les animaux

a bedazzled Jumbo. domesticated elephants... slightly depressing.

an oddly human appearing emu. this one is in the college "zoo."

the monkeys... i love the monkies.

mamma and baby cow chilling out roadside style.

around Vellore...

Rongoli, which is like sidewalk art commonly drawn in chalk. Many people have a new design daily.

A woman selling flower chains, which are usually placed upon shrines in temples. smaller chains are woven into women's hair.

How many people can fit in an autorickshaw? our PR is 7... 6 in the back and one in the front. Of course, that required a bit of rail/lap sitting, as well as a fairly well-tuned rickshaw.

The International crowd at our "favorite" rooftop restaurant... the Darling Residency. Bring on the Kenny G.

an intro to CMC... my work

I'm posted at the Christian Medical College, which is an enormous tertiary hospital with over 2,000 beds in the heart of downtown Vellore. It is a veritable oasis of academia and first world medicine amidst the choked and dust-filled streets.

As I'm officially here as part of the "research curriculum program," I have set up a couple research projects which I hope to be able to conclude while I'm here. The first is with the Emergency Dept - I will be performing a retrospective analysis of all of the snake bite cases over the last ten years. Most of you know I have a pretty significant snake phobia, which I'm hoping won't prove to be too much of an obstacle... And by the time I'm done my knowledge of venomous reptiles will rival, dare I say surpass, Justin Stempeck's. I'm also interested in looking into the difficulties surrounding trauma resuscitation and management in the developing world, but I'm not sure I'll be able to put that together as an official study.

I'm also doing a research project with the ICU comparing the case mix and outcomes here to that of the US and Australia. The implications of the study will hopefully address whether the varying outcomes that have been reported (worse outcomes in India) are due in part to differences in case mix, or if it is largely due to intrinsic lack of resources...

Not sure if I've lost some of you with these tedious descriptions. I find research to be pretty unsatisfying at times, so I've arranged to do clinical work in the Emergency Department in the mornings. This is my first week and after two days of seeing everything from motor vehicle accidents to untreated end stage cancer, to organophosphate poisoning (one of the most common methods of suicide) to snake bites, I'm completely hooked and have found myself going back for afternoon rounds as well. The director, Dr. Suresh David, is incredibly brilliant and a dedicated teacher who expects a lot from his junior doctors. There's also an American doctor who constantly seeks us out to show us physical/radiologic findings and quiz us on world politicoeconomics (yes, I made that word up) which I am particularly bad at. The Emergency department itself is the largest in India, seeing about 100 to 120 patients a day. The numbers themselves aren't that impressive, but the patients seen are SICK, as the common complaints are funneled elsewhere and over 70% of the patients are admitted.

There are quite a few other international med students here from Australia and around Europe, and they make a fun crowd to hang out/travel with. The top photo is a view of Vellore from the hospital roof, where my new favorite coffee/tea/biscuit bar is located. Sadly, the coffee servings are no larger, but the setting is striking and it makes a nice place for recharging.

The coffee question

For myself and my fellow coffee drinkers, the pressing question of "where will we get coffee?" always arises when traveling. I had a couple days of caffeine withdrawal headaches before I figured it out. We can make instant coffee at home, which I just can't get behind, as well as tea, which just doesn't quite do it for me. A few days ago I discovered the coffee stand at the hospital. The coffee itself is pretty good, although much sweeter and foamier than US coffee. While I usually concede that American serving sizes are out of control, I find this serving size to be inadequate. I usually need two... and the coffee girl thinks that's pretty funny.

