Everyone (at least in my room) must have been worn out from our excursion to the caves because we slept in until 9 am this morning! Usually we are up around 7:30ish due to the chirping birds and early morning Call to Prayer. We made it to the tail end of breakfast and saw Dr. and Mrs. Lambert off as they headed to a nearby village for a tour. Our first session was at 10:30 in which we learned all about different medicinal drug use led by Dr. Shobha. We discussed the criteria for drug selection and the comparison between rational use of medicines versus pharmaceutical promotions. In the villages the health workers do not prescribe meds but have a small selection of drugs that they can carry on them for minor illnesses. They usually encourage home remedies instead of forcing a lot of meds on patients. As the lecture ended we walked over to the hospital and received a short tour. We even got to see a premature baby who was only 11 days old!
We then had an hour and a half break in which some people took a rickshaw into town to do some quick shopping while others of us stayed behind to work on our group projects. After lunch we had a few more sessions; one on Herbal Medicine led by Shiva and the other on Alternative Healthcare led by Dr. Shobha again. The herbal medicine lecture reminded me of my mom’s herb garden and of the different plants we have around our own house such as the Aloe plant. In case you were wondering, aloe not only provides relief from sunburns, but also relieves stomach acidity problems and can make your skin smooth. During the alternative medicine lecture we learned about all types of practices such as Ayurbeda (an ancient Indian natural treatment), Homeopathy, Acupuncture, and Yoga. At the end I was extremely relaxed even just talking about these different methods and wanted to do yoga right then! Maybe we’ll fit in a class later this week 😉 We pushed back our class meeting for a quick walk down to the lake which was equally as relaxing. A lot of people in the class hadn’t been there yet and we appreciated the exercise and beautiful sunset.
We then had a short class and went to dinner where we were surprised to find mashed potatoes! Oh the little things. Afterwards, a few girls and I came up with the idea of stopping by the convenience tent next door to get some ice cream…and about 5 bars of chocolate. But the fun doesn’t end there. A dance party in the room followed by homework and a movie projected on a large screen on the wall completed our night.
PHS HSS WT in India 