Report of 19 Feb 2006
Hello from sunny Chennai -
I have just returned from a wedding in Coorg. A cousin's daughters got married: one to a non-Coorg and one to a Coorgi. As mentioned before, Coorg is a pretty place in southwestern India, in the hills where they grow coffee and rice, and where the people are known for their light skin (prized in this country), good looks, bravery and athleticism and not in the slightest for their intellect. Suspicion was that they'd descended from Greeks or Arabs, which has since been disproven, prompting the more enlightened Coorgis to remark that the scientist doing the disproving would be burned in effigy. Coorgis don't take kindly to their ilk marrying outside the community (ergo, my mother being ostracised and her brother still not having spoken to her after 50 years), but that is slowly changing. The weddings were fun, and it was great to see cousins, aunts, uncles and eat; the gossip in this tiny, closeted, agricultural community is something I can cheerfully do without. Ever read the "Asterix" series? Coorgis are very similar to Gauls.
We were happy to receive Greg Brown, from my med school, and his girlfriend, Sonia. They visited the B and liked it, and Greg pointed out that patients helping pts were rare in similar facilities in the U.S. Wow, pts helping pts runs the B - it also gives the ladies some robust self-esteem ("I'm working in Green Leaf beauty parlor, doctor, pls tend to me quickly as my bus comes at 9.15 AM."). Really, some things about the B are just so good. S and G also gave a donation to the B, which is welcome; thank you, Sonia and Greg. We were also delighted to receive a package of M&M candies from Ann and Phil Bagley, who are parents of a "jigri-dost" ("heart friend" or great friend), Doug. In addn to the M&M's, there were some multi-colored pipe cleaners and beads. These were so welcome, and the kids had a great time using 'em to teach math last week. The pipe cleaners are easy for little hands to hold. 1/2 of the M&M's were for tutoring, and the kids loved 'em. Thank you, Ann and Phil!
The young woman now assisting me at the B when I do rounds is a former patient. Ms. J was married off at the age of 16 to her maternal uncle (very common here), she had a baby who died and then her in-laws accused her of having an extramarital affair which produced the child. This caused the onset of a mental illness, she found her way to the B from Tiruchy, which is about 125 miles away, and was treated for the illness with wonderful results. Her basic medical training (taking temp, blood pressure; drawing blood) are now put to good use during rounds and I like this. She was not quick on the uptake at first, causing me a little annoyance, then I found out her story and we jell more. I try to teach her salient points of medicine as we go. One day, another former pt, now in rehab, came to see me w/ her grandmother; the latter is trying to find the former a job (a non-working adult in poor Indian families is a h-u-g-e liability) and I turned to J and said, "Tell her, J." As poor J blinked, I clarified, "Tell her your story and how getting treatment has equipped you to find a job." I asked J later if she had minded my blabbing her history and she said, "Not at all." Lovely place, the B.
Tutoring went well and we were sort of equipped last week w/ tutors. One of the students is a feisty little thing (sister of the 9th-grader who wants to do medicine) who does not hesitate to correct our Tamil and laugh at us, who is so eager to do work when she gets to our room that it's difficult to resist, and who will corner a large stack of markers (esp the stamp-art kind) when it's time to color. Her regular tutor groans when she comes in, as does her sister, but I'd rather have feisty little kids than docile, uninterested ones.
Well, I'd better wind up. Naren has exams this week. Navin won tickets to "Narnia" after answering a question correctly, and went w/ some friends. (In the U.S., we were used to the kids winning 1 ticket and our having to buy our own; here Navin won 4. Different marketing strategies.) Scott and I hung out at the weddings and enjoyed ourselves. Valentine's Day here had its usual share of fundamentalist individuals protesting the Western influence on our culture.
"The Art of Love: knowing how to combine the temperament of a vampire with the discretion of an anemone." - E. M. Cioran
Unw -
Renu
I have just returned from a wedding in Coorg. A cousin's daughters got married: one to a non-Coorg and one to a Coorgi. As mentioned before, Coorg is a pretty place in southwestern India, in the hills where they grow coffee and rice, and where the people are known for their light skin (prized in this country), good looks, bravery and athleticism and not in the slightest for their intellect. Suspicion was that they'd descended from Greeks or Arabs, which has since been disproven, prompting the more enlightened Coorgis to remark that the scientist doing the disproving would be burned in effigy. Coorgis don't take kindly to their ilk marrying outside the community (ergo, my mother being ostracised and her brother still not having spoken to her after 50 years), but that is slowly changing. The weddings were fun, and it was great to see cousins, aunts, uncles and eat; the gossip in this tiny, closeted, agricultural community is something I can cheerfully do without. Ever read the "Asterix" series? Coorgis are very similar to Gauls.
We were happy to receive Greg Brown, from my med school, and his girlfriend, Sonia. They visited the B and liked it, and Greg pointed out that patients helping pts were rare in similar facilities in the U.S. Wow, pts helping pts runs the B - it also gives the ladies some robust self-esteem ("I'm working in Green Leaf beauty parlor, doctor, pls tend to me quickly as my bus comes at 9.15 AM."). Really, some things about the B are just so good. S and G also gave a donation to the B, which is welcome; thank you, Sonia and Greg. We were also delighted to receive a package of M&M candies from Ann and Phil Bagley, who are parents of a "jigri-dost" ("heart friend" or great friend), Doug. In addn to the M&M's, there were some multi-colored pipe cleaners and beads. These were so welcome, and the kids had a great time using 'em to teach math last week. The pipe cleaners are easy for little hands to hold. 1/2 of the M&M's were for tutoring, and the kids loved 'em. Thank you, Ann and Phil!
The young woman now assisting me at the B when I do rounds is a former patient. Ms. J was married off at the age of 16 to her maternal uncle (very common here), she had a baby who died and then her in-laws accused her of having an extramarital affair which produced the child. This caused the onset of a mental illness, she found her way to the B from Tiruchy, which is about 125 miles away, and was treated for the illness with wonderful results. Her basic medical training (taking temp, blood pressure; drawing blood) are now put to good use during rounds and I like this. She was not quick on the uptake at first, causing me a little annoyance, then I found out her story and we jell more. I try to teach her salient points of medicine as we go. One day, another former pt, now in rehab, came to see me w/ her grandmother; the latter is trying to find the former a job (a non-working adult in poor Indian families is a h-u-g-e liability) and I turned to J and said, "Tell her, J." As poor J blinked, I clarified, "Tell her your story and how getting treatment has equipped you to find a job." I asked J later if she had minded my blabbing her history and she said, "Not at all." Lovely place, the B.
Tutoring went well and we were sort of equipped last week w/ tutors. One of the students is a feisty little thing (sister of the 9th-grader who wants to do medicine) who does not hesitate to correct our Tamil and laugh at us, who is so eager to do work when she gets to our room that it's difficult to resist, and who will corner a large stack of markers (esp the stamp-art kind) when it's time to color. Her regular tutor groans when she comes in, as does her sister, but I'd rather have feisty little kids than docile, uninterested ones.
Well, I'd better wind up. Naren has exams this week. Navin won tickets to "Narnia" after answering a question correctly, and went w/ some friends. (In the U.S., we were used to the kids winning 1 ticket and our having to buy our own; here Navin won 4. Different marketing strategies.) Scott and I hung out at the weddings and enjoyed ourselves. Valentine's Day here had its usual share of fundamentalist individuals protesting the Western influence on our culture.
"The Art of Love: knowing how to combine the temperament of a vampire with the discretion of an anemone." - E. M. Cioran
Unw -
Renu
posted by Renu Weiss at
3:15 AM
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