Tuesday, May 24

So it's our second full day here, and we're all mostly over the jet lag and are starting to

settle into the routine of daily life at the clinic. I figured I'd do a photo entry to show a

snapshot of how we spend our time here.


6 am: Still slightly jet-lagged, so I still wake up early, when the sun is out but it is still

relatively cool. After a bucket bath, we head down to breakfast (couscous with a chickpea

sauce and lots of chai tea) and morning worship.


8:30: in-patient rounds with Drs. Muralidar and Clement. We saw about 20 patients in both

the male and female wards; the doctors discussed the cases with the nurses and wrote

down care instructions and medications for the next 12 hrs


10 am: Samir, Simi, and I spent the morning with Dr. Muralidar, who is trained as a

cardiologist. Most of the patients he saw were long-time patients with chronic hypertension

and diabetes who presented for medication refills or with other minor complaints.


11:30: tea time!!


1:30: lunch then break time - naps, reading in the sun, playing cards (euchre, obviously)..

We usually hang out in our little quarters since we can take our scrubs off and the women

don't have to worry about covering our shoulders and knees.


3: more out-patient clinic time for some providers.


4:30 adventure into the nearby village of Anaikatty! We walked about 1 km to town, then

meandered down the Main Street, trying not to get too overwhelmed at all the colors and

noises and animals and people and speeding buses/motorcycles/rickshaws that don't really

seem to follow any sort of road rules except "I have the right of way." Alex and Samir

sported their new lungis, a male skirt made from a long piece of cloth wrapped and tucked

and tied around the waist. We all felt super conspicuous; several people asked to take

pictures with us as we wandered around. Despite the stares and conversations, we never

felt threatened - all the attention seemed to stem solely from genuine curiosity.

7 pm: evening rounds to check on newly admitted patients as well as those who were here

when we did rounds in the morning. We started late (not abnormal around here), and

because it was starting to feel crowded with all 8 of us, plus the 3 doctors and several

nurses, several of us left early to grab dinner.

-Emily