tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2169625414418160642024-02-19T16:39:54.644-08:00Jessica's Blogjessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-58016734804387448942011-02-22T04:34:00.000-08:002011-02-22T04:34:10.345-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sareedreams.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/surya-wedding-sarees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j6="true" src="http://www.sareedreams.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/surya-wedding-sarees.jpg" width="213" /></a></div></div>jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-13801098991915306032011-02-22T04:31:00.000-08:002011-02-22T04:34:58.638-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hi everyone! This might be my last post from India for this trip. I have less than a week left and it doesn't feel real. I can't believe how quickly six months has gone by. The last thing I posted about was the Golden Temple so I think that brings me to the Special Olympics we just hosted at school. The school that I am working at (<a href="http://www.tenderheartngo.org/">http://www.tenderheartngo.org/</a>) is one of the few in the area that has a program for special needs children. Renu Bali, the director of the school recently decided to host regional Special Olympic games for the special needs children in Tender Heart and a few local schools with similar programs. There was a training camp held for coaches last Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday was the set-up day, and on Thursday and Friday the games were held. The events were Bocce Ball, Long Jump, Soccer, and Shot Put. Each child was given an opportunity to try each event. At the end of the two days the points were added up, the children were awarded with medals and certificates, and they were sent home very happy. It was a great experience for me and being included in the running of the event felt very familiar from volunteering at the Special Olympics at home for the past four years. Some of these kids don't have much to do at their schools or are rarely allowed outside of their homes after school so it was great for them to get out, make new friends, and improve their self-esteem. After it was over, I helped one of the teachers write an article and select a few pictures for the local newspaper. I will put pictures from the weeks on the blog once I get home. <br />
Another great thing that happened recently was that we got to go to a wedding. It was a Rajasthani wedding so everything was big, bright, and colorful. The bride was a woman who used to teach at Tender Heart and is now teaching in a University. The ceremony was beautiful and I got some good pictures that I will put on as soon as possible.<br />
There are just two of us volunteers here now so it's pretty quiet around the house. I have met a lot of amazing people here and this trip would not have been the same with out them. I think we are going to a Bollywood movie tonight and maybe some doing some shopping later this week so maybe I will have a little bit more to write. The picture I attached is a typical Rajasthani wedding Saree. It is the same style but not the exact one from the wedding.<br />
Also, congratulations to the Windham Girls Swim Team on their 9th (correct me if I'm wrong) place finish at the Class A State Championship meet yesterday!! Good luck to the boys team today!! See you all soon! </div>jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-38127551105980313752011-02-07T02:09:00.000-08:002011-02-07T02:09:35.195-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Golden-Temple-Jan-07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="249" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Golden-Temple-Jan-07.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Now that I am back in Faridabad for my last few weeks, I will continue to work at the school and women's project. Today I have been typing the annual exams for the kids that are coming up next month. They will have a series of three hour tests made up by their teachers. So far, most of the teachers have turned in math and environmental science tests but there are many more to come. <br />
<br />
The picture I posted is from the internet and I will post mine when I get home. It is of the Golden Temple in Amritsar. It is the most sacred place of the Sikh religion and is visited by about 50,000 people per day. It also provides free accommodation and meals for tourists and Sikhs who make their pilgrimage there. I traveled to Amritsar with Laura, another volunteer. We were able to see the temple in the day time, late at night, and then again at sunrise. It is open 24 hours a day and always plays prayers throughout the area. I found the Golden Temple to be more impressive than the Taj Mahal. We were also able to see a few other sites in the area. We went to Jallianwala Bagh, which is the memorial grounds of the Amritsar Massacre led by General Dyer on April 13th, 1919. We also walked to nearby temples all dedicated to different Hindu gods, one of which was a miniature version of the Golden Temple. <br />
<br />
In the train station on the way home I met a family that was also traveling to Delhi. I was sending a message on my phone and I saw two little feet standing in front of me so I looked up and there was a little girl with one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen. She introduced herself as Muskaan and made her brothers and sisters, who were quite shy, introduce themselves as well. They were fascinated by what I was doing there and asked me a bunch of questions about America and were very curious to know what I thought of India. They were all ecstatic when I asked to take a picture of them and they all were all so sweet and wished me a safe journey and hoped to meet again someday. It's the little things like that and the kindness of the Indian people that makes me love this country and forget the things that make me hate it...like my rickshaw driver getting lost 5 times on the way back from the metro station and then trying to over charge me (which is nothing new). Luckily I had a friend in the area who was able to come pick me up and I got home safely.<br />
