The Birthing Clinic! [June 8, 2011]

"Everything worth anything is both terrifying and beautiful." That was Kim's morning thought for the day, and I think its completely true. We all have to sacrifice and step beyond our boundaries in order to discover something more. I hope I can fulfill this during my time here in India, and remember how fortunate I am to be here and serving others.


We have a saying here at RSO: "TII" or "This Is India". Basically it means that you just have to go with the flow, since anything can happen at last minute's notice! With that thought, today we started out a bit later than planned (since van was being fixed!) We actually ended up taking the Jeep and squished all 10 of us into it! I was amazed the guys could fit in the back haha. We left the hostel at 9:45 a.m. and headed to a birthing clinic, which is a part of a larger public healthcare clinic. When we arrived we were asked to remove our shoes (eek! in a hospital?) and realized everyone was barefoot! We walked around the clinic and talked to the mothers and their new babies. We also got to see a birthing room, which is very spartan and different from those in the US. One of the doctors came to speak with us and told us a bit about the clinic - apparently it is the equivalent of a Medicare clinic, as all of the healthcare and medications are free for the mothers. The mothers on average stay for 72 hours after they have given birth and are also given free food. However, all of the mothers stay in a large room filled with rows of beds. There is absolutely no privacy there! I was so surprised there were also no incubators or cribs for the babies - they simply were placed on small towels and slept on the twin beds with their mothers in one large room. We learned that there is one public healthcare clinic for every 30,000 people across India. Afterwards we left to return to RSO and stopped by the "Junction" to get ice cream and look at jewelry.

In the afternoon we relaxed for a bit in the recreation room and listened to music, played with Eric's iPad (with great results!) and then Lisa, Eric, Tyler, Nathan and I ran the clinic from 4:30 to 6 p.m. We saw only 2 patients during clinic duties, so the rest of the time we played medical trivia which was really informative and hilarious. We then headed to dinner. Our dinner was delicious - we had iddly with coconut and tomato chutney. Hands down my favorite dinner at RSO so far! After dinner, Lisa, Eric, and I put on "Spy Kids 2" for family time. Unfortunately the little ones didn't get to see much becuase their bed time is at 8 p.m. (and family time starts at 7:30 p.m.) but I sang the little ones 5 songs and was thrilled that they were asleep by the third one! Some of them were even lightly snoring! According to Derek (our summer coordinator) they made him sing them to sleep when we were overnighting at Andrah Pradesh! I didn't realize how much I missed seeing my boys. They are such sweet and generous kids, and I'm so lucky to get to be their "big sister!" (Gandhymati, our house-mother who takes care of all 18 of them, told them they should call us "sister" instead of "aunty" because we're close to them in age.) Fine by me! Gandhymati also cut us fresh mango which was delicious. Tomorrow we will give dental screenings to the kids!

One of the nurses with a newborn!

The birthing room - pretty sure it was the only one in the clinic!

Natu, a newborn baby girl! (Just born 1 day ago)

The birthing clinic

Lisa and I during our clinic shift from 4:30-6 p.m.

She was checking to make sure I had a heartbeat.

The boys watching "Spy Kids 2"

Our Andhra Pradesh Adventure! [June 6-7, 2011]

We just returned from our two day trip to Andhra Pradesh (another Indian state just north of RSO)! (Which is why I haven't been able to update my blog since Sunday!) We left early Monday morning (5:30 a.m. to be exact) to travel 6 hours to another state - Andhra Pradesh and work with colonies there. Before going to the colony we stopped for traditional Indian food for lunch which was amazing! We all enjoyed the extremely spicy chicken curry (especially Tanner, who had a few waterworks during his meal!) and naan, which was easily mine and Lisa's favorite part of the meal! Quite a few people have been getting sick on the trip and having GI problems, but Lisa and I decided to risk it anyway - the food was THAT good. And so far, we've turned out okay!


After lunch we drove to our first destination, the Jothi Colony. These colonies in Andhra Pradesh receive about 2 medical visits per year, so they were overjoyed to see us when we finally arrived! We quickly set up our blood pressure, glucose, medicine, washing, and bandaging stations and saw over 70 patients on Monday. However, halfway through our service, a huge storm hit us (and we were working outside) so everybody got drenched and the clinic flooded! It was quite intense, and of course at that very moment a huge number of patients arrived so it got pretty crazy. However, we managed to dispense everyone's medications quickly and correctly, and the residents were so excited to meet us! After the storm the weather was gorgeous - it reminded me of Hawai'i weather - temperate, warm, and zero humidity! I felt like I was at home. We also walked around the colony and got to see the multiple water buffalo and cows the colony owned and were so proud of! This colony was easily one of my favorites due to the grateful and happy residents and beautiful setting (Jothi is set in the foothills of some gorgeous Indian mountains). I was so sad to leave them!


