Doctors for a Day - Medical Village Visit

On Saturday, March 26, 2011, 2 Architecture Interns and 1 Civil Engineer became doctors. We were requested to help travel to a village and assist with medical needs if it were possible. Obviously, being the 3 interns that we are, jumped at the opportunity to become doctors for a day since doctors are just THAT cool. We began the day with pancakes and eggs at Oaklands, the main office at the top of the hill. Then, when we were ready, we headed down to the lookout location to meet the rest of the medical team. We began our journey, traveling down the mountain and it was incredibly steep and slippery. Stephen has a picture of me sitting on the ground after a dramatic fall down a couple of rocks which I will post up later for all to laugh at. The main thing is, I protected the medicine and none of it was damaged, so I'm quite proud of myself. Here are some pictures of the views we had and things we did, more are posted on facebook for you to view if you want. 

 

The Mountains on our way down to the village

 Zack, latest room mate down at Tippery doing his medical thing

 Lauren weighing the kids

 Girl playing in mud as her mother screams in the background

Basically, the real medical team (aka. Zack) examined the kids and we helped out where we could. Eventually we played with the kids and just spent time with them. It was a very interesting experience and now when people tell me that they're going on medical missions, I have a better perspective of what they are working on. This Thursday or next Monday, I'll be heading out to another location, in a Tibetan region to assist again. The facility should be more developed with xray machines and all compared to this village where everyone was examined in a school classroom. It was really amazing seeing God's workmanship and the mountain ranges. Pictures, of course, were not able to capture the scenery but I tried my best. Luckily, we didn't see anything too dramatic and gross. Hopefully, it will continue that way.

J

New Pets! (Leah hum, skip this post)

Once upon a time was a Chinese guy, named jay =) Went to India to escape the life endangering insects, snakes and poisonous creatures of that little place north of the United States called Canada. Although, there was one thing that he missed. It was a small water creature known as lobsters. How he spoke of the great big lobsters and the amazing flavor that they produced once steamed alive in that big giant pot of his at home. To his surprise, one day while he was working out, God blessed him! On the floor of his house, he saw it. The shell was round and strong. The claws were bigger than the body and sharp. The legs were short and quick! But there were a few things different. Firstly, the lobster was smaller, somewhat like a crayfish. Secondly, the tail was longer and curled up over it's back. Have you guessed what it was yet? if not, it was a scorpion....... in the house.... here's a picture =(

 

Stephen playing with the scorpion. Took a video, we teased it to see how angry we could get it before throwing it down the mountain. 

To finish off the night, we found a few other buddies. Giant spiders that are in Mussoorie. Took a picture of the spider for you to see. The coolest thing about these guys is that they get bigger than this. This is maybe 1/2 the size that it gets. T_T suddenly I miss winter since they're hiding during winter.

 

 

Bargaining Tips

Been doing some shopping and found a website with bargaining tips. Thought I'd share.
• You should have at least some knowledge of the thing you buy. The more knowledge, the better bargain situation you'll have. If you buy cloth, you must be able to see the different qualities of cotton, silk...(not at all that easy !)
• Never ever show any excitement of the thing you want to buy. the less interested you look, the better.
• You can't use the rule "The salesman always start out with 10 times the real price". Some start out with 10 times the real price, other 20 times.
• Make the other go down in price, before you even start to mention your own price.
• Even the smallest defect, you should use to bargain down the price
• As long as the indian is smiling, you're not even close to the real price. <= haha
• Try to watch how the indians bargain, and learn
• Take advantage of that you are buying, he/she is selling.
• If you buy much in the same shop, get discount
• And remember that the indians have years of practice, you're just a beginner

So far, all is true. 

The Haircut

I haven't written in a bit since I've been really busy withe projects and just trying to complete them. Also with the fluctuation of internet connections, it's been a bit difficult to update the blog. However, to keep you updated on the latest things that have been happening, I thought I'd write some short stuff today. 

I don't think I mentioned too much about getting haircuts in India yet. Basically, what happens is you go in, sit down and they cut your hair old school style =) They pull out the scissors and hair comb, ask how you want your hair cut (also if you want a shave) and slowly begin cutting your hair. Then they ask you if you want chai. If you say yes, they go to the chai stand next door, get a few cups and then stop midway through the cut, wait for you to drink your chai, take the cup back and then continue cutting. If they're not sure what type of hair cut you want, they ask you to bring a picture. Also, once that is finished, they give you a head massage, followed by a shoulder/back massage. Not bad eh? So I went today for the second time and wanted to get a different type of haircut since they didn't understand the first time. Here is what came out of it:

 Sides are shorter, the top is longer like usual

Still not too bad

 From the opposite side it's still not bad. . . . . 

and then.. . . 

