and more photos

More photos

Meagan

Our time in India is quickly escaping us. We only have one night left here in Bangalore. I can't believe tomorrow we will be flying to Dehli and I have anxious anticipation to see the Taj Mahal. Today we primarily did more shopping. From scarves to tea, our purses are a great deal lighter while on the other hand our suitcases are a lot heavier... job tonight: make it fit into one suit case and one carry on for the plane ride!!! I'm so excited to see all that Dehli has to offer for tourism but that also means hotels and limited/no internet access :( So I'm thinking the blog may see a decline but not to fear parents, we will be back in the United States all too soon!

Monkeys and cows and bears OH MY

Here are some more fun pictures

 

Kelly and Justine

We thought we'd just add a little more onto Sarah's post, saying what others did today! We shopped, A LOT, but got some really great bargains thanks to Ben. Also, Kelly's group went to the Lalbagh botanical garden and Justine's group went to an art exhibit. The Lalbagh garden was very peaceful and surprisingly not busy, and the art gallery had an impressive display of photographs from the 1850's of a lost city. Both our groups ended up meeting at a restaurant called The Only Place. It seems like the only place in Bangalore that we've come across that serves beef. We both got the Philly cheese steak sandwich, and it was delicious. Reminded us a lot of home! It's hard to believe that we only have one week left here.

Sarah H

So today we were allowed to go out in groups to see the sights of Bangalore on our own. PES graciously supplied taxis for all of us for only a small fee. Val Terra Natalie and I decided to shop. And boy did we shop! It was really fun to be off on our own in the city but still know we had a taxi driver we could trust to be there when we wanted him to be. Also just to let everyone back in the US the Pizza Hut here is way better in the Pizza Hut we have in the states. We all enjoyed a little taste of home today. I still can't get over the amount of cows there are roaming the huge city of Bangalore. We watched one cross a busy street today, it made it without a scratch on it. All in all it was a fantastic day!

Scott and Pictures

Hello All,

No that we are back in Bangalore I wanted to post some pictures.  I have literally 1000 more that we will post on shutterfly or a similar website when we get back to the states.  These are just a couple fun ones.  More to follow soon.

Scott 

Henna on our hands

Ben and Carly having fun driving in Kuppam
We were greeted traditionally when we arrived in Kuppam.  

A local village game that somehow our girls turned into tackle football.

Laura

Today we traveled back to Bangalore from Kuppam where we will spend three days before we fly to Delhi. I think I can say with great confidence that we all had a very educational experience in many ways while we were at the medical school and the day spent with the host family. Spending time with the students at the school and learning about them and their culture was amazing. Also, the things that we were all able to experience in the hospital were things we never would have seen in the U.S. as easily as we did in India. Time is really going fast now that we are reaching the last week of our trip. I am definitely looking forward to the visit to the Taj Mahal!!

Janelle

Hello all! I have not written in awhile but I am glad to see my tripmates have. Things are definitely interesting and exciting. We are all still getting used to “Indian time” which is not so prompt and other cultural differences we are not used to but I think we are doing ok. The people here treat us so well, which is wonderful and hard at the same time. Sometimes I just want to help! I want to do the dishes or put things away. But to them it would be wrong for guests to help. Sunday we got to spend our day with a family, and it was amazing. In pairs, we spent the entire day in regular Inidan family life here in Kupam. I am confident in saying that everyone had a good time with their families, each experiencing something a little different. Val and I were paired up and we actually got to help make the chapatti (sp?), their flat tortilla-like bread. They made us a wonderful lunch and we learned as much about them as we could with our language barrier. The parents spoke little english so we mostly spoke through their two sons one of whom goes to the medical school we are staying at. The father owns a granite company so they piled us in their suv-like vehicle to go and see it. The day ended by all of the families meeting in a small village, having music, tea and snacks, then climbing a rocky hill to a beautiful sunset. It was a great day. We head back to Bangalore tomorrow, so if no one writes for a day, don’t be alarmed!