<br />
I'm back to typing the exams now. Have a great week everyone!!! </div>jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-36307140219591996762011-02-03T23:50:00.000-08:002011-02-03T23:50:37.774-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">For two countries that don't necessarily enjoy eachothers company, India and Pakistan have an incredible border ceremony. Hi everyone! I am updating from Amritsar in the state of Punjab. Last night I went to the border of Pakistan for the nightly border ceremony. It starts at 5pm and last about an hour. There is a lot of music and dancing before it starts and two women on each side of the border run up and down the street carrying their respective flags while a crowd of at least 500 shouts and chants. The ceremony starts and the border patrol officers from each country march towards the gate with very quick steps and better high-kicks than any cheerleader or dancer I have ever seen. When the last officers approach the gate, it is opened, the two shake hands and salute eachother. The gate is then shut and not opened again until the end of the ceremony. There are a few more minutes of chants from each country and at the end they march back to the gates, open them, tie ropes connected to the flags together, lower them until they cross and then take them down. The officers fold them and march them back to their patrol stations. It was incredible to see how much pride one country can have. Pictures and videos from the rest of the trip may have to wait until March because I do not think I will have wifi on my laptop again until then, but I hope you will find them worth the wait. I'm running out of time before my 3pm train but I will update about the amazing Golden Temple when I get back to Delhi!. Off for one last cup of chai and heading to the train station for an 8 hour train ride, which in this country unfortunately probably means atleast 10. Hope everyone enjoys the weekend and I will write again soon! </div>jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-33182460445892897542011-01-29T11:44:00.000-08:002011-01-29T11:45:11.015-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">This is a lot harder to update with no internet in the house! We are still enjoying the new house and the new people we are meeting. The past few days have been pretty exciting. On Wednesday it was Republic Day. There was a parade on TV and celebrations everywhere. There was no work that day but we went to a local radio station where we were all interviewed and it was broadcast on the station a few days later. They asked us many questions about our respective countries and how they were similar/different to India and what we liked about each. We also discussed some issues that we thought needed to be addressed here and back home. It was very interesting because most of us were all from different countries. After the interview we came back, got dressed up in our sarees and headed to the school for a celebration. The children had been working very hard for weeks to put it all together and it was fantastic. They prepared dances and songs and presentations as well as making food for all the guests and decorating the park. They were very excited to see all of us in our sarees. I have pictures and videos of the children that I will put on as soon as I can get back on my laptop! Friday when we went to school one of the teachers offered to take us to a few different houses in the village to show us how they are living. Some of the houses are quite large but they are very basic. Many of them have earned enough money for homes by selling land that had been left to them. Everyone was very kind and loved showing us around and telling us about their lives and families. The rest of the volunteers are away this weekend to I am enjoying a relaxing weekend with lots of tanning, writing, and reading...which is made even better by thinking about the fact that its only January!! I hope to travel to Amritsar next week with Laura, one of the other volunteers. We will spend the night in an Ashram, visit the Golden Temple, and watch a big ceremony on the India/Pakistan border with lots of music and dances. Hopefully by then I will be able to put new picture updates online. Enjoy the weekend everyone!!</div>jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-85509772451570294742011-01-23T02:24:00.000-08:002011-01-23T02:24:16.897-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I was planning to take about a week to pack all of my things but I guess now I know I only need one night! We changed to a different house today. It is still pretty close to where we were before. They have their own set of projects but we all decided to stay at our school. None of us were ready to leave the children. The host family is very nice and they have a great home. Plus they have a washing machine, which was very exciting for all of us after all this time hand washing our clothes. There were already two girls living here when we moved in and one more is coming at the end of the week. I am hoping to plan one last trip before I leave, I just can't decide where yet. There are so many amazing things to see and do here, it will be hard to leave. Last weekend another volunteer and I went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. It was about a 4.5 hour bus ride each way, which was alot better than the 10 hour bus ride I took in November to the Tiger Reserve. The city of Agra is not very nice but the Taj is beautiful. I didn't have a working camera at the time so I will upload some pictures that I got from another volunteer when the internet gets fixed at our new house. On the 26th of January is Republic Day and the children at school have been working very hard to prepare. They have been learning song and dances as well as making posters and cards. A teacher at the school is also a seamstress and she has made outfits for all of the children to wear for the celebration. I can't believe it has already been almost 5 months. It seems like I got here a week ago! