In my attempts to catch up on my entries, arranging travel, and uploading pictures I find myself staying up later and getting up earlier. This morning I was rewarded for my efforts! After spending over two hours last night trying to purchase a flight from Dehli to London without success due to something the website didn't like about how I entered my credit card information, this morning on my first attempt with a different credit card - victory was mine ;-> I even was able to blog successfuly this morning before leaving by 7 a.m. to make it to Karigiri by 8 a.m. I've come to appreciate the small victories even more during my time here!
On to the PBIHC, which stands for the Paul Brand Integrated Health Center. This morning we were designated to attend a diabetes workshop there and I had high hopes due to the fact that this center was named after Dr. Brand. Unfortunately, the clinic was somewhat of a let down and no one offered to explain exactly what the mission of the PBIHC is. After again arriving on time, the clinic began on IST. The Dr.'s in the clinic we began the morning with weren't interested in teaching or translating so I quickly moved on to another station at the clinic that examined the patient's feet, tested and measured sensation, and calculated ABIs to evaluate for peripheral vascular disease that quickly complicates the life of a diabetic. Fortunately these stations, run by the Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists, were much more interested in explaining their work and translating conversations... I stayed for the rest of the morning. Also at one of these stations, I ran into a Dr. from Bolivia who is here at Karigiri for a 3wk course on diabetic ulcer care. The pioneering research and techniques perfected at Karigiri for caring for and preventing wounds caused by the insenstivity to pain that leprosy patients suffer from, directly translates to diabetic foot ulcers.
Haggling with the auto drivers is a constant chore and a delight rarely, at least for me. They seem to enjoy the sport quite a bit. On the way from the PBIHC to Karigiri Hospital we need an auto and as we were debating rates I swear that I heard the man say "60" to which I said ok. When we arrived I handed the man a 100 Rs. bill to which he gave me 35 Rs. change. After about a minute of debating the 5 Rs. in change and being robbed of my only leverage (money) I decided to wage a sit in. At this point my classmates began to laugh as they informed me that he really did say 65 Rs. I had to swallow my pride and exit the vehicle ;-> It's not the amount that mattered it was the principal of the thing. Yesterday they agreed for a whole trip to be 90 and when we got there we handed the driver a 100... meaning we only needed 10 Rs. in change, an amount any auto driver readily has. Seeing an opportunity to get 10 Rs. more he feigned that he had no change. We promptly pooled our change to exactly 90. After discussing this incident with other students they've had similar experiences, but I like their reaction to the "no change" scam- "so free ride then"... apparently drivers suddenly remember they have change at that point.
The afternoon was rather unproductive as we sat and watched a group occupational therapy session take place in Tamil. It was great to see the hospital addressing the social rehabilitation aspects of leprosy (Socail ostracism leaves scars just as handicapping as any physical deformity). However, the same OT that was so gracious and energetic about explaining his station's role in the diabetic clinic that very morning, let us sit for an hour and a half without explaining what was taking place or translating for us. The language barrier has proved to be a bigger issue than I thought it would.
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