A couple days in Goa

Goa has been a welcome change of pace from the busy weeks we've had. It's still been really busy, but in a far more relaxed, low-pressure way. Goa is a popular tourist destination in India, but since it's the monsoon season, most of the major tourist attractions aren't very busy this time of year. I'll reserve a later post describing the state of Goa, but for now, suffice it to say that Goa has a very distinctive flavor from the rest of India. Goa feels like Central America (or so I'm told by Kevin and Donna, as I've never been to Central America), and perhaps the best way to describe its culture in relation to the rest of India is to compare it to the continental United States and Hawaii.

In any case, yesterday was primarily spent in Goa's capital Panjim (pictured above right). With a population of only about 100,000, it seems like a tiny village when compared to some of India's megacities like Mumbai or Kolkata. Even Pune, with a population of nearly 5 million, dwarfs the city of Panjim. As a result, the suffocating smog and overwhelming traffic that is omnipresent in India's major cities is largely absent from any of Goa's cities. Instead, Goa is a place where the alcohol flows freely and the pace of life is just much different. While not actually on the Indian Ocean, Panjim sits on a large bay that dumps into the Indian Ocean, so it has a beach that we walked to yesterday.

During the afternoon we explored the different things our hotel had to offer and walked around Panjim. The city is very green--thanks to significant amounts of monsoon rain--and fun to walk around. The Desais are also in Goa right now, and they took us to visit a couple temples here in Goa. That allowed us to see a bit of the Goan countryside as well as a closer look at some of the distinctive Hindu architecture. The temple pictured here was actually moved from its original location when the Portuguese colonized Goa. Had it remained at its previous location, the Portuguese would have destroyed it as part of the Inquisition.

Today was a full day of touring. Goa is known for its churches, which is a bit surprising, considering India as a whole is only about 2% Christian. However, the Portuguese and Spanish influence is quite strong in Goa, and St. Francis Xavier, one of the founders of the Jesuits is actually buried in the Basilica of Bom Jesus (pictured left). This Spanish basilica sits adjacent to a Portuguese cathedral, and together, the two cathedrals are the most prominent fixtures of the ruins of Old Goa, the former capital of the Portuguese Colony.

After visiting Old Goa, we took a trip to a spice plantation. Along with touring the plantation itself, we were finally able to take our long-awaited elephant ride! Despite being here during the monsoon season (which has manifested itself by relatively brief, though very sudden and very intense rain showers), the sun broke through long enough to give us a chance to head to the beach for a brief dive into the Indian Ocean.

Our final tourist stop of the day was to a promontory south of Panjim. It gave a wonderful view of the bay and the Goan coastline right before sunset. While we were there, an Indian came up to me and asked if I could take a picture. I said yes--and wished I hadn't when I realized that their intention was for me to be in the picture! Of course, I suppose I should be thankful, since at least this group of Indians asked. I suppose after that trip I know a little bit more of how celebrities feel with the paparazzi following them!

The "Night" Bus to Goa

This weekend will hopefully turn out to be a nice change of pace from 6-day workweeks, seeing as how we're spending it in Goa. Last night we took an overnight bus from Pune to Panjim, Goa, which turned out to be quite the adventure. Our driver took us to the bus station in Pune at about 8:30 last night, which I can honestly say is probably the sketchiest bus stop I've ever been to. Basically it consisted of a bunch of buses lined up on the side of the road across the street from a group of what appeared to be very seedy travel agencies. The other side of the road looked strangely like a dump, complete with a herd of pigs rummaging through the trash.

On the bus we were led to the back of the bus, where there were four bunks waiting for us. We proceeded to get into the four bunks, until we were informed that we only had two of the bunks--we would be sharing them between us. It was going to be a long night. There are some things that can be said about the bus: it seemed relatively clean, and it didn't smell too bad. On the other hand, in lieu of having bathrooms, there were four extra bunks. Not helpful. It was also freezing. The entire experience is best summed up in a single word: sketchy. We arrived in Panjim at about 7am in the pouring rain, and bleary-eyed, were directed to our hotel.

