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Tuesday July 8th, 20087:00 amI am going to tell you about my day yesterday.Yesterday was our first day of intern rounds.I had three rounds yesterday on from 11:30am-2:00pm, 4:00-5:30 and 6:00-8:00.The morning I woke up probably around 6 or 7 am to get the day started.Showering here in India is pretty different and not exactly the same as in the US.To get hot water you must first turn on a hot water heater and wait about ten minutes for there to be warm water.I guess it isn't terribly different but at the same time it is.For breakfast we had chai tea, bananas, and eggs, well done between two slices of bread.Apparently they only have white bread here as they possibly assume that all Americans eat is white bread (which is a generalization and not sure if it's actually true just something I was told).The bananas were very good.One note on fresh produce here. You can only eat fruit that you can peel or boil.To keep fruit from spoiling street vendors splash water on them constantly throughout the day.I was told this at the time but later in the day I actually saw some of the locals splashing dirty water on the fruit.And I mean dirty like brown dirty.After consuming 4 egg sandwiches, 2 bananas and 2 cups of tea. I got ready to go.We have to where business causal to all our rotations which means slack pants and a polo/button up t shirt.Some of the medical students that were here also wore their white coats over that.No big deal except my thermometer recorded 105 degree temperature that morning!We got picked up at our homestay by a guy name Vikas.A short 22 years old Indian.Vikas is a fun guy.We were all just sitting in the living room when Vikas just walked in with a huge grin on his face. He was our guide as we walked in the back allies from our homestay to our first clinic site.Our first doctor was Dr. I J. Nanda.A homeopathic doctor.He worked in a small clinic about the size of the living room in our homestay (14x24) with a small waiting room, an office where he saw his patients and a small back room with his remedies.Homeopathy is very interesting and at the opposite pole from allopathic medicine (western medicine).The substances giving to a patient are all from plants, minerals, or animals and have no side affects.The mystery behind and of which western doctors cannot figure out is that the substances are diluted so much that when they are prepared they literally have no amount of the existing substance left.For example, they can use coffee as a drug to cure insomnia by diluting coffee by the time the homeopathic remedy is ready there is not even a single atom of caffeine left in it.Because the belief that something that causes illness can be used to cure it they will use coffee remedies to cure the insomnia.It was very counter-intuitive but very fun to learn about and open up to new type of medicine.The funny thing is homeopath is not necessarily new, it actually was the number one treatment here in the US in the early 1900s before it was phased out by allopathic medicine.I won't go into the details of that as I do not know the facts yet but it is very interesting.Dr. Nanda saw 4 or 5 patients during the time that we were there.All walk-ins.There are no appointments and Dr. Nanda likes to take his time with the patients so he sees only 10-15 a day or so.He spends a lot of time getting to know his patients inside and out from everything about their pain and symptoms but also their relationships, family, dreams and eating cravings.He needs to know all this not only to keep patients but because to properly administer the correct drug he has to know their personality to a 'T'.Example, arsenic and phosphorous can both be used to cure diarrhea or GI problems.Each has a characteristic that says it should be giving to someone who likes to be outgoing or likes to surround themselves with people.This is a personality trait that is associated with those remedies.However, arsenic is giving to someone who is more anxiety driven while phosphorous is giving to someone who is concerned with the well being of his or her friends and family.It is fairly complicated and I know I'll learn more as the week goes on but is all very interesting.After we were done with Dr. Nanda we went back to the homestay for some lunch.The common meal here is naam bread, rice, daal, and another side dish of vegetables with spices and whatnot.Now I had been feeling pretty good up to this point but I believe it was this meal that set me off the rest of the day.I am not sure what it was because no one else seemed to get sick but after this meal I definitely didn't feel like eating much.Our next rotation was Dr Prem Nath, a practitioner of rheiki and aruyverdic medicine.This man was supposedly 97 years old but I tell you he didn't look a day past 80 or 75.We had some problems getting there too as Vikas I think was supposed to pick us up but there was a mix-up and by 4:00 we still hadn't left (it started at 4).Jade, our alumni coordinator with us, called and eventually an auto-rickshaw came to pick us up. Rickshaws are three wheeled buggies that zip around town to take people where they want to go and just one of the ways you would get around town.The three of us crammed into the back seat and drove off to Dr. Prem Nath's.Since we were late we didn't get to hear his whole talk but rheiki has to do with energy and the 7 chakras along someone's spine that are central stations for the energy distribution.If you have the look of confusion on your mind your not the only one as I really had no idea what he was really talking about.Today we'll learn more and I'll explain afterward.To get home we took a Vikram, which is similar to a Rickshaw except they go on designated paths in the city.Kind of like city buses expect small.There are 6 seats available but because they are way cheaper than Rickshaws they are usually crowded to 8-10 people.We had a 7 in ours.We took it to the intersection near are first clinic site Dr. Nanda and walked back to our homestay.Our last clinic was Dr. Rick, a cardiologist who thankfully was right across the street from our homestay, 5 or 10 minute walk. Vikas had been with us since Dr Prem Nath and was telling us about himself.Apparently he too was in college about to graduate with a degree in History, Economics, and English.He plays cricket, volleyball, badminton and likes American movies like Spiderman, Batman, and movies with Will Smith like MiB and Wild West.He is a great kid and I hope to learn more about him as although I know he doesn't understand everything I saw, constantly has a smile on his face.Dr. Rick was similar to any other Western Doctor we have in the US except of course he practices in India.We got to shadow him as he did rounds in his clinic.He presented patients, talked about why they came in, what were their symptoms and what was the prescribed treatment.Very intelligent and competent man.He ended up being 30 minutes late and we didn't get to see a whole lot or ask him many questions but it was still and enjoyable experience.At this point I had been so exhausted all I wanted to do was go to bed.We said goodbye and walked back home.We ate dinner but because I had been sick all day I wasn't very hungry at all and just sat and talked with my other students.I hope that it'll be the most sick I'll get as I am already feeling better but I'll have to be more cautious of what I eat.I haven't yet adapted to the food and already I have thoughts of taking a vikram downtown to get McDonalds or Pizza Hut.But I'll hang in there and keep you posted on my progress and my health.See you everyone later.Taylor
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