I am in India!
Trip Start
May 05, 2004
1
6
14
Trip End
Jun 30, 2004
Chennai (Madras),
Tamil Nadu,
India
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
first leg from Detroit to Frankfurt, Germany, was really really close
quarters. I was in the middle of the middle of the plane, and the
person in front of me decided to recline. I really think that should be
illegal. And, they should seat by height, or leg length. Seriously. I
was ready to get off that plane. The second leg wasn't bad, it wasn't
too crowded (and there was no one in front of me!). On both flights
they fed us relatively decent food, although I felt like a child. They
fed us, then turned the lights down, signalling we should go to sleep,
then they'd wake us again for another meal. Anyhow, I was so ready to
get off the plane after 20 hours of travelling. Stepping out of
the airport into the fresh Indian air was like walking into a sauna.
The temperature isn't bad (right now 85-95) but the humididty is
incredible. We're all working on getting used to the heat, through much
sweating. Thank goodness for a/c in the bedrooms. We are staying in the
Madras Veterinary College's hostel, which is right down the road from
the college. We have two apartments, each with three bedrooms, but we
are not using two as they are don't have air. It's so fantastick to be
able to sleep in a nice cool room. It makes it difficult to keep going
in and out of cool and hot/humid, though. The food they are
feeding us is great! I love it. They have Indian food brought to our
apartment each meal, and it tastes great. There is usually a rice type
of bread that you cover with a curry type sauce, either hot or mild in
the spicy category. Then there's the fruit! I love the fruit here. We
went to the fruit stand yesterday, to get stocked up, and first thing
the guys started peeling mango after mango for us to try. There were a
couple different kinds, plus we tried leeche fruits (little grape like
fruits with pits inside). Those Dr. Kumar told us to put in the freezer
and eat when we're hot. I tried a couple today after lunch, and it was
great, like eating a popsicle. We also tried some other fruit, that I
really don't know what it's called, they just kept handing us slices.
The other fruit experience I had yesterday was going to the juice bar,
we found a little juice restaraunt, to try fresh sqeezed juices. We all
shared, and here are some of my favorites: mango, sweet lime,
lime-mint, grape-pineapple-mango, and passion fruit. Very good stuff. The
experience of India is something that is hard to describe. Going down
the street is rather like what Mexico was like when I was there, people
living on the street, just sleeping and living there. Piles of stuff
everywhere, the buildings are very open and some are broken down
looking, it looks very much like a developing country, if you've ever
been to one. Driving in India is rather scary! There are a couple of
lanes going each direction, however no one follows the rules. Dr. Kumar
told us when he was young, he thought the white lines were to center
the car on, driving down the road. The horns are used as you're coming
upon someone slower than you, to let them know you're there, or to just
tell them to get out of the way. Most people get around with little
cycles, either bike or motor. I started clinics today, we
divided up to go to different rotations. I got the large animal
medicine today and tomorrow. We get two rotations in each section
(there are alot of them, because we are here for a month). It was alot
of fun this morning! I learned alot. The cows here look incredibly
different from what you think of when you think of the word cow. They
are short, probably only up to my waist (palpations are going to be
difficult) and they only weigh probably 200-250kgs, ~500lbs. They also
have crazy horns. The draft breeds have horns close together, and they
come up and foreward, reminiscent of an african type of animal. The
other breeds have normal horns. Well, it is time for me to go. I will write again soon. Love you all.