The Hierarchy of Slippers according to Sarah K and Bridget

On Saturday, we spent the day in pediatrics doing rounds with a physician and seeing patients in the out-patient department. In the morning, while visiting patients in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) we witnessed quite the interesting situation. We were already in the NICU with 2 pediatricians, a pediatric intern, and a few "sisters" (aka nurses). The practice here is that when you enter a ward such as the NICU, you remove your "footwear" and put on hospital-issued "slippers" (aka flip-flops), which we had done before we entered the room. Shortly after we entered, the head of the pediatrics department came in and said there were no slippers left. This is where things got interesting. The department head certainly couldn't be slipperless in the NICU, so one of the pediatricians removed his slippers and slid them across the floor to the department head. Then, a pediatrician certainly couldn't be slipperless in the NICU, so the intern removed his slippers and slid them across the floor to the doctor. Then, an intern certainly couldn't be slipperless in the NICU, so one of the sisters removed her slippers and slid them across the floor to the intern and went off to find some more, which she did. We wondered where, exactly, we fit into the hierarchy and who we should give our slippers to, as it didn't feel right to stand there and not participate in this game of "musical slippers" or "Chinese fire drill of slippers." The hierarchy of power/authority was made very evident in that situation, and was interesting to witness from an outsiders perspective.

We feel it necessary to note that everyone was incredibly welcoming of us in our clinical experiences and we couldn't be more thankful for their generosity in allowing us to accompany them in their practices.

katie s

hey i know they are all faded by now, but i realized no one had yet told you all about our lovely henna tattoos that will appear in a lot of our pictures!

a few nights ago now, we went to a contest of "ragoli" (i'm not sure if that is spelled right, but that is how i think it sounds!) murals, where the students got into groups of 4 or 5 and each filled a few feet of marble floor in the main hall with a mural. the murals were scketched out in chalk and then filled in with all kinds of colorful materials like colored sand or salt or dried flowers...some even lit candles to finish them off! they were beautiful, and some were slogans against pollution or terrorism. the students here are wonderful artists!

not only can they do gorgeous floor art, but a few of them (more and more volunteered as the night went on) did henna art on our hands and arms, which was BEAUTIFUL! we had to leave a thick layer of henna paint on our designs for two hours, and when we peeled it off, it left the classic orange stain in traditional designs! thanks, india!

Val and Tara

HELLLOOOO!!! So, today we finally got to go the hospital and actually observe and learn things about our desired fields of study. This morning, Val went to Obstetrics and learned that a lot of the women here wait a long time before coming in if they have any gynaecological issues. Most women here don't ever get regular check-ups. The main issue that Val discovered was that they can't provide the exact neccessary care for some of the patients because most of the patients are way to poor and can't afford the correct medical attention. Then, there was a women who had jaundice, hypertension, edema, and Hepatitis B and was 32 weeks pregnant. She had already started having contractions but was unaware of this. She came into the hospital and the Dr.s weren't even sure if the baby was still alive. Believe it or not, Val was in the room the ENTIRE time! They are incredibly laid back here with us students being in the room. They actually tell us to come in and see everything they are doing. They don't have any HIPPA privacy laws. So, anyways, the lady was rushed to a delivery room and her baby was suctioned out with a vaccum because they lady was too weak and sick to push. The baby was tiny but she made it and was rushed to Neonatal ICU where Val was able to visit it a couple times throughout the day. Tara's morning experience in the hospital was in Surgery. She started with changing into scrubs and of course, changing into the required flip flops. After that, without even washing her hands, she was taken into a surgical room where a man was being operated on for his prostate. The Dr. was very discriptive and informative about what was happening and was excited to educate us about this man's situation. After the procedure was finished, Tara was taken into a room where a man was having a sort of bypass surgery, where his stomache was being attached to the jejunum by bypassing the duodenum (the intestines). This was due to having ulcers caused by bacteria, spicy food, and stress. This was a rare surgery because usually ulcers can be treated with medication such as electron pump drugs. The Dr.'s were very informative, along with the anesthesiologist who went step by step with Tara into how they put the patient under. One step was using truth serum, a medicine used in different doses to make criminals confess the truth, which may potentially be illegal in the United States. Even here in India, the information gathered through the truth serum cannot be used in court. After that surgery Tara got to watch an endoscopy which is using a fiberoptic camera inserted through the throat to look for ulcers in the upper digestive system. Throughout all procedures, the Dr.'s did not even seem to think twice that Tara was there, asking her questions about herself and where she came from. Then, after lunch, both Tara and Val went back to the hospital to see what they thought was going to be a Cesarian section, but it turned out that she was having it naturally! We got there just in time to see a beautiful baby boy being delivered! The sanitation is obviously very different here, but the Dr.'s are very knowledgable about this and know that the U.S. has different standards. The whole time, Val held the mom's hand and at the end was able to hold onto the brand new baby! The mom was very greatful to have us in there! The Dr.'s were very interested to know how the U.S. differs in delivering babies and so we gave them a basic run down of what we knew. So, afterwards we visited the Neonatal and the Pediatric ICU where we saw many small babies and sick little kids. We visited the one Val watched being delivered this morning, and we were very happy to find it doing well! We saw a baby that was born weighing 1.8 kg and was still in ICU 12 days later, but she is growing and will be just fine! There was also a baby that was having convulsions. This baby is prospering and will be taken to finally breast feed from the mother tomorrow. It was amazing to see the babies being delivered and then to see how well they are doing in the ICU and how important it is to the Indian hospitals to get the baby returned to the mothers as soon as possible to start breast feeding. All mothers that are able to breast feed are asked to nurse their baby one hour after birth.
Today was an amazing day and we learned SO much! We really appreciate the Indian education system where we are allowed to learn hands on. The Dr.'s are so eager to teach us and we couldn't ask for more!