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend and I will update with pictures soon!</div>jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-86173668312931254502010-12-28T05:09:00.000-08:002010-12-28T05:09:48.000-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/images/facts-about-charminar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/images/facts-about-charminar.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.world66.com/bu/dd/ha/buddha_statue_near_galleryfull" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://images.world66.com/bu/dd/ha/buddha_statue_near_galleryfull" width="231" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This morning I left 25 degrees and sunny, palm trees, flowers, and fruit that is still good and came back to 12 degrees, cloudy, rainy, no palm trees or flowers.... awesome... One week was definitely not long enough in Hyderabad. The weather was amazing. It was sunny and around 80 all week but it wasn't just the weather. There is something about it that makes it so much different than Delhi. Maybe just because I really needed a change. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I was lucky enough to spend Christmas in Hyderabad with a family friend, Hannah, from the states who is here visiting her family. They were so welcoming and it was a great experience to be a part of an Indian family! Hannah was busy working on her new house but showed me a lot of things around the city. The top picture is of the mosque called Charminar. It is the most popular site in Hyderabad. Charminar is the equivolent of France's Arc de Triomphe. It is located in the center of the city and is surrounded by Bazaars selling a variety of different things. The most famous one is Laad Bazaar. It is a large strip with shops and vendors selling fabric, scarves, bangles, clothes, sarees, shoes, jewelery, and just about anything you could be looking for. Needless to say we spent a while there one afternoon.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Another great thing about Hyderabad was the diversity. There were not many travelers, but it was great to see so many different religious groups in one area. Here in Delhi you really only see Hinduism. Its advertised and all the holidays are celebrated widely but you never really see anything about any other religions. In Hyderabad the Hindu Temples are advertised as well as Mosques, Churches, and every type of ceremony that is happening. There is also a large statue of Buddha (the other picture) in the middle of the lake. It is on a stretch of the road called the Tangbund. There is a mini fair ground on one side with food stands, henna booths, and a book fair and on the other side of the road there are sculptures of great poets, writers, philosophers, and artists. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We were able to go to a Christmas celebration in a park, a pageant on Christmas Eve, and to church on Christmas morning. Hannah also showed me the studio that her brother created and now they run a Christian broadcast station on TV. The whole family is a part of the station. They all help run it and the four sisters all sing and read messages for the program. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I wasn't exactly looking forward to coming back to this weather but it will be good to get back to the kids! It's only been a little over a week and I already miss them. I hope everyone is has a great holiday season and makes the most of the start of a new year! </div>jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-89080288286474737182010-12-20T09:39:00.000-08:002010-12-20T09:39:10.450-08:00Hi All, I haven't been in the mood to sit and type a lot lately but it has pretty much been same old Faridabad. I have been teaching English and Science at the school and also helping them make and decorate envelopes that they send out as thank you cards or they use as money envelopes for weddings. Today at about 1pm I took a taxi from Faridabad and headed to the airport. My flight was at 5pm and I landed here in Hyderabad safe and sound at about 7:10pm. So far I like it, haven't seen much but of course I'm biased to the city! But there is more to come. Lots of shopping and sight-seeing in the next week, so much to look forward to! Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season!jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-28320230693289266852010-12-07T06:13:00.000-08:002010-12-07T06:13:15.393-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCQzuRoPKoumrjnnqyDfvLnmFettYrqigmE05a2cnNLYdit7n0LrOtCN81aTXWnFTlwbRPMrre-MF-8Ac1WvZp2HECcwQoqIPliJry2uxFQ90llVSwTF524llko-EI6ZWjIDwDOyCeKw/s1600/CSC_1052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCQzuRoPKoumrjnnqyDfvLnmFettYrqigmE05a2cnNLYdit7n0LrOtCN81aTXWnFTlwbRPMrre-MF-8Ac1WvZp2HECcwQoqIPliJry2uxFQ90llVSwTF524llko-EI6ZWjIDwDOyCeKw/s320/CSC_1052.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs857IIOlKgJueyaA0oxWeraCifMb3PCFcFHgd69C4jaJoyl3m5p9vxKc0_NWpT_2TeyIuOv89GOjkZ_69et474NKeo13CR3QLKhH-laLt3vYnS6tAG3ED6drzef1-XVCx5wpZGUwEQAs/s1600/DSC_1361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs857IIOlKgJueyaA0oxWeraCifMb3PCFcFHgd69C4jaJoyl3m5p9vxKc0_NWpT_2TeyIuOv89GOjkZ_69et474NKeo13CR3QLKhH-laLt3vYnS6tAG3ED6drzef1-XVCx5wpZGUwEQAs/s320/DSC_1361.