*Written Thursday June 7th*
Well today started out rather humdrum....
I went to the Internet café and wrote my blog and tried to decide if it was worth another $800 to go to an elephant sanctuary for 2 weeks which wouldn't be very veterinary but would be really interesting but I hadn't really planned to spend that kind of money. I was really at a loss for what to do.
So I walked the 10-15 min walk to where Linda had left her dog at Serenity Homestay and took Mimi for a nice long walk and picked up some more dog food, good for both Mimi and I. While I was walking, Chris who I had just met the day before called and told me that he had talked to his veterinarian friend and he was interested in letting me observe/assist but his private clinic was only open from 6-9pm and it was a 30 min trip...damn. Chris told me he would pick me up and drop me off, but I had 2 issues in my way.
1.
It was on his motorbike and I could not hold an umbrella and ride on the back of a motorcycle at the same time, thus if it rained I was SOL.
2.
Chris had proven to be very driven, very kind, thoughtful, and very smart however....truth was I did not know him all that well.
And I learned a very big lesson today when I asked Chris what I should do about these things. First he gave me his raincoat and said if he got soaked it would be ok he'd just go home and change and then he said I would just have to trust him. And let me tell you that worked out wonderfully!
I rode the 30 min on the motorcycle over bridges and around buses and over potholes and finally we reached the vet's little clinic where I met the veterinarian, Sunil, and a veterinary student who was doing his 6 months of practical clinic work, Shibu. Sunil works at the government clinic from 9am until 3pm and then runs a clinic out of his house from 6pm until 9pm and Shibu works at both places as well.
It was like being in a little vet class, Shibu was so great about explaining everything that is going on and Sunil taught me that I must “Learn to do the basics perfectly, when you draw the injection, you must do it the proper way, otherwise you will look like an amateur.” In case it was not clear, I do not draw injections the proper way and I do look like an amateur, but never again, I have seen the light :-) So much information is coming at me that I have been told to bring a note book with me tomorrow to keep track of each case and what I learn about different drugs etc...
But wait Bree, what are you doing tomorrow?
Well I am so glad you asked, because tomorrow, and for the foreseeable future, I will be following Shibu (and sometimes Sunil) around the government clinic, learning how to do things properly and listening to Shibu's mini vet school. I think Shibu enjoys having someone to teach because he was so recently a student, and while I don't know that he will admit is, I think it is also good for him to explain the reasonings for things so he doesn't forget. In Kerala (the state I am in) people tend to be a bit arrogant and so in his slightly condescending way, Shibu has informed me that I must study at my own pace and learn each thing very well but only learn a few things at a time. He will teach me about something new each day! I really cannot wait because he says there will be so many different kinds of cases with sheep and goats and cows and such. He is also very considerate and called to make sure I made it home safe with Chris and to remind me that he will call at 8am to make sure I know where I am going. He also texted the directions to me and called me dude. Indians are strange cookies sometimes.
Speaking of Indians, did you realize that I am a hot commodity. I mean seriously in high demand, romantically that is. But why you ask? Well obviously because I am so obviously and wonderfully WHITE! Yes I am a foreigner and that makes me essentially a movie star! When I was in Goa, we were constantly asked to be in pictures; I held babies, put my arms around groups of men, heard the calls of “one more with my son, with my daughter, with my friend” until you felt like a diva finally saying “no more photos please!”
But even more than that is the boys and men alike. My new favorite thing in India is to see a group of young boys (preferably 8-12 as they are so cute in their little uniforms) and look at them smile, wave, and say hi. The whole group will burst into giggles and in fact today I spoke to 4 little boys and shook each of their hands and I thought they would burst with their little grins. It was so cute.
With the men it is less cute sometimes, you get a little sick of hearing “hellooooooo what is your good name?” “Where are you going” and even when you are trying to have a normal conversation,for example when I wanted to watch the teenage boys catch fish in the little ditch with a bow and arrow made of a coat hanger (badass right?), they will talk in a language you don't understand, laugh and eventually ask the inevitable “you here alone?” or “you are married?” and that is the end of the innocent good time.
In other cases it is less obvious. For example when Chris told me he could tell it was my first time on a motorcycle and I quickly informed him that I love motorcycles and used to ride around on one all summer with my ex-boyfriend. Guess which part of that he picked up? You guessed it “ex-boyfriend?” and inevitably “so you are single now?” I felt a little bad when I told him that I had a boyfriend now also, just not one with a motorcycle. Sad day for Chris but I'm glad we got that out of the way. Although he called just a little bit ago to make sure I got home ok (I walked part way in the rain with my umbrella cuz I had to stop at a store) and to tell me he will check to see if the old wireless connection he has can be recharged and how much it would cost for me to start using it so I could have wireless at the hotel.
