Well, we're home now. Sort of anticlimactic, eh? Sorry about that. We were a bit too busy to blog during those last couple days and have been trying to recover our sleep schedule ever since. Well, at least I have/still am.
Anyway, after our day at Ha Long Bay, we went back to Hanoi for a couple days. Pretty cool stuff. We checked out a couple pagodas, the Temple of Literature (sounded like a great idea to this former English major), the Old Quarter, Hoa Lo prison (the "Hanoi Hilton"), Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and house, lots more fun and exciting food, etc. Good times.
At the end of the day on the 17th, the sad moment had arrived, when our intrepid group had to split up once again. Tiffany and Kelsi went back to Ho Chi Minh City to meet up with their families, while the boys and I started the long journey homeward. The flight home wasn't nearly as bad as it should have been, since by some magical happenstance the plane was underbooked, so we each had plenty of room to spread out. And gotta say, as much as we all loved Asia, it was very nice to get back home. If only because of the States' complete lack of noodles for breakfast, haha. Not gonna lie though, the transition back to American food has been an interesting one for most of our GI systems. Good times.
I really can't emphasize enough to all of you out there what a wonderful trip ours was. First of all, getting to encounter so many new countries and cultures was so much fun, and very educational. And I know that for me, one of the best parts about travel and new experiences is the light it sheds on your own lifestyle. Finding out how people do things differently lets you actually look at what you do and wonder why you do it that way. Teaches you a lot about yourself and your own culture, both the good and the bad.
The sheer fun of traveling was not our original motivation in taking this trip, however. To quote this blog's first post, "Our goal for sending students to disadvantaged communities is twofold. Firstly, the need in these areas is very real, and we are able to make a significant difference in the lives of the people there, brief though our time there is. Secondly, we feel it is very important for medical students to develop an understanding and appreciation for the different cultures and problems that exist in the world around us." Were these goals accomplished on this trip? I would answer that with a resounding yes.
As to the first goal, making a difference to the people we were serving, it's of course hard to come out with a unilateral yes to that. There was such need in those communities, and we were only 7 people with limited time, limited supplies, and (for the students) limited knowledge. However, our goal wasn't to fix every problem. Our goal was to make a difference in the lives of the individuals we were serving. And I think we accomplished that. In the Philippines, a man had relief from pain as a result of clearing his blocked catheter. A boy had a giant abscess on his forehead drained cleanly. A man had a pyogenic granuloma removed. A woman with pneumonia received medication. Dozens of children had their scabies treated. We made a difference to each of these people. In Cambodia, a whole hospital benefited from the presence of Dr. Gossman, and an orphanage benefited from receiving physical exams for the first time in quite a while. In Vietnam, one family has a house now that didn't before, and scores of people in the middle of nowhere got to go to a mobile clinic that we helped with. True, we were just taking blood pressure, but we helped the clinic run smoothly, and enabled the doctors to do their jobs.
As to the second goal, that of "developing an understanding and appreciation for the different cultures and problems that exist in the world around us," I don't think any of us can deny that this was well accomplished. Observing and participating in health care in setting so different from the ones we are used to was a very eye-opening experience, and taught us a lot about many different things. Also, before we left, Gossman had told us that practicing international medicine like this is kind of like crack, and once you're bitten by the bug, there's no going back. Is this true? Probably definitely yes. This was such a great experience, I know I personally want to do this again, and am so excited for the day we can actually do more, when we're all real doctors and don't have to defer to Dr. Gossman every 5 seconds about everything.
So, conclusion? CURA 2009 SE Asia: best. thing. ever. Fantastic group, fantastic people to work with in Asia, fantastic food, decent weather, gorgeous scenery, ridiculously awesome everything. High five, everyone.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
One last whirlwind week
Well, we haven't written in a while (sorry), but mostly because we've been all over the place in the last few days. I think last time I wrote was the 9th, so I'll do a quick play-by-play for you of what we've been up to since then.
10 June: Like I said, they had pretty much run out of things for us to do at the house-building place, and had a whole soccer team coming in to volunteer anyway. So Tiffany's family took us to this place called Monkey Island, which was, as you might guess, an island with monkeys. Lots of monkeys. One tried to jump in the car as I was getting out. The day involved lots of monkeys, cool mangrove forests, creepy music from a monkey carnival, and a thunderstorm that chased us all under a gazebo-type thing for shelter. Little did we know, a monkey was also seeking shelter there, so we had lots of adventures with it before it finally ran away from our driver. There was also a mysterious trashcan-looking thing a little ways away that kept rocking back and forth, which was creepy till we discovered there was a big tortoise in there, waving its arms and legs around and making the whole thing rock. So, in all, we didn't get to see much of the island since the rain stopped the tour boats from running, but the experience of being sequestered in a gazebo with a possibly hostile monkey with a phantom trashcan rocking around the mangrove forest outside was definitely worth it.
11 June: Off to Soc Trang province. Very,very long car ride involving multiple ferries. By the time we checked into our hotel is was pretty late, but we still met up with the pastor of the area's Christian church, who is connected with SOMEDCO. Apparently, it is particularly hard for people around there to get good healthcare, since they're in the middle of nowhere and are both ethnic (Khmer) and religious (Christian) minorities. So SOMEDCO has helped set up a community-based system out there, by stocking "medicine boxes" in certain churches and training a few people in the community to recognize common symptoms and know how to deal out the medication. They also do a lot of education about hygeine, preventative healthcare, etc. From the sounds of things, the program has had a great impact in the area already.