Meagan

I’m behind in both blogging and journaling. It has become difficult to catch up due to all the exciting events that are happening here in India. Upon arriving at the medical school in Kuppam approximately 3 short days ago, we were greeted with the most extravagant welcome I have ever received. The instructors and students of the school were waiting for our arrival to give us the traditional red dot on our forehead and a large necklace strung with multiple types of freshly cut flowers. We have been through multiple tours and introductions of the various people and medical centers of the area. All of which seem extremely excited to have us. My most favorite welcome was the cultural exchange that the Indian medical students performed for us. It was a fantastic exhibit of dance from traditional and religious to hip hop (better than we could perform by the way). My mouth gaped watching their talent and the beautiful glittering costumes. Their skills were very impressive and I think I speak for the rest of the group when I say I had a combination of goose bumps and nausea when I considered the cultural exchange we would be performing four days later. If you have any brilliant ideas of ways to express American culture in singing or dancing form with only a tambourine, keyboard, and conga pretty please let us know. Following an act like that I shudder at the representation of the United States we will portray. Please cross your fingers and hope for the best!!!!

Scott

I mainly wanted to write to let everyone know how amazing eveyone has been doing on this trip. The ladies (and Ben) have been dealing with some pretty difficult/uncomfortable situations with increadible resiliance and style. Here are some of my favorites:
1. An reeeeeally long day to see Mysore palace and surrounding sights where we were squished through enterances and without a doubt saw more people that day than we would see in a month in La Crosse. Sometimes we wondered if we were the attaction or the palaces and temples.
2. 19 women without ANY drama. Amazing I know. (knock on wood please)
3. The constant rescheduling of our schedule.
4. How things will be starting in 5 to 10 minutes (see previous entry)
5. After we arrived in Kuppam we had lunch and them went on a tour of the medical college facilities. The very first thing we went to was the disection lab where there was a half disected cadaver with no arms. No one even blinked. At least until they saw the bucket of formaldehyde with a couple of faces in it. Ha!!! Still no fainting or anything. I was seriously impressed. (from the other side of the room. :)
6. The communication barrier and no one really understanding the level of education that they have.

Those are probably the most impressive things that everyone on the trip has worked with so far. I am sure there will be more and I am sure the students will be just as graceful as they have up until now.
Just to let everyone know, we will be in Kuppam until the 13 or 14th so we will not be blogging as much as when we where in Bangalore. So if you dont hear from us for a couple of days please dont worry. Like I always tell my mom, no news is good news.

