I am woman.

So if it wasn't for the spotty Internet connection and the 3 geckos I can see from where I am sitting, I could imagine I was home right now because Scrubs is on TV while I type and Friends is up next :-)

My teaching of American slang included the term “chick flick” today. Shibu then mentioned it later to me...only he said “chicken flick”. Win.

Except for some spectacularly poor animal handling today, clinic was not terribly exciting. The rottweiler who came in and needed an IV drip (which at home we would have just given under the skin because even though it is slow to absorb, it is easier, less stressful, and the dog wasn't in critical condition) was put onto a metal table when it could have been done on the floor, then his front leg vein was attempted, not even one growl. But of course he did struggle and because his owners were holding him, they let up and it came out and had to be done on the back leg. But first they dragged the table 3 feet with the dog still on it and obviously terrified by the already scary surface making a loud dragging noise and moving below his feet. So by the time they had poked him twice on his back leg, he sent a growl their way and had to be muzzled. At home we would have held him properly with someone distracting with a milk bone and it would have most likely been done with before he had a chance to panic. But that is not the way it is done here and apparently Indian clients would panic if they saw the bump left under the skin when fluids are given there, even though it goes away after everything is absorbed. Just frustrating to watch when I know I could do it better!

The other interesting thing was a necropsy on a pigeon which led to finding tapeworms. Not unusual in mammals, but very odd to find in a pigeon so we will be googling that fo sho.

Shibu was talking to the lady I have tea with after work (the one whose family I have met) and he told me that they all like me very much and I told him, to tell her, that I feel the same. How I can be liked so much when I can barely communicate boggles my mind but I have learned that when in doubt, a smile is the best response. Apparently this has served me well!

Then I got kidnapped again for tea and, though she has very limited knowledge of English, the lady was able to get across more information about her husbands heart attack and his kidney problems. He just recently had the heart attack and she showed the list of medicines for his kidneys alone and the number of meds is insane and the price is quite high for her. She kept tearing up and while she has serious trouble understanding me, I learned that holding someone's hand crosses all language barriers as a sign of empathy.

I then came home and, after dressing in my new ali baba pants and MATCHING top, talked with Margaret,the 73 year old woman who owns the homestay with her husband, and learned about all the saints on her altar, including the newest one who hails from Kerala (more about her in a moment) and what their first miracle was and about her teaching experience and disdain for corporal punishment. The Keralan saint is very important to Margaret because the first time she prayed to her, back when she was only blessed and not a saint, she prayed for a girl and got a daughter! She reminds me of my grandmother because she instantly mothers you and is so sweet and loving to everyone she meets. She says she always has such wonderful tenants like “our Breanna” and was explaining to me how she was going to go to mass at 7 am as she always does but she just didn't for some reason. Then, at 7 when mass would start, it began thundering and lightening which means it would have been storming while she walked home alone. She is very frightened of thunder and lightening and knew that the holy spirit had a hand in keeping her in bed this once. But she did tell Jesus that if it was sunny out that afternoon, she would bring her husband to mass as it was her sons birthday. And lo and behold! It was! Such faith in God is rare and beautiful and she has such a kind heart. The people in this country have been really interesting but some of the women are just amazing!
Back to arguing with the Internet and watching Friends. Tomorrow? Maybe going out of town for the night, but not sure yet!