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpG-5gTMJIVOuS6ypbHAx2mpDQhEK9eMkw7rbFAZDbFAJBrfRJ2gHdmddhs72Zm8GMY2CTMDfAWsTyXtKK2Bq7fDqlxPQm6wqaLKkJEq-2zv03lIMl5592t-EcV3Zfu8Jh5HwKZXDnSc/s1600/DSC_1505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpG-5gTMJIVOuS6ypbHAx2mpDQhEK9eMkw7rbFAZDbFAJBrfRJ2gHdmddhs72Zm8GMY2CTMDfAWsTyXtKK2Bq7fDqlxPQm6wqaLKkJEq-2zv03lIMl5592t-EcV3Zfu8Jh5HwKZXDnSc/s320/DSC_1505.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS5hP74u6IB-7MmXmt3H8G-RrUNZrpzpCCktle-Ml3Xc0VK-hgmb0gr1nss9DvFCQ-AXap7GBtpkPpj7UGCwyA747V1lwoJDr4QRfFnbRgxW3f9ao1hWr_0mtBFPf8Od41g8Qkzexck_0/s1600/DSC_1539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS5hP74u6IB-7MmXmt3H8G-RrUNZrpzpCCktle-Ml3Xc0VK-hgmb0gr1nss9DvFCQ-AXap7GBtpkPpj7UGCwyA747V1lwoJDr4QRfFnbRgxW3f9ao1hWr_0mtBFPf8Od41g8Qkzexck_0/s320/DSC_1539.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-32495116447042023692010-11-17T01:57:00.000-08:002010-11-17T01:57:37.818-08:00Greetings from Varanasi!! It is absoloutely gorgeous here. The internet is pretty expensive so I will post a longer explanation and pictures when I get back and have more time. I'm having a great time and I am wishing I didn't have to go back to Faridabad so soon! Have a great day!!jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-81325394860276310842010-11-12T02:52:00.000-08:002010-11-12T02:53:36.266-08:00<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaHbaT5pBE3cb_kqLGY39IClQp10JWX6Sz_MFIDp8MC23t9rTJnGf-tAlO6ijmO1OxYnOCKQPtrpMlc_JBbQ22jD4uzOYMlJUoobBFeDqgBbsDdj0-sld0ku7uXPb6RfNIIRjBGDn_XZY/s1600/IMG_2016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaHbaT5pBE3cb_kqLGY39IClQp10JWX6Sz_MFIDp8MC23t9rTJnGf-tAlO6ijmO1OxYnOCKQPtrpMlc_JBbQ22jD4uzOYMlJUoobBFeDqgBbsDdj0-sld0ku7uXPb6RfNIIRjBGDn_XZY/s320/IMG_2016.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5lflIOQveAhoLImz4_tw6118bHH-XEm07Cqs5NZblGkub0P7i7HqBSijj_btKygQlMTtAO93H4DwOA90JO0mtGDHxIox5oTM95Ho0_i5dDEXOzVYYCqjX4X66MyZnI04C-mM2H4o5PXU/s1600/IMG_1821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5lflIOQveAhoLImz4_tw6118bHH-XEm07Cqs5NZblGkub0P7i7HqBSijj_btKygQlMTtAO93H4DwOA90JO0mtGDHxIox5oTM95Ho0_i5dDEXOzVYYCqjX4X66MyZnI04C-mM2H4o5PXU/s320/IMG_1821.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_uj45HUd9MXjM8zroBlLhKfG607U4RiveVdb3_Xw0ogkS5q9K8gNbMZlyRa4GPZBHOyF_Lo57sbPgMcwdiv6ta0Bm2mty9aCKbsGB_qwmQ_XPp0r14YdgPXcm8QjQlJSZ1tApg-Dsro/s1600/IMG_1977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_uj45HUd9MXjM8zroBlLhKfG607U4RiveVdb3_Xw0ogkS5q9K8gNbMZlyRa4GPZBHOyF_Lo57sbPgMcwdiv6ta0Bm2mty9aCKbsGB_qwmQ_XPp0r14YdgPXcm8QjQlJSZ1tApg-Dsro/s320/IMG_1977.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpFBiVPnt8BHryxaTHAt_OpsrfbHijKyLW3UPBXidA7GolG2dRcEERR8wlkGJ7R5gp3YSwAdB8t2SB79puicm5xcwA-zXUaccxM_xUxWVeTZ91qJFzRwVpUX7jGy7xtMATOwmS-Pk7G4/s1600/IMG_1832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpFBiVPnt8BHryxaTHAt_OpsrfbHijKyLW3UPBXidA7GolG2dRcEERR8wlkGJ7R5gp3YSwAdB8t2SB79puicm5xcwA-zXUaccxM_xUxWVeTZ91qJFzRwVpUX7jGy7xtMATOwmS-Pk7G4/s320/IMG_1832.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjou4v9uwc1hYP2F_ui1nWJqAuaZVZ2hnHBx_UXsTdJHw2e28Z7dnfPYhEL6A4GhrL5u5yFjxdC1QN9IQ8jUoyHs9hulIx9J4Dxtc5u6oAY2JuWe7I0IBVMzUENP2m4R_E8onFFrRdjXw0/s1600/IMG_1946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjou4v9uwc1hYP2F_ui1nWJqAuaZVZ2hnHBx_UXsTdJHw2e28Z7dnfPYhEL6A4GhrL5u5yFjxdC1QN9IQ8jUoyHs9hulIx9J4Dxtc5u6oAY2JuWe7I0IBVMzUENP2m4R_E8onFFrRdjXw0/s320/IMG_1946.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Hi everyone! I know its been awhile since my last post. There hasn't been much going on at the hospital lately so I have been working at other projects for the past two weeks. Last week I spent one day at the hospital and then I spent 3 day with the ambulance project. It is basically a traveling pharmacy for elderly people in the area. The ambulance goes to 10 different locations around Faridabad, two each day. From 9am to 4pm the patients come to the location of the ambulance and they have their blood pressure checked and have a simple check up. Then they can go to the window and the pharmacist will read their card and give them whatever medication they need. The picture of the ambulance is attached in the pictures at the top. On Friday we had the day off because it was Diwali. It is a religious holiday for Hindu's and it is celebrated similar to a combination of our Christmas and Independence Day. There are lots of lights, gifts, and fireworks. There was also a celebration at Prakash Deep (the school) celebrating Diwali. The children dressed up, if they could, and they presented dances and had an art contest and were given a meal. This week I spent two days at the hospital and then three days at Prakash Deep. Today at school we had a celebration for "children's day" which is Sunday but they wanted to include two volunteers that are leaving today. They did their normal morning prayer and then they all sat on the mats and a few classes presented songs or dances while others worked on art and others we able to help cook different types of food for everyone to try. They art they made today is for them to enter a local contest on Sunday. They were also given highlighters and crayons today as presents. Tomorrow Berit and I are traveling to Delhi, spending two nights there, and then traveling to Varanasi on Monday morning. It's going to be a 20 hour train ride but I'm sure it will be an experience. Tonight Berit and I were invited to have dinner with a family we met at church on Sunday. The family is a man named Joshua, who runs a Christian radio station here in Faridabad, his wife and two young sons. We are headed to the market to buy them a present now, I will post about the evening later! I hope you enjoy the