are beat. I'll probably go to bed once I finish writing emails.

Goodnight!

So about the water..

Kelly handwashin' her clothes

Our backyard

Forgot to mention how the whole "don't drink the water" deal is workin out thus far.

This morning I had to brush my teeth by pouring bottled water onto a toothbrush. I also had to pour bottled water into my hands to wash my face, which is an extremely awkward task.

If we need to wash our hands, we do it under hot faucet water with soap. We have to dry our hands very well and then use hand sanitizer. No ice cubes and all dishes have to be completely dried off.

No shaving allowed :/ yuck.
Almost all of our food must be extremely hot in order to kill the bacteria. Basically, the water is going to make all simple daily tasks extremely difficult. Some of us have considered just accepting our inevitable sickness and getting it over with early. I on the other hand plan to make it through all 5 weeks with no illness. Fingers crossed.

Wifi in Manali!

Our hotel

Angry Cows

Rooftop view of mountains

 Well, quite a time lapse. I have spent a great deal of time in airports with no internet for the past two days.
We had a 13 hour flight from Newark to Delhi, which we almost missed due to flight delays.

 The flight was awesome. I am totally over my fear of flying! This plane had games with a built in controller!! And lootttss of movies and music (even some Garth <3) to pick from. I watched Blue Valentine first which I missed a fair portion of because I had to keep fast forwarding through inappropriate scenes..
After the flight we had to sit in the Delhi airport for NINE HOURS! We all slept on the floor and then played some bananagrams. I hated knowing I was in this new exciting place and couldn't experience it. Customs was a little terrifying. Men were walking around with huge rifles swinging from their arms and all the women had to be pulled into a small room to be checked privately.
  Then we boarded an extremely small plane from Delhi to Kullu airport around 6:30 am. The view was breathtaking. The mountains looked so perfect and there were waterfalls everywhere. Everyone was speechless just staring out the windows. When we arrived at the airport we were greeted with complimentary chai and extremely welcoming staff.
 Our trip leaders, Heather and Sunny, arrived shortly after with taxi's to haul us all an hour and a half to the hotel in Manali. To say the drive was terrifying would certainly be an understatement. While flying past a bus on a cliff, we swerved and almost smashed into a car headed directly for us. We drove at what seemed like 100 mph on the smallest roads filled with cows, children, parked cars, wild dogs, and carts full of live chickens.
  Some of it was beautiful looking and some of it was heartbreaking to see. A few women with their children approached our car to ask for money. It's so hard to not give it to everyone that asks. A dollar for us is almost 100 rubies for them. Enough to feed their children.

 Well none of us were able to brush our teeth or bathe for almost 2 days which was pretty disgusting considering all of the random foods we were eating to hold us over through the flights and layovers.
BUT we are in our snazzy hotel in the center of Manali, walking distance from the hospital we'll be working in. Beds are hard as a rock, which I discovered after I jumped on it expecting to bounce..
The "bath tub" really is a bucket under a hose. But we are just happy to have fully functioning toilets :) And also wonderful staff that make all of our meals to accommodate our various dietary needs and provide us with whatever we need to feel comfortable.

 We ventured into the bustling city today in search of local cell phones and slippers to bathe in. We saw many crazy things but I think to everyone else, we were the crazy things. They looked at us like we were  something they had never seen before.

Attempting to take a shower in the morning. Wish me luck :)

p.s.

These men entertained us. In the shops of Manali

Delhi airport

Just lost power..

I'm off!

  Good morning! Am relaxing on the couch with my dad watching television and talking :) Yesterday I had an amazing breakfast at Mark's Kitchen with Em (who loaded me up with vegan beef jerky - heavenly) went to work, and got to say my goodbyes.

  Devon gave a beautiful scarf (made in India), a necklace, and an AWESOME book called: Why You Shouldn't Eat your Boogers haha, gonna be a great read I am sure of it!

  

  Well I drove home and went out with Allison for a bit which was really nice because we finally got to catch up some before I leave. Nikki and Thomas left early this morning. 

  We're about to head out to hunt down an outlet adapter and some heavy duty boots. As if anything else is going to fit in this suitcase..

 BWI at 2 pm, flight to Newark at 4:51 and flight to Delhi at 8:30. Should be in Delhi by 8:15 on wednesday only to hop on a tiny plane to Manali. It's going to be quite a trip - 16 hours! - but a wonderful one indeed.

  This whole week I have been so sad about missing everyone but today I feel very uplifted and ready to leave! Wise and loving words from my nanny played a fine part in that I'm sure.

  We were notified today that we will be bathing from a bucket.. haha and me being the person that I am, I am even more excited now!

  Also, side note: my dad is awesome and hooked me up with an international plan BUT it's limited, and still fairly $$ So if you need me, and for anything at all!! please feel free to email, I'll appreciate it

Kaitlyn_Moberly@Yahoo.com

Fingers crossed for no diarrhea (please not on the flight pleaseeeee)

<3, 

Kaitlyn