What hadn't registered with us was that we would be staying in a 5-star hotel. After a restless 10 hour overnight bus ride, the soft pillows and hot showers couldn't have been more appealing. To top things off, the complimentary breakfast was amazing (complete with real coffee--not the coffee-flavoured milk and sugar we're used to being served). I can't afford to stay at a hotel remotely like this in the United States, but for the equivalent of $40/night in Goa, staying in a 5-star hotel is absolutely worth it!

For perhaps the first time this summer, I seem to be running a bit behind with blog posting (by about 12 hours, to be exact). I apologize, and I'll post as much as I can regarding Goa over the next few days. Also, because I maxed out my Google account with India pictures, I've started a second album here. There are lots more pictures from Goa coming soon!

Our national reputation abroad

It perhaps goes without saying, but the United States has a complex relationship with the rest of the world. Our reputation has evolved over the course of the past century of American involvement of international affairs, and a rapid increase in globalization has made the perception of the United States abroad change significantly even in the past several decades.

The previous generation saw the rise and fall of Communism, which in many ways kept the rest of the world at bay in terms of economic and political power. European countries were battered from two world wars and quite simply didn't have the manpower to challenge the United States economically. The rest of the world was neatly divided up into Second and Third World countries, which showed they couldn't keep up. America had a wonderful system going: by being so far ahead of the rest of the world, they were able to attract the top talent, and by attracting the top talent, they were able to stay ahead of the rest of the world. Donna and I were talking to Dr. Joshi, and he said that he felt that most of his graduating class in medical school went to America to practice, and that he himself felt that the United States was where he ultimately belonged. Mr. Desai, the CEO of Virgo, came from a very modest Indian home and has expanded his Indian business to the United States. For Indians who made it to the United States, they were able to achieve that were guaranteed upward mobility and a way of life far beyond what they could hope for back at home.

Yet this mindset has significantly shifted. Communism is largely gone, and the world is no longer neatly divided into First, Second, and Third World countries. The chief ideological battle we are fighting in the United States is against terrorism, which has had mixed results abroad. To date, India has been largely free from any suspicion of harboring terrorists (despite having the world's second-largest Muslim population, no known member of al-Qaeda has ever come from India). However, the war in Afghanistan and the search for bin Laden has led the United States to soften its stance towards Pakistan. Given the enmity between Pakistan and India, it is no surprise that many Indians feel a bit of consternation over this friendship. It seems common knowledge in India that many of the weapons America has given to Pakistan to fight the War on Terror have been shipped off to the Kashmir region to fight India.

On a more individual note, there is a significant shift in attitude among Indians from our generation. The education system here in India, while still falling far short of educating all its citizens, still manages to churn out some of the smartest and well-educated graduates the world. India's Technology Institutes are known for the intensity of their curriculum--a curriculum that would make any American university look like high school. On top of that, opportunities for these new engineering graduates are becoming more and more plentiful in India. Several times while we've been here, we've seen brand new malls that are available to a newly educated elite. And an educated elite that is content to stay right here in India, enjoying the benefits of an upper-class lifestyle brought on by outsourced jobs from the United States.

We've found that many of the Indians here have little interest in going to the United States, unlike their parent's generation. The United States is no longer the dream of the Indian elite--not when a comfortable lifestyle is easily had here in India. And indeed, this makes sense. If you can have a top-notch education, a comfortable lifestyle, and upward mobility without leaving behind your culture, cuisine, and family , why would you move to the United States? In other words, the rest of the world is catching up...

Culture Shock and looking forward

The past week has been a bit rough for the India cohort. Kevin and I are both attempting to recover from our respective illnesses, last week's 6-day work week felt longer than usual, and the American Independence Day came and went without any break. All that has made us a textbook case of foreign travelers experiencing culture shock. We all still have really enjoyed the trip--don't get me wrong--but sometimes we just miss America a little bit. So to feel better about ourselves, we came up with a list of things we're looking forward to when we return to the United States. Without further ado, here it is:

