Monday-Tuesday

On Monday I went with the Rural and Public Health program to their mobile clinic placement.  We took a rick-shaw to the clinic location in Lonavla, and then from there took the van with the doctor and the driver.  We drove out about 3 hours to a 'tribal village'.  He mostly gave patients tylenol/ibuprofen-type pain killers for their various aches and pains from daily work.  His most consistent patients are a group of old women.  I got a great picture of them that I'll post when I get back.
I asked about the women there having babies, and he said there are 3 midwives in town (who were taught by their grandmothers, or someone else who'd done it before them).  Sometimes they get prenatal vitamins, but they don't get the Rh shot.  As a result (and no doubtedly from other causes too) there are a lot of miscarriages.  He said the most common cause of death is malnutrition.  They are all rice farmers, and eat little more than rice and vegetables. Apparently, the Indian government built all their homes.  Interesting.  On our way out of the village, we saw a father and son walking.  The boy had a cloth tied around his leg.  We stopped and handed out some antibiotics and antiseptic ointment for his leg. 

On Tuesday morning (today!) I woke up early and took a taxi to the Mumbai airport. There was some confusion about whether it was the 'domestic airport' or the 'international airport' since my flight was domestic, but the reservation said the international airport.  Turns out, there are 2 places to enter the airport (20 min drive apart), but they use the same airspace.  So I made it to my flight with plenty of time.  Got to Delhi no problem, and got picked up for free by the hotel where I'm staying tonight and tomorrow night.  The place is pretty fancy (for 30$ a night!).  I have AC, a TV, free internet cafe (with computers, which is why i'm able to blog so much today), king size bed, minifridge, room service, the works.  It's pretty luxurious.  I'm meeting up with Brian (a canadian med student who will be on my next trip) in a little bit, and planning our Taj Mahal trip for tomorrow I think.  Should be pretty cool!

random interesting things

indian head bobble:   so I had seen this made fun of in movies, but the Indian way of nodding yes, is really not a nod at all, but a bobble.  Its kind of side to side, in a way that could be mistaken for a no.  It's really very confusing at first, but then you kind of figure it out. Although I haven't quite mastered the technique... I'm a lot more aware of my head movements though.

shoes off:    Definitely in temples, but I've noticed that in a bunch of places, it is customary for people to remove their shoes before entering.  At Keivalyadama, all the yoga rooms, the library, sometimes the main office (i'm not sure the determinant for this being a yes or no..), Dr. Kamat's clinic, etc.

painted trucks:     the trucks here are really beautiful.  Many of them say "Goods Carrier" on them, which is interesting, because aren't they all goods carriers?  They also are painted a huge variety of bright colors, often with pictures of people praying, the Ohm symbol, lotus flowers, and various other designs.  Many also have metal 'tassles' in the front. and on the back they say "Horn OK Please".  I'm still not sure what that means.  People use horns here a lot, going around corners, telling someone to move over, etc.  Seems like there are horns all the time and i would never know where it was coming from or what it means...

Gul Mohal:     is apparently a famous tree of India.  I noticed it a lot at first because it had bright orange flowers and sticks out against all the green.

Dots:     Women, men and children wear all kinds of dots here.  Mostly, it is a religious/spiritual meaning (on the forhead between or close to the eyes).  However, some women put a dot up high near their hairline.  This signifies that they're married (many married women also wear black and gold beaded necklaces, and a simple gold band ring). On children, sometimes they draw other dots (think- large beauty mark).  Gurpreet told me that it is a superstition that if something is too beautiful or cute, it attracts bad things.  So the dots are supposed to draw attention away from the cute features of kids.

Veg/Non-Veg:   so in the US, the distinguishing factor is if you're a vegetarian.  However, here, most people are vegetarian so the question is usually 'are you non-veg".  Most times, being veg even includes not eating eggs (but milk is ok, so not totally vegan).

Midriff:   So it's not ok for women to show shoulders, or cleavage, or knees, but many Sari's expose a bit of midriff, which seems to be ok.  Interesting.

