Health Care in India is Amazing

Wednesday, June 25, 2008: It has been exactly one week since I wrote the last entry. Much has happened! Right now it’s 10 pm, and we just got back from a traditional dance performance at the Indian Habitat Center (not quite sure what that means, but it’s a beautiful complex with sculpted open areas in the midst of a maze of building). There are offices and art galleries, places to eat, and an auditorium where the dance performance was. It was terrific. There were two young, female dancers doing the equivalent of recitals. Their master teachers were very significant to all there, and their names were printed on the posted signs along with the dancers’ names. We were able to catch snippets of each performance on ML’s video camera, and I’ll post those if possible. There were live musicians and singers who were crucial to the performance. The singers in particular seemed to have a very tough job. I’m curious what their written music looked like.

In the meantime, here are some photos of the dancers.

We were supposed to meet the El Salvadoran Ambassador there. ML was told to contact her through a mutual friend, and they’ve seen each other several times now (once at the El Salvador Embassy Grand Opening, and once at the Ambassador’s house where she was hosting a dinner for her staff). She’s a very nice lady and is really looking out for ML, letting her know about different events and such. Unfortunately, her mother took sick while they were getting ready and when we called them to check in a few minutes before the performance, they were at the hospital. It doesn’t sound too serious, but she clearly must have felt pretty awful to have gone there.

Hospital talk leads me to the other theme of this week. The last entry was about my having a sore neck, and going to the masseuse to try and work out the tightness. The summary of the week is that I stayed home from work Wed/Thu/Fri because of the pain, spending much of the time on my back. Thurs morning I went to a Physical Therapist at a local clinic that was a satellite center of a really good hospital. It is literally 4 blocks away from our apartment. I found him through researching health care in Delhi on the web.

The PT was great. He seemed knowledgeable and was happy to explain things. He ordered an x-ray, diagnosed me as having muscles in spasm and said my x-ray showed the curve is practically gone in my neck, likely due to posture. He recommended moist heat, ultrasound, electric stimulation, stretching, and lying on a rolled up towel for 45 minutes 3 times a day. Muscle relaxants (that somehow didn’t even make me tired) and IBU for the inflammation. The receptionist at the PT clinic got to know me after three days, and would say, “Go on ahead, Sarah” when I came in the door.

Here is a photo of the actual 'script for the x-ray and pills:

The cost of the treatment? $1.25 for the consultation, $5 for two x-rays, $7.50 for the heat/stim/ultrasound treatment from the Doctor. Amazing, eh? I went to him Thur, Fri, and Sat mornings. Saturday while he was stretching my neck there was a twinge and I experienced the worst pain yet and couldn’t find a comfortable position for about 2 minutes. After witnessing that, he said he wanted me to go get an MRI. So that was my Saturday adventure, and my first venture out of the apartment for more than a trip around the corner.

The MRI went smoothly, and thank goodness it wasn’t a fully-closed MRI. It did send you head first into a tube, but there was light coming from the other end so it didn’t feel as closterphobic as I feared. The cost? $100. The results? The individual reading the MRI images wrote: a "small right paramedian posterior disc protrusion compressing the thecal sac at C5-6 level." Back on Google, then WebMD. My best understanding was that it means the disc is bulging slightly, and pressing into the ‘sac’ that holds the spinal cord and spinal fluid. Treatment is ice/heat, anti-inflammatory meds, and rest, and it should go away in 6 weeks. With that knowledge, I went to the PT the next morning (Sunday – he came into work because he didn’t want me to have to wait until Monday – amazing, eh?)

His read? “This is great!” Excuse me?! He said the MRI was basically normal and that there is nothing else to be done aside from what we were doing. Should I ice it? Nope. Just heat. Should I keep taking anti-inflammatory medication/muscle relaxants? Nope. Go ahead and stop that as well.
I began to feel the need for a second opinion, partly b/c the MRI diagnosis showed a ‘protrusion’ and because the severity of the pain just didn’t seem normal. I was getting side to side movement back, but it was EXCRUCIATING to tip my head backwards. So back onto Google, and a call to the US Embassy to get a recommendation for a good orthopedist. They didn’t know if the people on their list specialized in the spine versus hand versus knee, so the next call was to the Indian Spine Injury Center which is two blocks from where I live! The coincidences have been remarkable.