12 June: Driving around random areas to check out more SOMEDCO work. We got to see one of the famed medicine boxes and were kind of surprised by it. After hearing so much about what a great impact these meds were making, we did not expect to see the high level of (what Americans consider) placebos that they had there. Yes, they had some antibiotics, paracetamol (Asian tylenol), cholesterol lowerers, etc, but they also had tons of random vitamins, "dragon elixir," etc. Very interesting.
We were also taken to see some other projects. SOMEDCO apparently has their hands in everything. We're very impressed with the organization. They dig wells for clean water, roof houses, build churches, etc. Very cool to meet with the people the organization has actually aided.
13 June: After staying the night in Can Tho city, we drove for a ways more, till the roads could no longer allow full-size cars, then walked across a swaying plank of wood onto a big boat with the rest of the SOMEDCO volunteers who had come to meet us, and traveled for about another hour to the place we were having our mobile clinic. Middle of nowhere. Seriously. So cool. And actually, we were having a lot of fun with this at the hotel the night before, and at the mobile clinic: as it turns out, we were actually the first Americans/first Caucasians that some of the people there had ever seen. Is that a mind trip or what? To one man in our hotel, America now equals Brandon Hankey. That really makes you think. I hope we've all been giving good impressions on this trip!
Anyway, the mobile clinic was sweet. Since we're just students, they couldn't really have us do much beyond blood pressure screenings, but it was still cool, and we're all rockstars of blood pressure now. We saw some pretty crazy stuff too. Lots of goiters, some missing eyes, one eye that we were thinking might have fairly advanced retinoblastoma, chicken pox, some super-high blood pressure, etc. Also, they had a dentist volunteering at the same time, and watching her work was amazing. The people there are either incredibly tough, incredibly desperate to get rid of their problem teeth, or both. The dentist lady would numb them up a bit (not as elaborate as Western dentistry), grab some big pliers, and just yank out the offending tooth. And the patients never flinched! Just bit down on some gauze, thanked the dentist, and walked away! Ridiculous.
We had to leave the clinic a bit early (sad), since we had to get back to HCMC that night. Couldn't take the boat back to the van though obviously, so we ended up hiring motos! Gotta say, motorcycle rides through rural southern Vietnam are one of the coolest things I've experienced here. Such gorgeous surroundings, so much fun. And don't worry, parents, we were all wearing helmets, firmly seated behind very experienced drivers, and not going all that fast, due to the small roads. So much fun. Loved it. Great last working day, though I'm sad our work here is done.
14 June: travel to Hanoi with Tiffany's cousins Annie and Cherry. Once we got to Hanoi, we hooked up with our tour guide and drove to Ha Long City. This area of northern Vietnam is absolutely gorgeous. Not sure if I should say it's mountainous or not, since it's certainly no Rockies, but I don't think "foothill-ous" or "very large and fantastic hills-ous" are words. Very beautiful though. We also stopped at a pagoda along the way, which was pretty sweet.
15 June: Ha Long Bay! I'm running out of time on the computer and words in my head right now, so I can't do it justice, but it was stunningly gorgeous. Do a google image search of "ha long bay" or "halong bay" and check out the pictures. If I remember right, there are about 200,000 sheer limestone islands in as many square kilometers. Amazing. They just pop up all around you. As you navigate through on a boat, there are just layers upon layers that keep opening up in front of you. Very fun boat ride, very mysterious. We had the whole boat to ourselves for some reason, which was great. We even got them to stop for a bit in a lagoon so that we could jump out of the boat and swim for a while. What a great day. How are we here? This is ridiculous. How did a bunch of 20-something year old students with no jobs, no income, no place in the world, no anything, end up spending such a great month in Asia? Removing pyogenic granulomas in the Philippines? Seeing broken-off acupuncture needles in an x-ray in an ER in Phnom Penh? Walking in some of humanity's greatest artistic achievements in the Angkor temples? Riding boats and motorcycles to check blood pressures in the Mekong? Hanging out on a private boat watching some of the world's greatest landscapes opening up before them in Ha Long Bay? Ridiculous. Nonsensical wonderful ridiculousness.
-Alyssa
10 June: Like I said, they had pretty much run out of things for us to do at the house-building place, and had a whole soccer team coming in to volunteer anyway. So Tiffany's family took us to this place called Monkey Island, which was, as you might guess, an island with monkeys. Lots of monkeys. One tried to jump in the car as I was getting out. The day involved lots of monkeys, cool mangrove forests, creepy music from a monkey carnival, and a thunderstorm that chased us all under a gazebo-type thing for shelter. Little did we know, a monkey was also seeking shelter there, so we had lots of adventures with it before it finally ran away from our driver. There was also a mysterious trashcan-looking thing a little ways away that kept rocking back and forth, which was creepy till we discovered there was a big tortoise in there, waving its arms and legs around and making the whole thing rock. So, in all, we didn't get to see much of the island since the rain stopped the tour boats from running, but the experience of being sequestered in a gazebo with a possibly hostile monkey with a phantom trashcan rocking around the mangrove forest outside was definitely worth it.
11 June: Off to Soc Trang province. Very,very long car ride involving multiple ferries. By the time we checked into our hotel is was pretty late, but we still met up with the pastor of the area's Christian church, who is connected with SOMEDCO. Apparently, it is particularly hard for people around there to get good healthcare, since they're in the middle of nowhere and are both ethnic (Khmer) and religious (Christian) minorities. So SOMEDCO has helped set up a community-based system out there, by stocking "medicine boxes" in certain churches and training a few people in the community to recognize common symptoms and know how to deal out the medication. They also do a lot of education about hygeine, preventative healthcare, etc. From the sounds of things, the program has had a great impact in the area already.