Head Coverings:    there is a wide variety of head coverings that are used in India.  Most women wear some kind of shawl/scarf depending on their outfit.  However, there are other women who wear the scarf over their hair, but their entire face is visible. Other women tie the same scarf around over their nose to hide their entire face except their eyes (this also has a functional purpose- when it smells like pee, when riding a motorcycle etc.)  some women also wear the traditional full coverage burqa.

Spitting:   is reallllllly common here.  I wondered why at first, and then realized that all the shops sell little packets of tobacco.  (many men also smoke).  I saw a sign the other day that said "Stop TB: Don't Spit". 

Orange Hair:     Lots of older people have bright orange hair.  Turns out, they use henna to dye their hair (like Jen used to).  If you look closely at people who are just beginning to gray, you can often see a hint of orange or a darker red.  Some old people have completely bright orange hair, which is really weird at first, but now very common place.

Roads:    are surprisingly good.  Even out into the rural areas (to a certain extent) the roads are paved and barely have pot-holes.

Helmets:    In Mumbai/Malavli, it was pretty rare to see anyone on a motorcycle wearing a helmet.  However, in Delhi, 95% of the people I saw today were wearing helmets.  Not sure why the difference.

weekend 2

So the second weekend the group of Australians were there. They did the hike to Logahad fort on Saturday, and Audrey and I hiked with Nikki the much shorter trip to the Bhaja caves. They were very similar to the ones we saw in Karla, but it was nice because it was a bit quieter (not as much of a hotspot as the Karla caves since they have the temple there). However, there were some rowdy teenage boys that Nikki kept refering to as the 'dirty boys' and 'idiot boys'. I guess there isn't too much of a culture difference in that at the age of 11... So we poked around a little and took some pictures. The caves are old Buddhist caves that were strategically placed along trade routes. They carved intricate portraits of people and animals right into the stone. So while we were there, 3 goats came running up to the caves as well. A momma goat, and her 2 teenage boys. They were curious about us and followed us around a bit, scaring nikki. After we went to the end and came back, the boys were taunting the goats and throwing rocks at them, which none of us approved of. The goats were semi-charging the boys. Then they started ignoring the boys, and just 'play battled' with each other. It reminded me very much of 2 dogs roughhousing, although it looked like it must have hurt their heads. After getting back to the place, we played a new 'trick game' with a few of the australians. It's kind of cool because you can play with more than 4 people, but you dont deal out all the cards so it adds a bit of luck and removes some skill, but fun nonetheless. Karuna asked us if we'd like to have chicken for dinner (the first chicken in 2 weeks! except for the chicken curry i had, but the chicken was really chewy so I didn't eat it). A few of us went with him to get the chickens from town. There is a chicken guy who has a bunch of chickens in cages. You tell him you want some chicken, and he grabs one by the wing, and folds the two wings over their back so they cant move and then puts them on a weighing machine. Once you've weighed out enough chickens, the other guy grabs the chicken by the wings, pulls up the head to meet the wings, and cuts their throat. Then he puts them in a box thing while they bleed out and the rest of their body twitches for a while. Yuck. but Yum... On Sunday, we decided to go to this place called Matheran. We thought it was pretty close, but the drive there took almost 3 hours (partially because it was pouring rain). The monsoon season has started in the Mumbai area, and it rains everyday. That particular day, it ONLY rained. There were a few lighter patches, but mostly rain. We were kind of expecting it to stop like it did the other days, but no such luck. So in Matheran, automobiles are not allowed. People get around by walking, horses, or by man-powered (walking, pushing) rick-shaws. It seems to be a weekend trip for a lot of Indian families too. It was pouring rain so hard that only 5 minutes after we got out of the car, our shoes and jeans were completely soaked through. Good thing I had brought some plastic zip-lock bags for the camera, phone, and money.. So we bargained our way into a horse-back ride and went to a few lookout points (which were quite beautiful, even in the fog and rain). When it rains like this, you can see all kinds of little water falls sprouting up on the hillsides, so it was really nice. Then a cold and soggy ride back to Malavli.

