7, and Ranchi Field Visits Day 2, and illness, doctor, discoveries about water, and other victories

Thursday night in Ranchi, I went to bed feeling a little off. Nothing major, but I could tell that I was not 100%. When I tried to sleep, I kept having to stave off nausea with yoga breathing exercises (thanks Colleen!). I think I had a fever most of Friday, though I didn’t take my temperature.

Friday’s field visits focused on disabled children. We visited a house where a couple lived with a son with cerebral palsy plus 3 older non-disabled children. Their house was tiny, in a slum, and had a mouse problem (I saw 3 in the 20 or so minutes we were there). Still, they were quick to laugh, very hospitable, and in awe of the fact that there were two white girls in their house. The husband took our picture. They showed us the physiotherapy exercises that NBJK’s team had shown them to do with their son, and they told us about the progress he had made.

Next we went to a Resource Room for deaf-blind children. There are 12 (I think) children being seen at the resource room between 1 and 3 times per week, depending on availability. The children are given a baseline analysis and the family and evaluators set goals for one year out. For example, they might say that after one year, the child will be able to lift a certain toy above his or her head. The room has toys that teach motor skills and cognitive skills; they’re the same kinds of toys you’ll see anywhere in American day care centers, but here the purpose is much more explicit and (I think) critical. The room also provides walking aids to children who need support in their feet, ankles, knees, and/or hips to stand or walk. They avoid wheelchairs because parents tend to slack off on exercising their children if they can just wheel them around.

 

After that, we went in for lunch, and I was feeling pretty ill. I ate a tiny lunch which consisted mostly of banana and took a nap. When I got up, we went to a different NBJK office in Ranchi, which is right next to the zoo we’d been planning to visit. I still had a fever, so we nixed the zoo visit. We did get to see the composting and paper recycling projects at that office, though, which was cool. It was a little cooler in theory and memory than it was in practice, though. I was really feeling very sick, and it was hot, and we were in direct sunlight, and compost smells like manure and recycling paper smells like garbage being mixed with waste water, which is exactly what it is. My stomach was already unhappy, so that definitely did not help.

Helen and I took a nap while Anand and Girija did work, and then we read while they did work, and then we complained to each other about how late it was getting and how hot and uncomfortable we were while they did work, and then it was time to go. We had gotten about a half hour out of Ranchi when I tried to discreetly pull a plastic bag out of my backpack in case I needed to throw up, which seemed increasingly likely.

Helen and Anand noticed me, and started asking me what was going on, and we ended up stopping the car while I breathed and waited to either pass out or throw up, since I was sure one of the two would happen. I couldn’t seem to get enough air and my hands were tingling and going numb and I was dizzy and lightheaded (I think I was breathing too deeply, and the not getting enough air was psychological). At one point everyone in the car was turned to look at me and it occurred to me that I probably looked like hell and I couldn’t even muster a reassuring smile, and then it occurred to me that we were hours away from any kind of medical help, so I needed to get by until we could get help.

Someone had the great idea to put Helen and Anand in the seats in the very back of the car, so I could lay down across the bench seat. After I’d been laying down a few minutes, I felt much, much better. We got to Hazaribag and went straight to a doctor, who I think spent less than five minutes examining me before declaring I had consumed contaminated water and writing me some prescriptions. While Helen, Anand, and Girija were at the pharmacy getting the prescriptions, I heard them get passionate about some subject, and then Helen came back to tell me that she had just been informed that we are supposed to boil water before putting it in our water filter. What. I’VE BEEN DRINKING UNSAFE WATER FOR 7 WEEKS. No wonder I’m sick.

After a few days on anti-nausea meds, lots of sleep, antibiotics, probiotics (I always think that’s funny, taking both at the same time, but I understand it), and fever reducers, I’m feeling much better. I did notice today, though, that when I put on my linen pants, they sit a solid 3 inches (maybe even 4) lower now than they did when I arrived in India. They used to fit just below my waist, and they fit in the hips. Now I can pretty much take them off without unbuttoning them. This is a bit worrisome. I had a few pounds to lose, so I think I’m safe, but no more. No more.

So here’s the good stuff!

Auntie and Shradha came upstairs tonight to chat, and Auntie brought a bunch of bananas from the garden and mangoes from her friends’ gardens. Helen and I told them that we discovered today in my guidebook (thanks, Kat, for recommending it!) that in Kochi, where we will be traveling next week, there is an elephant training center where you can help train, wash, and ride elephants! I promised Jeff’s housemate (he probably doesn’t even remember) that I would find an elephant to ride, and Helen, completely independently, promised her uncle, so we’re really excited about it. There’s also a wildlife reserve where you can stay in a treehouse for about $30/night, and there are houseboat cruises, and restaurants on boats, and a café that apparently has divine cheesecake. I love cheesecake.

And speaking of cheese…Shradha said that the information I got when I first arrived, that there is not cheese available in Hazaribag, was completely false. She told me that there is a store in the market that sells cheese, and she will bring us some this week. Cheese! I can’t describe how much I miss cheese.

Tomorrow I promised to go downstairs in the morning to help Auntie set up a loaf of challah. I’m touched that the family liked it enough to want to make it again and learn the recipe. In the evening, we’ll go downstairs again, because I told them I want to make banana bread with some overripe bananas that we have. Plus, we now have three bunches of bananas (one is too soft, one is too green, one is just right), which is just way too much.

Today is 7 weeks since I left the U.S., and 3 until I go back. I have so much to look forward to, and I’m so eager for the next weeks (I was going to say the next few weeks, but I’m really excited about the next 52 or so weeks…)

So much to do! And that’s not even counting my actual work!