After our work at the Jothi colony, we returned to our hotel - the "VIP Residence." This name was so deceiving though. It was ANYTHING but a "VIP Residence". Lisa and I (who were roomates) were horrified to find stained sheets with hair (so gross), stained walls (don't want to know) and a cold bucket shower for the night. Luckily we had brought extra sheets to sleep on! However, it got even worse - as we were about to fall asleep, there was a huge banging on our door, multiple ringings of our doorbell, and somebody was pushing on the doorhandle as if they were trying to get in!!! We both flipped out, and I asked who it was but nobody answered, so of course we didn't open the door. We both had a really hard time sleeping after that unfortunately. In the morning we were both more than happy to say goodbye to our hotel!


In the morning we stopped for another traditional Indian breakfast (dosai - yum!) and then headed off to our second colony in Andhra Pradesh. We worked at this colony from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. non-stop! We set up the same stations as we had in the Jothi colony, but ended up seeing over 140 patients! It was a huge success! Even though everyone was incredibly busy and sweaty during the entire 5 hours we were there, we were thrilled at the service we did for them. The leprosy-patients were so happy and thankful that we were there, which made all of our hard work worth it. I helped dispense medications and complete their medical records, and enjoyed meeting all 140 patients!


After our successful trip to Andhra Pradesh, we celebrated with a delicious lunch/dinner at Vindu restaurant. Then we started our long journey back home. In the vans we discussed "Traveler's diarrhea" with Dr. Kirby which ended up being fun and informative, and then played games on the way home to pass the time - this ended up being superfun. It was awesome and made me realize how much I love working with my team! :) So excited to see what tomorrow holds. Until then!

Our medical clinic at the Jothi colony! (Notice the water on the right side)

The cobbler (on the left) we hired to make shoes for the leprosy-patients!

The street at the Jothi colony!

One of our leprosy-patients with his new crutches!

Its RSO Sunday! [June 5, 2011]

For our second day of the weekend, we decided to go shopping! What better thing is there than retail therapy? We left RSO at 7:30 a.m. to go shopping at T. Nagar street (while everyone else attended services at the Mormon temple) which was full of street vendors selling everything from fruit to bags to saris and gold bracelets. We left the RSO campus at 7:30 and arrived to shop in Chennai around 10 a.m. and had about 2 hours to browse through all of the stores! However, halfway through our shopping trip T. Nagar got incredibly crowded and Lisa and I ducked into several expensive gold shops to escape the heat and crowds! I ended up buying a few souvenirs for myself: tons of fun bangles (from the Pandian Bangles Shop - definitely go there if you ever come to India!), 2 pairs of Indian sandals which are super pretty, and 2 pairs of leggings to wear with my salwars during the week. Aftewards we took auto-rickshaws (basically golf carts) back to the temple and re-joined the group to return to RSO. Along the way we stopped at a supermarket and picked up some supplies for our trip to Andrah Pradesh tomorrow! (We will be overnighting there so we can do 2 full days of work for the colony, which is in desperate need of medical care. They probably receive about 2 visits per YEAR.) So excited to be going out to help them! But NOT excited about waking up at 5:30 a.m....I thought I was on vacation haha.

Me and one of the stone temples in Mahabalipurim!

Me, Nate, and Lisa at the Bay of Bengal beach!

The boys! (From left: Brenen, Tanner, CJ, Nate, and Tyler)

Its Saturday! [June 4, 2011]

I have survived my first week at RSO! On weekends we get to relax for a bit, so today we headed to Mahabalipurum, about 1.5 hours away from the RSO campus. We saw a few ancient temples and did lots of shopping. I'm pretty sure Lisa and I received some curses and hexes from a few of the vendors, since we are (in my opinion) the best bargainers in the world! Of course a few people called us "crazy", but hey, we're not going to see them again, so no worries! I ended up buying 2 cute stone elephants (from "marble" as the vendors claim - but probably not) and an elephant batik painting which was adorable. After shopping, we went to a beach resort where we had lunch and some people swam (but not me - don't worry, I stayed away from the water). Lisa, Eric, and I ended up hiring a private boat (which is a fishing boat at night) and took a fun 30 minute boat ride! It was a bit sketchy at first, but ended up having an awesome time at the Bay of Bengal! :) Afterwards we stopped for "paratha", a delicious Indian pancake type food with delicious dipping sauce - and all for about 80 cents!

In the evening we watched "Hercules" with the kids in the cafeteria. Even though it was super hot and the kids were all sprawled out on top of and around me, I really enjoyed being with them. They absolutely loved the movie! A few of them had fallen asleep during the movie, so Lisa and I carried them back to their houses and put them to sleep! Afterwards, Lisa, Eric, Tanner, Tyler and I went onto the roof of the hostel and looked at the constellations. We used Eric's star application to locate the stars which was super fun and informative! It was all in all a great Saturday!