Week 2

During the second week of my traditional medicine program, I spent Monday through Thursday at the keivalyadhama yoga place. On Monday I went to the 'basic' yoga class in the morning (easy, slow stretching). In the late morning I met with Dr Bhalekar to learn about the general aims of a yogic lifestyle (in short: 'cortical exercise' to develop the brains cortex, where intellect is found, and to use that to modulate adverse effects of limbic (emtional) signals to the body- think chronic stress etc). That was pretty cool because he was talking about abunch of papers that show differing levels of stress hormone, neurotransmitters etc. I was also able to experience an 'oil application and local steam' a naturopathic treatment for backpain. I believe she said it's supposed to release stiffness and toxins. Felt pretty good, but not going to cure me I don't think. That evening I went to the yoga 'therapy' class which I found tone very much like the basic class. After that was my first class in Pranayam, where we learned a few of the breathing techniques and tried them out. Tuesday was very similar. I went to the advanced yoga classes, which were much more to my liking. We did some sun salutations, and more difficult poses. There was still rest time between each set of poses, and a lot of stretching poses to keep it traditional (would have been very tiring otherwise, like the yoga in the US). dr bhalekar talked about Pranayam and it's physiological and psychological effects. My treatment on Tuesday was a 'water massage', which was just abathtub with jets. But that was nice too. Wednesday we talked about specific yoga asanas and the different things that effect each pose. My treatment that day was a mud bath. The lady took me to the mud bath 'room' which is a roofless room outside. The mud comes from a special place where they have to dig 3ft deep. Then they allow the mud to dry and turn it into a powder. When a patient comes, they add a bit of water to make it into a thin paste and then smear that on the skin. It's a nice exfoliation, and gave me a way to stand in the sun without burning, but i'm not sure it did much for my back pain. Thursday was the last day and the doc wasnt around. Thursday I got a local (back) massage. Wednesday and Thursday we had Tratuk instead of (but actually includes) pranayam. The whole week was pretty cool to 'live the yogic lifestyle' and learn about the science behind it (science that came after the practice). The diet at the place and yogic lifestyle seem to at least make people lose weight (even I lost weight, their food is somewhat lacking of protein, and flavor..) so I'm happy to be back eating at the guest house since then. Friday we went to a place called Herbal Hills, which is an organic farm. On the way there, Aruns car was overheating, so he pulled over and called Farooq to drive me the rest of the way on his motorcycle. The owner gave me a tour of the place. They have one area for herbs (including mint, ginger, stevia- which I ate a leaf of, and it really tastes sweet. There was also a plant that is used for colds and throat problems than made my mouth all tingly which was kind of cool). Then he showed me the Gir cows, which are used for their milk to make Ghee, which is like butter kind of but supposed to be less cholesterol. The cows have a weird hump over their shoulders which he said is supposed to help make vitamins? Not too sure, his English wasn't very good. They then use the manure to make fertilizer, and harness the methane gas as biofuel to run the place. They have flower, vegetable, and fruit plants as well. That was a short day. Audrey and I went to Lonavla to make more passport/visa copies (seems everyone we interact with needs one), got some money from the ATM, and a flash drive for pictures. When we got back, 15 of the Australians doing the Film and Media program in Mumbai came to stay here for the weekend.