Off to a neck specialist Tuesday, 10:45. The Dr. asked more questions, checked reflexes and a number of additional things, and came to the same conclusion. The MRI shows the protrusions but is essentially normal. He projected 3-4 more days of pain, and then it should be almost better and I’d be ready to start some stretches and strengthening. He wanted me back on the muscle relaxants/ IBU to stop the process of pain and spasm, and stopping PT for a week. The straight neck was evident in the MRI as well, and he said that is what needs to be addressed to prevent this in the future. The cost? For a specialist, no insurance? $8.50.

Hearing the same conclusion from him made me finally feel better. I stopped worrying that the wrong movement was going to cause irreparable damage, or that the severity of pain meant severity of problem. It’s been two days since seeing him. The pain is still there, I have to say, and I’ve pretty much learned how not to aggravate it, so I’m not sure if it’s really better. If I try to tip my head back it still pinches terribly, but I try to do that as little as possible so as not to keep it ‘injured.’ So the jury is still out to some degree, but I do feel it’s on the mend.

I had a few cultural observations at the spinal center that I wanted to share. I walked in and said I had an appointment. Did I know the name of the Dr? No. (I wasn’t able to understand it on the phone, despite asking 3 times). I did know it was 10:45. They looked at a hand-written book. Ms. Sarah? Yes, that’s me. He sent me around the corner to the Cash Counter. Could he please write down the name of the Doctor for me? Yes.

There were three people at the cash counter, standing shoulder to shoulder right up against the counter, possible there together. I stood a foot or so behind. A gentleman came up and stepped in front of me, right up against them and between their shoulders. The moment she was done with them, he placed his paper right in front of her nose. She helped him, and two more men came up and worked their way in front of me, too. She stayed focused on the first guy, and I inched forward, not sure if I was going to commit a major cultural no-no if I worked my way in, too. I did it anyway, as subtly as I could, and God bless this lady, she looked me in the eye and took me next.

I noticed the whole time there that the men spoke for the women, even if the women were the patients. Most people were there as couples (or two women, two men). The lady didn’t ask me for my last name. Ms. Sarah was good enough for creating hospital records.

Phew. Long entry again. I will try to write more frequently, or perhaps just more succinctly. I'd been trying to keep my computer use down, but now I'm getting back up to normal usage!

Miss you all!
Sarah B.

Sitting in the Stocks

Wed, June 18th: Tuesday morning at the office I moved my neck too quickly and got the most intense kink in my neck that I’ve ever experienced. It got increasingly worse as the day went on, and by 3:00 I was researching massage places. I got a recommendation from Pradeep whose friend owns an Ayurvedic Center right around the corner from the office. We went there around 5:30 and I was seen by the Ayurvedic Doctor, a young guy who examined my neck, asked some questions, and recommended the following treatment: Myaxyl Muscle Relaxant Oil, Myaxyl Herbs -with an Ayurvedic Massage and Steam Bath optional but encouraged. Maria Luisa has had very tense shoulders for the past week as well and decided if they had appointments available she would get one as well.

Sometimes the most phenomenal experiences are those that come when you have no expectations. I’d heard of Ayurvedic massage before, and knew it had something to do with oil, but that was it. Let me do my best to describe what I experienced.

I was led into a room by two women dressed in green uniform dresses. They were friendly but shy. I was given a robe and ‘thin, flexible, cloth-like panties’ to put on. There was a changing room. Nope. A bathroom complete with shower. Hmmmm. I came out and was told to sit on a knee-high stool. One of the women stood behind me and after a 15 second pregnant pause, the purpose of the shower became clear: she poured warm oil onto my head and worked it into my hair for five minutes. 55 minutes to go.

They replaced the stool with a step ladder and helped me up onto the massage table, which merits thorough description. It was made of a gorgeous deep, red wood, and was a waist high table with a 2 inch ridge on the outside. The place to lie down was not completely flat – I think the best way to describe it is like lying on top of a beautifully crafted, smooth coffin (i.e. a slight upward curve). They started me out on my back and did a nice face massage. 50 minutes to go. The two of them then stripped the robe off of me and with a signal to each other began to massage me with synchronized, energetic, continual (literally) strokes that went the length of my arms, legs, stomach, and at times whole body. Each stroke was expertly preceded by the application of warm, scented oil until I was completely oiled up.

My mind shifted between trying to still my thoughts and enjoy it, and giving space to a David Sedaris-type commentary running through my mind. It was not a ‘calm’ experience. The wood was beautiful and smooth, but solid as a rock. The fast movements pressed boney points like elbows, wrists, hip bones, knees, ankles and tops of the feet into the wood with considerable pressure. It was funny thinking about Maria Luisa in a room right next to me and picturing her slipping and sliding all around the table with a shocked look on her face. She later confessed she was thinking the same thing and had practically laughed out loud. 35 minutes to go.