 

BAM! he didn't know what to do with the back. . . . . so he just left it

I'll be fixing it after I get home today. I had a good laugh since I didn't know what it looked like until I got back to the office. =) Thought you'd all enjoy it as well.

Anyway onto the projects, we finally heard back from the one client to determine what we are to do with the site. We were uncertain with initiating the drawing process since the client wanted us to compress 5 programs into a small site and with a 5 storey height limit. We then requested that he search the bylaws and request clarification on the issue of site coverage and density. Originally, we had approximately 85-90% coverage for the site, and that barely fit the programs he wanted. We then heard back and like we imagined, the site coverage is much much smaller - 60%. The last week has been very busy with changing the program and building design. As for the other site, it is going well. I'm almost finished drawing up the schematic floor plans and the project report draft. So far we're ahead of schedule I believe. The drawings in total will be due at the end of April so there's quite a bit of time.Everyone is the office is sick, and I'm recovering from my sickness. Thanks for the prayers and support! Looking forward to seeing you all soon.

Jay

Home Alone

The other interns have finally left for their project trip. They left for 3 weeks to head all over India. They will eventually meet up with a client for a project but until then, they're going around making their way to the South checking up on projects that EMI2 has already worked on. Additionally, the Franks (family living next to the office) went to America, so the kids are gone and it's pretty quiet. The only people left in the office are Ivy (the EMI2 Head Architect), Huberth (the Indian Architect), and myself. That's right! Architecture party at the office.

Photo Album for Selected Pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2372881&id=122609190&l=0ea123e0c8

Photo Album for Project Trip: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2372879&id=122609190&l=3f59578b4d 

Day 11: The Hospital

After 1 month of coughing and sneezing I decided to go to the hospital . . . I really dislike hospitals . . . One thing I had to remember was what we learned in training "it's not right or wrong, it's just different" The amount of orderly chaos that runs through the traffic of the streets also applies to the traffic of hospitals.

Procedure to get medication.
1. Registration
There is a window for registration that everyone goes through. However, there is no line. First come, first serve and whoever can push there way to the front will get served first. Logical right? Keep in mind that people randomly stand in front of this window for no reason, just staring through the glass at the receptionist which blocks the path for foreigners like me to get to the front because I thought it would be rude to push. They appear like they're registering, but really, they're not. So I stood there for a good 15 minutes trying to figure out this system.

2. Finally Register and Get Assigned a Room.
A room is given and you must go to it. It doesn't matter who is in it, or what they are doing. Your job is to push open the door and give your registration sheet to the doctor otherwise you will never be called. Not knowing this, I sat outside the door for 5-10minutes until someone else came and opened the door to give their paper in.

3. See the Doctor
Doctor asks "what's wrong" and after you reply, they start writing down stuff and tell you to go to room 1 without explaining anything to you. To your surprise room 1 is actually not a room, but it is the billing station right next to the reception where the other huge line of people are.

4. Billing
Paying your tab is the same process as registration. This is what I observed, so I pushed my way to the front to give my paper in so I can pay and get my medication, but apparently there is some sort of unspoken line. The guy at the billing tells me to go behind a few men and wait for them to finish. As I wait, other people come and do the same thing I did and then just wait where I was waiting before. Confused, I just wait for these men to finish and push my papers in front of everyone else so I can leave.

5. Testing
Surprise again, once you pay the bills, you're still not done. Usually in America, the doctor will do all of the tests and look after you, but it's a different order in India. After paying the bill, you head towards the lab, where another person will be taking your test. In my circumstance it was the throat swab. Now remember what I said about not looking people in the eye because they can get the wrong idea. I walk in say hello and smile and exchange eye contact because I can only walk straight and then the person is straight ahead of me. She, being a young female doctor, smiles back and giggles. Once again, I am confused. Smiling back at her then, I walk forward and give my sheets to her. She tells me to sit, grabs a swab testing kit and comes back. Tells me to open my mouth and by default I look at the swab and then look forward. She stares at me during this situation and tells me to say "ahh" looks at me in the eyes again during this awkard moment and smiles and giggles again. Then, I say thank you and turn to leave and she smiles and giggles and says bye!! So 2 options: first being that there was something funny about me or secondly, the thing about exchanging eye contact is true and should not be done.