It'll be sad to be back in the US where I am not told I am beautiful on a daily basis by random men and where the boys will just wave back if I wave at them. Sometimes it's good for the ego to be in the minority!
Today turned out so well! I will definitely be making it to Sunday English mass because things seem to be working themselves out. But as Junie would say “Touch wood” (The Aussie version of knock on wood.)
Ps. List of cultural topics to be covered later skin whitening, Indian obsessions with certain American films and people, Indian Driving, Indian red-tape, the Rickshaw racket, and eventually Government Veterinary Hospitals!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Don't Worry...Be Happy....
I am being lazy in India, but it quite nice and as my lawyer friend Sandash would say "It is good to be alone".
We disagree slightly on that point and when I texted him my new phone number and he asked if I wanted to go to dinner, I was a little starved for a social life and jumped at the chance. I had been laying in the living room at the hotel listening to the rain and watching Beverly Hills 90210 on TV and wondering what to do with myself.
But I got to go to dinner! And had dosa which is kind of like a really thin bread type thing with veggies on the inside and it is golden brown and delicious, plus Sandash (being the gentlemanly sort and also not caring much about money because he is government lawyer) paid for dinner and then took me to a good place to buy DVDs to watch on my laptop at night. Indians are very into action movies so it took me forever to find 2 DVDs which were not entirely action movie collections. One of them is 15ish animated movies like Shrek and The Bee Movie and Nightmare Before Christmas and the other is Great Romances and the choices on that second one include Some National Lampoon movies and Borat....not sure how those are romances. But either way I got about 30 movies for a grand total of 700 rupees....roughly 14 dollars so that is sweet!
Which reminds me that I bought a 4 movie collection while I was in Goa that was supposed to include 1) some movie I don't care about 2) Iron Man 2 3) Sex and the City 2 and 4) Prince of Persia....Instead it has everything but Sex and the City 2 which has been replaced with about a 2.5 hour porno.....That you have to fast forward through.....Awkward. But the other 3 movies will be good haha and it cost me 80 cents...
So then we went for a walk down the bridge and some very philosophical discussions on being happy with yourself and just relaxing and how good that is for the soul. Sandash is quite the philosopher and kind of a hippie also. He also an incredibly safe man to hang around and laughs a lot which is infectious and good for the mind and body.
So I talked to my mom and dad when I got home which was so nice cuz I really miss them, then I watched 2 movies and went to bed late....slept in late...got up and finished my book and now spent some time trying to weigh the cost of some opportunities with the benefits. I will consult with my people (my daddy :-) tonight and try to make some decisions. At least India is a good place to relax! I will try to sell off my old books this afternoon, buy some more, and then take my friend Linda's Jack Russel Terrier ( Mimi) for a walk on the beach. She is gonna be quite the fatty if she just lays around the Indian house where she is staying eating rice while Linda is gone for 2 weeks, gotta keep the little one in shape. And walking...well it's good for me too :-)
We disagree slightly on that point and when I texted him my new phone number and he asked if I wanted to go to dinner, I was a little starved for a social life and jumped at the chance. I had been laying in the living room at the hotel listening to the rain and watching Beverly Hills 90210 on TV and wondering what to do with myself.
But I got to go to dinner! And had dosa which is kind of like a really thin bread type thing with veggies on the inside and it is golden brown and delicious, plus Sandash (being the gentlemanly sort and also not caring much about money because he is government lawyer) paid for dinner and then took me to a good place to buy DVDs to watch on my laptop at night. Indians are very into action movies so it took me forever to find 2 DVDs which were not entirely action movie collections. One of them is 15ish animated movies like Shrek and The Bee Movie and Nightmare Before Christmas and the other is Great Romances and the choices on that second one include Some National Lampoon movies and Borat....not sure how those are romances. But either way I got about 30 movies for a grand total of 700 rupees....roughly 14 dollars so that is sweet!
Which reminds me that I bought a 4 movie collection while I was in Goa that was supposed to include 1) some movie I don't care about 2) Iron Man 2 3) Sex and the City 2 and 4) Prince of Persia....Instead it has everything but Sex and the City 2 which has been replaced with about a 2.5 hour porno.....That you have to fast forward through.....Awkward. But the other 3 movies will be good haha and it cost me 80 cents...