pictures! Happy Friday!! </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-3390594903376208382010-10-29T10:15:00.001-07:002010-10-29T10:15:42.130-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw_8NhyvAi0KmzeGs7jc3GASUphGP9lhf0aBKzjvUIJuig_o5uBQLdQBPyf4DYNs8UV97aFK12r_IkxzT8Z3iysNhb0UgZoybmjjqQo4QvOF_FRSPfC97Y1_2yjcCc0L9CqhOJV-VrhIs/s1600/IMG_1805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw_8NhyvAi0KmzeGs7jc3GASUphGP9lhf0aBKzjvUIJuig_o5uBQLdQBPyf4DYNs8UV97aFK12r_IkxzT8Z3iysNhb0UgZoybmjjqQo4QvOF_FRSPfC97Y1_2yjcCc0L9CqhOJV-VrhIs/s1600/IMG_1805.JPG" /></a></div>jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-51685292014223895622010-10-29T10:12:00.000-07:002010-10-29T10:12:34.758-07:00Hi All, there hasn't been much going on at the hospital recently. It's festival season so a lot of people are on holiday or are just staying home. I have been doing pretty much the same thing I was before, just watching births and surgeries and checking blood pressures and weights, and helping with paper work. This Tuesday was a pretty exciting day though! It was a holiday called Karva Chauth. On this holiday all the women get Henna and wear alot of jewelery and bangles but they are fasting all day. At night, they have a pooja (prayer ceremony) and pray for their husbands to have a long life! Some men will also fast on this holiday for their wife. Dr. Kapoor invited a few of us to accompany her to the temple and see the traditional ceremony. They light candles and offer food and chant at the temple and then they go to the house of an elder relative of their husband to receive their blessing. As soon as the moon comes up, they are allowed to eat again and they generally will have a feast with a large amount of their family. Right now I am planning trips to Shimla, Varanasi, Dharamshala, and Hyderabad (where I will be spending Christmas with family friends from the States). A friend and I were spending some time at the program coordinator's house today and he asked me if I would be interested in moving back to that house sometime soon and basically taking over their orphanage. There are a few volunteers there but they are leaving soon and there is a care taker for the children but she isn't very strict with them and she will need some help once the four other girls go home. They would need help getting up and ready for school in the morning and they need someone to cook for them and help them study. There are 6 orphans there now and they are looking into taking in additional children soon. I'm a little sad to be missing out on Halloween, but we do have a holiday coming up called Diwali, which is similar. The girls and I have planned a Halloween movie party this weekend and are looking forward to that! Have a great weekend everyone, Happy Halloween!!jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-82489059536188483162010-10-16T04:02:00.001-07:002010-10-16T04:02:11.504-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://indianexpresstours.com/Themes/Default/Images/Region/Akshardham-Temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="296" src="http://indianexpresstours.com/Themes/Default/Images/Region/Akshardham-Temple.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-64029139021366452062010-10-16T03:59:00.000-07:002010-10-16T03:59:54.002-07:00<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_rWUBYQg-DeIZ3nWLzhDQCSoWl9OJ7FEqvmOmGRQLbhkEJyOHZZ4UHMNa7gSSZHRK9qtNPL6PWD1rpwbCX26SveihqRYTnlijDAkNwMaJfmWUlZassTnWu10Vmfa9BPdEkHCEtMUYlc/s1600/DSC_0091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_rWUBYQg-DeIZ3nWLzhDQCSoWl9OJ7FEqvmOmGRQLbhkEJyOHZZ4UHMNa7gSSZHRK9qtNPL6PWD1rpwbCX26SveihqRYTnlijDAkNwMaJfmWUlZassTnWu10Vmfa9BPdEkHCEtMUYlc/s320/DSC_0091.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDr-llCu5tRJptAufgki8sv7DsQ63DmG60UjpoLqzcNhdpgDskYKcFX2m_3U1wGo7wP_EaO_XmsXt9uhgZAtsgzj0gW_XXu_K8ICzJrOrLti03BYo5jdRxBIey33x1Pwb8_10SRGxYNw/s1600/DSC_0203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDr-llCu5tRJptAufgki8sv7DsQ63DmG60UjpoLqzcNhdpgDskYKcFX2m_3U1wGo7wP_EaO_XmsXt9uhgZAtsgzj0gW_XXu_K8ICzJrOrLti03BYo5jdRxBIey33x1Pwb8_10SRGxYNw/s320/DSC_0203.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTx6M7soWgMnAhjcMjAyFpG5w-_NEsi25u8cc4fJorI5-qJM04AR4j1dSWM-b0j3MevUq768dI3q9820l2_bjTtpdYY1mSCRGkiqaly9pwXkLU79zgGzS77w75IfmwL0TuIioX-PEGR68/s1600/DSC_0157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTx6M7soWgMnAhjcMjAyFpG5w-_NEsi25u8cc4fJorI5-qJM04AR4j1dSWM-b0j3MevUq768dI3q9820l2_bjTtpdYY1mSCRGkiqaly9pwXkLU79zgGzS77w75IfmwL0TuIioX-PEGR68/s320/DSC_0157.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQekbifedXZzOCL2ROHLWzcYyN9B2I1_WjIJB3Vex9qe93XCitDjueM7eNLcl7ctmEUhutRLwtbVNwVTqQB2NXOdEDkSZ9f33KBFDSwX1QG5LsuWWoes1QwzLzjBm3Nosv5LjL-M4wMZ4/s1600/CSC_0150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQekbifedXZzOCL2ROHLWzcYyN9B2I1_WjIJB3Vex9qe93XCitDjueM7eNLcl7ctmEUhutRLwtbVNwVTqQB2NXOdEDkSZ9f33KBFDSwX1QG5LsuWWoes1QwzLzjBm3Nosv5LjL-M4wMZ4/s320/CSC_0150.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-82520094011839665922010-10-16T03:26:00.001-07:002010-10-16T03:28:57.957-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YNLTmStA5BFpi8Ft2ZW3vtRZ4OupWACWI7fU-jB5WprNSZd7p2Ufg9IkQcQ1gBrIxfq1_iqRYLp2T1UO_BRmlxuQuTw7s4N4APSBzJbnvYc7ZATJPK6dGsJcdUoJdEYpJTCAEbkCE5E/s1600/DSC_0152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YNLTmStA5BFpi8Ft2ZW3vtRZ4OupWACWI7fU-jB5WprNSZd7p2Ufg9IkQcQ1gBrIxfq1_iqRYLp2T1UO_BRmlxuQuTw7s4N4APSBzJbnvYc7ZATJPK6dGsJcdUoJdEYpJTCAEbkCE5E/s320/DSC_0152.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjap4k0az1wGgqgrfk6SCFJc2_SvxtmZVIwJ0p9fMK3_wEgkA_A5xc2UHdFz0-VfZI-2lR12LQYxfB2yJjJo-I-7QB40eLTsAMNHHjSFhDnOfEofBOj7n93e-8VJJviFy2zkWwVt0mAzLM/s1600/DSC_0070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjap4k0az1wGgqgrfk6SCFJc2_SvxtmZVIwJ0p9fMK3_wEgkA_A5xc2UHdFz0-VfZI-2lR12LQYxfB2yJjJo-I-7QB40eLTsAMNHHjSFhDnOfEofBOj7n93e-8VJJviFy2zkWwVt0mAzLM/s320/DSC_0070.