12 June: Driving around random areas to check out more SOMEDCO work. We got to see one of the famed medicine boxes and were kind of surprised by it. After hearing so much about what a great impact these meds were making, we did not expect to see the high level of (what Americans consider) placebos that they had there. Yes, they had some antibiotics, paracetamol (Asian tylenol), cholesterol lowerers, etc, but they also had tons of random vitamins, "dragon elixir," etc. Very interesting.
We were also taken to see some other projects. SOMEDCO apparently has their hands in everything. We're very impressed with the organization. They dig wells for clean water, roof houses, build churches, etc. Very cool to meet with the people the organization has actually aided.
13 June: After staying the night in Can Tho city, we drove for a ways more, till the roads could no longer allow full-size cars, then walked across a swaying plank of wood onto a big boat with the rest of the SOMEDCO volunteers who had come to meet us, and traveled for about another hour to the place we were having our mobile clinic. Middle of nowhere. Seriously. So cool. And actually, we were having a lot of fun with this at the hotel the night before, and at the mobile clinic: as it turns out, we were actually the first Americans/first Caucasians that some of the people there had ever seen. Is that a mind trip or what? To one man in our hotel, America now equals Brandon Hankey. That really makes you think. I hope we've all been giving good impressions on this trip!
Anyway, the mobile clinic was sweet. Since we're just students, they couldn't really have us do much beyond blood pressure screenings, but it was still cool, and we're all rockstars of blood pressure now. We saw some pretty crazy stuff too. Lots of goiters, some missing eyes, one eye that we were thinking might have fairly advanced retinoblastoma, chicken pox, some super-high blood pressure, etc. Also, they had a dentist volunteering at the same time, and watching her work was amazing. The people there are either incredibly tough, incredibly desperate to get rid of their problem teeth, or both. The dentist lady would numb them up a bit (not as elaborate as Western dentistry), grab some big pliers, and just yank out the offending tooth. And the patients never flinched! Just bit down on some gauze, thanked the dentist, and walked away! Ridiculous.
We had to leave the clinic a bit early (sad), since we had to get back to HCMC that night. Couldn't take the boat back to the van though obviously, so we ended up hiring motos! Gotta say, motorcycle rides through rural southern Vietnam are one of the coolest things I've experienced here. Such gorgeous surroundings, so much fun. And don't worry, parents, we were all wearing helmets, firmly seated behind very experienced drivers, and not going all that fast, due to the small roads. So much fun. Loved it. Great last working day, though I'm sad our work here is done.
14 June: travel to Hanoi with Tiffany's cousins Annie and Cherry. Once we got to Hanoi, we hooked up with our tour guide and drove to Ha Long City. This area of northern Vietnam is absolutely gorgeous. Not sure if I should say it's mountainous or not, since it's certainly no Rockies, but I don't think "foothill-ous" or "very large and fantastic hills-ous" are words. Very beautiful though. We also stopped at a pagoda along the way, which was pretty sweet.
15 June: Ha Long Bay! I'm running out of time on the computer and words in my head right now, so I can't do it justice, but it was stunningly gorgeous. Do a google image search of "ha long bay" or "halong bay" and check out the pictures. If I remember right, there are about 200,000 sheer limestone islands in as many square kilometers. Amazing. They just pop up all around you. As you navigate through on a boat, there are just layers upon layers that keep opening up in front of you. Very fun boat ride, very mysterious. We had the whole boat to ourselves for some reason, which was great. We even got them to stop for a bit in a lagoon so that we could jump out of the boat and swim for a while. What a great day. How are we here? This is ridiculous. How did a bunch of 20-something year old students with no jobs, no income, no place in the world, no anything, end up spending such a great month in Asia? Removing pyogenic granulomas in the Philippines? Seeing broken-off acupuncture needles in an x-ray in an ER in Phnom Penh? Walking in some of humanity's greatest artistic achievements in the Angkor temples? Riding boats and motorcycles to check blood pressures in the Mekong? Hanging out on a private boat watching some of the world's greatest landscapes opening up before them in Ha Long Bay? Ridiculous. Nonsensical wonderful ridiculousness.
-Alyssa
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Our house...in the middle of Vietnam, our house...
So the past 2 days have been spent with SOMEDCO, building a house for a local family. Thanh arranged for a bunch of students from his church to come work with us, so the work actually went really well and really quickly. The first day was spent filling in the foundation level with dirt to form the base of the floor. Loooots of shoveling and wheelbarrowing and shoveling dirt onto empty mortar mix bags and carrying those around ensued. Very hot, but good times. As the day went on, everything seemed to get more and more hilarious, till we were all cracking up about anything that was said while we were shoveling and sweating more than anyone ever should outside of a sauna. Good times, but I think the SOMEDCO group was a little confused by us. Probably a good thing.
The second day was dedicated mostly to laying stone over the dirt floor. This again involved lots of carrying and such, but was again good times. People here also seem to delight in getting us to try foods we've never met before and watching us fail at eating them. Yesterday they brought us durian, this weird type of fruit that about half the people in the world find very smelly and disgusting. Really though, it's not all that bad if you ignore the slight nastiness and look for the sweet flavor that's there too. The consistency is the really wierd thing. Sort of like a stringy pudding. If someone had just handed me some durian and not told me it was a fruit, I never would have guessed.
Anyway though, because we had so much help with the house and everything, we were really running out of things to do. So Thanh and the SOMEDCO bunch ended up telling us we could take a day off if we wanted today, so we are. Sounds like we'd be more of a hassle than a help at the construction site today, since they wouldn't have anything for us to do (the only thing really left is finishing bricklaying, but that's being done by paid workers, so we don't want to steal their job) but we would still need to be fed, etc. So instead, Tiffany's aunt is taking us to some place called Monkey Island. Excited to see what that exactly entails. Monkeys, hooray!