They wanted me to get on my side but my neck pain wouldn’t allow it. It was bearable to lie on my other side, so they positioned me and went to work. One of the funniest things was how they kept saying “side, side”- telling me to stay on my side. What they didn’t do was explain how I was supposed to keep my oiled body still on an upwardly curved, oiled piece of wood while they massaged me with powerful, fast strokes. The other funny moment was that they had me sit up with my legs and arms straight out in front of me, and did the massaging technique with me in that position. ML said she felt like a dog at the vet. If you’re not howling with laughter, you had to be there. And you really should experience this at some point! 10 minutes to go.

With the massage over, they sat me on a stool inside a wooden ‘cabinet’ that had a place for my head to pop out (picture old fashioned stocks), and slanted doors that closed like cellar doors. That was the steam chamber, and I sat there for about 10 minutes while they cleaned everything up and got the room ready for the next person. When they were done, I said, “ok” thinking that would signal I was ready to get out. I had probably sweated out several liters of water by that time. They said ‘ok’ back. I waited a moment, and said, ‘ok’ in a different tone of voice, to which they both said ‘ok’ back. After another moment I tried again and got the tone of voice right, because they understood I was ready to get out. Phew.

It's not over yet: one of the ladies led me into the bathroom, turned on the shower, sat me down on a stool and soaped up my back. She then left me with shampoo, soap, a towel, and warm water. It was the first hot shower I’ve had since arriving here. Even our wonderful little apartment has only cold water. So I showered and got dressed as quickly as I could, because I could hear they were waiting for me. When I came out they put some orange ayurvedic powder on my neck, earlobes, a spot on my scalp, and under my nose for me to inhale. It smelled pleasant, kind of like ‘earth.’ Would I like something to drink? Sure. In comes a red, tasteless liquid that was ‘eeps’ hot! Wasn’t expecting that. I thankfully had a hair brush with me so I tidied up, put my hair into a pony tail and came out into the waiting room. Maria Luisa emerged a moment later and we paid for the services. For me it was a whopping $30 for the entire thing (the dr. consult, medicated oil, herbs, and hour-long massage). Amazing. The massage alone would be $22.50.

The rick-shaw ride home was the bumpiest yet and it unfortunately undid any good the massage had done for my neck. I had a pretty painful night’s sleep, and the pain is so bad I stayed home from work. That's where I'm writing from now. I hope to write an update tomorrow that the pain has dissipated or started to improve, because if not I’ll need to get this checked out. I’ve never felt so much pain in my neck before, and it’s less of a side-to-side pain (although moving my neck side to side does hurt a great deal); it’s more of a severe pinch if I try to lift my head up, or God forbid back. Any diagnoses out there? Anyone want to scold me for applying heat versus ice in the 1st 24 hours?

Thanks for reading, if you’ve gotten this far. I realized as I started writing that I wanted to remember the details of that experience and wrote much more than I intended.

I miss you all!

Sarah B.

Pig in a Pig Pen

Monday, June 16th: Tonight we found our way to Le Marche, a ‘western style’ supermarket. The store is narrow and winds up (and down) three stories. It has most things we’d want to get, and get them we did! Antibacterial cleaning spray; cheddar cheese; fresh chicken breasts; yogurt; lettuce; pasta and sauce; cous cous; olive oil; bread. Yum!! The experience gets this title because that’s how we felt - and probably looked - scuttling around, more excited each time we saw something we needed or wanted. We came home (via auto-rickshaw) with several bags apiece. This time when we got home we didn’t feel the need to wash everything (everything) with soap and water like we did after returning from the local market. We ate a meal of chicken, cous cous and vegetables; refreshingly bland.

Moving Day

Sunday, June 15th: Today we moved into our new apartment in Vasant Kunj. It’s a little haven inside! Smooth marble(esque) floors, ceiling fans and A/C units in the living room and bedrooms. One of the bedrooms is on a separate floor and has a sitting area as well as a bathroom. The other one has a little balcony and tiny desk tucked into a ceiling overhang. It’s a bit far from the office, but I definitely think it will allow us to regenerate at night.