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMVGYG161d612osE-WbItc2I2_kWqIWY-qtHUwTseTFYP_eZTX8Y9bzHe4DVkh8SIm2d0PB0-9-NM0Bqa9W5i9_lssI_mZKHTQpYv0VtO-xWuN9Rg9He4F2jggzYmGWxrdNA0pS5u7KXs/s1600/CSC_0037+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMVGYG161d612osE-WbItc2I2_kWqIWY-qtHUwTseTFYP_eZTX8Y9bzHe4DVkh8SIm2d0PB0-9-NM0Bqa9W5i9_lssI_mZKHTQpYv0VtO-xWuN9Rg9He4F2jggzYmGWxrdNA0pS5u7KXs/s320/CSC_0037+-+Copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-_xs3uxsHL9vTY7-h7Ywa1WGtbwQ3-_FRVOoGlYCc69zxXyjPc30vaor_mY88f0XrmIpB59Li8JvPn2sMop7G7QUo2kLeUv1052YDcyXuqwydHt1fFsAbm5Oe-CR7YGuxMGSikXyvkzs/s1600/DSC_0045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-34039593998571375002010-10-16T03:18:00.000-07:002010-10-16T03:18:14.298-07:00Hi All, I have so much to write about! The past few days have been lots of fun. Wednesday, Michelle and I went to work at the hospital. Later in the day the Doctor and I started talking about Temples I had been to and she suggested one that was near the hospital and Rinki, one of the nurses, offered to take us. It was close to the temple and was very beautiful. It was a Shiva Temple, so all the statues and pictures and shrines inside and outside are of or dedicated to Lord Shiva. I did not have my camera with me that day but I will be able to borrow some from Michelle later on. When we got home the other girls in the house wanted to go to the market and the Temple near our house. While we were at the Temple, we met two girls who live in Faridabad. They took us around the Temple and we found out that it is an Ashram as well. They invited us in and we got to meet one of the men who runs the program for the students there and he also introduced us to the owner of the Temple. They continued showing us around and we were invited to attend a prayer. They were having a prayer to the Goddess of Strength. There were many people in the room and we were brought to sit in the front. They were singing, chanting, and offering fire to the Goddess. After the prayer they took us to the grave of the founder of the Temple. He is buried outside the Temple and it is under where he used to live. They changed his walls to glass and people also gather around the site to worship. Before we left, one man invited us to come back today because there would be a big celebration for the holiday Navratri. Friday, all six of us in the house decided to go to Delhi. We went to the Akshardham Temple first. It was so beautiful and the girls who have been said that it was even more impressive then the Taj Mahal. We were not allowed to bring cameras inside so I will post a picture from the internet. After the temple we went shopping in Connaught place and Sunder Nagar. Sunder Nagar was a lot of fun. Most of us had never been there before. It is another shopping center like Connaught Place, but quite a bit smaller. They have an amazing Tea House, were we all spent quite a bit of time, and a lot of interesting antique stores. This morning we woke up and got ready to go to the Temple for the celebration. There were hundreds of people from all around Faridabad. Some were worshiping in the Temple, some walked around, and some listened to a speech at a service by the Guru at the temple. We decided to do all three. After the ceremony we were brought into another part of the Temple and we sat around a fire and offered rice and oil into the fire while prayer chants were being read. After this we were brought to the Guru and were given a blessing by him. There were many reporters there and we were interviewed by one at the end. When we got back we had lunch and today is Kate's last day so she went to the market to do some last minute shopping and get a Henna Tattoo. Now we are going through pictures and plan to watch a movie later and maybe plan trips for later on in our stays. Hope everyone has a great Saturday!jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-80402035158246036442010-10-10T02:52:00.000-07:002010-10-10T02:52:36.958-07:00Hi everyone! I have been pretty busy lately, but everything is going great! The hospital is still alot of fun. Not much there is new but we have gotten to see a few more births and surgeries. I spent the last two weekends in Delhi with friends. Last weekend I went alone to meet up with some friends that I met a few weeks ago. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet new people from Germany, Romania, Columbia, and Poland as well. This weekend I traveled with Allison and Joty and we went to watch the Common Wealth Games. We were planning on watching Gymnastics and Swimming but they were both sold out. We ended up getting tickets for Track and Field on Saturday, which was still fun to watch. It lasted about two hours and the events were both Mens and Womens; Hurdles, 200M, 400M, Discus, and Long Jump. After it was over we went shopping and got lunch in Connaught Place, which is the main shopping center in Delhi. When we got back today we helped Joty pack all of her things. She left today to spend a month in Punjab with her aunt and uncle that live there. We are headed to have lunch now and hopefully I will have another Hindi lesson later on. I will put pictures up soon! Have a good day! jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-55276001695275430782010-09-29T04:50:00.000-07:002010-09-29T04:51:09.000-07:00Supra bhat (good morning) everyone! Hope the first part of the week has been great for you all. For the past three days, Joty (another volunteer) and I have been working at Kapoor hospital under Dr. Meena Kapoor. She is a OB/GYN so we mainly get to check blood pressure and weight of the mothers and help with ultrasounds and listen for heartbeats of the babies. We also are being taught how to examine the