Weekend update

Me being "coached" by Seetharam on the best way to flip the rice, which is prepared over a number of days, preserved as patties, then fried whenever they want to eat it. Yum!
Getting ready for a delicious lunch!
On festival days, the cows get their horns painted.
This is the labor ward - 3 beds in 1 room divided by curtains only. Women labor together, no husbands, partners, or family members allowed in, though they all congregate just outside the door to listen for that first cry! Noone in India knows the sex of the baby, as it is illegal to know - the govt outlawed it when pregnancies were terminated if the family knew it was a female child.
Me with a visiting ENT surgeon, who comes to SVYM hospital in Sargur once per month to perform needed operations. Today he just had 2 surgeries to do.


Life has continued here at busy Sargur hospital - lots of deliveries, interesting conversations, and new friends. A lot of things to think about! I have made a few wonderful new friends - one is a couple from the US, Jon and Judy, both of whom are retired from their professions (physician and teacher, respectively), and are living here for a year. He is doing diabetes research and she is working at the SVYM school. They have been here 3 months, so are "seasoned veterans", as far as I'm concerned. They had me over for a wonderful dinner on Friday, which was co-cooked by Jon and their roommate, Bhavanna, who is an Ayruvedic physician working at the hospital. Now THAT is a good thing to look up! The art of Ayurvedic medicine has been around for centuries in India, and now within the last 20 years or so it has come to have it's own medical colleges and post-graduate studies and standardized exams for licensure, just as MDs do. There are Ayurvedic physicians at SVYM hospital as well and they work together to provide the best of both types of medicine for their patients. Fascinating!

Yesterday I was again invited for a meal, this time for lunch at Sridevi and Seetharam's place. Both of them are physicians at the hospital and are some of the founders of SVYM. Yesterday was a harvest festival, so they cooked special food (and helped me cook some too!) and talked to me about the significance of the day. They were very enlightening for me to speak to about the culture and the surrounding community.

See above for some photos from my recent activities. This upcoming week I hope to spend some time with the TB outreach team, go on a mobile clinic day, go out with the street theater group, who teaches local children about health via theater, as well as continuing to learn more about the clinical aspects of the hospital. More to come as my short stint continues!