Tiruvannamalai

Saturday, Jan 16th, we traveled to the temple town of Tiruvannamalai. My rudimentary understanding that I've gained from guidebooks and friends is that there are three manifestations of the eternal god, Brahman: Braham, the creator, Vishnu, the sustainer, and Shiva, the destoyer. Legend explains it was here in Tiruvannamalai that Shiva's phallic symbol, the lingam, first appeared as a large looming column of fire upon the mountain top of Arunachala. Kim and I joined Aparna and her parents to visit the temple and the local ashram, which is like a Hindi monastery. At the ashram, we found a tree draped with small multicolored pouches, each containing a wish. Aparna's parents were awesome (we see where she gets it) and explained many aspects of Hindi philosophy and religion. We didn't make it to the mountain top, but Kim and I fully plan on returning when there is a full moon, when thousands turn out to make the climb barefoot.

Pongal

Me, Vikashni, Dr Uma, Aparna and Kim at a Pongal celebration, which celebrates the harvest. Historically in Tamil Nadu, the tradition is to paint the horns of the cows and let them roam the streets as a way to honor the cow's central role in Indian life. We've seen a few cows with painted horns but no stampede yet...

Contact Info

The address where I am staying is as follows:
Sarah Matathia
c/o Ananda Bhavan
48 Arni Rd
Vellore 632002
Tamilnadu, South India

My Indian cell phone number:
011-91-9382876240

email, same as always:
sarah.matathia@gmail.com
gmail chat is also a good way to catch me :)

I'm also on Skype, and am currently on the lookout for a private place where I can connect my laptop... I'll keep you posted on that one.

The digs - purely descriptive of the surroundings

My temporary home is the Ananda Bhavan, a small dorm style inn about fifteen minutes outside of downtown Vellore. The inn is owned by a white entrepreneurial woman named Vimala who has tapped into the need for student housing as the campus housing is often booked solid. Kim and I are sharing a room with two twin beds. It's pretty spartan by western standards but we have all the neccessities: flushing toilet, running water, hot water for bucket showers, electricity, a ceiling fan and one very prized electrical outlet. In order to make it more "homey" we've duct taped the enormous map of India to the wall and we're working on a collage made from our trashy plane magazines. Over the weekend we procured a hot water pot, a hot plate, 2 bowls and 2 spoons, a knife and a strainer, so we can now make instant coffee, chai tea and simple rice/pasta meals. Across the street, Vimala has a "club," which has a gorgeous swimming pool, a weight gym and a short order kitchen where you can order pizza, omlettes and soda - yep, us foreigners are the targeted population.

Vellore itself has been relegated to a page and a half in the illustrious "Lonely Planet," or LP as we now fondly refer to it. And true to its description Vellore is dusty; however, while it doesn't offer much to tourists, it boasts many restaurants and shops of varying size and value. Our inn is close to the college campus, which has impressive sprawling buildings amidst well landscaped grounds of flowers and banyan trees. Downtown is more frenetic; the streets are crammed with people and varying modes of transportation ranging from ox drawn carts to three wheeled auto-rickshaws to crowded buses. There aren't many rules to the road aside from every man for himself, and a tendency to lean on the horn continuously to alert others of your bulky presence. Don't worry Mom, I'm very careful crossing the street and the bus system is quite safe with low accident rates. Somehow the chaos is contained. CMC hospital is downtown which is where I'm writing this first post. The hospital campus is enormous and holds over 2,000 beds. The health needs far outstrip the resources available, however, the care is first rate and first world in its standards. There are simply never enough beds, never enough ventilators, never enough doctors, nurses or administrators...

We have begun to familiarize ourselves with the town. We've found the local fine dining where you can get yummy Indian food on the roof deck for a few dollars, although the service is sub par and the background Kenny G painfully reflects the impression Indians have of the taste of their tourists. We have walked the streets and become accustomed to the silk shops, electronic stores and small stands offering bananas and flower chains. In the middle of the day, cows are often tied up along the sides of the roads to "graze" within their small circumference of grass. We have become comfortable with the bus system (despite my directional handicap) and can navigate our way around town. While people can not always understand my American accent, I have found most people to be friendly and helpful, as well as curious about where I am from and what I'm doing in their small corner of the world.