Overall, things continue very well. The group is fantastic, Tiffany's family's hospitality is seriously over the top and incredible, the food is good (some kind of delicious fish and noodles last night, mmm), and we're excited to move on to the next part of our time with SOMEDCO tomorrow! Unfortunately, it is the last part of our trip. The time has really flown, and while we're all looking forward to some things in America, like tap water and breakfast cereal, we'll also be sad to leave Asia. It's been a great experience so far. We've learned so much, seen so much, done so much, experienced so much, and met so many great people. Looking forward to making these last few days count!
-Alyssa
The second day was dedicated mostly to laying stone over the dirt floor. This again involved lots of carrying and such, but was again good times. People here also seem to delight in getting us to try foods we've never met before and watching us fail at eating them. Yesterday they brought us durian, this weird type of fruit that about half the people in the world find very smelly and disgusting. Really though, it's not all that bad if you ignore the slight nastiness and look for the sweet flavor that's there too. The consistency is the really wierd thing. Sort of like a stringy pudding. If someone had just handed me some durian and not told me it was a fruit, I never would have guessed.
Anyway though, because we had so much help with the house and everything, we were really running out of things to do. So Thanh and the SOMEDCO bunch ended up telling us we could take a day off if we wanted today, so we are. Sounds like we'd be more of a hassle than a help at the construction site today, since they wouldn't have anything for us to do (the only thing really left is finishing bricklaying, but that's being done by paid workers, so we don't want to steal their job) but we would still need to be fed, etc. So instead, Tiffany's aunt is taking us to some place called Monkey Island. Excited to see what that exactly entails. Monkeys, hooray!
Overall, things continue very well. The group is fantastic, Tiffany's family's hospitality is seriously over the top and incredible, the food is good (some kind of delicious fish and noodles last night, mmm), and we're excited to move on to the next part of our time with SOMEDCO tomorrow! Unfortunately, it is the last part of our trip. The time has really flown, and while we're all looking forward to some things in America, like tap water and breakfast cereal, we'll also be sad to leave Asia. It's been a great experience so far. We've learned so much, seen so much, done so much, experienced so much, and met so many great people. Looking forward to making these last few days count!
-Alyssa
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Culinary Delights in Ho Chi Minh City
This morning started off with the groups separating. Alyssa, Paul, and Kelsi went to meet our SoMedco contact, while Hank, Tiffany and I stayed with Tiffany's family. Alyssa, Paul, and Kelsi had the privilege of attending a 2-3 hour church service. The rest of us were able to experience what Tiffany calls "the leisurely Vietnamese morning." This does not, however, include sleeping in. Instead, we headed to a back alley restaurant where we were served the traditional Pho (pronounced "fur"), a vegetable and meat soup. Afterwards, we headed to a different locale and had some Vietnamese coffee. This cafe overlooked one of the cleanest bodies of water we have seen yet (it was a pond). What makes Vietnames coffee unique? Well, it is similar to espresso, but it is brewed at your table in individual servings. Hot water is poured into this small metal contraption that holds the grounds and sits on top of your cup. The coffee slowly percolates over 5-10 minutes and is then ready to be enjoyed either black or with "milk." I deem it "milk" because it is actually sweetened condensed milk. I took it with milk, which is apparently just for women, but I don't really care because it was absolutely amazing.
We finally all linked back up for lunch...another amazing example of the excellent cuisine here in Vietnam. We made our own spring rolls with pork, beef, and an array of vegetables, most of which were unrecognizable to us. There were multiple sauces to dip them in and one in particular I just have to mention. As I took my first bite with this one sauce, Tiffany gave me the strangest look and then asked me if I liked it. I thought it was alright, but then she would not tell me what it was made out of. With that reaction from Tiffany, I could no longer sample that sauce. It wasn't until after the meal that she revealed the ingredient: fish puree...and by that she meant the entire fish, not just the meat we are all used to. Now that I think of the flavor, that is exactly what it tasted like.
We did do something besides eat today: we went to the Cuchi Tunnels. These are the tunnels that the Viet Cong used during the Vietnam War (or the American War, as it is referred to here in Vietnam). It was a very impressive, three tiered system of tunnels...a total of 250 kilometers. We were able to crawl through 60 meters of tunnel...and that was more than enough. We also learned how the tunnels were organized, ventilated, and even how they hid the smoke from the kitchen areas by diffusing it over 10 meters or so, making it appear like fog. Near the end of the tour we had the option to go to the shooting range and shoot real M16s and AK-47s. None of us took advantage of this opportunity, but we watched a few of our newfound Australian friends partake.
After the Cuchi Tunnels we headed back to experience the highlight of the day: eating balut. For those who don't know, balut is a hard boiled duck egg...with a twist. There is a duck embryo inside. We had heard about balut since the Philippines, but didn't get the opportunity to feast until today. I say feast because Tiffany's family apparently didn't understand that we only wanted to sample balut. They brought us 30 eggs!!
Just to completely horrify everyone, I will try and explain how balut is eaten.
Each egg comes with a small blue mark, which is where you strike the egg with a small spoon to pop the top off. Once the top is off, you sip the fluid (amniotic fluid?) out of the shell like a shot. You then attack it piece by piece. First eat the yolk, which is very similar to a regular chicken egg yolk. After one bite of yolk, Kelsi dropped out. After the yolk, you move on to the duck itself. It is absolutely crucial at this juncture not to look at what you are eating: the duck embryo looks exactly like what you think...eyes, beak, feathers. It is best to add a little salt and pepper and quickly chew the whole thing. There's another piece of yolk to be devoured and then the final piece is a cartilagenous little fin-like structure. Once you've spent 3 minutes pulverizing that with your teeth you can swallow and you are done.