Weekend

On Saturday, karuna took us for a hike to see Lohagad fort. We stopped in town to get his daughter Nikki to come with us(she turned 11 on june5). when we got to the fort, we began to climb the stairs when we noticed a pair of monkeys (macaques I think) sitting on the wall looking at us. Just before we got to them karuna thought to give them one of our bananas. As soon as he took his bag off his back one of the monkeys came right over. Karuna thought it best not to reward this aggressive behavior, so he put his bag away and we walked by. It his of growled at us though and that was a bit scary given how close he was to us (and monkey bite= monkey herpes B= not good). There were LOTS of monkeys hanging out as we walked up. I think I counted about 15 in total. Then we took a water, picture, and snackbreak at the top of the fort. We could see some beautiful body of water that Nikki said they go boating on sometimes. There were a few Hindu temples at the top as well (there are temples everywhere.. We passed at least 10 if not more during our 2 hour hike up). Then karuna pointed to a little tongue of land, and waited by the fort while we took Nikki out there. Very good views. Then we went home, 5.5 hour hike in all, we were pretty tired. After some lunch and a quick nap we took a rickshaw to the other side of Malavli, into Lonavla where they have a very famous temple and some old Buddhist caves. We took some good pictures of the caves, which had some incredible carvings into the wall, and even original wooden reinforcements. The walk up to the temple was pretty cool too because there was an Indian marching banns just ahead of us. There was another bands already at the temple. Apparently 'whatever you ask for is fulfilled' at this temple, so many people make pilgrimages from far away. It gets so much traffic they've built amusement park-type designated line areas. There were lots of people selling flowers and other goods (flowers for offering to the gods). Sunday, Audrey and I took the train to Pune so we could do some more shopping (she hadn't been able to do much yet). We successfully navigated our way to the market and back, and even had lunch (for <$5 for the two of us).

June8

Friday was Sampson's birthday!! Happy 1 year old. I'm sure Chelsea and Tim threw him a grand birthday party. On Friday I went with the other two girls (audrey and sing-he) to Dr Kamats clinic/hospital. We were able to observe a DnC(dilation and curretage) on a woman who'd had a spontaneous miscarriage at 2 months. The OR was somewhat questionable to say the least, but it's what they have. Dr Kamat did a fellowship in anesthesiology(the residency/fellowship process is a bit different here), so he administered the anesthesia, while another doctor did the procedure. After that, we just sat in his office while he and his wife (also a doc) saw about 20 patients in 2 hours. His office has two exam beds, one with a curtain for females. There were often more than 3 patients, with various family members, in his office at a time. Not too much confidentiality. We saw a few patients with typhoid, a kid who needed a vaccine, someone who needed stitches removed, and some other stuff. It's pretty cool that I know some stuff now (after a year of med school) because I know most of the drugs (or they're similar to ones we use), and I know the names of diseases so I was able to explain some things to the other girls. At the end of our day there a cardiologist came to do an echocardiogram on a man who had some lower leg edema and a murmur. I JUST took the cardio pathophysiology course so I knew this meant right heart failure and asked some relevant questions. I think I could even see the tricuspid valve regurgitation on the echo. Very cool. I was releived to notice that I was overly excited about all these things. Looks like I should probably keep doing the med school thing. Another interesting thing I noticed, and have a picture of, is a sign saying they do not disclose the sex of any fetus when doing ultrasound. I had read a little about it in the guidebook, but apparently they were having a problem with a lot of female fetus elective abortions. Nobody wants to pay a dowry I guess.

