I suck at keeping up with a blog

Monday: Amber and I had our second day in the surgery ward. In the morning we saw a dog with a giant maggot wound on its side that was being treated with turpentine (apparently very effective). Maggots are a big problem here and most wounds or incision sites need to be covered up or else they will get infested. We also saw a cat with a cat bite abscess on its head being drained (you’ve got to see this video!). The cat was brought into the clinic in its carrying case aka empty rice bag. We then headed up to the surgery theatre where we saw the end of a mammary tumor and mammary cyst removal and then the beginning of a thigh hemangioma removal. The power went on and off at least 10 times during the surgeries and the poor doctors must have been so hot underneath the gown and scrubs with no air conditioning. Also, the generator only runs the one light in the theatre, so it gets pretty dark…

Also, a reason why I’m glad I’m not a vet student in India: the professors in the US aren’t allowed to hit me. A student made the mistake of drawing fluids from the bottom of a saline drip bag instead of the top (so it made a hole and the bag kept leaking) and the professor lined up his shot and smacked him on the back of his head while his back was turned. It was like slap stick comedy in the surgery ward from our perspective (probably not as funny for the student).

When we came back from lunch we saw that the dog with the hole in his back is back. There is a stray dog that wanders around the vet school grounds (so of course we have been feeding it) and it’s got a big maggot wound on it’s back. Dr. Subbiah has called the PFA (People for Animals who collect hurt stray dogs), but “they come when they come”. So we’ll see how long it takes for something to actually happen. (Note: I am writing this on Sunday and nothing has happened as of yet).

In the afternoon we went to Parasitology and Pathology, then came back to the hostel and stayed there because of a huge thunderstorm. There is a thunderstorm here about every other day. A few people played spades, then the power went out and we had to get an electrician in at about 10pm. Luckily it only took about 30 minutes to get the power working again. I can’t imagine trying to get an electrician to come out to my house in Blacksburg at 10pm…

Tuesday: Dr. Subbiah got the visit to the Stud Farm rescheduled so we packed up early and took the hour long bus ride to the outskirts of Chennai. It is a huge farm with about 700 horses used for breeding race horses. The horses are taken care of really well and we were even allowed inside some of the paddocks with the yearlings. We were served lunch there, which was delicious and incredibly filling. The man who is in charge of the Stud Farm would watch us as we ate, and if we finished any particular dish (there were about 6 different things on our huge plates) or if you ate several bites in a row of the same thing he would order one of the servants to put more of it on your plate. You literally had to cover over your plate to avoid getting more food put on it! That evening we went out for a marathon shopping trip; I think we were out for almost 5 hours. By the end of it I was a bit poorer and exhausted. But I bought some pendants that I had set my eyes on a few days back.

Wednesday: This was the only day Amber and I had in Orthopedics/Opthomology and the doctors were kind of sad about it (usually we have 2 days per department). They kept asking us where we were the day before (no one had told the doctors we were going to the Stud Farm) and then telling us we should skip some of the conference on Thursday to come into the clinics. We saw a puppy with a completely crushed foot from being run over by a motorcycle. It was really sad to see; they were going to stabilize the puppy for a few days and them amputate the limb. Disturbing fact: I don’t think anyone gave the puppy pain meds, and in general they are rarely used here. We were also quizzed on radiographs by Dr. Ramesh who then gave us a homework assignment to tell him the purpose of the fabellae (answer: vestigial). Dr. Ayapan made the joke that “curves are good on a woman, but bad on a dog” when showing us a lab with hip dysplasia and the characteristic curving out of the hips. In the afternoon we were bored to tears in the biotechnology department, oddly enough by being shown rabies and leptospirosis under a microscope and how to prepare the slides. I can 100% conclude that research is not my thing.