At least I was done. I knew going in that I was only going to have one balut and then never do it again (ever). However, Paul had silently downed three in the corner while we were struggling with our first (he had eaten balut before) and Alyssa, Hank, and Tiffany each went on to down 1 or 2 more. Needless to say, many pictures and videos were taken of this epic event. I apologize to anyone who was disgusted by my detailed description of the process.
To cap off our day of culinary delights we headed to the edge of town to Tiffany's favorite seafood restaurant. We feasted on small clams, a few different types of snails, quail eggs, and an exquisite fish soup. Most of us had not eaten shellfish of this type before, but we were lucky to have the waitresses watching to rescue us while we were failing to eat correctly. I had one perched right by my side for almost the entire meal. I guess they just assume that the sweaty, pastey white American is going to fail. I felt like a toddler struggling to eat this wonderful food and felt especially foolish when the waitress quickly popped the shell to a clam that I had been fiddling with for a couple minutes.
We ended our night at a frozen yogurt bar. Even Hank (the vegan) had some fro-yo for the first time in approximately a decade...he's just so polite. All in all, it was a great day and I believe all of our GI systems (especially Hank's) were introduced to some new substances.
We finally all linked back up for lunch...another amazing example of the excellent cuisine here in Vietnam. We made our own spring rolls with pork, beef, and an array of vegetables, most of which were unrecognizable to us. There were multiple sauces to dip them in and one in particular I just have to mention. As I took my first bite with this one sauce, Tiffany gave me the strangest look and then asked me if I liked it. I thought it was alright, but then she would not tell me what it was made out of. With that reaction from Tiffany, I could no longer sample that sauce. It wasn't until after the meal that she revealed the ingredient: fish puree...and by that she meant the entire fish, not just the meat we are all used to. Now that I think of the flavor, that is exactly what it tasted like.
We did do something besides eat today: we went to the Cuchi Tunnels. These are the tunnels that the Viet Cong used during the Vietnam War (or the American War, as it is referred to here in Vietnam). It was a very impressive, three tiered system of tunnels...a total of 250 kilometers. We were able to crawl through 60 meters of tunnel...and that was more than enough. We also learned how the tunnels were organized, ventilated, and even how they hid the smoke from the kitchen areas by diffusing it over 10 meters or so, making it appear like fog. Near the end of the tour we had the option to go to the shooting range and shoot real M16s and AK-47s. None of us took advantage of this opportunity, but we watched a few of our newfound Australian friends partake.
After the Cuchi Tunnels we headed back to experience the highlight of the day: eating balut. For those who don't know, balut is a hard boiled duck egg...with a twist. There is a duck embryo inside. We had heard about balut since the Philippines, but didn't get the opportunity to feast until today. I say feast because Tiffany's family apparently didn't understand that we only wanted to sample balut. They brought us 30 eggs!!
Just to completely horrify everyone, I will try and explain how balut is eaten.
Each egg comes with a small blue mark, which is where you strike the egg with a small spoon to pop the top off. Once the top is off, you sip the fluid (amniotic fluid?) out of the shell like a shot. You then attack it piece by piece. First eat the yolk, which is very similar to a regular chicken egg yolk. After one bite of yolk, Kelsi dropped out. After the yolk, you move on to the duck itself. It is absolutely crucial at this juncture not to look at what you are eating: the duck embryo looks exactly like what you think...eyes, beak, feathers. It is best to add a little salt and pepper and quickly chew the whole thing. There's another piece of yolk to be devoured and then the final piece is a cartilagenous little fin-like structure. Once you've spent 3 minutes pulverizing that with your teeth you can swallow and you are done.
At least I was done. I knew going in that I was only going to have one balut and then never do it again (ever). However, Paul had silently downed three in the corner while we were struggling with our first (he had eaten balut before) and Alyssa, Hank, and Tiffany each went on to down 1 or 2 more. Needless to say, many pictures and videos were taken of this epic event. I apologize to anyone who was disgusted by my detailed description of the process.
To cap off our day of culinary delights we headed to the edge of town to Tiffany's favorite seafood restaurant. We feasted on small clams, a few different types of snails, quail eggs, and an exquisite fish soup. Most of us had not eaten shellfish of this type before, but we were lucky to have the waitresses watching to rescue us while we were failing to eat correctly. I had one perched right by my side for almost the entire meal. I guess they just assume that the sweaty, pastey white American is going to fail. I felt like a toddler struggling to eat this wonderful food and felt especially foolish when the waitress quickly popped the shell to a clam that I had been fiddling with for a couple minutes.
We ended our night at a frozen yogurt bar. Even Hank (the vegan) had some fro-yo for the first time in approximately a decade...he's just so polite. All in all, it was a great day and I believe all of our GI systems (especially Hank's) were introduced to some new substances.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Angkor whaaaat?
We've been in Siem Reap for the past 2 days as our Cambodian mini-holiday, and let me tell you, it has been holy-cow-what-ridiculousness-is-this amaaaaazing.
Yesterday was our day at the Angkor complex of temples, which were built from about the 6th-13th centuries (I think) by the emperors of the Khmer empire. Our day started with a 5am tuk-tuk ride from our hotel to Angkor Wat, the most famous of the temples. Absolutely mind-blowing. I've been reading up on these temples and looking at pictures of them since we decided to go here, but absolutely nothing prepares you for the reality. Unlike anything I've ever seen. Unfortunately, I haven't uploaded pictures yet, so my description here is going to be very incomplete. Maybe we'll post some later, or you can ask your nearest SE Asia CURA member to see their pictures once we get back to the States.
