2 weeks in & loving it (mostly!)

Just a quick editorial note: I'm having issues with spacing when I add photos, so please excuse the weird line spacing and random sentences that skip to the next line!  (Open to pointers too!)

Things continue to surprise and challenge me here, but the more time that passes (2 weeks now) in-country, the more comfortable I'm becoming.  The little things - the late trains, nonfunctioning phones, obstinate auto-rickshaw drivers, language barriers, etc. - are the cause of my occasional frustration, but they'll also surely be the things that I'll miss and laugh about once we've returned to the States.  I'm trying to embrace the unique nature of India and soak it all in while I am able.  Also, the samosas seem to make everything better!

I've really enjoyed my classes here at ISB, and I'm learning a lot about the Indian business

 setting, as well as more general MBA concepts (which is really good, since I'm down to 8 weeks of classes!)  I've also had the opportunity to:

1. Learn about Hyderabad's history through a tour of the city (a Hindu temple and the ancient Golconda Fort)
   
2. See the countryside and village life (while attending a conference in the coastal state of Kerala)
3. Take pride in my U.S. roots while abroad (Obama-mania is present worldwide!)

In terms of classes, I'm spending two days a week in classes and using the other days to study and work on a Duke Global Health Institute project here in Hyderabad.  The students at ISB

 are in their second week of recruiting, and things are increasingly stressful here.  It seems as though the recession is truly having global impact on hiring, but there are several more weeks of recruiting.  The students here do their recruiting/interviews throughout the weekends, and they are only allowed to have one offer at a time - a fact that makes me feel really grateful for the recruitment process in place at Duke.  As the ISB program is only a year long, the recruitment process is condensed and even more high-stakes than for those of us who've attended two-year MBA programs.  Wish them well!

Our (the exchange students') city tour was pretty amazing. The international students at ISB arranged for a full day of touring and getting to know Hyderabad.  We visited a Hindu temple that overlooked the city, spent time touring Golconda Fort - an amazing site with historical significance and beautiful architecture, and tried some of the local fare.  We also spotted a camel walking through the streets, explored the shopping attractions, and spent the evening learning about Indian weddings from our friend Sreejah.

This past week, Ty and I traveled to Calicut, Kerala, where I attended the First International Conference on Public Health and Palliative Care.  Because I have worked as both a public health and a hospice nurse and am really interested in global health, it was an incredible opportunity for me to meet major players in the field internationally, to visit organizations and meet physicians who I had recently researched for a Public Policy class at Duke, and to see village life in India.  80% of Indians in Kerala receive the palliative care (end-of-life care and symptom management for diseases that are incurable) that they need, whereas only 2-4% of Indians have access throughout the rest of the country.  

The conference consisted of a village visit and then two days of paper & poster presentations, dialogue, and networking.  Ty and I visited a village during the state's Palliative Care Day, and we traveled to see over 200 volunteers collecting money, educating the public, and soliciting new volunteers.  We also saw the clinic, a school education programs (to make the young aware of the importance of caring for the dying), and a household with 3 patients: an elderly woman with cancer and her two daughters (one with cancer and one with kidney disease).  The family and palliative care professionals welcomed us, the volunteers were extremely dedicated to the mission of the organization, and the generosity of the poor in the village was incredible (We witnessed amazing financial generosity on the part of the villagers).

One very cool Duke connection was made during the conference too!  A public health and palliative care physician from Singapore was attending the conference, and she's affiliated with the Duke-National University of Singapore.  We know several of the same Duke physicians, know the same palliative care professionals from New York City, and even lived in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn (though not at the same time).  Who would've guessed we'd cross paths in a small coastal city in India?!

Finally - Obama-mania! It's wild how many people in India want to talk about Obama and the impact that they hope he has on the world.  Whether in classes ("What will happen to the economy when Obama is inaugurated?"), in the villages of Kerala ("Your president can be the best man in the world or the worst. We think Obama will be the best,") or in the midst of an Australian sociologist's public health plight ("We need hope in this field - if only Obama was here to help me with this!")  After traveling around the world and hearing negative comments about Americans and the leadership of our country, it feels really refreshing, exciting, and promising to hear these words from people that live a world away from our borders.  

On that note, enjoy the inauguration, and thanks for reading...