When we got back that evening and picked at dinner (as we usually do since we are so full from all the food during the day) we got somewhat scolded by Ram for not eating enough. It is sort of a cultural thing here to finish all the food you are given (even if it means stuffing yourself to the brim) because there are so many other people who don’t have enough food. Ram had initially tried giving our leftover food away to homeless people, but then they didn’t understand on the days where he didn’t have food to give them.

At 7pm Carrie and I went to the outdoor yoga class held everyday on the basketball court for the students here. The instructor was really nice and welcomed us in with open arms. The whole class was in English (I’m not sure if that’s normal, or just for our benefit) so it was pretty easy to follow along. It was more of a cleansing yoga class rather than an exercise class like I’m used to at home. At the end she gave us her business card and told us we should bring the whole group (not sure if that will happen).

Thursday and Friday: We spent both days attending the International Seminar on Stem Cell Research hosted by the Madras Veterinary College. It. Was. Miserable. No air conditioning, lots of speakers talking about research, bla bla bla. There were a few speakers who were alright (we actually had 3 professors from VT speak including Dr. Subbiah), but all in all I tended to zone out. No AC on the first day nearly killed me and I had to skip out on about 2 hours of the afternoon to go to the hostel and rest in the AC. You would not believe how exhausted you can get just from sitting in 95 degree heat for 5 hours. Friday night we were taken out to a very expensive restaurant on the top floor of a 5 star hotel by one of the speakers from the seminar (his company in Japan sponsored the dinner). There was tons of food brought around by servers (again, they just put food on your plate until you beg them to stop) and wine/beer and a traditional Indian dessert was had by all.

Saturday: A day to sleep in! I took full advantage of this and didn’t get out of bed until 12:45. At 2 we left for the American Consulate where we had been invited for a pool party (the acting ambassador had been at the seminar on stem cell research and we met him). We had a fun time swimming and eating American style food (hambergers, hot dogs, Pizza Hut pizza, rice krispy treats, etc.) and got to meet many other Americans living in Chennai (mostly families of consulate workers). We got back late and I had a quick dinner before going with Dr. Subbiah and Amber to take Jennifer back to the hospital. She had been pretty sick the last few days (fever, flu like symptoms, etc.) and had been on antibiotics, but they weren’t really helping. The doctor thinks she has a virus and gave her fluids and some different medications. We didn’t get back to the hostel until about 1am. Today (Sunday) she is feeling a little better although still sick. The rest of us are desperately hoping to avoid this fate…

Sunday: Another fun filled day of non-vet related activities. 4 students from the vet school (all students getting their masters or PhD in surgery) came to pick us up around 11am and we went to St. Thomas’ Church, St. Thomas’ Shrine, and a Hindu temple. At St. Thomas (one of the twelve apostles) is actually buried in the basement of the church and we were able to go see his burial place (although we weren’t allowed to take pictures). St. Thomas’ Shrine was a little drive away and up on a hill with an amazing view of the whole city of Chennai. A complete 360 degree panorama of urban life. To see the other religious half of India we visited a Hindu temple and again saw the holy men in their little alcoves blessing people who came up to pray. We all got bindis (the dots of the forehead) and so took group photos like good American tourists. The students also took us out to lunch where we had the best Indian food any of us have had so far on the trip (including the ridiculously expensive, posh restaurant we went to on Friday). We all split butter naan (bread), palak paneer (cottage cheese cubes in spinach), some other type of paneer, and a matter dish (peas). I really wish this was the type of food they served us at the hostel, although if it was I would come back to the US having gained 20 pounds. We had a brief stop back at the hostel and then back out with the students (and joined by the Subbiahs) to the movies. We saw a big hit movie here right now called Raavanan: an epic type plot line based on an old Indian myth. The whole movie was in Tamil (the language of Southern India), so we got the main plot points translated for us along the way. The whole experience was a lot of fun and the cinematography was beautiful. All of us really enjoyed the movie, although the students and the Subbiahs all didn’t (I guess the dialogue wasn’t so great…). When I get home I’m going to try to get it on DVD with subtitles. Now to rest up to begin another week back in clinics!