June7

On Thursday I was scheduled to go to the Ayurvedic clinic 'Ved' in Pune. Arun (the guy who picked me up at the airport) was the coordinator designated to go with me. We took the train (exciting, as always) and arrived at about lunch time. We went to a restaurant for lunch and I ordered the Malai Kofta (which was delicious, but nothing like what you would get at an Indian restaurant in the US). After that we went up to the clinic to wait for the doctors. The clinic had a more ritzy feel than any of the places we had been before then. The doctor gave us a brief run down of what Ayurvedic medicine encompasses. There are three Doshas (kind of like energies, or biological life principles). Together they describe the functions of the body (the first being Wind- so anything that has circulating movement in the body like blood, neurons etc.) Each person is said to have their own 'norm' of these three things in balance. It is when they become imbalances that disease arises. The doctors we spoke to seemed to have an allopathic understanding of disease and disease processes. It is merely the treatments that differ. Howver, what I especially liked was that they readily admit to the limits of Ayurvedic methods and defer to allopathic medicine when the situation calls for it. She called this a 'holistic approach' which personalized medicine for each patient and each condition. Not only do they treat chronic diseases quite effectively, but the clinic we visited also specializes in infertility treatments. All of the labs they do for determining diagnosis are essentially identical to those used in allopathic hospitals. They send samples out to be analyzed. The doctor described to me one procedure where they use some of the herbs to make a vaginal wash that can be specialized for different types of infertility that cause the vagina to be a 'hostile environment' for sperm (ex// antisperm antibodies, thick cervical mucous etc.) the wash is done in the clinic and then the patient has 1.5 hours to try to make a baby. There are a few problems with implementing Ayurvedic methods in the US. First; the Panchakarma treatments are used to 'detoxify' the body. These usually consist of some massage and steam treatments to force to toxins out of tissues, and then some kind of purging (induction of vomiting, or an enema). I don't think patients in the US would be especially interested in trying these types of treatments. Also, some of the drugs are things that around allowed in the US(heavy metals), or things that would be hard to produce in such high quantities as we would need. There are however some Ayurvedic drug companies that test, publish results, and market their products. We were able to see a leach treatment performed on a patient for prevention of cataracts. They basically just put a sterile leach (each patient gets their own leaches) on the patients face near the eye. It's supposed to suck to toxins out. After that, they did a treatment on me where you drip warm oil onto the patents (my) forhead. At first it kind of tickles, and then it feels kind of nice as you can feel it creaping down your scalp. The table they use has a drain the patients head is on so the oil drips off there. After that treatment the provided me with a bucket of warm water and shampoo, although even then my hair was oily for a couple days (which wasn't so bad because it made my hair look darker, so I stood out a bit less). Arun had also told them that I was interested in getting Mehendi, so she had bought a cone of henna and said she would do it for me. She said when she was younger that's what they would do for girls night, a Mehendi party. She was often the one doing the designs so she turned out to be pretty good. This was probably my favorite part of the day. While she was decorating my arm she said that it used to be the henna didn't have chemicals in it and women would have to wrap their hands in an oily cloth and leave it overnight. She also said that for weddings they used to do the brides whole body (they just do hands arms and feet now). They would hide the husbands name somewhere on the bride and he would have to find it that night. I thought that was pretty funny. Then they were telling me about other random things Indians do- like you can't buy oil on a Saturday, most people por drinks into their mouths without letting the bottle touch their lips (even if they know it's clean). They are also adopting some of the Japanese business traditions, like handing and receiving business cards with two hands. I also tried some Jack Fruit that day, and a fried potato Samosa-like thing. Then home on the crazy train.