mothers before and after delivery to make sure that everything is ok. We also get to watch any surgeries or births happening while we are there. We are also learning a lot from the pediatrician that works there. We sit in his exam room while he is working and he explains everything to us plus asks us questions to see if we already know about what is going on with the child. On Monday afternoon I was able to watch my first delivery. It went smoothly and the baby and mother left today and are doing very well! Today I was able to watch a c-section birth and both mother and child are resting and doing well. The mother from Monday was very excited that we watched her delivery and couldn't wait to be back in her room so she could take a picture of us with him. Back at home I have been learning a lot of Hindi from Justin. We have a Hindi lesson or two every week and they are really helpful! Right now I'm off to the market. We introduced the girls living in the other house to Nutella, so now we run out of that and bananas much faster :) Pictures of the babies should be up soon! Have a great day!jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-81972689317775906232010-09-25T08:45:00.001-07:002010-09-25T08:45:53.263-07:00Ganges River running through the Himalayas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ccM2d_95uIxeMjbpv7gir6XPk0BJCTX6NL3pezA8MfjxL2ZjHMyeROPRMDknLOnhb8lfD61hyphenhyphen6Vy5Sh_BLHORtiZT_4CspDaAluOgB_Lehx-tLr7RS2eoSbMp6oaefs3u7KqC3btdcc/s1600/ganges.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ccM2d_95uIxeMjbpv7gir6XPk0BJCTX6NL3pezA8MfjxL2ZjHMyeROPRMDknLOnhb8lfD61hyphenhyphen6Vy5Sh_BLHORtiZT_4CspDaAluOgB_Lehx-tLr7RS2eoSbMp6oaefs3u7KqC3btdcc/s320/ganges.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-50400997331727941262010-09-24T13:16:00.000-07:002010-09-24T13:16:26.099-07:00Good Afternoon everyone! Hope the day is going well for all of you! I haven't posted for a while because I have been procrastinating since I have so much to write! The last time I posted I was getting ready to travel to Rishikesh for the weekend. It was a great trip! I was invited to go by Allison's friend Luis, who is a Marine stationed here. We went with Joty (a new girl at the house from California) and Luis' friends Nora and Adrian. We had some difficulty getting there. We got caught in a flood and behind a landslide so it took us a little longer than expected, but it was still worth the 12 hour drive! We spent the first night at a hotel in at the base of the Himalayas since the landslide blocked our way up. The next morning a few workers at the hotel came and picked us up and brought us to our hotel. It was beautiful. It was a cottage in the middle of the Himalayas, about half way up a mountain. We got settled in, ate lunch, and set off for a hike! Our tour guide brought us a little further up the mountain and then a good distance across. We found a waterfall that was not part of the tour but we decided that we wanted to climb it anyway. The whole tour took about 4 hours. I will post picture of it right after this! That night we ate dinner and then had a bonfire outside the cottage. In the morning we got up and had a yoga session at 9, since Rishikesh is the yoga capital of the world! After breakfast we packed up at headed back down to Rishikesh. We spent the day there sightseeing and walking along the Ganges river. We had planned to go rafting but the water level was still very dangerous and we were not allowed to go. We got back very late Tuesday night and headed straight to bed. Wednesday we spent the day cleaning, doing laundry, and catching up on sleep from the weekend. Thursday Joty and I went to the Charitable hospital to work. It was not very busy so there was not much to do. We were able to watch a few x-rays being taken and then we sat in the pharmacy and assisted there for a while. After work we went to the market nearby. It is the largest in the area. Right now I am helping Justin and Dr. Bandhu look for new projects to work at. They found one other hospital where Dr. Bandhu knows the Doctor in charge there. Her name is Meena Kapoor and she is a gynocologist. I had a lot more work to do there, which was great. First they needed me to clean and roll gloves. After I finished that I was able to watch quite a few ultrasounds. I was also taught how to examine a pregnant woman to check the vitals of the baby. I was supposed to watch a tubectomy but it was rescheduled. I was introduced to the Pediatrition there and was able to help him for a while. I sat with him and watch and help with his exams. After they were finished, I completed his rounds with him and then it was time to go home. Yesterday Justin gave me a little Hindi lesson and taught me to count to ten and Indu (one of the girls living in the other section of the house) taught me to write my name in Hindi. We taught the girls in the house a few card games and we usually talk with them and play cards after dinner. They love phase 10! We have played that two nights in a row. Tomorrow Allison and I will be going to Delhi to see Luis and Adrian before they leave. They both transfer posts on Monday morning. Right now I am headed to get the mouse out of our room (Hopefully!!!) and go to sleep! I will post pictures of the floods and the Himalayas soon! Have a great rest of the day!jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-9738931994382021932010-09-15T02:08:00.000-07:002010-09-15T02:08:09.637-07:00Goodmorning everyone! For the past few days I have been teaching at Prakash Deep School. The older classes are in exams still so I have been teaching the junior classes. I am teaching Music and Drawing but I also help the teachers with whatever they need, such as correcting classwork or helping the children with their work. Monday I taught an English class as well as