Anyway, Angkor Wat at sunrise was pretty sweet. There are two ponds (they call them basins) in the grounds between the moat and the temple that catch a reflection of the temple. Very cool. On the first level inside, there is gallery after galley of bas-reliefs. These. Are. Amazing. They're about 15 feet high and so long and sooo detailed. I can't even imagine how long it must have taken to carve even one panel of one of those scenes. They're absolutely full of detail and action in a way that you'd think would make it look to busy, but instead it just looks awesome. The reliefs are mostly scenes from historical battles, or Hindu myths (Angkor Wat is dedicated to Vishnu). It was perfect being there in the early morning too, as the light was falling at a great angle for shadows, making the reliefs easier to see. You could also walk/climb around on the 2nd and3rd levels as well, which was a lot of fun, but there were no reliefs up there. So many pictures were taken. Even more than all the pictures we took with the HOPE volunteers in the Philippines, haha.
Next was Angkor Thom, a giant city-type thing. The coolest part about it was probably the entrances and the Bayon, one of the temples inside. It was a Mahayana Buddhist temple, that is absolutely full of towers with giant faces facing the cardinal directions. There's debate about whose faces these are. Some say it's the emperor at the time (Jayavarman VII) or his favorite bodhisattva (Avilokiteshvara), or a combination of the two. Anyway, all those serene Buddha-like faces staring out at you can be a little creepy, but is also awesome. Bayon was a lot of fun, not least because we kept taking pictures pretending to pick the giant faces' noses. Oh, we are so American. And so awesome.
Ta Phrom was another group favorite. This is the temple featuring in the first Tomb Raider movie. It's incredibly overgrown with trees. At most of the other temples in the complex, the conservationists have removed all the vegetation that threatens the stonework, but at this one, the trees have worked their way into the building so much that they're actually supporting it now and can't be removed. Which is too bad for the building, but great for us, since it looks amazing.
After lunch, we went and checked out the Roluos group, which are a bit older than the ones we were looking at in the morning. These were not nearly as elaborate as Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, but they were very cool still in their own way. Instead of the stonework of the others, these were built of brick and sandstone, and the red/gray combination was very cool looking.
Anyway, this post is ridiculously long, and I need to go pack for Ho Chi Minh City anyway. Very excited to get back to work, though I'm kind of sad that we're already on the last leg of our trip. It's going very quickly. Ah well. It's going to be great getting back to being useful for a week working with SOMEDCO, and then taking our lst little vacation in Hanoi. Hope you're all having as much fun as we are, wherever you are right now! If you're in Omaha and see Dr. Gossman in the near future, give him a high-five from us! Today is the last day of his trip, as he isn't going on to Vietnam with us, and we're all definitely going to miss having him around. He's been absolutely vital to our trip's success, with his seemingly bottomless well of medical knowledge. Also, who will make fun of Hank and Paul now? We're all going to have to step up our game...
Yesterday was our day at the Angkor complex of temples, which were built from about the 6th-13th centuries (I think) by the emperors of the Khmer empire. Our day started with a 5am tuk-tuk ride from our hotel to Angkor Wat, the most famous of the temples. Absolutely mind-blowing. I've been reading up on these temples and looking at pictures of them since we decided to go here, but absolutely nothing prepares you for the reality. Unlike anything I've ever seen. Unfortunately, I haven't uploaded pictures yet, so my description here is going to be very incomplete. Maybe we'll post some later, or you can ask your nearest SE Asia CURA member to see their pictures once we get back to the States.
Anyway, Angkor Wat at sunrise was pretty sweet. There are two ponds (they call them basins) in the grounds between the moat and the temple that catch a reflection of the temple. Very cool. On the first level inside, there is gallery after galley of bas-reliefs. These. Are. Amazing. They're about 15 feet high and so long and sooo detailed. I can't even imagine how long it must have taken to carve even one panel of one of those scenes. They're absolutely full of detail and action in a way that you'd think would make it look to busy, but instead it just looks awesome. The reliefs are mostly scenes from historical battles, or Hindu myths (Angkor Wat is dedicated to Vishnu). It was perfect being there in the early morning too, as the light was falling at a great angle for shadows, making the reliefs easier to see. You could also walk/climb around on the 2nd and3rd levels as well, which was a lot of fun, but there were no reliefs up there. So many pictures were taken. Even more than all the pictures we took with the HOPE volunteers in the Philippines, haha.
Next was Angkor Thom, a giant city-type thing. The coolest part about it was probably the entrances and the Bayon, one of the temples inside. It was a Mahayana Buddhist temple, that is absolutely full of towers with giant faces facing the cardinal directions. There's debate about whose faces these are. Some say it's the emperor at the time (Jayavarman VII) or his favorite bodhisattva (Avilokiteshvara), or a combination of the two. Anyway, all those serene Buddha-like faces staring out at you can be a little creepy, but is also awesome. Bayon was a lot of fun, not least because we kept taking pictures pretending to pick the giant faces' noses. Oh, we are so American. And so awesome.
Ta Phrom was another group favorite. This is the temple featuring in the first Tomb Raider movie. It's incredibly overgrown with trees. At most of the other temples in the complex, the conservationists have removed all the vegetation that threatens the stonework, but at this one, the trees have worked their way into the building so much that they're actually supporting it now and can't be removed. Which is too bad for the building, but great for us, since it looks amazing.
After lunch, we went and checked out the Roluos group, which are a bit older than the ones we were looking at in the morning. These were not nearly as elaborate as Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, but they were very cool still in their own way. Instead of the stonework of the others, these were built of brick and sandstone, and the red/gray combination was very cool looking.