So then we went for a walk down the bridge and some very philosophical discussions on being happy with yourself and just relaxing and how good that is for the soul. Sandash is quite the philosopher and kind of a hippie also. He also an incredibly safe man to hang around and laughs a lot which is infectious and good for the mind and body.
So I talked to my mom and dad when I got home which was so nice cuz I really miss them, then I watched 2 movies and went to bed late....slept in late...got up and finished my book and now spent some time trying to weigh the cost of some opportunities with the benefits. I will consult with my people (my daddy :-) tonight and try to make some decisions. At least India is a good place to relax! I will try to sell off my old books this afternoon, buy some more, and then take my friend Linda's Jack Russel Terrier ( Mimi) for a walk on the beach. She is gonna be quite the fatty if she just lays around the Indian house where she is staying eating rice while Linda is gone for 2 weeks, gotta keep the little one in shape. And walking...well it's good for me too :-)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Upside Down World
Ok so everything has gone kind of nuts, so let me start at the beginning and work my way through.
We did find a bar to watch UK play Germany and I got just as involved as the 4 Brits I was watching it with :-) We didn't realize we were in a room full of Germany fans...who were happy because Germany won, 4-1. UK Fail. Even I knew that UK played terribly and I hardly ever watch football (or footie as Junie would say) and yet was able to make catty comments when Myles tried to make fun of USA for losing. Yay for picking up sports..well watching them... quickly.
The next day I went shopping with some lovely English girls, 20 yrs old and taking a year off, and then went to the train station and took the train ALL ALONE! AH! But it went fine! I had a lovely man explain to me that we were going to have to get off the train because mud had covered the tracks in one spot so then we had to take a bus for an hour and go to a different train. When it was all said and done, my 15 hr train ride took 22 hrs. Disgusting and boring on your own although a nice man bought me curry and helped me figure things out.
Alright so here is where things get weird. And I am not gossiping, I am just letting you know what's up. So I get home to Penny's, talk to a lady I know for a minute and Penny comes up, I say hey and she says "hello, where are you staying?"....
You shocked? Hey me too!
She tells me that she really thinks it would be better if I stayed where my friends were so I didn't have to worry about coming in late at night.
I say, well all my friends have gone.
and she replies "oh you'll make new friends". So at this point I'm like crap I gotta find a place to stay when she throws in the kicker "And if you ever want to come play with the animals just call or stop by." Now if you didn't get the gist of that, it was the polite way of telling me that I am no longer volunteering.
Needless to say, I was a bit shocked/stressed/sad you know a few other s-words I'm sure. So she drops me off at the guest house where Junie and Linda had been staying. But let me remind you that Junie is no longer here ( she is traveling until July 16th, and I would have gone with but I had to come back here to help Penny....I thought) and I find out when I get to the hotel that Linda is leaving that night.
So they let me use their phone and I call Linda and she is at the beach where I meet her and burst into uncontrollable tears the gist of which consisted of "What am I supposed to do? I am all alone! and I want to go home!" Linda, absolute lovely lady that she is, mothered me and had me take a warm shower, took me to dinner which I couldn't eat because I was so shaky, and told me a few things I could do and told me not to just leave India without thinking about it. "You are halfway around the world, don't just give up on it"
So that is what I am doing. I met up with Linda's new friend Chris who is going to help me find a few vets to shadow and also has a friend who is a dog trainer and wouldn't mind me tagging along. AND I got a cell phone for myself, for the grand ol price of about $20 although it costs an arm and a leg to call home but incoming calls cost me nothing! So I am hooked up! And I found a place where I can use my laptop which makes life easier.
So I am not sure what I am doing for now, but the place I am staying is incredibly safe and the people are wonderful and I have an adapter for my laptop and they have a TV I can watch. I just need to meet some new people. Linda suggested doing yoga for 3 or 4 days, but I am really not sure I can hack it just doing 4 straight days of yoga and chanting. We will see. I just can't waste time as I need to be getting vet or animal experience or I may as well be at home. Believe me when I say that my first instinct is to get my ticket changed and fly home tomorrow, but I am going to think about it for a bit longer.
No worries everyone I am safe! Just a little confused, hurt, and lost. But like Linda said, once I get through this I will be able to handle anything. I said I wanted to grow up a bit in India, well jeez louise man! be careful what you wish for!
I am gonna try to post some pics now so we'll see!
We did find a bar to watch UK play Germany and I got just as involved as the 4 Brits I was watching it with :-) We didn't realize we were in a room full of Germany fans...who were happy because Germany won, 4-1. UK Fail. Even I knew that UK played terribly and I hardly ever watch football (or footie as Junie would say) and yet was able to make catty comments when Myles tried to make fun of USA for losing. Yay for picking up sports..well watching them... quickly.