Just getting here was an adventure. We took our first taxi (vs. auto-rickshaw) because of our luggage. Taxi's charge about twice as much (meaning $3.50 instead of $1.75 for a 30 min. drive). The adventure came because it was raining and some of the roads were flooded (1-2 feet of water). The taxi stalled when going through one of the pools and from then on stalled out at least 50 more times…no exaggeration. It was hot and sticky, and we had to keep the windows mostly closed because of the rain. It was also nerve-wracking to be sitting there in the middle of the road – sitting ducks for mischief or oncoming cars. Traffic was going slow, though, and we were not the only ones stalled, so cars still running had to drive around an obstacle of stopped vehicles. We finally became the movers in the maze and made our way to our new apartment.

Once there we turned on the fans and sat there until we were cooled down and re-energized. We figured out how to use the lights and showers (it's different everywhere and requires a specific sequence of switches to be pressed) and were taken to the market by the ‘house boy,’ a man named Santosh of about 25 or so. We learned later from the rental agent that he will also do our laundry and clean every day, services that are included in the price of the apartment. We asked whether we should tip him and were told that it’s best to tip him at the end of the month. Santosh is going to be a huge part of our survival here. For example, he’s arranging for the same auto-rickshaw person to take us into the city every morning, at a discount. Without him we’d be charged ‘foreigner’ price and not be sure to even get one. Another example: Maria Luisa took a shower and couldn’t turn off the water (I wasn’t kidding when I said things like that are complex). He came and showed us how to do it. He has a very gentle spirit, and I’m incredibly thankful for him.

The short trip to the market was the second adventure of the day. It was raining and we had to navigate puddles and piles of broken-up bricks in the roads. The sidewalks were not always accessible b/c of the puddles. We were wearing flip flops, and I began to get very nervous about my feet getting the street water on them (because of the presence of animal dung), and it was too late to turn back. We both had umbrellas but still returned to the house completely soaked. It’s the beginning of the monsoon season, so we’ll have to get used to it (!)

We now have bread, tomatoes, peppers, onions, yogurt, milk, juice, mangoes, watermelon, cucumbers and lemons. We cooked up the tomatoes/peppers/onions for dinner along with toast, cucumber slices and watermelon for dessert. We’ve just cleaned up from dinner, and I can literally feel the vitamins circulating in my body. We haven’t been able to eat raw vegetables since coming here because they are very likely rinsed in the water, and after a week (two weeks for Maria Luisa) we’re really craving them.

It’s now 10:15 and I’m going to head to bed. I won’t likely be able to send this note until the morning because the internet in the house is not working. That’ll be the task tomorrow night, if we have energy after hitting a more ‘western’ supermarket to get some more food. We’re also hoping to find a place to exercise and do yoga.

Tomorrow work starts again! I’m looking forward to it. I hope I can stay awake past 3:30, unlike last week. I’m just about on Indian time now. I'm surprised it took this long.

Love to you all,

Sarah

p.s. Happy Father's Day, Daddio! I love you!!

Trip to the Market

Saturday, June 14th: The first non-work day in Delhi. Slept in until 10. I had another kind of ‘off’ night of sleeping, so I was glad to get some good sleep in the morning hours.

We decided to go to the markets to buy some weather-appropriate clothes for work (the operative words are 'thin fabric.' By the time we left the B&B it was 2:00 pm somehow. We haggled a price with an auto rickshaw driver and off we went. The market we went to is Connaught Place, a massive rotary with 10 roads spoking off. (Spell check didn’t like that word, so I guess I just made it up, but you get the picture).

We’d been advised to go to a store called ‘FabIndia.’ Clothes are pre-cut (not the case everywhere) and very good quality. Although more expensive than in the local markets, you’re able to try the clothes on, something that proved to be very important. (Maria Luisa and I both were not the sizes we are at home – they clearly don’t have vanity sizing in India…). And, ‘expensive’ means embroidered shirts were $12 and pants $9. But, compared to shirts being $5 in the local mkts, we won’t go to FabIndia often. I needed pants, though, as I only brought one pair of long pants in addition to jeans. After trying on a number of different styles, I stuck to a familiar cut and got some simple linen pants. I also bought a gorgeous embroidered, long-sleeved, very light-cotton shirt. All of the clothes were really stunning.

We stopped by another market (Sarojini), very close to where we work. It was what you think of when you picture an Indian market. There were tons of stalls, all close together, with rows and rows of bright fabrics, small plastic toys, vegetables and fruits down one row, shoes down another, and countless little food stands of fried dough and other goodies.

