Tomorrow morning bright and early (5 AM to be exact) Emily and I are headed in a taxi to the train station to start our first out of Delhi excursion to Aligarh. Aligarh is a city of around 1 million (very small by Indian standards, surprise, surprise) and we are spending the week examining various levels of the health care system. We got the tentative schedule of events, so I thought I'd post a few things the group is going to be doing:
-Taking the train for the first time (always an adventure to be had there)
- Meetings with the JLN Medical College and Hospital, and along with that an opportunity to go on a brief tour of the facility of our choice
- Tour and interaction at the District Rural Hospital, the second tier of health care providers. We are also going to be able to go on a series of rounds at the district hospital (!)
- A visit to the next lowest level of healthcare, the Community Rural Health Training Center
-Visit to the Mazurgarhi Village to meet with a few NGO's working to expand the rural health network and provide basic health knowledge to villagers
- A visit to the Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College, which teaches tradition medicinal practices, especially the Unani system
That was a very, very rough guide, but essentially the goal is to see field examples of each of the levels of healthcare providers we have been briefed on in our classes.
Also, this evening Adil and Khadeeja took us out to the India Islamic Cultural Center in New Delhi to watch a series of documentaries that her friend helped to create. It was so nice to get out of tourist-y Delhi and see what some of the locals get out to do (aka go watch film screenings about mental disorders and people being possessed with spirits). The cultural center also has free film screenings and performances for the general public, and so now that I know where it is, I'll definitely be going back! Really though, who can willingly pass up free cultural events in a foreign city?
The other awesome thing about Aligarh is, I'll be leaving my computer at the homestay. As much as I enjoy updating the blog and keeping with the world outside of India, I'm excited to get a few days of full cultural immersion in. Also, being outside the big city and headed to a much smaller (and more traditional) city is going to be a very welcome change.
Namaste!
-Taking the train for the first time (always an adventure to be had there)
- Meetings with the JLN Medical College and Hospital, and along with that an opportunity to go on a brief tour of the facility of our choice
- Tour and interaction at the District Rural Hospital, the second tier of health care providers. We are also going to be able to go on a series of rounds at the district hospital (!)
- A visit to the next lowest level of healthcare, the Community Rural Health Training Center
-Visit to the Mazurgarhi Village to meet with a few NGO's working to expand the rural health network and provide basic health knowledge to villagers
- A visit to the Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College, which teaches tradition medicinal practices, especially the Unani system
That was a very, very rough guide, but essentially the goal is to see field examples of each of the levels of healthcare providers we have been briefed on in our classes.
Also, this evening Adil and Khadeeja took us out to the India Islamic Cultural Center in New Delhi to watch a series of documentaries that her friend helped to create. It was so nice to get out of tourist-y Delhi and see what some of the locals get out to do (aka go watch film screenings about mental disorders and people being possessed with spirits). The cultural center also has free film screenings and performances for the general public, and so now that I know where it is, I'll definitely be going back! Really though, who can willingly pass up free cultural events in a foreign city?
The other awesome thing about Aligarh is, I'll be leaving my computer at the homestay. As much as I enjoy updating the blog and keeping with the world outside of India, I'm excited to get a few days of full cultural immersion in. Also, being outside the big city and headed to a much smaller (and more traditional) city is going to be a very welcome change.
Namaste!
so, i was coping alright with you being gone when i could skype with you 24/7, literally, but i am not a fan of the whole no computer thing. i hope you're having a great time on your excursion, and i'm so excited you found a place to run and relax and study! sounds like something you'd love. hope those body circuits treated you well! miss and love you!
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rachael be very careful outside the city its going to be interesting to see the difference in medicine just be very careful and cautious love gramma xo xo
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