The next day I went shopping with some lovely English girls, 20 yrs old and taking a year off, and then went to the train station and took the train ALL ALONE! AH! But it went fine! I had a lovely man explain to me that we were going to have to get off the train because mud had covered the tracks in one spot so then we had to take a bus for an hour and go to a different train. When it was all said and done, my 15 hr train ride took 22 hrs. Disgusting and boring on your own although a nice man bought me curry and helped me figure things out.
Alright so here is where things get weird. And I am not gossiping, I am just letting you know what's up. So I get home to Penny's, talk to a lady I know for a minute and Penny comes up, I say hey and she says "hello, where are you staying?"....
You shocked? Hey me too!
She tells me that she really thinks it would be better if I stayed where my friends were so I didn't have to worry about coming in late at night.
I say, well all my friends have gone.
and she replies "oh you'll make new friends". So at this point I'm like crap I gotta find a place to stay when she throws in the kicker "And if you ever want to come play with the animals just call or stop by." Now if you didn't get the gist of that, it was the polite way of telling me that I am no longer volunteering.
Needless to say, I was a bit shocked/stressed/sad you know a few other s-words I'm sure. So she drops me off at the guest house where Junie and Linda had been staying. But let me remind you that Junie is no longer here ( she is traveling until July 16th, and I would have gone with but I had to come back here to help Penny....I thought) and I find out when I get to the hotel that Linda is leaving that night.
So they let me use their phone and I call Linda and she is at the beach where I meet her and burst into uncontrollable tears the gist of which consisted of "What am I supposed to do? I am all alone! and I want to go home!" Linda, absolute lovely lady that she is, mothered me and had me take a warm shower, took me to dinner which I couldn't eat because I was so shaky, and told me a few things I could do and told me not to just leave India without thinking about it. "You are halfway around the world, don't just give up on it"
So that is what I am doing. I met up with Linda's new friend Chris who is going to help me find a few vets to shadow and also has a friend who is a dog trainer and wouldn't mind me tagging along. AND I got a cell phone for myself, for the grand ol price of about $20 although it costs an arm and a leg to call home but incoming calls cost me nothing! So I am hooked up! And I found a place where I can use my laptop which makes life easier.
So I am not sure what I am doing for now, but the place I am staying is incredibly safe and the people are wonderful and I have an adapter for my laptop and they have a TV I can watch. I just need to meet some new people. Linda suggested doing yoga for 3 or 4 days, but I am really not sure I can hack it just doing 4 straight days of yoga and chanting. We will see. I just can't waste time as I need to be getting vet or animal experience or I may as well be at home. Believe me when I say that my first instinct is to get my ticket changed and fly home tomorrow, but I am going to think about it for a bit longer.
No worries everyone I am safe! Just a little confused, hurt, and lost. But like Linda said, once I get through this I will be able to handle anything. I said I wanted to grow up a bit in India, well jeez louise man! be careful what you wish for!
I am gonna try to post some pics now so we'll see!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Football and Food
So Junie and I decided on Thursday, that if we didn't walk the kilometer to the bus stop with our heavy bags that day, we would never leave the beach and we would never see the old churches in Old Goa.
So we did! And then spent probably 5 hours haggling over prices at different hotels and guest houses and going back and forth and back again until finally we settled on one for 450 rupees a night (more expensive that the 200 we were paying at the beach) but it was the cheapest we could find and had TV & HOT WATER! Woohoo such luxury and even though we meant to change to a cheaper hotel with a shared bathroom....we haven't been able to pull ourselves from the water.
So after walking in the rain all day searching for a place to stay, we went to a little restaurant where I got delicious seafood soup and coffee and we sat on a tiny balcony with Christmas lights over our heads and we watched the rain. Walking back we heard a shout, but it sounded like a rickshaw driver so we ignored it. Junie stopped for a smoke and a black rainjacketed, man shaped beast ran up to us! It was a 23 year old British man named Myles who has been traveling all over India and was looking for a place to stay. So we helped him out...kinda...and went to bed and met him for breakfast and a trip to Old Goa in the morning.
When I can post pictures I will show you the gorgeous old cathedrals, the tomb of St Francis (which they used to open every 3 years but after a man tried to grab a toe and run...they only open it every 12 years), and some truly beautiful greenery. We walked around Old Goa and then came back to nap and meet up with Myles to watch...what else? FOOTBALL! I am watching an awful lot of football and there is hardly any tackling, but I am managing to get interested.
