Matt Goes To India

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Another Day In India

Today has been a really good day. This morning we went out to a colony about 30 minutes away and were able to see about 30 patients. Because this colony is closer, Rising Star goes out there pretty often and we don't see all of the people every time. Again, it was a really neat experience. Then we spent some time here on campus.

We planted some new trees close to the meditation room (more photos of the campus are coming I swear) and some banana trees next to the sewage treatment plant. It was a really good opportunity to get out and do some hard labor, despite the fact it was probably in the upper 90's all day (and it was actually pretty cool compared to most days here). Also, I think the Indian workers think that us Americans are pretty soft and had us do all the easy stuff. It was a good project though and it'll only help this campus get even prettier. But we finished that and then just chilled the rest of the day, ate dinner, and now I'm finishing up my day blogging.

Some of the photos are from today and most are from our trip two days ago. Shane Maryott, my roommate, Indian expert, and photography guru has done an awesome job capturing really beautiful pictures of the people and some really cool moments we've had. So all of the good ones are his, and I will give him credit for each one because they're really incredible. Hope you enjoy!

This was where we held our clinic today

In line waiting to get their Blood Pressure

The pet monkey at the Leprosy House

The washing and bandaging crew

Dr. Nivetha giving a consult

On our way to Tirupati
Photo Cred: Shane Maryott

Photo Cred: Shane Maryott

This is Raj, he's the one I talked about yesterday that kept
bringing clean water to help the other patients... super awesome
guy. Photo Cred: Shane Maryott

The local pastor who made sure all of his church members
got treated first, really great man. Photo Cred: Shane Maryott

Photo Cred: Shane Maryott

New crutches for this patient!
Photo Cred: Shane Maryott

I always connect really good with the kids, it
must be the similar maturity levels
Photo Cred: Shane Maryott

Photo Cred: Shane Maryott

This one's my favorite
Photo Cred: Shane Maryott

Photo Cred: Shane Maryott

Beautiful temple we saw on the way to Tirupati
Photo Cred: Shane Maryott

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Road Trip to Tirupati

Hey Everybody,

Sorry about skipping a day in my blog, but it was because we went to a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh. We left Tuesday morning around 7 and checked into our hotel in Tirupati around noon. The Udayee Hotel was... pretty nice haha however, the WiFi was not super reliable... therefore the "no entry" yesterday.

We had lunch at one of the two restaurants on the bottom floor of the hotel, and it was incredible. I've been asked alot about the food so I'll post some pics and give you a general description... IT IS DELICIOUS. The food is usually rice covered by a sauce (Massala, Dhal, and other names) which will have alot of spices and either chicken, cashews, or different vegetables in it. You can also have different breads, my favorite is called Naan... so good. Most food is really spicy and so far I'm really loving it.

After we ate, we went out to a colony about an hour away that Rising Star only sees usually once a year, so they were super happy to see us. We treated over 70 people that afternoon, and they were so so grateful... it was awesome. One guy whose hands were in pretty bad shape was still getting us all fresh water to help treat the wounds, even though it was probably 10x harder for him than it would've been for anyone else. It was really humbling to see all these people, like him, who had really big setbacks still be positive and willing to help in anyway possible. It felt really good being able to help them out a little bit. After we finished we went back to the hotel, had some dinner and went to bed to get ready for day 2.

We woke up, showered, had some breakfast and went out to another colony that was a little closer (about 15 minutes away). Again, the people were so grateful and happy that we were there. I think we finally hit our stride, and we were able to see around 50 different people all in one morning.

The kids at each colony were super fun to spend time with as well. The language barrier is tough, but most kids understand the concepts of tag and tickling, so in that sense we were definitely on the same page. I was able to play with them in between patients and for a little while after we finished up. They were all really cute kids and we had alot of fun.

After we finished up in Tirupati, we grabbed a quick lunch and started our 4 hour ride trip back to Rising Star Campus. It's felt really good helping out these people, although I'm not doing much more than sticking a needle into them... it's something that ultimately helps get them feeling better with whatever ailment they have, so that makes it worthwhile. I'm so glad to be here and it just keeps getting better as I get more involved.