6. Walk around the hospital lost while you look for the pharmacy (because it's hidden)

7. Find the Pharmacy and get your drugs.
The procedure is the same as getting your registration and billing done. Oh, and make sure you don't go at lunch because everyone is out to lunch and no one will be working because then you'll have to wait a while.

Very stressful experience and the sad news is I had to go back the following day to get results of the test and the other drugs to get rid of the throat infection.

Day 9 and 10

Traveled back to Mussoorie with the team and got back around chai time (3:00pm). Debriefed a little and then on the 10th day we had our project sharing. Basically we discussed what happened, shared our project proposal with the rest of the team and discussed potential alternatives and other methods of accomplishing the goal in a more productive/efficient way. Then took the visiting volunteers around town to buy more gifts as they were only in Mussoorie for 1 day. Along the way to Mussoorie we picked up another South American from the airport and I think that my favorite people right now are South Americans =)  I never knew that they were so much fun. We discussed where Canada is (yes, it's just above America) and how Canadians don't necessarily have to live in igloos. Water also flows the same way when flushing the toilet. 

Day 8: Robbed

Long day of travel again. Woke up at 5 to catch a flight back to Delhi. 1.5hrs long w/ IndiaGO. The flight was smooth and short and we explored the city for the day to buy gifts. Originally, we planned to go to the Taj Mahal, but realized that there was a 3 hour train ride which could potentially be 8 hours late and did not want to take the risk of being stuck in Agra over night since the volunteers were flying back out that evening. The next best idea was to go into Old Delhi to visit the biggest Mosque in India. To get there we took the Metro-Subway. The first trip there was not bad and then we made our way back to the hotel and tried to get rickshaws or taxis but no one wanted to go back to the area where we lived. So back to the metro we went. Arriving at the station at rush hour times, we ran down the stairs and found that the subway car was already there. We ran into the first car we saw and stood there pleased as we were not surrounded by any men, but instead completely surrounded in a car full of beautiful young females.

To our surprise they said to us "This is the female car, if you get caught in this car, you will be fined!" Shocked, we ran out of the car as fast as we could and tried to get into another subway car but we were too late as the doors closed while we exited the female car. Now, you may be wondering why there was a car designated to females only.. . well the next part will explain that. We waited at the right spot this time and as the train pulled up about 5 minutes later, faces were plastered on the glass of the car. The car was so packed with people that it was almost a game to take this thing. The doors crashed open and people literally were jumping horizontally, pushing, shoving and screaming as they were trying to get off this subway car. Simultaneously there were people that were trying to NOT get off the car and stay inside of it. With a river of people flowing out, their only way to stay in was to hold on tightly to any fixed element of the interior and pull back with all their might. The people standing furthest to the doors would laugh their heads off while this happened as if it were a joke. Finally, after pushing our way through the exiting crowd and making our way into the car we realized why there were two separate cars. I've never seen so many men grinding with each other as I did during that ride. We only needed to go down 2 stops and we definitely should have gone for the penalty of staying in the female car. With 8 white people, I'm sure we would have been able to get away with saying it's our first time and we're tourists.

Anyway, for all those that made it onto that first train, we held onto each other, with a few latched onto the train as the doors opened and closed. For those 2 stops we mentally prepared our escape and plotted our route of ducking and diving over and under arms, legs and children. Finally we got to our stop and I followed a posh business man in a suit out of the train. Elegantly, he panicked and with a flustered face he leaped towards the exit. Pushing, screaming, being crushed against peoples backs and chests with his face smothered he attempts to exit like an american football player carrying a briefcase. Then there was me with my arm on his back pushing him forward as if I were the football player and he was the guy blocking everyone from tackling me =) We eventually exited the sea of people after being pushed all the way to the perimeter wall of the subway tunnel. To my entertainment, the posh business man who just got bashed around stands up straight, with his hair a mess and his suit jacket around his shoulders. He fixes his clothes, fixes his hair, and then calmly walks to the surface up the stairs as if nothing had happened and like he didn't just panic for his life. Needless to say, many things were stolen on that metro ride which included my cellphone and another guys camera.

Day 7: Presentations

Presentations from 10am-5pm. Went well.

 Rough Sketch Model of the TIM building

ECFC Sketch Model on the 2+ Acre Site