UPDATED: The One You've Been Waiting For!!!!

PICTURE BLOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is idly. This is my typical breakfast at the canteen on CMC campus. Idly are the little white cakes on the pic. They're made of rice. You eat them with your hand (right if you're Indian and don't use toilet paper) and dip them into the little sauces. I know the white one has coconut and the bright orange one is a little spicy. The juice on the left is sweet lime. So yummy and refreshing in the morning!

This is the front of the CHAD hospital. There is also another wing to the left for the outpatient clinics. We would wait under a big tree (from where I took this picture) for the jeep/bus for nurses'/doctors' rounds in the villages. The front doesn't look bad, but there was an old lady with a naked little boy in front begging. We were told not to give money to the beggars.

This is at one of the homes during nurse's rounds. Here we're sitting at one of the doorways. At this home the nurse (Nancy) standing in the blue sari neds to give one of the women an injection (vitamin B12). We went with her to watch. After the entry way there was a courtyard that led to other rooms. The lady brought out a little straw mat where she layed down directly on the floor. Nancy had forgotten the file to open the vial (in the US you usually don't need one, but it's probaly cheaper to get the vials that use a file). Finally we got it open with a pair of scissors the lady had stashed somewhere.


This is during nurses' rounds. We are walking through the first village for the day. From left to right in the background: Nursing student (her sari is blue with white polkadots), Nurse (blue sari w/out polkadots), health aid (pink sari). The lady closest to me is the social health worker. She knows all the people in the village and represent about 2000 people in the surrounding area. Her job is to know when women are pregnant, if there is a death, marriage in the villages she respresents and to let the health aide know of any social problems affecting the people in her area. As you can tell from the umbrellas it was VERY hot under the searing sun and the umbrellas helped. Anne and I didn't bring one, but the nurse graciously let us borrow hers.

This is us walking to a remote home in one of the villages. The heat was really beating down on us, but as you can tell it was a breathtaking landscape. After we were done with the prenatal exam at this home, her husband cut some fresh coconut for us. They were worried for us because of the heat.

This is a picture during that walk from above. It's just beautiful. It really looks tropical and except for the saris I felt like I was in Latin America.

This is me with the healthaide. Her job is to keep statistics of the villages she represents (5000 people). She also helps in identifying problems in the villages and in setting up meetings to solve these problems. She knows all 5000 people personally! She has been a health aide for 25 years. After taking this picture she commented on how dark her skin was compared to mine. I think she looks beautiful!

During Doctor's Clinic in one of the villages. When we arrived on the mobile clinic there were patients waiting for us. More soon arrived. Here the doctor is looking over a patient's chronic health record. You can also see the BP cuff with mercury!!!! I think the little girl in orange with the flowers in her hair is so cute. The doctor was nice, but a bit paternalistic. We saw atleast 200 patients that day!

This is a cute little girl waiting to see the doctor. She had come directly from school and was still wearing her uniform. I love the flowers in her hair! Just lovely. Her parents seemed pleased when I took her picture. I think it might seem like an honor to them.

This is during doctor clinic in one of the villages. We had arrived about 20 minutes prior and the doctors had set up a table to the left of where this was taking place. Here a student nurse (Susan) in the blue sari & white shirt is teaching the women about anemia in pregnancy. She spoke Tamil as she did this and used picture cards to reinforce what she was saying. This is an important part of the rounds bc most of these women are uneducated. You can also see the beautiful flowers many women wear in their hair. They wear them for decoration and bc they smell good!



This is the emergency room waiting area at the large CMC hospital. You can see the countless people just waiting in the heat! During midday it gets to about 97 degrees or more. In the shade it does feel a lot better, but still HOT HOT HOT. The large CMC hospital is really more like a medical complex with many facilities. They have CT scan, MRI, operating rooms, out patient clinics (lots), library, leprosy rehab clinic, etc.