Report of 12 Dec '07
Hello from Chennai!
It's 13 shopping days or whatever until Christmas. Both Scott and I appreciate living in a country where the commercialism of Christmas has not obliterated its true meaning. We attended a Carol Service on Sunday, and it was wonderful to listen to the music of the season - always a favorite of mine.
I am envious of people who find solace in places of worship. Since Manu's demise, I simply look around at the architecture, and the people.
The B is fine. We have tried very hard to maintain cleanliness, and prevent illness. I can't tell yet if it's working, but I am pleased with the results, and with the health care workers, social workers and my patients. One of the patients in the sick room had been perseverating on depositing 2 checks, and all of us had dismissed this as an undeniable manifestation of her mental illness. As it turned out, she did indeed have 2 checks to be deposited - the joke was on us. (Her ex-husband sends her Rs. 950 a month, which is lovely, esp compared to how some of our other patients are treated by their families.) So she went to the bank, returned with a vat of money, and has been buying treats. She had some mixture (sort of like trail-mix) and was eating it when I walked in yesterday. She stopped immediately and shared it with me, causing all sorts of thrills in my heart. My patient populace has very little, and is not in the least bashful about sharing any - or all - of it with me.
Tutoring is fine, and a couple of kids have asked to be tutors. This is nice for us, as we can use all the help we can get. 2 students came last week, the rest were ill; when the weather changes, the impoverished have absolutely no resources like blankets to cope with it and illness is rife now. We've given away the umbrellas that Doug Watts brought, and don't find any of them in use - probably hidden away by the mothers in case of breakage due to excessive use.
The B is staggeringly short of funds. My raise didn't go into effect (this is not a huge deal) and all kinds of necessary expenses have not been met. Navin (my 14 yo son) is running part of the Chennai Marathon to raise funds for the B, and Naren (16 yo) is mulling it over. Pls email me if you want to pledge any amount for Navin's run.
The 3 Weiss men and I caught a couple of Tamil movies and enjoyed them. We also met my visiting aunt for dinner, and it was wonderful to have some great family time together.
Unw -
R
It's 13 shopping days or whatever until Christmas. Both Scott and I appreciate living in a country where the commercialism of Christmas has not obliterated its true meaning. We attended a Carol Service on Sunday, and it was wonderful to listen to the music of the season - always a favorite of mine.
I am envious of people who find solace in places of worship. Since Manu's demise, I simply look around at the architecture, and the people.
The B is fine. We have tried very hard to maintain cleanliness, and prevent illness. I can't tell yet if it's working, but I am pleased with the results, and with the health care workers, social workers and my patients. One of the patients in the sick room had been perseverating on depositing 2 checks, and all of us had dismissed this as an undeniable manifestation of her mental illness. As it turned out, she did indeed have 2 checks to be deposited - the joke was on us. (Her ex-husband sends her Rs. 950 a month, which is lovely, esp compared to how some of our other patients are treated by their families.) So she went to the bank, returned with a vat of money, and has been buying treats. She had some mixture (sort of like trail-mix) and was eating it when I walked in yesterday. She stopped immediately and shared it with me, causing all sorts of thrills in my heart. My patient populace has very little, and is not in the least bashful about sharing any - or all - of it with me.
Tutoring is fine, and a couple of kids have asked to be tutors. This is nice for us, as we can use all the help we can get. 2 students came last week, the rest were ill; when the weather changes, the impoverished have absolutely no resources like blankets to cope with it and illness is rife now. We've given away the umbrellas that Doug Watts brought, and don't find any of them in use - probably hidden away by the mothers in case of breakage due to excessive use.
The B is staggeringly short of funds. My raise didn't go into effect (this is not a huge deal) and all kinds of necessary expenses have not been met. Navin (my 14 yo son) is running part of the Chennai Marathon to raise funds for the B, and Naren (16 yo) is mulling it over. Pls email me if you want to pledge any amount for Navin's run.
The 3 Weiss men and I caught a couple of Tamil movies and enjoyed them. We also met my visiting aunt for dinner, and it was wonderful to have some great family time together.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
9:55 PM
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