Oh ya... Mike had a little surprise waiting for him
when he went to the bathroom yesterday morning

The world famous: Holy Cow

Nikola, Shane and I at our stations

Our little setup

Patients waiting in line to be seen by the doctors

Super cute kids

Saying "Good Bye" to the colony

The food is SO GOOD

This guy's beard was way too cool for me not
to take a picture

Heading back

Pretty relaxed Indian Traffic

Monday, May 25, 2015

First Day in India

I made it! I couldn't connect to the WiFi in the Dubai Airport, so I'm giving you two days' worth of blogs today:

Dubai was super smoggy and super hot, definitely not a good combination. I couldn't even get a picture of their really tall building because I couldn't see past all the smog. I left the Premier Inn around 10:30 am and got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. We took off from Dubai around 3:00 pm their time and flew into Chennai around 9:00 pm their time. I was picked up by one of the drivers for Rising Star who managed to get us through all the crazy Indian traffic safe and sound. When I arrived to campus around 11:00, I got a short tour and introduction from Dr. Navita, she's the main medical coordinator here. She is from a different part in India, went to Europe to get her MD and came back to India to work for Rising Star, needless to say, she is awesome. I met my two roommates Shane and Mike (also super cool guys), and then we all went to bed.

This morning we got up, got ready and went out to Chettipuniyam, one of the nearby colonies. We treated maybe 10 people who showed up and I was on Glucometer and Blood Pressure duty. For those not familiar with diabetes, to get their Random Blood Sugar you need to prick the finger, put the blood onto a test trip and stick that in the Glucometer to get a reading. I felt really bad for one lady who jumped after I pricked her finger (probably swore at me in Indian too), I felt even worse when I found out she didn't need her blood tested at all and had just wandered over to my station on accident ha. The language barrier is really tough, but I'm sure I'll find ways to communicate with the people.

After we finished up, we went to a nearby shopping district. I guess it's preferred that guys where 3/4 length pants so the last couple pictures is us out on the town looking for clothes.

First impressions of India: SUPER HOT. It actually reminds me a lot of the Dominican Republic in terms of poverty level; the motorcycles are the same, the cities are set up the same way, even the buildings look really similar. The food is super good so far, and the people are super nice/friendly. Those in the colonies we helped were especially grateful. Day 1 has been a success, and I'm really excited to keep doing this for the next couple of weeks.

Turns out Dubai is kinda nasty

Airport Shuttle in Dubai (Just like the Guaguas of the DR)

Old Reliable

It cost $10, but was totally worth it

I think I'm rich?

Random prayer in the Dubai Airport

The dormitories

Rising Star Outreach Campus

Our mode of transportation to and from
the colonies

On our way

Photo Cred: Shane Maryott

Seriously... so hot

Our little set-up clinic

Glucometer/Blood Pressure Station

Photo Cred: Shane Maryott

Clothes Shopping

I need one of these

Saturday, May 23, 2015

TRAVEL DAY(S)

Today was the longest leg of my trip from Salt Lake to India. My body is super confused now adjusting to the different time zones and after being in a comatose state during my 14 hour flight from Seattle to Dubai. The clock in my room now says it's 9:16 pm here in Dubai, but on the Internet it says that it is 11:16 am in Utah. You do the math... because I'm too tired.

But luckily I made all my connections and my luggage only looked a little more beat up than usual. I haven't finished my trip yet though, tomorrow I leave at 2:30 pm to finish my last flight that will get me to Chennai, India. Nothing too exciting to talk about my flights, and I don't have very many cool pictures of Dubai either just because we got here after dark... be expecting those tomorrow.

I have a really long layover here, so luckily Emirates offered me a hotel voucher and I'll get to stay a night at a local inn here for pretty cheap. Other than that, enjoy these few pics, videos and commentaries from today: