India Day #2 Delhi-Kolkata-Panskura - What a Day!!!

 

So after all the delays in Newark my flight to Delhi wasn’t too bad – it was however completely full!!! And one of those passengers was George an Anesthesiologist from OSI I have worked with before. It was great to see a familiar face & have someone to travel with thru the foreign airports. I was trying to figure out when to sleep on the 15 hour flight. They served a meal right after we took off so I ate that, watched one more movie and then took a sleep aid to help me sleep & it worked!!! I slept about 6 hours I think then rested off with music on & on as best I could in an airplane seat. After all the delays in Newark we only had about 2 ½ hours in Delhi & we needed all that time to get our Visa’s, get our luggage & unfortunately the handle on the bag I was planning on coming back with was ripped off – the other bag I brought to leave was missing a wheel that I was bit bag handicapped! We also had to change money, recheck our luggage and get the domestic boarding pass then go to a new terminal that was really far away & by then it was 20 min til boarding. And all of this was between midnight & 2 am India time – but my body had no concept of time. The 2:30 am flight from Delhi to Kolkata was also completely full??? And resting on that flight was less successful. They also served a snack & proceeded to wake up every person who was sleeping ask if they wanted food. I have no idea why?

When we landed in Kolkata we got our luggage & went out the door & were meet by Valentina the PC for this mission who is delightful!!! She had been at the airport pretty much 24 hours straight getting all the team members arriving & still had 2 more after us. Also about 4 people had not gotten their luggage – that hadn’t even entered my mind so all of a sudden I was grateful for my luggage arriving albeit a bit broken. It was 5:30 am when we got to the hotel. I tried to enter my room quietly to not wake my roommate & even thought I was so tired the honking & beeping of cars on the road outside was nonstop. I did fall asleep thought & slept til 9 am. I showered & got ready for the day & actually felt pretty good, had an interesting breakfast…curry was  on the menu but I ate a boiled egg & some vegetables. Vivian my roommate & I decided to go exploring in the few blocks by the hotel – I wish I could capture all the crazy sights & sounds-it is very over stimulating! There was a block where people go their “meat” fish, chicken or lamb (beef & pork is outlawed which makes me glad I got thru customs with beef jerky in my bag!). It was pretty gruesome – the poor chickens in the cages had no idea they were going to be killed as soon as someone bought them! The next little alleyway had all vegetable sellers – that was more my style & always is so pretty. We also saw a place where about 10 kids were lined up in uniforms & then a few minutes later they walked in – it was their school for this neighborhood. We asked if we could go in & the teacher said yes – she was so sweet & explained what they did it was grade K-4 with about 100 students and 2 teachers. School didn’t start for an hour but the kids who were there always came early from where they lived because the brick building is “better” that the lean tos they live in – but they all had uniforms? I asked her about supplies & she said they were meager they could use paper, pencils etc so I asked if I could give her some $$$ for these children – she said yes but I needed to talk to the head teacher – she was the assistant & so I did & It all worked out. I was so happy that because of others generosity I can be led to help those who I don’t even know. We were supposed to start our drive to Panskura at noon but things were delayed and we left at 1:30. We went in cars in groups of 6 & I ended up with the guests/volunteers from Stryker (a medical company) They  were super nice & are only here for the first few days. It was about a 2 hour ride…the road to Panskura with lots to see along the way. It reminded me quite a bit of Ethiopia – donkeys pulling carts or bicycle carts, lots or small cars and even buses overflowing with people. Small roadside stands selling fruit, snacks, corn. Women and men carrying baskets on their heads & bushels of thatching, lots of dogs in the streets and an occasional cow (which is sacred here) or goats. The biggest difference was the absolutely CRAZY DRIVING that includes non stop honking. I am not sure if people get any drivers ed here but if they do I am pretty sure honking all the time is said to be ok and almost hitting other cars or people walking or on bikes is pretty normal.

We got to the hotel at 3:30 & were greeted with a magnolia lei – it was so nice! We had to be ready to go to the hospital  at 4 so not much time to unpack. The hotel is off a dirt road & is right by a river. We are guessing this is a place that people from India come for a “getaway”?  The rooms aren’t bad – aside from the lizard in our bathroom & the toilet area & shower are one in the same (think RV). The drive to the hospital was about 30 min. MY roomate is Marja – a surgical nurse from Sweden –she is really nice!  It is a newer private hospital that was built about 10 years ago & never fully finished & not used much - possibly because only 1 in10 people here has ever been to a doctor in their  life so with only 10% seeing a Dr less are ever hospitalized.

As we drove thru the gates I was overwhelmed to see hundreds of people already waiting there – which is not an unusual sight on screening day but this was a day before – we were only there to tour & for logistics & all these people dressed in beautiful colors with smiling faces and children who need surgery. They  had already traveled from afar & were there hoping for help…that sight will never stop taking my breath away. Before we left we were able to visit with a few of them…there is a language barrier but the eyes tell a story of love & the people of India are beautiful people!

We had time to get settled into our room before our team mtg & dinner & about that time my jet lag was in full force. I am making myself write this so I don’t forget – but I am sure I did miss a few things. I will post it to my blog in the morning because the only place for wifi is in the outdoor reception area of the hotel so I am not going down 3 set of stairs & out there tonight. There is a party going on at the hotel with music ouside you can hear clearly in our room but I am so tired I think I will be fine. Hoping for a good nights sleep – they say we will likely screen 350 children tomorrow & with parents or siblings that’s about 1000 people moving thru the process. Gearing up for a