RSO Day 5! [June 3, 2011]

Today we went to a leprosy colony about 45 minutes away from the RSO campus in Thottanaval Village. This colony was a "model" leprosy colony, because they have been extremely successful with the micro-lending programs and had even built a community center for themselves! We set up our medical clinic at their community center where we had several stations including a blood pressure station, glucose detector station, medication dispensing station, and feet washing and bandaging station. We rotated around the various stations, and I was able to help dispense and record the medicine in addition to washing and applying balm to the feet. The balm is exceptionally bitter because apparently during the night, rats grab the leprosy patients' toes and digits and run away with them! (The leprosy patients are unable to feel this hapenning because of the extensive nerve damage in their toes and digits!) My friend Lisa had the unfortunate assignment of clipping the leprosy patients' "indestructable" (as she described them) toe-nails - I was literally cringing every time I saw them. But I was so proud of her for sucking it up and getting the job done - I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to do that! After we saw 38 patients at the colony (which was a huge group!) we went next door to an extremely successful art workshop which had been started with funds from RSO. The paintings were amazing (and to think that many of the artists do not have full fingers!) and only $45. I have 2 full working hands and would not have been able to create anything close to them! We also stopped by a carpenter's workshop (a business which had also been started with micro-lending from RSO) which was now so successful that he had been able to hire people from outside of the colony and do his passion of "snake charming" on the side! It was so exciting to see the amazing businesses they had set up for themselves.

The community center!

CJ getting his foot fixed by Tyler

Me washing the feet and ulcers of a leprosy patient

Tanner and the artist of the picture he bought! (The artist is a leprosy-patient and doesn't even have fingers!)

In the afternoon we attended playtime as usual - I think this had to be my favorite playtime so far! The kids loved playing with my sunglasses and taking photos of themselves. I will treasure those forever! In the evening we put our kids to sleep by singing them songs, and then Lisa and I had some free time to just hang out and chat with Eric (the other member of our "family"). It was great spending time with them! I really love the Medical Group I am in ("The A Team") and am so lucky to be with such wonderful people!

My BFF Lisa and I with the kids!

Tanner with his kids! They love him

I swear this girl is going to chop off my hair one day. Every day she comes up to me and asks if we can switch hair! (Notice how she enjoys "wearing" my hair.)

RSO Day 4! [June 2, 2011]

Day 4 of my time at RSO was a fulfilling and wonderful day. We started out the day performing MMR ("Measles, Mumps, and Rubella") vaccinations for UKG and Standard 1 and 2 students - about 50 students in total! I was so excited to give my first vaccination (poor child!) but I am proud to report that it went very well and my patient is alive and healthy! We then spent the afternoon performing a "safety check" of the RSO campus and taught a health class for tennage girls in the afternoon. We also assembled medical kits for our visit to Angapradesh from Monday to Tuesday night, which consisted of gauze, soap, and many other necessities for maintenance of their condition.


In the evening we went to playtime as usual - one of my little friends, Revmah, had a small "accident" on me - oops! Some of the girls suggested perhaps she was "marking her territory" - if so, I wish she had picked a different method of doing so! However, it is a very small price to pay for the happiness and joy she brings me every day. :) In the evening we had a "dance party" for our 18 boys to various Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, and David Archuleta songs. The kids loved it and were so excited! I then sang them to sleep, and was thrilled to see them finally asleep by the third one.


Tomorrow we will go to a leprosy colony. I am excited to see how we can help out! Can't wait to blog about it tomorrow. :)

Me, Revnah, and Karthik!

And yes, Revnah is picking her nose. Lovely.

Brenen with the kids! He'll be here for 4 months teaching English.

CJ and Aravind!

CJ was here from January-May and has returned for the summer.

RSO Day 3! [June 1, 2011]

Today the "Medical Team" (which I am a part of and have failed to properly introduce, so here it is: the Medical Team at RSO consists of Dr. Susan who remains in India the entire year, and a group of 10 summer volunteers who are mostly medical students and pre-med students) went to Ramachandran Hospital in Chennai, India (about 2 hours away from the RSO campus). Eric (my medical partner) and I accompanied a leprosy-patient to the dentistry department of the hospital, where we ensured she got proper treatment and care from the doctors. We then attended a seminar hosted by one of the hospital's dermatologists and learned about the effects of leprosy and its current status in India. Did you know that only 5% of the Indian population is susceptible to leprosy? And leprosy is actually not a disease of the skin, but a disease of the nerves! It is also not heritable, but is passed on by bodily functions and breathing. It was very insightful and interesting to learn all of these things.

After the hospital visit, we then went to deliver medicine to a leprosy colony (where we will return on Friday to give them treatment) and drove back to RSO. We just made it in time for "playtime" with the kids and were able to get a few games of soccer and basketball in! In the evening my 18 little "brothers" had the time of their lives giving me fabulous hairstyles. I must admit, some of them are much better at braiding than I am!

"Release the joy inside of another and release the joy inside of you."