We went to a very luxurious restaurant where the waiter pulled out my chair for me and everything, it had a big screen and a delicious buttery soup which was probably my undoing. Because about 10 min after dinner was over I had an absolutely awful stomach ache, spent some time in the very Western bathroom (in India you learn to notice and appreciate nice bathrooms) and finally decided I had to get home while there was a lull in the pain. Cuz I pretty much felt like I was going to pass out. So I left Junie and Myles there and went to walk home but I felt so terrible I didn't even argue with the rickshaw driver when he charged me 50 rupees...psh way over charging but I just wanted to be home. Went home and watched some TV for an hour and felt fine, but realy weak. All I wanted was wi-fi and a chocolate bar but I had to settle for TV and Tums....But at least I feel fine today.
For breakfast...at 11:30 haha...we had fried rice and Pepsi because they had no tea or coffee! Then we walked to another place for coffee and a delicious Indian sweet that I can't spell the name of. I haven't tried many Indian sweets because it is so hot that I almost always want a milkshake with my dinner , but this was delicious, like a smaller version of a donut hole, fried until it is dark brown and then served in a bowl of sweet honey and cardemon (sp?) sauce. I am glad there were only 2 as I couldn't have eaten more!
So nearly everything is closed today because it is Sunday so when Myles and I finish blogging we are going to go for a walk and make sure we get back in time for the all important and amazing UK vs. Germany match on TV! Heaven forbid we miss even a second of it and we have already rooted out the perfect bar to watch it in that has both of Myles key requirements: big screen TV and cheap beer!
Gotta love India :-)
So we did! And then spent probably 5 hours haggling over prices at different hotels and guest houses and going back and forth and back again until finally we settled on one for 450 rupees a night (more expensive that the 200 we were paying at the beach) but it was the cheapest we could find and had TV & HOT WATER! Woohoo such luxury and even though we meant to change to a cheaper hotel with a shared bathroom....we haven't been able to pull ourselves from the water.
So after walking in the rain all day searching for a place to stay, we went to a little restaurant where I got delicious seafood soup and coffee and we sat on a tiny balcony with Christmas lights over our heads and we watched the rain. Walking back we heard a shout, but it sounded like a rickshaw driver so we ignored it. Junie stopped for a smoke and a black rainjacketed, man shaped beast ran up to us! It was a 23 year old British man named Myles who has been traveling all over India and was looking for a place to stay. So we helped him out...kinda...and went to bed and met him for breakfast and a trip to Old Goa in the morning.
When I can post pictures I will show you the gorgeous old cathedrals, the tomb of St Francis (which they used to open every 3 years but after a man tried to grab a toe and run...they only open it every 12 years), and some truly beautiful greenery. We walked around Old Goa and then came back to nap and meet up with Myles to watch...what else? FOOTBALL! I am watching an awful lot of football and there is hardly any tackling, but I am managing to get interested.
We went to a very luxurious restaurant where the waiter pulled out my chair for me and everything, it had a big screen and a delicious buttery soup which was probably my undoing. Because about 10 min after dinner was over I had an absolutely awful stomach ache, spent some time in the very Western bathroom (in India you learn to notice and appreciate nice bathrooms) and finally decided I had to get home while there was a lull in the pain. Cuz I pretty much felt like I was going to pass out. So I left Junie and Myles there and went to walk home but I felt so terrible I didn't even argue with the rickshaw driver when he charged me 50 rupees...psh way over charging but I just wanted to be home. Went home and watched some TV for an hour and felt fine, but realy weak. All I wanted was wi-fi and a chocolate bar but I had to settle for TV and Tums....But at least I feel fine today.
For breakfast...at 11:30 haha...we had fried rice and Pepsi because they had no tea or coffee! Then we walked to another place for coffee and a delicious Indian sweet that I can't spell the name of. I haven't tried many Indian sweets because it is so hot that I almost always want a milkshake with my dinner , but this was delicious, like a smaller version of a donut hole, fried until it is dark brown and then served in a bowl of sweet honey and cardemon (sp?) sauce. I am glad there were only 2 as I couldn't have eaten more!
So nearly everything is closed today because it is Sunday so when Myles and I finish blogging we are going to go for a walk and make sure we get back in time for the all important and amazing UK vs. Germany match on TV! Heaven forbid we miss even a second of it and we have already rooted out the perfect bar to watch it in that has both of Myles key requirements: big screen TV and cheap beer!
Gotta love India :-)
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