Who needs silverware?

Yesterday and today were both home visit days. Yesterday (Thursday) my group along with a student from UC-Berkely went out to a rural area. The Pallium team consisted of two nurses, one physician, and one driver. We probably went an hour outside of the city. There we did five home visits to visit patients suffering from cancer, diabetes, hypertension, etc. One really interesting thing our team did was a bereavement visit. A former Pallium patient had passed away three weeks away. We went to check in on his wife and see how she was doing. We did not stay long but while we were there, everyone stood and prayed silently for the patient's family. It was a really powerful moment. I'm not sure how many faiths were represented in that house but I would venture to guess at least several!

At that same house we noticed that you could just barely see the ocean through the trees. They invited us to climb up to the roof of a neighboring house to get a better view. We really couldn't see the water any better but we had a lot of fun climbing up a narrow staircase on the outside of the house. There was no handrail and a deep well was just waiting down below! Just a little scary.

Today was another day of home visits. My group accompanied two nurses and two physicians to an outpatient clinic in Trivandrum called TIPS. We met the founder of the organization while we were there. Apparently his organization serves many people in the area. They come in to receive their medications for free and be seen by a doctor. In addition, tea, lunch, and activities are provided for the participants. Today was supposed to be a day for cancer patients to be seen but we saw saw other illnesses including psychiatric conditions, hypertension, and diabetes.

The doctor from Pallium today was simply outstanding. I asked her how long she had been practicing medicine. She told me 45 years. A rough estimate of her age would put her somewhere in her seventies and she still works hard everyday and appears to love her job! Talk about dedication. In addition, the Indian work week is six days, not five. Monday through Saturday. I honestly don't know if I have the energy to do what she does despite our fifty year age difference.

At the end of the morning and after we had seen 25+ patients, the TIPS volunteers served us a traditional Kerala meal. It is completely vegetarian. There was boiled rice, sambar (a lentil based topping for the rice), avial (a thick mixture of vegetables, curd, and coconut), achar pickles (very spicy), and paayasam (a sweet rice pudding). The meal is usually served on a large banana leaf during important events such as weddings. It was so good!! I even liked the spicy pickle. They were really happy that an American liked it and insisted on sending some home with me! I also tried to eat with my hands which is the typical way of eating in Kerala. No one really bothers with silverware here except tourists. Silly Americans. I gave it a shot and made a mess but I think the doctors enjoyed watching me eat. Adam has been doing it for a couple of days now and is getting pretty good at it! I still have some catching up to do!

Tomorrow is a free day for us!! Yahoo!!!. That means sleeping in and hydrating for me. It's so crazy how quickly the time is going by. In one week I'll be back home in cold, icy, snowy Iowa.

This man is a local movie star! I've been told that there is a film business for each of the local languages and I believe this guy is the leading man for the Malayalam industry! 

A typical roadside store in both rural and city areas. They sell fruits, drinks, juices, ice cream, chips, and sweets.  But no one seems to sell Diet Pepsi (don't even try for diet coke!). 

The view from the roof of the building we climbed up. Didn't see a lot more water but we all got a little (okay, a lot) scared when we saw this!

Beautiful scenery on the trek to a home visit on Thursday. Banana trees galore. 

A typical Kerala meal. I can't remember what the top left item is - perhaps something with curd. The top middle is avial. The top right is the pickle. The rice on the bottom is topped with sambar.  The paayasam hadn't been served yet.