The swing of things

We have been in Hyderabad for 3 full days now and i have to say it's been pretty easy getting back into the swing of things. It feels good to be back! The warm air, frangipani trees, chaotic traffic, and 'Indian time' have a familiarity that is nice to me. (Considering this is the first time going back to the same place twice)

It has also been very nice to know a little about what I'm stepping in to. Yes, there are some new faces, but plenty of familiar ones too. 

Our first day at the hospital included education sessions on radiotherapy, meeting the docs that head the home care team to sort out what my plan and goal was for my time here, meeting the director et al of the hospital, and of course eating . Man! I love the food!

The last two days I was riding along with the home care team like last year. This year I see them using the assessment form I created last year, and using the sharps containers in the vans!!!! Both those make me a very happy girl! 

And last night we were whisked about in cars with drivers (thanks to our influential Doctor) to shopping for nice outfits, then to the home of the rich benefactor of our home care program to change into our new outfits and then on to this home of a doctor who happens to live in indias high society but volunteers her time for our home care teams for a lovely evening and dinner! I saw the opposite side of India than we see doing home care visits that for sure!!

Here I go again

Well folks, I'm off to India again. I will be going back to the same cancer hospital in Hyderabad India. I will be working with the same community palliative nursing team but this time I am bringing along two other nurses: One is a palliative care nurse I work with here in Kelowna and the other is a nursing professor from UBCO that has lots of experience working in Zambia: in fact both of them do. I'm very much looking forward to working with these two and gaining from their knowledge as well.I will attempt to update this blog again like last year and share on Facebook. Please feel free to share with any other people that may be interested.

I'm so excited to be doing this again and feel so fortunate to have the ability and wherewithal to be able to go. This year I will only be gone for about a month. So stay tuned, adventure awaits!

Catching up...varanasi

After agra we got on another train to varanasi...which turned into 20hrs on the train! ! :p but we had a lovely quiet guest houae booked with a great little courtyard garden space. It's amazing how a little green can make such a huge difference when you dont have it for so long.
Varanasi is a smallish city along the banks of the holy river Ganga.  Im not sure how many people know already, but the Ganga has actually been proven to have a microbial uniqueness with higher than normal oxygen levels which actually maintains a "cleanliness" to it....despite the obvious uncleaniness it is subjected to every day. Not only is the water severely littered with the usual garbage, but it is also the place to bathe and perform morning puja, the final resting place of the cremated bodies, the bath for the cows, a toilet, and a swimming pool. Truthfully, its not the most inviting water, despite knowing the science.
However.... the morning and evening pujas to shiva (creator god) are colourful and somewhat inspiring. The candles and flowers in the water are even pretty. I tried to imagine what the opposite banks would be like during the MASSIVE holy festival, where tens of thousands of pilgrims cram into a very small looking place for a chance to dunk in the river. But I know my imagination doesn't even come close.
We took both a sunrise and evening boat ride along the river...watching the activities along the ghats.
This is a city of steps. The whole river front is one set of stairs after another (ghats). We spent hours wandering up and down the ghats...watching children play cricket or badminton, holy men in bright orange wraps heading to or from temples (of which there are tons as well), laundry being washed and laid out to dry, and people just plain loitering.
Then there are the burning ghats. The place where a persons body is brought to the river, placed on a wood pyre and after holy ceremony, is burned. The ashes are then carried down to the water and washed into the river. Cremation is of course a very natural form of body disposal. And I have to say im glad most indians dont waste precious amounts of land in the overcrowded country. One of my first observations however, was how matter of fact the final process is/was. There was a part of me that like that. The person is no longer there and they are disposing of the earthly body. But there didnt seem to be much in the way of emotion....either celebrating or grieving. That makes me think that sort of thing has already happened elsewhere. There were also never any women in these families. It is something I need to learn more about because we only saw the outside. There were a few graphic moments here and in the river that took a little processing...but im not going into details here. If you're interested in the stories please just let me know and I would be happy to discuss further.

This city by far had the most cow poop in the steets out of any one we were in, and it got old fast to constantly be sidestepping it. (The rain one day didnt help either)
The one contradiction I couldn't get my head around was for such a holy city and reverence for the river etc...there seemed to be zero attempt at keeping the place remotely clean.
Which is so sad to me because it is such a cool little place. It really was an unforgettable experience.....

Agra photos 2

Agra photos

Agra

After a fairly uneventful flight and a train ride that was actually on time, we arrived in agra. Home of the famour Taj Mahal.  Our guest house had a distant view of it from the rooftop, although the smog and haze blurred the lines of the beautiful white building. That night and into the morning we were welcomed with thunderstorms and rain. Thankfully it let off by mid morning and we were able to spend the day wandering UNESCO sites.
Turns out the taj is closed on fridays but we saw the outside of it from just about every angle. Including a lovely garden on the opposite side of the river that was built in 1520 with the intention of being the site for the black taj...which never happened.
We wandered thru the agra fort which has seen many a battle over its control. There were grand marble buildings, sweeping courtyards, hidden stairs, and ornately carved archways.

The town itself is tired and filthy (despite actually spotting a recycling bin program). There are all kinds of rules and government signs to appear like they are trying to clean up these cities but practice and reality are very different. (In fact the hospital in Hyderabad didnt even have an incinerator for bio waste.)

However, our guesthouse was pleasant and we enjoyed our stay.

So long Hyderabad

We are saying goodbye to Hyderabad tomorrow. This is an insanely busy, crowded, loud city with some cool people who work their little butts off to make it a better place.

We played "holi" festival of colours with the staff one morning, caking everyone in powdered colours. (Some of which didn't come off rosemary' s face for about 3 days! !) This is now my favourite festival for obvious reasons.

We visited the golconda fort amd tombs. (Which of course we paid 10 times the amount...just for being a foreigner) Large beautiful mausoleums to sit on muslim graves and ancient walled forts that have seen many battles over its control.

We saw a huge white marble temple and many brightly coloured temples scattered all over the city. My favourite is ganesh who gives good karma to new beginnings.  (Again, for obvious reasons)

We wondered thru some of the parks ....if we could ever find the entrance. And of course we would be gawked at and even leered at, so never really stayed long.

But most of all we enjoyed working with this team. Last week I taught several sessions of palliative symptom management to a new class taking the one month palliative course. Rosemary cleaned and organized/inventoried the home care vans after we bought them some drawers etc. We created symptom management protocols, new assessment forms and a new protocol for sharps disposal (which was non existent).

And overall, we are astounded at the care, compassion and pure will this staff has to do this job! Well done everyone! I am looking forward to coming back!