Saturday (April 19)'s big
activity was Audrey and me going into Delhi to hunt down the infamous Spice
Market, something I had been looking forward to for a while. The Delhi Spice
Market is definitely a sensation for your nose and eyes, but more so for your nose.
As Audrey so aptly desribed: Imagine you are in a giant port-a-potty where
multiple people start cooking Indian food then someone starts a load of
laundry. The streets are not lined with
booths like you’d imagine at a flea market, but rather everyone’s shop spills
out into the street. You walk along and pass giant opened burlap bags of
lentils, cashews, walnuts, peanuts, turmeric, nutmeg, cardamom, cumin seeds,
fenugreek, ginger, tea, mixes (like garam masala), anise, dried apricot...and
so much more. Each shop is the same, yet different. In some of them, you walk
into the narrow store and there are prepackaged bags of every spice imaginable
linining the wall in little labeled cubbies.
In some, there are strictly the burlap bags and the owner will measure
out, weigh, and bag the spices before your eyes. Some stores even have burlap bags of laundry
detergent, should you need to purchase some of that (thus the laundry part in
Audrey’s description). Needless to say,
I bought some spices; I was not about to leave this glorious road without
some. The price kind of made me wince at
first-650 rupees. But then I realized the amount was just under $11 for 100g of
cumin seeds, 100g of fenugreek, 100g of garam masala, 100g of channa masala,
100g of kitchen king mix, and 100g of blueberry tea. I tried getting all of the
standard spices used in every Indian dish because I knew I wouldnt be able to
easily get some of those at home, and they were much cheaper here than I could
purchase them in the US for anyways. Aside
from the spices, the street itself had a very “India” feel: carts, cars, rickshaws, and people were all
rushing around at a pace and density that would make New York City jealous. Horns blared, people yelled, men hoisted
sacks onto their shoulders... all in the normal coordinated chaos of
India. And I loved it. I even got some street food on our way back
to the metro station: an interesting egg wrap of tomatoes and potatoes.
Monday brought a
new week, and a new placement opportunity.
Caleb and I were able to go to the Mobile Clinic project, which is a
mobile clinic ran out of an Ambulance by an organization called HelpAge
India. The ambulance goes to 10
different small villages and slums in/near Faridabad Monday-Friday, seeing 2
places each day. Each village knows
which day the clinic comes, and many of the patients are regulars who HelpAge
has been providing free services for over many years. HelpAge India exists to provide the elderly
(those over 60) who are living in poverty with primary care and medications for
free. Of course I loved everything about
this immediately. Normally the ambulance would only go to one village in the
morning, but we went to 2 since they are so close. The 2 sites were small
villages outside of the busy part of Faridabad, and took a little while to get
to. It was interesting to see the
difference in the impoverished between a rural village and a city slum. While the rural village is farther away from
markets and hospitals, it seemed that the standard of living was slightly
better out here: people seemed heartier, and their teeth were not as
decayed. I believe one can actually stay
healthier in an outskirt village since they are not living right beside open
sewage and an abundance of trash. Food
is also probably more easily grown since there is land they can tend in the
village, but I did not see any gardens where we were. It was actually a slow day, and we only saw
about 20 patients before heading back to the HelpAge India home base for a
lunch break. After break, we went to a
different site, which was a slum colony inside Faridabad. We saw more people at
this site, and I was able to take a few blood pressures for the doctor and ask
more questions about the patient and the given medications. Summer is the season for amplified bacterial
growth, so those not receiving refils for pain medication or hypertension were
usually complaining of loose bowels and intestinal disease.
The reason this entry is so late is due to the wifi being out all week.... And on top of being bored with no wifi, the heat is getting intense. The weather is consistently in the 100s during the day, and only cools to the high 80s overnight. In the next few weeks, we will be dealing with the 110s. With no AC. Yikes! Talk about First World Problems. We made it to cafe's a few times for wifi, but with the 9.5 hour time difference it has been impossible to communicate with people instantaneously (as those of you who sent me messages then waited 24 hours for a reply, then replied back and waited another 24 hours know).
After Monday at the mobile clinic I did not go to to placement since I got my poster supplies for
my project! I spent a few days drawing out hand washing and tooth brushing tutorials and making reminder
posters of ways to stay healthy. It was quite a task and I was pretty tired of the arts and crafts after 12 posters lol. I also got my lesson plans all laid out, and worksheets created to be printed. Tomorrow I will go with Dr. Prabhat to print them and also to buy the multivitamins. SO excited!
Much love,
Alyssa
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