Tara

Hello family and friends. Stop worrying we are all safe and sound in Kuppam just cut off from the rest of the world until we found the computer lab. We have been learning a lot about the Indian culture and all the medical students are very friendly. They even put on an amazing show for us full of dancing, this would have been more fully enjoyable if we didn't know that we would be expected to do the same thing on Friday in front of 500 people ahh!!!! The facilities extremely nice for India but different from the USA of course. A lot of focus here is on immunizations and family planning(sterilization).
Today we all got to play a village game with the girl students here. We were expecting a hop scotch type game but it was more of football with out a ball. Soo attacking each other ha ha but with rules and strategy. It was a ton of fun and a great way to just be active.

Tara

I am in love with Bollywood!!! Bollywood is the Indian Hollywood and we went to a movie today Ghajini it was AMAZING!! I will admit I had my doubts but was pleasantly surprised. It was a sort of remake of Momento but with lots of song and dance!!!! The movie was about 4 hours long but with an intermission. The movie theater was really nice with a huge screen and chairs that reclined. My only complaint was the small children behind me pushing and kicking on my chair and the fact that they were at suck a violent movie surprised me. Well tomorrow we travel to Kuppan so hope to keep blogging but don't know about the computer situations. Love from India!!!

Sarah K

One of my favorite stories of the trip so far:
We were walking up view a temple on Jan 2, and all the sudden I saw a monkey run up to an Indian woman. This was our first monkey sighting of the trip, which was rather exciting, but I really wondered what, exactly, he was doing. He seemed rather cute and innocent, but you never know. Then, he jumped up on to her legs, STOLE A BANANA, ran off, climbed to the top of a stone wall, very carefully peeled it, and ate the banana. Stereotypical monkey behavior, and very amusing to witness! :)

Meagan

I conquered 2 things yesterday.
1.) Jet lag
2.) "eastern toilets," aka... holes in the ground.
All the sites and smells here are invigorating. Being a tourist here is very exciting but I'm very anxious to go to Kuppam and really interact with the Indian people. I can't wait to ask them about Hinduism, which is still a giant mystery to me!!!

Karlie

What can I say about today that hasn't already been said? I guess I'll tell you about our interactions with some of the local people. Beggers swarm us, Indian tourists are curious, and vendors love to sell us stuff. When we were on the bus today at the nature reserve, there weren't quite enough seats for everyone, so some of the small children sat on laps or stood. Ben and I got to make new friends! These families were very nice and let their kids (both were boys about 2 years old) sit with us so they could get a good view. He was so cute! He got really excited when I told him we were going to see the lions next. I even got a little "roar" out of him. For me, it gets hard to remember not all Indians are out to get money from us. It was really great to see families out enjoying a beautiful Saturday that were willing to open up to complete strangers, if only for an hour.

Val, Natalie, and Ben :D

Today we went on a wild and crazy adventure to the Bannerghatta National Park wildlife preserve.  Seeing the lions and tigers and bears and elephants (oh my!) in real life was a very great experience, for us to see things that we normally do not see. After leaving the safari tour we hunted down the elephants so that we could ride them.  On our mission, we saw cobras and spotted deer, and Indian pythons, and a camain (crocodile) (OH MY!) By far the most out of the ordinary experience for us was the monkeys running around out of cages where we normally would think they would be in cages.  The elephant rides were cool but we kind of felt bad for the elephants.  Poor guys walking around the same path all the time and eating the same grass all the time with people sitting on their backs in the hot weather with no water and their sad eyes really touched our hearts (haha).  

Some of us washed our clothes for the first time... in a bucket instead of a washing machine.  The  best part of this experience was trying to dry the clothes by ringing them out instead of the spin cycle on the standard dryer, which we have all become grateful for, especially Val because her small hands couldn't ring out her clothes very well. 

p.s. hot sun, all day, mosquito bites = tired :)   

Val's secretary like agenda :)

On Friday, January 2 we had a  very adventurous day.  We stopped at many places.  Just for everyone on the trip to record where we all stopped, I will just list where we all went:

1^st stop: Tipu Sultans Summer Palace

2^nd stop: A yellow Mosque-encountered our first begger

3^rd stop: we drove past where Tipu Sultan’s body was found and a grave site was seen

4^th stop: we drove by the ruins of Main Winter Palace of Tipu Sultan

5^th stop: Sri Ranganathe Swaney Temple-where we encountered many more beggers

6^th stop: We stopped at a silk emporium where we could shop for souvenirs and we were bombarded to buy things.