Anyway, this post is ridiculously long, and I need to go pack for Ho Chi Minh City anyway. Very excited to get back to work, though I'm kind of sad that we're already on the last leg of our trip. It's going very quickly. Ah well. It's going to be great getting back to being useful for a week working with SOMEDCO, and then taking our lst little vacation in Hanoi. Hope you're all having as much fun as we are, wherever you are right now! If you're in Omaha and see Dr. Gossman in the near future, give him a high-five from us! Today is the last day of his trip, as he isn't going on to Vietnam with us, and we're all definitely going to miss having him around. He's been absolutely vital to our trip's success, with his seemingly bottomless well of medical knowledge. Also, who will make fun of Hank and Paul now? We're all going to have to step up our game...
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Even more Cambodian adventure time!
Well, now it's Wednesday and we didn't tell you what we did on Tuesday. Tuesday, the Paul/Kelsi/Hank group accompanied Gossman to the hospital, and the Tiffany/Ben/Alyssa group went to a mobile clinic a little ways outside Phnom Penh. Mobile clinic was a good time, though we were mostly there just as observers. Obviously, none of us speak Khmer (though I can now count to 10 in it, yesss), so we all got great practice in trying to diagnose patients without knowing the presenting complaint. We got to jump in on a couple of the physical exams as well, getting to hear one pretty crazy systolic murmur, and give a woman a neurological exam. She had left side hemiparesis of the face and forehead, and couldn't abduct her right eye. Quick, med students, what does that mean? Lower motor neuron injury to left CN7 and lesion of right CN6! Yay!
Another thing we're really enjoying getting to see here is how medicine in other parts of the world is both similar to and different from ours. Physical exam is pretty similar everywhere, some of the medications are different (or at least have different names), and the placebo-like drugs are all pretty different. I never thought about it before, but it does make sense that placebo would be the most culturally-based aspect of medicine. Hm.
Mobile clinic lasted till 12, then we went back to the hospital just in time to get to join the other group in watching a below-the-knee leg amputation. So cool! The human body is amazing, and so is medicine. Watching them take of that woman's leg and then have it somehow look nice and neat at the end (all in an operating theater quite different than those in America) was crazy. Mind you, I still don't want to be a surgeon. But it is cool.
Later that night, we met up with a few other ex-pats from the hospital and went out for some Indian food, and then to a bar they liked for some live music. Hilarity, dancing, and Celine Dion songs ensued.
Today, Kelsi and Ben went to the hospital with Dr. G, and the rest of us went off to another Phnom Penh orphanage, this time to give physicals to the kids there. Paul is right, kids here are really amazing. So happy to see you and so not-bratty when you're trying to look in their ears. Plus the fact that I'm starting to think that all Asian kids are just automatically adorable. The physicals were easy today, as this bunch of kids were pretty well taken care of. All pretty healthy, as kids that age should be. They were all either complete orphans or else had just one parent, who couldn't take care of them due to disability or something. The orphanage was originally started to take care of kids who lived in a dump, basically Phnom Penh's version of Payatas in the Philippines. Great to see them all so healthy and happy.
Tonight's our last night in Phnom Penh, as we're off to Siem Reap tomorrow. Then, we'll all transform into Lara Croft for a little exploration of the Angkor temples. Seriously? SO EXCITED. Phnom Penh has definitely been a great place for us too though! Cambodia is such a complex country. Glad we got to come here.
-Alyssa
Another thing we're really enjoying getting to see here is how medicine in other parts of the world is both similar to and different from ours. Physical exam is pretty similar everywhere, some of the medications are different (or at least have different names), and the placebo-like drugs are all pretty different. I never thought about it before, but it does make sense that placebo would be the most culturally-based aspect of medicine. Hm.
Mobile clinic lasted till 12, then we went back to the hospital just in time to get to join the other group in watching a below-the-knee leg amputation. So cool! The human body is amazing, and so is medicine. Watching them take of that woman's leg and then have it somehow look nice and neat at the end (all in an operating theater quite different than those in America) was crazy. Mind you, I still don't want to be a surgeon. But it is cool.
Later that night, we met up with a few other ex-pats from the hospital and went out for some Indian food, and then to a bar they liked for some live music. Hilarity, dancing, and Celine Dion songs ensued.
Today, Kelsi and Ben went to the hospital with Dr. G, and the rest of us went off to another Phnom Penh orphanage, this time to give physicals to the kids there. Paul is right, kids here are really amazing. So happy to see you and so not-bratty when you're trying to look in their ears. Plus the fact that I'm starting to think that all Asian kids are just automatically adorable. The physicals were easy today, as this bunch of kids were pretty well taken care of. All pretty healthy, as kids that age should be. They were all either complete orphans or else had just one parent, who couldn't take care of them due to disability or something. The orphanage was originally started to take care of kids who lived in a dump, basically Phnom Penh's version of Payatas in the Philippines. Great to see them all so healthy and happy.
Tonight's our last night in Phnom Penh, as we're off to Siem Reap tomorrow. Then, we'll all transform into Lara Croft for a little exploration of the Angkor temples. Seriously? SO EXCITED. Phnom Penh has definitely been a great place for us too though! Cambodia is such a complex country. Glad we got to come here.
-Alyssa
Monday, June 1, 2009
Another Day in The Cambodian Breeze
PPP back at ya again. Today we split up into two groups: Hank, Kelsi, and I teamed up with students from Belmont University and went to two orphanages, while Alyssa, Ben, and Tiffany went with Dr. G to the Saniuk Hospital. That being the case, I'll write about our adventures at the orphanages.
