Report of 2 Oct '05
Happy Gandhi Jayanthi (Gandhi's b'day)!
He truly is our most famous export. When I think of all he accomplished, and in some adversity due to his skin color, I remain impressed.
We are well. The custard apple (sugar apple to our Caribbean friends) season is here and it is time to gorge. It is nice to have fresh fruit options that change w/ the seasons.
Work is good. A patient came out of the isolation room to the general sick room, and I asked Leela why she'd been in isolation (reserved for scabies or other contagious conditions); she told me the patient was HIV positive. I then looked over this patient's file; she had been found wandering around a neighborhood and came readily w/ the Banyan's "pick-up" team when they approached her. She was then found to be HIV +. I was saddened: mentally ill women are very prone to rape and this might be how she contracted the disease. None of us speaks her language (India has at least 22 distinct languages, not dialects - they are as different as English and Spanish) and this is where a lot of nonverbal communication sets in: touching, smiling, patting, all of which this patient responds cheerfully to. I don't routinely hug here as it would freak the patients out, but I hug at every available opportunity and enjoy it. (Thankfully, my sons have not outgrown the practice.) I am grateful that this patient is in the safe surroundings of the Banyan, where she is free from rape, and is fed and clothed. We are looking to send her to Udavum Karangal, where they are experienced in the care of HIV + folks.
Tutoring continues; we had 3 students and 11 tutors the other day. I don't dissuade this all the time, as a tutor sometimes gets stuck with imparting a concept such as subtraction and someone else will throw in a helpful suggestion. The little girl who finally passed 1st grade no longer comes, and I have nagged the grandmother into sending her. I know not the circumstances in the family, but we fight an ongoing battle to tutor these kids, esp the female ones. Girls are simply expected to do more in the house, regardless of their academic responsibilities, and this situation stinks to me. If everyone, males included, were to pitch in, the work would get done and allow time for other activities. The kids continue to color, and Maya's "stamp art" markers (with a design on the end of each marker, which is imprinted onto the paper when used) were a huge hit, w/ plenty of pounding going on and magnificent art works produced.
We are sans Scott today and miss him. The kids and I went to the beach yesterday, which is always a fun place to hang out, and played frisbee. We then had burgers at our favorite beachside spot; I'd been craving French Fries, which are 50 bucks a plate here and not as abundantly available as the U.S. We returned and watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which was hilarious and entertaining. The kids are at school work this am. Naren now gets phone calls from girls in other schools, which is a tad surprising to me. He asked to go to a party of a friend of a friend, and was thunderstruck when I said No; I explained that I know neither the child nor the parents, have no idea of their values and morals and address, and could not in clear conscience permit this. At another party where Naren was not present, ostensibly a pornographic CD was produced; this reached parents' ears and everyone is a tad upset. I told Naren his certainly was the age where curiosity was abundant, but that it had to be channelled properly and porno was not a healthy option. Naren states that his friend Dhruba's mother and I are the strictest in the class, and I am surprised/pleased that Naren continues to maintain a relationship with me: I certainly didn't care for strict relatives when I was growing up.
Well, there is a line for the Internet (my sons), so let me wind up. Woooo - I forgot to mention this: Dorothy Williams, the wife of Vick Williams, an anatomy professor at Uthscsa, put me in touch w/ Catholic Charities' Rabia Mathai and CC is paying for me to attend an International Aids conference in Chennai. I am really pleased to be going! Thank you, Dorothy; thank you, Rabia.
"I pay the schoolmaster, but 'tis the schoolboys that educate my son." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Until next week -
Renu
He truly is our most famous export. When I think of all he accomplished, and in some adversity due to his skin color, I remain impressed.
We are well. The custard apple (sugar apple to our Caribbean friends) season is here and it is time to gorge. It is nice to have fresh fruit options that change w/ the seasons.
Work is good. A patient came out of the isolation room to the general sick room, and I asked Leela why she'd been in isolation (reserved for scabies or other contagious conditions); she told me the patient was HIV positive. I then looked over this patient's file; she had been found wandering around a neighborhood and came readily w/ the Banyan's "pick-up" team when they approached her. She was then found to be HIV +. I was saddened: mentally ill women are very prone to rape and this might be how she contracted the disease. None of us speaks her language (India has at least 22 distinct languages, not dialects - they are as different as English and Spanish) and this is where a lot of nonverbal communication sets in: touching, smiling, patting, all of which this patient responds cheerfully to. I don't routinely hug here as it would freak the patients out, but I hug at every available opportunity and enjoy it. (Thankfully, my sons have not outgrown the practice.) I am grateful that this patient is in the safe surroundings of the Banyan, where she is free from rape, and is fed and clothed. We are looking to send her to Udavum Karangal, where they are experienced in the care of HIV + folks.
Tutoring continues; we had 3 students and 11 tutors the other day. I don't dissuade this all the time, as a tutor sometimes gets stuck with imparting a concept such as subtraction and someone else will throw in a helpful suggestion. The little girl who finally passed 1st grade no longer comes, and I have nagged the grandmother into sending her. I know not the circumstances in the family, but we fight an ongoing battle to tutor these kids, esp the female ones. Girls are simply expected to do more in the house, regardless of their academic responsibilities, and this situation stinks to me. If everyone, males included, were to pitch in, the work would get done and allow time for other activities. The kids continue to color, and Maya's "stamp art" markers (with a design on the end of each marker, which is imprinted onto the paper when used) were a huge hit, w/ plenty of pounding going on and magnificent art works produced.
We are sans Scott today and miss him. The kids and I went to the beach yesterday, which is always a fun place to hang out, and played frisbee. We then had burgers at our favorite beachside spot; I'd been craving French Fries, which are 50 bucks a plate here and not as abundantly available as the U.S. We returned and watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which was hilarious and entertaining. The kids are at school work this am. Naren now gets phone calls from girls in other schools, which is a tad surprising to me. He asked to go to a party of a friend of a friend, and was thunderstruck when I said No; I explained that I know neither the child nor the parents, have no idea of their values and morals and address, and could not in clear conscience permit this. At another party where Naren was not present, ostensibly a pornographic CD was produced; this reached parents' ears and everyone is a tad upset. I told Naren his certainly was the age where curiosity was abundant, but that it had to be channelled properly and porno was not a healthy option. Naren states that his friend Dhruba's mother and I are the strictest in the class, and I am surprised/pleased that Naren continues to maintain a relationship with me: I certainly didn't care for strict relatives when I was growing up.
Well, there is a line for the Internet (my sons), so let me wind up. Woooo - I forgot to mention this: Dorothy Williams, the wife of Vick Williams, an anatomy professor at Uthscsa, put me in touch w/ Catholic Charities' Rabia Mathai and CC is paying for me to attend an International Aids conference in Chennai. I am really pleased to be going! Thank you, Dorothy; thank you, Rabia.
"I pay the schoolmaster, but 'tis the schoolboys that educate my son." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Until next week -
Renu
posted by Renu Weiss at
8:42 PM
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