1. Hamburgers
2. Hot showers
3. Coffee with caffeine
4. Driving my car
5. Bathrooms that don’t stink
6. Sandwiches that are actual sandwiches, not just two (small) pieces of bread
7. Fast-loading internet videos
8. Being understood the first time I speak
9. Communicating with waiters properly
10. Serving yourself at restaurants
11. Not being the only girl in either a sari/salwar kameez
12. Wearing shorts
13. No more head-wobbling
14. Soft bed
15. Air conditioned gym
16. Air conditioning everywhere
17. No more 6 day workweeks
18. Understanding what’s going on around you/being able to eavesdrop on people’s conversations
19. Being punctual. Enough said.
20. Drinking tap water
21. No more converter plugs
22. Being able to straighten your hair
23. Traffic laws.
24. American cable news networks
25. American newspapers
26. Not having to convert money
27. Not having random power outages
28. Other people understanding your humor
29. Transformers/Megan Fox
30. My own room
31. Waking up in the morning and not aching
32. My own pillow
33. Swimming
34. Not having to avoid all dogs
35. Family & friends
36. Social life
37. Not being stared at all the time
38. Not having hacker guy at work
39. Receiving phone calls
40. Being on Facebook when everyone else is on Facebook
41. Food that isn’t predominately in sauces/American food
42. Steak.
43. Fresh fruit
44. Not having to take malaria pills
45. General health
46. American television
47. Normal malls
48. Movies that don’t have intermissions
49. Pandora & Netflix & streaming online TV
50. Not having cricket dominate your sports stations
51. Church.
52. Going out in the sun
53. Clothes that stay the same size
54. Doing your own laundry
55. Having a larger wardrobe
56. No more hand sanitizer
57. Cold cut sandwiches
58. Larger living space
59. Not having to lock stuff up every day
60. Being able to keep my keys
61. Mobility
62. Independence
63. Honey Bunches of Oats
64. Real American breakfast
65. Variety in food
66. Not having to eat out every night
67. Home-cooked meals
68. Cookies (chocolate chip)
69. Swirll
70. Normal text messages and phone plans/having my own cell phones
71. Not having advertising calls in Marathi
72. Not being constantly compared to Brandon and Neil
73. Toilet paper
74. Real bathrooms
75. Normal night life
76. Music that we can sing along to on the radio
77. No more freaking car horns
78. Stop lights
79. Cleaner air
80. Taking a leisurely stroll on the sidewalk
81. Being able to run outside
82. Being alone
83. Being able to see more than just three other Americans
84. Not having to deal with the saturated drum-selling market
85. Being able to call people without thinking about the time difference
86. Not having to use Skype to call anymore
87. Not having to wake up as early
88. Not having to sit in the car for over 2 hours every day
89. Not having to monitor water supply every day
90. Bath rugs
91. Not having toilets scream at us
92. No more mothballs
93. Not having to wear dress clothes every day
94. Not having to be on the look-out for mosquitos
95. Fountain drinks/free refills
96. Knives
97. Not having to lug around heavy briefcases every day
98. Trash cans/recycling
99. Racial diversity
100. Normal/memorable names

Celebrating the 4th abroad

I suppose one of the times that makes you most miss the United States is on days like Independence Day. After all, while people back at home were grilling burgers yesterday and today while having a break from work, we went in for two full days of work. Aside from a couple comments from fellow workers, wearing red, white, and blue and eating dosas, we didn't really get much in the way of a Fourth of July. My time in India, while it's been absolutely wonderful, has made me realize what a wonderful country we live in. There are many reasons for that (perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is American food--specifically, American hamburgers--which I've had a craving for since the day I left), but I just want to touch on a couple.

The first is the framework our government is built on. The United States boasts the world's oldest Constitution (even if said Constitution is applied very differently than when it was first written in 1787)--something we can truly be proud of. America was an experiment in democracy--an experiment which was challenged in its day by absolutism and later by totalitarianism and communism, but has in every instance adapted and succeeded. Indeed, that idea of democracy has become the basis for nearly every modern democracy, including India, which is the world's largest democracy and a couple months ago demonstrated the largest display of democratic involvement in history (400 million voters in the last election).

Yet aside from the sheer durability of our government (or perhaps because of it), Americans really do trust their government. That might seem like an odd thing to say--after all, Americans are always fighting over partisan divisions, and our president doesn't exactly have unanimous support. But as inefficient and bureaucratic as it might get, Americans trust their government to work properly. We expect--and get--law and order without too much deviation. Here in India, there isn't the same sense of the government having that sort of legal control. For evidence, all you have to do is look at the streets--cars writhing in a orderless mess without regards to any traffic laws or regulations. And naturally, the police force isn't pulling anyone over for that sort of thing.