We’d planned to take pictures today, but never felt comfortable taking out the camera. It is very crowded, and people are constantly coming up to you asking if you want to buy something, or to come visit their shops. Kids offer to carry your bags, and will literally follow you around until you say yes or until you’ve ignored them for long enough. As a person who values relationship and human interaction, it is an awful feeling to intentionally ignore another human being, let alone a child. At the same time, it was very annoying and as time went on I resented their insistence. By the time we headed home (~7:00) we were exhausted and I couldn’t wait to lie down with some peace.

That wasn’t in the cards, as we’d told the B&B family we would make them salsa fresca (Maria Luisa's El Salvador recipe). They then invited us to eat with them, which was lovely...and required the last bit of social energy I had. As you can imagine, it was real Indian food! Not drastically different, but somehow still more authentic. It was flavorful, but not over-spiced like they at the restaurants. You could identify each flavor instead of experiencing a single, powerful blast of spiciness.

I’m now sitting quietly on my bed, finally alone and reflecting on the day, thinking about tomorrow. Maria Luisa and I are moving to our new place in the morning. It’ll be great to be there, as it’s very homey and more spacious than the 1-room we have right now.

Speaking of pics, Maria Luisa sent me some photos which I’ll share with you. The first three are of her and some of the staff at the Taj Mahal last week. The guy in the van (picture 1) is my boss, Jim. The Indian woman to the right in picture 3 is Charu, someone I will work with closely this summer. The last three photos are women from a focus-group of micro-credit recipients in Jaipur, a city 5 hours south west of Delhi.

I’ll stop there. I have to pack up a bit, and the plan is to get to bed early tonight.

Missing you all a lot.

Sarah

Warm Milk

Thursday, June 12th: Day three started with cornflakes and milk – warm milk. That was quite a play on my senses. Quite good, though.

We visited another apartment in the morning, traveling via auto rickshaw. They’re easier to find than cabs in Boston during a Red Sox game. I’m already feeling a bit more independent, although still very cautious because I’m sure it's obvious that I’m not up to speed on all the customs. For example, negotiating. It’s just accepted that drivers and vendors charge foreigners way more. And when you think about it, you’re often negotiating over pennies. Or negotiating a driver down from $2.50 to $1.75 for a 30 min ride. In the U.S. that’s what they put on the meter before your tush hits the seat! Part of me would be happy to just pay it, and the other part doesn’t want to be taken advantage of. But is that really being ‘taken’? Thoughts welcome.

The other vivid memories of the morning rickshaw ride are the smells and the children. I’d been told about the smells in India, and mentioned that it didn’t shock me all that much. Today’s smells were different. Feces and urine. Very pungent and honestly a bit nauseating. People of lower castes live on the side of the roads. There are no sewer systems they can use, so the streets are their bathrooms and showers and kitchens as well.

The other memory this morning was of three children coming up to us while we were stopped at a traffic light. Two boys held up magazines, literally inches away from our faces, for nearly the entire time. The girl was selling cloth roses dusted with glitter. It was a light that lasted about two minutes and it was very uncomfortable. There’s nothing else for these kids to do. School is not an option for them because of the caste they were born into. Their families are so poor they have to work, and there is very little real work available. I’ve though to donate some money to an organization that helps street children because I don’t want to hand out money. I’ve been told that can be dangerous, that it can lead to the kids swarming you and worse. Giving money won’t help alleviate the difficulty of this person-to-person interaction (especially as it involves children), and I suppose I don’t really want it to. I don’t want it to become easy to experience what we experienced this morning. I’m sure there will be lots more reflection on this throughout my time here.

We ended up visiting another apartment in the afternoon, but decided to take the one we saw this morning. It’s huge, and I’d worked the price down with the broker online before we saw the place. Based on the other things we’ve seen, I think we’re getting a really good deal. It’s much bigger than the other places we’ve seen, it’s well furnished, and the best part is that it has a table for eating and a room that serves as a living room, with couches and furniture. Most other places were extremely sparse. We grappled with whether we need anything since we’re only going to be home in the evenings, but given that the office is small and sparse we decided it will be nice to feel relaxed at night. The other plus is that it is close to a Yoga studio! I’m looking forward to checking that out.