7^th stop: Mysore Palace in Lakshmi Villa-GORGEOUS!

8^th stop: A temple in the village of Chamadee Hills

9^th stop: Brindavan Garden- where we saw lit fountains.

Tara

Greeting from wild and crazy India!!! Today was perfect being in my element out side and breathing in the nature and beauty of India. We went to a nature preserve which was kind of amazing tucked in the crazy hussle and bussle on Bangalore. As we went on our safari I felt we were in Jarassic Park passing through electric fences and having to go through one gate and stopping till that was closed to get through the next. At the end you would have thought we were animals on the prowl for cookies and chips. The cookies here are very tasty but not chocolate like back home but mango or pineapple. After returing the PES most of us seemed to read a amazing book or journal about this adventure we are sharing. As I watched the sun set like a flaming red ball I couldn't image the cold and snowy state I only left a few days ago.

Kelly, Laura, Justine

Today we visited a nature preserve just outside of Bangalore. We went on a "Grand Safari" and took a bus through the wilderness where we saw lions, tigers, bears (oh my!) and herbivores. We got a lot of great pictures! Then we walked through the zoo, taking awhile to find the elephants that we were going to ride. After seeing many snakes and monkeys, we finally found the elephants and got to ride them for ONE dollar, which was freakin' sweet. Now we'll just have a relaxing night in preparation for an intense day tomorrow. :)

Meagan

Okay, yesterday we had such a long day. We boarded the bus "5-10 min" after estimated departure time of 7:30 and came back about at midnight. It was the most incredible day filled with sights and smells that ranged from beautiful to awful. We were exposed to a lot of history and sights from the city of Mysore. Our biggest obstacle we faced today was the same obstacle the entire country of India faces and that's overpopulation. I think we were all a little shocked when it came to the crowds. At the Mysore palace (which was freakin' BEAUTIFUL) we all felt hearded like cattle through the crowds, our buddy system came in very handy at times like these.

Tara W

Hello everyone!!! Ringing in the New Year in Bangalore was amazing. Standing on the roof on the PES building we are staying in had a panoramic view of the city. As New Year grew closer the noise was intoxicating with celebration and fireworks exploding in very direction made me soo happy. I didn't know what to expect for New Years here but they celebrate it with as much enthusiasm as we do. At midnight all the male students started poring out of their dorms and celebrating. They found a hose on the cricket field and started chasing each other, some things cross cultures I guess. I am soo happy hear and can't wait for more.
Tara

Bridget & Kate S.

Hello from India!!!  Representin' Wisconsin!  Saw our first cows yesterday.  It was an incredible sight.  While in a market in Bangalore, we had a close call with a cow.  We didn't see it walking straight towards us until it was a foot away from us.  Then it was past us.......These cows are tame and definitely don't care about us, but that didn't stop us from panicking.  Learned how to bargain, although these skills may not work so well in the states.  ;)  Going to Mysore Palace today!  We're pretty excited!!!  Should be a great experience.  Talk to you all soon!!

oxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Karlie

Good morning! Today we are heading to Mysore to see the palace and other things. We are all still not quite on India time, but it's getting better. Yesterday was exciting; first chance to go out on our own a little bit. We were serenaded by this really loud music playing from the rooftop next door for a long time last night. Pretty soon, I'll need to get a copy of it to play at home to help me fall asleep.

Some pics from Scott

This is the woman that a couple of people talked about in previous blogs
Notice where everyone in the background is looking 
The Karnataka State parliament Building were we attracted a croud 

Happy New Years

I just thought I would add some pictures for everyone before we are off to Mysore for the day.

I will post more soon.  Enjoy!

Meagan A.

Today we dove head first into Bangalore. Janelle mentioned the Hare Krishna temple (sp?). It was amazing. The volume of people and the difference in religion was fascinating. I can't wait to learn more about the Hindu religion because there were so many things there I didn't understand. You follow a carefully led path through two small temples honoring I was guessing one of the many gods. In the small temples we viewed very ornate golden statues that were decorated with jewels and flowers.