After a half century of essentially mishandling the country, the Indian government has turned the country around and has set it on a course for a much stronger nation. The government is gaining credibility, and with that credibility it's become able to be more effective as a national government. Indeed, it seems that India looks to become the south Asian United States. Since our system seems to be a model for India and a plethora of countries around the world, I think it's not without justification that on this Independence Day, I'm proud to be an American!

Doing research at the hospital

As part of our time at DMH, Donna and I have started a research project. Since neither of us is particularly proficient in a lot of the medical terminology, doing a project exploring treatment options or something like that is simply not feasible. We also wanted to do something that would be both beneficial to the hospital and that would be useful for us as we return to the United States. To cap things off, we really wanted to work in pediatrics (ironically, since neither of us were too keen on pediatrics coming over here), simply because everyone in pediatrics has been enormously helpful to us.

Thus, after talking to Dr. Joshi, we came up with our project idea--examining the socioeconomic profile of the patients coming through Deenanath's Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and Hematoncology wards. Essentially, what we'll be doing over the next few weeks is interviewing the parents of the patients in the various wards and asking them about their backgrounds. What it boils down to is asking questions that would be unthinkable in the United States ("What is your monthly income?" "Is the treatment going to be difficult to pay for." "If so, how are you going to come up with the money for the treatment?"). Yet the doctors have all assured us that the patients won't mind any of the questions that we'd be asking. Sure enough, 20 interviews in, everyone has been more than happy to oblige and answer our questions (usually through one of the nurses acting as an interpreter).

Our goal through this project is to see whether there are any trends of how the people approach paying for their child's health care, especially when the procedures are extremely expensive (sometimes upwards of $10,000--this for a hospital in India that strives to provide affordable health care for as many people as possible), and in a country where health insurance is virtually non-existent. Do parents show any preference for particular children, such as being willing to pay more for the care of their son? Hopefully through this we can make recommendations to the hospitals in ways they can better reach certain parts of the populations to maximize the amount of need the hospital can provide for.

I'm quite certain that there will be plenty of stories that we'll gain from this, but here's just one. We talked to the father of one boy in the cancer ward, who is an engineer here. However, because his work requires him to be on site, he lost his job because he was tending too much time staying with his son at the hospital. He told us that he hoped that the chemotherapy would be done by October or November, or he would have to sell their house to pay for treatment. We'll surely come back to the United States with a better perspective on the pain that people have to go through and hopefully with an idea about how we can somehow do something about it.

An Indian Wedding

Today was definitely one of the more interesting experiences we've had thus far in our trip to India: an Indian wedding. The people at the hospital organized it for us, as they felt it would be a good taste of Indian culture. And indeed it was!

It was a bit hard to understand everything that was going on, given that none of us speak any of the local language, but it was obviously very different from any wedding we've been to. It's quite the spectacle, and it seems that it's the chance for as many people to get together at possible. It didn't matter that we didn't know the bride or groom--or anyone else at the wedding, for that matter. Weddings in India seem to be an event that is shared with as many people as possible.

Like in the United States, the actual ceremony is only a small part of the day's festivities. There seems to be a wedding procession to the wedding hall, which was situated on one of the hills overlooking the city. Another wedding was going on at the same time next door, and we were able to watch part of the procession as they made their way up the street to the wedding hall. The procession was complete with funny looking hats, dancing, and music. They really do make a big deal out of their weddings!

The ceremony lasted for about 30 minutes, where the wedding party gathered around the bride and groom chanting a song in Hindi (or Marathi). At various points during the song, the people in the audience threw grains of rice in the air. After the ceremony was over, the audience members came through a line and congratulated the bride and groom and posing for photographs. Unlike in the United States, they took photographs of the bride and groom and nearly everyone in the audience, rather than just the wedding party. Thus, despite never having met the bride or groom, it seems as though we will be part of their wedding album.

We left shortly after that, but there would be plenty of other festivities for the couple's wedding. There was a luncheon after the ceremony (which was in the morning), and then later that evening everyone would come back for a reception. Like much of India, one of the things that is most striking is the vibrant color present in all the sarees and kurtas that people are wearing. Even the rice people threw in the air was colored! As we knew neither the language nor the couple getting married, it was a bit awkward for us. But it is certainly a quintissentially Indian experience we won't soon forget!