And based on what the work is cracking up to be, I think we’re going to need it! I’d wondered aloud with some of you what the culture of the office would be like in India. Would it be ‘western’? Multi-tasking, long days, banging things out? Or would there be the influence of a culture that moves more slowly due to the intense heat and how it literally slows down your body and mind? The verdict is already out that it’s going to be an intense time. Crank up the A/C, stay inside, and work! My boss in particular works incredibly hard, who in the two days since I’ve been here has stayed up until 3 am working, staying at the office until 10:00 pm one of the nights. He is normally based in San Diego (PCI's World Headquarters), and is continuing to do what seems to be a full work-load for that job as well. On the other hand, he has strongly encouraged me to look around for housing and settle in, and to go home early to take a nap as I adjust to the time change. But something tells me that I’m going to be inserted into the fast pace pretty darn quickly - and I want to be. I’ll need to silence the little voice in my head that says, “don’t kill yourself, you’re not even being paid.” There’s thankfully a much louder voice that says, “you’re here to learn, and to help, and the work is directly helping those with huge needs. You’re lucky to be on this side of things, and you’d want someone working that hard on your behalf if crushing poverty was your situation in life.” That is a familiar voice, and I’m glad it’s back and taking center stage.

Ok, it’s 11:30 and I need to get to bed. I hope everyone is doing well.

Sarah B.

A quick word about some of the work I’ll be doing. I'm working with an Non-Governmental Orgnization that focuses on health, humanitarian assistance and microfinance. We are running a program in the north east (not the far northeast) of India - Bihar province - an area affected annually by the monsoons and resulting floods. Within Bihar province there is an area that is extremely remote and is extremely undeveloped: there were no waterpumps unaffected by the floods, therefore no clean water. There were no waste management system, and people practiced open defecation in the fields. The program is installing hand pumps, creating community-led disaster preparedness programs, digging waste management pits, building community centers that will serve as safehavens during emergencies, women's centers, and educational and training centers for youth. I am intentionally leaving out the name of the organization I work with, as these entries are of a personal nature, and there are times I might talk about things happening at work. Given how search engines work, the blog could come up when someone searches for the organization, which I don't want to happen.

An Inch of Foam

Wednesday, June 11th: Woke early because of the time difference. Didn’t sleep too fitfully because of the thin mattress and jetlag, but I’m doing ok now. I was at the office until 4:00 and then we came home and I napped while Maria Luisa did some more work.

We went and saw two apartments, and then came to the office. I met about 10 people and spoke with 5 or so people beyond a hello. A few awkward moments, mostly all friendly. ML introduced me to a group of about 12 people sitting around the table for lunch, and people just stared. A few mumbled hello’s, but it was very strange. Did I have a big booger on my nose?

At 7:00 we headed out for dinner. $5 for a ton of food. Now that we know what to order, we’ll order more carefully and cheaply. We had way too much food! I had the best Lassi I’ve ever tasted. Absolutely delicious! We had a chick-pea stew, and a sampler with ~6 different dishes (tiny portions of each).

Aside from ordering, the real adventure was getting there by auto rickshaw. I’ll take a picture of one soon, but it’s essentially a 3-wheeled, motorized rickshaw. No windows, no seatbelts, and the roads are chaotic! Cars, bikes, motorcycles, and these auto rickshaws weaving in and around each other. You also have to negotiate the price before you go, and foreigners are charged more. We stuck to the correct price when trying to flag a rickshaw for going home, and the guy just drove off. He outright refused to take us for the local price. It was all very cordial – we just kept saying the right price, and after seeing we wouldn’t give in, he drove away.

Tomorrow should be more of the same. Looking at a few apartments (possibly going via auto rickshaw versus being taken by the driver) like today. My boss said he has one more very busy day so when I’m in the office I’ll do my best to absorb, continue meeting people, and learning as much as I can to jump in very soon.

Ok, I’m off to the most immediate challenge: finding a position that’s comfortable on 1 inch of foam. Suggestions?

Miss you all,

Sarah

Arrived

Tuesday, June 10th: I arrived in Delhi last night at 8:30, and after a 14 hour flight, the customs process was thankfully quick, and the organization's driver Pradeep was there waiting for me. My Fletcher classmate, friend, and fellow intern, Maria Luisa, was also there which was a fantastic way to arrive.

We wove our way back to the B&B where we are staying until we find an apartment or decide to stay here. A B&B here means you pay per person per night, and it adds up to Boston-level rent (at their discount price).

Many friends from India told me I’d be surprised by the smells here. Well, on the airplane I sat right by the bathroom for 14 hours so the smells here have been comparatively lovely. The smells here remind me of Kenya so it’s familiar and not unpleasant. I know in Kenya the smell was generated from burning trash…I’m not sure what it’s from here, as I’ve only seen it in the dark.

Wow. I’m exhausted. I wanted to write more, but am going to head to sleep and will try to keep going tomorrow.