June6

June 6 On Wednesday, Gurpreet and I went to the NIN in Pune. The train ride is 1.5 hours, and everything you would expect from a train ride in India. It gets very very crowded (and I'm told it's nothing compared to the trains in Mumbai). There is a ladies compartment for safety sake, and we take that compartment. It's incredible the colors of the clothing, the jewelry, the Mehendi (we just call it henna, but henna is the dye, and Mehendi is the art on hands and feet etc.), the various colors, shapes, sizes, and locations of dots, etc. I wish I could take pictures in the train car, but it would be rude. When we arrive in Pune we have to push our way through the crowds and navigate the streets (which really is incredibly difficult, and moderately dangerous if you don't know how to do it the Indian way, and still pretty dangerous if you do). We are within walking distance of the institute, so it doesn't take too long to reach there. The National Institute of Naturopathy is a clinic and treatment center. There are naturopathic doctors there who treat many diseases with naturopathic treatments. I will post some pictures of the treatment devices eventually, but their website might give you a good idea if youre interested (google NIN Pune India). They have yoga 8 hours a day, acupressure, mud packs, magneto therapy, mustard packs, water massage, general massage etc. There is also a walkway of smooth stones called the 'reflexology walk' in the front of the building where one is supposed to walk for 15-20 minutes for general healing and energy flow. After our tour, we had a lunch made at their canteen, which is supposed to be very healthy food (like the food at kaivalyedem). After eating, I spoke with a patient who has been coming for treatment for 1.5 months for osteoarthritis in his knees. He was an athlete as a child, and a soldier as an adult, so has done quite a number on his knees. He said he used to get cortisone injections, and had one arthroscopic surgery, but has up till now refused to have the knee replacement surgery (even though it has been suggested to him). He says after a week, he's hadn't noticed much improvement, but now he feels he can walk for longer and has less pain. They are even going to get him started on learning some other exercises, since they have a small gym facility at the institute. His favorite treatment is the mustard pack (supposed to be anti inflammatory). He says he can feel the pain seeping out of his knees when he uses this treatment. After buying a magazine on women's health and naturopathy, we leave to do a little shopping before taking the train back to malvali. The trains here are perpetually late... I enjoyed touring the institute, and speaking with a couple of the doctors there. It seems they are well educated, but the philosophy of naturopathy (in the Indian sense) seems a bit off to me. I think it has good results with things like chronicle pain, hypertension, diabetes etc. because much of what is does it prescribe a healthy lifestyle, and some placebo effect. However, to me it seems irresponsible to treat patients as if this is the ONLY method. For example, on one of the marketing videos I saw a patient getting a mud pack on his stomach to draw toxins out. However, it looked to me like the patient had ascites, a condition of increased fluid in the abdominal cavity resulting from heart failure. Obviously, naturopathic mud treatments on his belly will not do as much as is needed for his condition. The naturopathic doctor said that they often suggest their patients to decrease the dosages of their medicines. Anyways, I think that many of these treatments have real benefit, but that multiple methods may need to be used concurrently to achieve the nest results for patients. On the flip side of my frustration with the naturopathic view, is that naturopathy is only effective as this recognized institution. By that I mean that patients seem more likely to follow the maturopaths 'prescription' of a healthier lifestyle than they might be in the US because it is a more recognized 'treatment', whereas in the US it seems people know they should do it, but don't see it as treatment, the way they see pills and procedures (doctors and patients alike). Ok done ranting for now.

June5

Tuesday June 5 On Tuesday I went with Mariam the director to kaivalyedem yoga and health clinic. Sandeep, maoshi's son, has a rickshaw so he drove us there. The ride is about 20 or 25 minutes from our place in malvali, and costs 300 rupees (6$) round trip. Once we got there it was time for the morning yoga session. The yoga is much more meditative and slow in quality than the yoga i have done in the US. Very relaxing. Our instructor seems to like doing backward bending poses though which causes a bit of a problem for me, but I manage by doing it less intensely than she does (she is ultra flexible). There were only three others in the morning class, two Indians and one Finnish guy. We did the. 'advanced' class. There are also a beginner class, and 'yoga therapy' classes where the 'asanas' ( exercise pose) are specifically tailored for certain diseases such as digestive diseases, obesity, etc. We got a small tour of the institute which includes a Naturopathic treatment center where they do things like water baths, massage, mud packs, etc. (more on the treatments later). They also have an Ayurvedic treatment center where they do Panchakarma treatments. In addition to the treatment centers the have a yoga college, where students learn the anatomy and physiology of yoga and the different poses. There is also a research center that continues to look into the modern information about yoga and traditional treatments, as well as the information found in Sanskrit scriptures. The way the health center works, is that patients come for a minimum of one week to stay for treatment. They have rooms available there, Internet etc. they meet with the consulting physician (allopathic, and ayurvedic) who diagnoses them and tells them a treatment plan. Each day has an herbal tea, shuddi kriyas (not sure of the spelling for that, but it is a 'cleansing' ritual the 'neti pot' has evolved from), morning yoga, followed by breakfast (cooked by the nutrition experts to be less oil, less salt, more nutrition). Then there is time for treatments, napping, relaxation. When I was there they had a Swami come and give a lecture on Anger Management. It was originally going to just be in Hindi, but because I was there they changed it to English so that was great. He was very interesting and dynamic and gave a good talk (I took some notes so I can post those if anyone is interested, but I currently left them upstairs, oops). Then there is lunch, and more time for treatment and relaxation. In the evening there are meditation and Pranayama classes (breathing exercises), followed by another yoga session and dinner. So when I went, my itinerary had said I would be able to 'observe and participate in' the naturopathic and Ayurvedic treatments. However, when I was there, it seemed like this would not be an option, as many of the patients would feel it was intrusive (I would tend to agree...) and for me to receive some treatments,ni would've have to pay in addition to the program fee I've already paid. So it took some time for us to work out a new plan. So hopefully when I am there next week during those 'treatment' times, I will be observing the doctors (allopathic and yurvedic) with their midweek check-ins with the patients. They're also tryingn to arrange for me to receive a few treatments free of charge. So that will be good I think. It was a bit frustrating for me at first since it seemed like there wasn't much organization and planning prior to my arrival. I ended up sitting in on a developmental meeting, and helping them design further programs. The research coordinator was very interested in having the experience be a good one, and making it easier for further students to come as well. He sees it as mutually beneficial (students bring energy, skill, and unbiased judgments hopefully), and has asked that I write some kind of review at the end of my experience. We returned that evening, and had some dinner Maoshi cooked. The other girls were held up a little by a late train, but when they arrived Gurpreet pulled out a cake they had picked up that had my name (Makinzee) written on it. A pretty good birthday in India.

