Standing On the Edge...: Actually Living in India

After being in Delhi for a couple of days and getting registered with the office of refugees and foreigners, we headed off by car to Jaipur.

It was an interesting 6 hour adventure of highways that became narrow crowded roads of busy villages. There were lots of sights to behold.

Then we arrived in Jaipur and moved into our new home. It is an older home and the four of us interpreters have our own rooms on the second floor. We have two bathrooms, a men's and a women's. My fellow female interpreter and I also have a shared sun porch off of our rooms. My room is stunning, beyond what I could have imagined.

The property sits on 5 acres and is close to the center of town. Lots of things to do and see all within walking distance.

The grounds are home to several types of birds. The peacocks, which are the national bird of india, parrots, doves, and of course pigeons. From the roof you can see the Om Towers Hotel and you can see and hear people playing cricket across the street. I love that we can go on the roof both from the second level but also the third level. The is a peace that comes from being up there. I took some sunset photos the second night at our home.

After arriving in India, I developed both a sore throat and had a reaction to the Malaria medication I was taking. The reaction came out in my hands. They started out a bit itchy then became very hot. After about 12 hours some blisters formed on the outer palm of one and and the pinky finger of the other hand. I immediately stopped taking the medication. My sore throat lingered and once in Jaipur it became worse instead of better, finally on Saturday after a day of work, I asked to see the doctor. I was taken to the doctor, his office is just outside his home. I was seen within a half hour of phoning him. At his office I sat in his office/examination room. I sat across his desk while he asked me general questions about my health then moved to a stool on his side of the desk to be examined. Once the examination was complete I then moved back across the desk from him. He then proceeded to write out his orders including three prescriptions. This paper also included my vitals and is mow my medical record and I am responsible to hanging on to it. My visit ended up costing 200 rupees which is approximately $4 USD.

After about 24 hours on the medications, I am feeling much better. I am still a bid congested but no more upper respiratory infection. Also the reaction is finally fading but not yet completely gone.

Sunday is our only day off so we spent yesterday pretty much recovering and laying low. We did manage a trip to Jaipur's newest mall, Pick City Square. We only managed a couple of stores on a couple of floors of this 6 story mall. In the basement is a store very much like a mini Wal Mart, here we got some basic necessities.