drawing. Yesterday Allison and I went with Dr. Savitta to another location of the school. We were given a presentation of what they have been working on. They are all younger children, so this included rhymes, the alphabet, and numbers 1-100 (all in both Hindi and English). I also played guitar for them a little bit and then we turned it into a game similar to musical chairs, which they enjoyed. Today I helped Dr. Savitta prepare the exams for the standard 6 class and then I taught a music class. I played a few songs on guitar for them as well and then I taught them London Bridge, If You're Happy and You Know It, Twinkle Twinkle Iittle Star, and Bingo. After they learned these, they sang me a few of the ones they already knew. Most of them I had never heard before. After Music class I helped correct their math and english work and passed out their lunches. Monday night after dinner we taught Pooja and Simpy (two of the students living in the host family) how to play Phase 10. They loved it and want to play again tonight! I will most likely be at the school for the rest of the week and hopefully traveling this weekend. Hope everyone has a great day at work and school!!!jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-13711347982837119172010-09-10T00:39:00.000-07:002010-09-15T02:09:05.775-07:00Hi everyone! I have been pretty busy the last few days so I have quite a bit to write! On Wednesday Pauline and I went to the Hospital to work. It is split into 3 floor. The first floor is the consultation rooms, the gynocology ward, and the pharmacy. The second floor is the blood test lab and the gerenal ward. The third floor is the surgical ward. The general ward is nothing like our hospitals here. It is one giant room with lines of beds and all the patients are all together. At first there wasn't much to do because they don't start giving medicine until 10am. We talked to a doctor for a few minutes and watched them give medicine for a while. After a few minutes we went downstairs with a doctor named Rahoul to his consultation room to help him. He is one of three doctors that runs consultations. He sees all types of patients from simple muscle pains to Malaria and Tuberculosis. We learned alot about different types of diseases and their causes and treatments. We also learned how to read a patients blood pressure and got alot of experience with reading x-rays and ultrasounds. After work we went back to the house for lunch. At about 4:30 we headed to the Indian Habitat Center for a presentation we were invited to by the founder of the school we are working at. Savitta Daat founded the Prakash Deep school quite a few years ago when she saw two young boys picking garbage on the side if the road and decided to pick them up and start a school. This is even more impressive considering her qualifications. Savitta is an amazing woman and it is truely an honor to be able to work for her. She has her doctorate in Literature, has written a book about the nuclear situation in Pakistan, and before she founded the school she was considered the most intelligent woman in the Indian Army. The presentation was the first screening of a film by a young Indian film maker who just shot this movie about Prakash Deep. It is called "A Drop of Light". It was a very beautiful film and we were able to meet him as well as a few other people such as the President of the Trust for the school, and several highly respected Indian journalists. After the presentation we went back to the house for dinner with the family. The next morning we went to the hospital again. This time we got to help with the medicine. We were able to assist with inserting IVs and we were taught how to change the IV bags and how to transfer the medicine from their boxes and inject them into the IV bags. After a few times with help, we were able to read the charts and inject the medication by ourselves. When the medicine had all be distributed we went downstairs to assist Dr. Rahoul with consultations again. I was able to examen a man for appendicitis, which came out positive, and I was also able to examen a baby who ended up being very dehydrated and underweight, and she was also anemic. The past few days have been very rewarding and I have learned many new things. I was planning to travel to Rishikesh and Haridwar this weekend but it is not going to work out now. We are now planning to go back to Delhi and do more sightseeing and shopping as well as check out the cinema! Today is a holiday, Eid, so the projects are closed. We are in the house for now spending some time together and planning our weekend!jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-776686067238517982010-09-08T02:47:00.001-07:002010-09-08T02:47:20.881-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNVQtOEE-VS834zEunJoztRPsVkZgveMAHeL1sO-g-voKpGz8J0k6xfuwC-oqn8ZG5NkakGWI_qDxMesrOfg8aT2Z1-90OfiT3cP3igL6tqajWb1K4UcWOwnIWlZutef_FeI-GVWGfFc/s1600/IMG_1497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNVQtOEE-VS834zEunJoztRPsVkZgveMAHeL1sO-g-voKpGz8J0k6xfuwC-oqn8ZG5NkakGWI_qDxMesrOfg8aT2Z1-90OfiT3cP3igL6tqajWb1K4UcWOwnIWlZutef_FeI-GVWGfFc/s320/IMG_1497.JPG" /></a></div>jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216962541441816064.post-79062619949905836802010-09-08T02:43:00.000-07:002010-09-08T02:43:15.836-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgbcTyMdSJBBBdLRtHtCrLVyAe8RjPlUK33cxClsKsGQCxziUWY0y8W4Bf59XdK3kjy-RycAIiWaI5Z2PzRiPjD6_hip7oTRYomP3X3mZDbODlgtdlAJFV7qjX-zrpRkBLRG1N9LBz44/s1600/IMG_1454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgbcTyMdSJBBBdLRtHtCrLVyAe8RjPlUK33cxClsKsGQCxziUWY0y8W4Bf59XdK3kjy-RycAIiWaI5Z2PzRiPjD6_hip7oTRYomP3X3mZDbODlgtdlAJFV7qjX-zrpRkBLRG1N9LBz44/s320/IMG_1454.JPG" /></a></div>jessicamerrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18347537127843171812noreply@blogger.com0