We got on the back of his bike and he took us through a few villages on the roads he said we could run on. We drove out to the river road and he said we could run left and right on it. There is a boundary on one end with "antisocial people" who mine and sell river sand and the other end is bounded by another village. The start of the road is probably about 5-7k from the hospital and goes through the center of another village. He dropped us off at the boundary by the sand people and we ran past the T to Juanga and along the river. It's overcast and beautiful out this morning. The river road is a single lane raised about 25 feet from the surrounding fields and river with a beach. Next time I'll bring my phone to take pictures. Along the way, villagers would greet us with everything from sullen stares, to a head bob, to a wave and good morning (usually from students we knew or hospital staff on their way to work or school) to one old woman who started shouting at us. There is school from 7-10 on Saturdays. By the time we got to to the village on the other end of the river road and turned around I had to poop an uncomfortable about but was determined to get back in time.
We passed bicycles with two people on them, motorcycles with entire families and rickshaws crammed full of at least 8 students. Those were my favorite because the students would all stick their heads and hands out the side to wave and shout namaste or good morning. The huts, shops and temples lean into the road when we passed through the village and cows take up most of the road. Running here is a bit like a super flat obstacle course.
We also passed another school towards the start of the run and all of the kids ran out onto the road to watch us run by and yell after us. It's surreal to be cheered on my slow, short run by 30 uniformed school kids who don't speak English. I'm waiting for Connor to shower and then we'll go eat breakfast. The power is out but should be back soon.
After seeing a few patients and one mystery case (sent for more tests), We went to Niele with Biku to buy lungis and some other supplies. I'm starting to see the herds of cattle and goats on the road as a normal part of travel. We went into the market and sat on a mat in the lungi shop while Biku made him bring out everything he had. He sent him back twice for more stuff (they all looked the same to me). It was not how shopping works in America.
We also stopped at a stand to buy some bananas. They're really small and the ones we ate were super sweet, they tasted like jolly ranchers. Not banana flavored either. Like strawberry jolly ranchers. I had 6.
On our way back to Juanga we stopped randomly (it seemed) in a village and went into a wood working shop. They brought us chairs and insisted we have a glass of water, then soda, then by far the worst coffee I've ever had. After about 45 minutes, we picked up the couple prices of wood we were there for and got back on the road.
When we got back to the hospital Connor and I went to play ultimate frisbee at the school. As we walked, some of the kids saw us and went to get more friends. We tossed the disc with the four of us until we had enough for a full game. By the time we were done playing, there were about twenty people there. Some of them are starting to get really good.
The kitchen was closed when we got back around 430 but they had set out some food for us. After a shower, I studied another couple pages of the anatomy book and tested Biku on the pages from the day before. Rohit came up and taught us how to tie our lungis and then we had to go through the hospital and to pay our respects to govinda and the doctors. That involves taking off our shoes, touching the feet of the elder, and then our head and chest. Govinda was excited that we're learning Indian customs and gave us a hug. Dr. Mohanti wouldn't let us touch his feet and have us a hug and namaste.
The lungis are really comfortable and are much cooler than wearing pants. I'll put up a picture when we have one.
After another huge meal, Biku wanted us to come hang out in his room, where he immediately went to sleep. Connor is working on a very complicated system for learning Odia which I'll use too once he figures it out. It's starting to get cool enough at night to sleep under my sheet and I'm excited for this trend to continue.
The gynecologist will be back tomorrow and there are 4 surgeries scheduled.
-AB
We look Indian
Wind blows around the ankles
I'm wearing a dress
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ReplyDeleteWAITING TO SEE YOU IN THE LUNGIS.
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