India!

Hello all. This is my first post from India. Made the 15hour flight safely on Saturday, and got into Bombay/Mumbai on sunday June 3 the following night. The time difference is 9.5 hrs ahead here. It wAs pretty hot and muggy when I got in, but not too bad. Getting through customs and all was no problem, although the flight attendant made a joke about India beurocracy and paperwork, which I've had some experience with since then. At the airport I was met by a man named Arun, who was holding a sign that said Makinnzi Barttle. Naturally, I assumed that was me. He seemed a bit confused however, which I later found out was because he was expecting a boy- glitch in the paperwork. So we got into his car (AC!) which confused me right off as I had forgotten to realize they drive on the other side of the street. We left the airport, which was almost as expensive to park at as in Boston. A very treacherous rickshaw, motorbike, truck, pedestrian, and animal filled ride later we arrived at the 'guest house' which was really just a big apartment style building in Malad, an area of Mumbai described as 'upmarket'. he showed me my private room and bathroom, with a working fan and some off and on Internet and he went off to pick up some more arrivals for a different program. He told me that I am the only participant in the traditional medicine program, but that there are two other girls ( staying at a different guest house since they knew they're girls) who will be staying at the same program site as I am in Malawli. So I read alittle bit and napped periodically through the night, given my jet lag and exhaustion. June 4. Monday I woke up around 7 for breakfast made by a woman named Jyoti. She made a pancake from potato and onion with a cold green chutney of sorts on the side. The others who Arun had picked up woke up, and turned out to be some Australian college boys and a faculty chaperone who are participating in a bollywood film and media course. A woman named gurpreet then came and picked me up, took me to get the others and then head to malavli. The driving here is absolutely nuts. There seem to be no laws. A lot of honking, no lanes etc. The worst I've seen on all the places I've been. But no accidents so that was good. Once we arrived at the complex we were pleasantly surprised by the colorful, quiet, breezy climate. Our little area even has a playground. Again I get my own room and bathroom and a nice little porch area too. So we met the program coordinator Mariam and she gave us a quick orientation and we filled out a bunch of paperwork and gave them copies of our passports and visas. Gurpreet and another program coordinator Karuna took us to the train, a 15 minute walk from our place. We took the train 1 stop to Lonavala where the other two girls are shadowing a man named Dr Kamat. We toured the town a bit, saw his clinic, and bought sim cards. For some ridiculous reason the sim card process requires a copy of our passport, visa, a passport picture, my address, and 3 separate signatures. So I had to go get some passport pictures taken down the street, where they set up bigblack umbrella lights and only charged me $1 for 12 pics, shound get more passport photos in India for future use.. We had some more delicios Indian food for dinner made by Maoshi (aunt) and went to bed. The showers are hot. Fancy. Will post more tomorrow about the yoga place and the naturopathic institute. The yoga place is called Kaivalyadhama. I think the website is something like kdham.com. I'm posting from itouch so it's hard to type a lot, but let me know if you have questions. I don't think I'll be able to post pictures until later, or perhaps after the trip.