So tired that I woke up in the middle of the night last night and could not figure out why my clothes were so tangled up??! Well, it turns out I never finished getting undressed before I put on my pajamas. I still had some of my day clothes on under my pajamas and even they were half on/ half off. I will never figure out why that happened...only that it did and it must have truely been because I was so tired I could not see straight!
It's just as incredible as my first experience here and things happen every day that you would never believe...it's just something you'd have to experience in order to understand completely.
India needs to be felt...and experienced...and it's not easy to explain or interpret.
Our team was greeted at the airport by local Rotarians and the most fragrant flower garlands were placed around our necks. It was 3am and the excitement was palpable.
Three of our surgical supply boxes did not make it through customs very smoothly, which means that NO boxes were allowed to leave. So after almost three hours of waiting and negotiating, a decision was made that Nathan would stay back at the airport and the rest of us boarded a bus and started the almost three hour bus ride to Nagamangala.
That three hour bus ride was fantastic! There was all the typical chaos of Indian driving and general road behavior...or lack there of! It's quite different in this region of India as compared to some of the other regions I visited in 2009. The roads are very nice here and do seem to have some rules of order about them.
We arrived at the AIMS (A is for the very long first name of the hospital, Institute of Medical Sciences). Think of it like Stanford or UCSF...only bigger...and more...how shall I say it....rustic?!?! Actually, the accomodations are quite decent, it's clean enough and there are western toilets! No squatting pans on this trip! We have buckets and a faucet for bathing...and that is an interesting thing to coordinate.
We are in a HUGE complex of buildings and the two we are working/living in are right next door to each other. The dormitory and the main hospital.
The first day we arrived, we had a VERY special welcoming celebration with the local media, hospital officials and a representative of the Sri Sri Sri who is the philanthropic benefactor behind this entire institute. He is a very, very holy man and so are his representatives. Our team of 27 members were all honored with a special welcoming ceremony including a presentation of gifts to each of our team members.
Absolutely incredible to say the least!
We had a meeting with the Principal of the Medical School here and the Hospital Administrator as well and a couple of the local Rotarians from the club hosting us. Logistics were arranged and we were all set and ready to go in the morning!
For the first time in 48 hours, it was time to lay down and go to sleep.
**We have had trouble with Internet access over the past couple of days and no way to upload photos. Things are settling in and we have consistant access, just not powerful enough for photos...but I hope to be able to post some soon!**
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