We met up with 17 nursing and pharmacy students from Belmont University, a Christian school in Tenessee. To meet up with them, we crossed the street, haha. Yeah, they were staying in the hotel directly across from us. They were all lovely, nice people and we got along very well with them. During the day, we rode with them on their huge, comfy bus.
The first orphanage we went to was about 2 hrs away from Phnom Penh. On the way there, we saw the King of Cambodia waving from outside his moonroof; it was the funniest thing as we were in the middle of open farm land, and there he was waving as he zoomed past us. Anyway, the frist orphange we went to was from older kids (they seemed to range from 5 to maybe 13 or 15). On arriving there, they presented to us four different types of dances, each with a purpose or story. After that, we handed out gift packs and served them food. They were very grateful and very cheerful and happy. I was somewhat disappointed that we were not able to interact much with the kids as we left after taking a tour of the very nice facility.
We then went to the orphanage for infants (ranging from maybe 5 months or younger to almost two years old, many with HIV). They were truly adorable! I really wanted to take some back with me! But yeah, we just had a great time playing for hours with some of the most beautiful children on Earth. You can't beat that.
Afterwards, we met up with the rest of the group and had delicious Thai/Khmer food at the open upper level of the great restaurant. Later on in the evening, we then walked around the 'park' (really a paved area with grassy patches, monuments, and statues) in the cool Cambodian evening breeze. Most magnifique as the French would say.
Overall another great day!
**
On a more personal note, working with/treating kids in the Philippines and seeing these kids in the orphange (esp. the babies with HIV) has made me really think about the meaning and structure of life and its ultimate purpose. I was holding perhaps the most beautiful baby I have ever seen and I just couldn't believe this child was probably gonna die before the age of maybe 3 or 5 tops because of HIV (which he contracted through no fault of his own) and because of the lack of treatment or care available.
This was perhaps the example that just made me really reflect on the unjust suffering in world. I've seen so many innocent kids, through no fault of their own, in truly unsanitary conditions with diseases or ailments that were either a) preventable if they lived in better environments b) treatable if they had access to the approproriate treatment or c) never gonna be fully cured b/c of the lack of medicine, equipment, skill etc. we brought. And the thing is, even if we treated a 1000+, there are millions out there living like this. to say it's not fair, is truly an understatement.
And yet, throughout it all, there is a glimmer of hope: they are happy. Some of them looked like the happiest kids on Earth with a such an innocent, pure joy can warm any heart and that should make anybody jealous (especially since I probably have never seen anyone as happy, even in the States). Seeing or remembering the large smiles on these kids faces or their cheerful laughs just really warms my heart and just really gives me hope.
But yeah, this has made me think about fairness, order, balance, meaning, and purpose in the grand scheme of things as well as what true happiness really is. Our adventure so far has truly made me reflect about these very important issues to newer and deeper levels and for that I will be forever grateful.
Peace out!
We met up with 17 nursing and pharmacy students from Belmont University, a Christian school in Tenessee. To meet up with them, we crossed the street, haha. Yeah, they were staying in the hotel directly across from us. They were all lovely, nice people and we got along very well with them. During the day, we rode with them on their huge, comfy bus.
The first orphanage we went to was about 2 hrs away from Phnom Penh. On the way there, we saw the King of Cambodia waving from outside his moonroof; it was the funniest thing as we were in the middle of open farm land, and there he was waving as he zoomed past us. Anyway, the frist orphange we went to was from older kids (they seemed to range from 5 to maybe 13 or 15). On arriving there, they presented to us four different types of dances, each with a purpose or story. After that, we handed out gift packs and served them food. They were very grateful and very cheerful and happy. I was somewhat disappointed that we were not able to interact much with the kids as we left after taking a tour of the very nice facility.
We then went to the orphanage for infants (ranging from maybe 5 months or younger to almost two years old, many with HIV). They were truly adorable! I really wanted to take some back with me! But yeah, we just had a great time playing for hours with some of the most beautiful children on Earth. You can't beat that.
Afterwards, we met up with the rest of the group and had delicious Thai/Khmer food at the open upper level of the great restaurant. Later on in the evening, we then walked around the 'park' (really a paved area with grassy patches, monuments, and statues) in the cool Cambodian evening breeze. Most magnifique as the French would say.
Overall another great day!
**
On a more personal note, working with/treating kids in the Philippines and seeing these kids in the orphange (esp. the babies with HIV) has made me really think about the meaning and structure of life and its ultimate purpose. I was holding perhaps the most beautiful baby I have ever seen and I just couldn't believe this child was probably gonna die before the age of maybe 3 or 5 tops because of HIV (which he contracted through no fault of his own) and because of the lack of treatment or care available.
This was perhaps the example that just made me really reflect on the unjust suffering in world. I've seen so many innocent kids, through no fault of their own, in truly unsanitary conditions with diseases or ailments that were either a) preventable if they lived in better environments b) treatable if they had access to the approproriate treatment or c) never gonna be fully cured b/c of the lack of medicine, equipment, skill etc. we brought. And the thing is, even if we treated a 1000+, there are millions out there living like this. to say it's not fair, is truly an understatement.
And yet, throughout it all, there is a glimmer of hope: they are happy. Some of them looked like the happiest kids on Earth with a such an innocent, pure joy can warm any heart and that should make anybody jealous (especially since I probably have never seen anyone as happy, even in the States). Seeing or remembering the large smiles on these kids faces or their cheerful laughs just really warms my heart and just really gives me hope.
But yeah, this has made me think about fairness, order, balance, meaning, and purpose in the grand scheme of things as well as what true happiness really is. Our adventure so far has truly made me reflect about these very important issues to newer and deeper levels and for that I will be forever grateful.
Peace out!
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