Then yes, we did go to two different shopping centers where we were all significantly gawked at. I thought it was awesome how space efficient the mall was, it contained six levels and escalators. Food was definitely a challenge, I found it so intimidating ordering food that I really don't know what it's called of the practice of even picking it up. Do I stand at the counter and wait? Should I take a seat? What do I say? How do I convert ruppee? What has dairy or fresh vegetables. I was soooooo tempted to eat at the "subway" or "baskin robins," but not knowing what was in it, I thought it might be a bit too risky.

At the end of the day we were all dealing with the side effects of some serious jet lag. Glazed eyes of tired travelers showed up for dinner which was immediately followed by bed.

All in all, yes, today was a bit overwhelming but the saving grace is the people are so nice here. The PES institute is very accommodating and wants us so badly to have a great experience. I really appreciate their hospitality.

Today we are headed to Mysor (sp?) Palace!!! Can't WAIT!

Val, Natalie, and Ben :)

This morning we got up early and our first stop was the Hare Krishna temple (See Janelle's post).  We then went to a mall that was MASSIVE with 6 different levels, one of which had a movie theatre.  We learned quickly that the prices were VERY different between stores and you had to shop wisely.  We ate at the food court where some of us were more daring then others.  It was hard to know what we could and couldn't eat without getting sick.  We then went to a market.  On our way we saw the standard sacred cows in the street and eating the grass on make-shift sidewalks.  There were other animals roaming around as well such as sheep and dogs.  On our way to the market, we stopped at the Parliament building to take pictures.  We soon became a tourist attraction by the locals and many were taking pictures of us.  :) We attracted quite a crowd and decided it was probably time to go.  We got our first try of bargaining with the locals at the different store owners.  Some were more willing to lower their prices then others.  It seemed like the item of interest were scarfs.  A couple of the girls decided to get some outfits tailored which seemed to be a good idea because the lady told them the modifications would take them a half an hour... An hour and 45 minutes later they just kept hearing only about 10-15 more minutes, every time they asked how much longer.  During the time the girls were treated to tea and had a lively conversation with the store owner.  That was pretty neat!  "10-15 minutes later" the girls finally arrived back on the bus with sheek new Indian attire.  During this "10-15 minutes" the rest of us were back on the bus, culture watching.  We saw lots of cars going the wrong way, a young boy with no clothes on, and the general commotion of Bangalore.  

SOME THINGS WE LEARNED TODAY:

-Crossing the roads by foot is nearly impossible without almost getting run over by something.  It was an amusing site for the locals to see 5 Americans standing in a tiny median trying to figure out when it was okay to cross the road.

-Bus rides can be adventures in themselves, but if you have motion sickness, these are not the adventures you are hoping for!

-Indian clothing and traditional Indian clothing are very different.  Some locals were wearing more westernized clothing while others wore more traditional clothing.

-We found out that we tend to be attractions when going to public places such as malls.  A lot of people would come and shake our hands and say hello.  

-When you stay up for a very long period of time, it is really hard to stay awake!

-INDIA IS SO AMAZING!

Janelle

We spent today in Bangalore. First, we visited a Hare Krishna temple and went through it like the locals, removing our shoes and walking through. It was very interesting to see the way they worship and how it was made to accommodate so many people. After the temple, we drove around the city and stopped at a westernized shopping mall. The mall was very similar to any mall in the US. From there we drove to a more outdoor shopping area. It was so great to experience the locals and barter with them. We found one shop that would make traditional Indian clothing tailored for you and was very reasonably priced. The woman who ran the shop, Osha, was very friendly and answered questions we had. Needless to say, a few of us purchased beautiful outfits. 

Overall, it was a very great first day in the culture. There are just countless things to look at, smell and observe around you, I am just trying to soak it all in. Katie S. and I were talking and she said she wishes she had three pairs of eyes to fully capture everything going on around us. The weather could not be better. Not to brag but the days are so nice and warm, but not overly humid. The evenings, like tonight, are cool and comfortable, the warm scent of curry and incense hanging in the breeze. This place is not like any I have experienced. I just got in from watching the sunset on our rooftop. And now I have to go to eat dinner.