Sick...

So, I don't know what I ate, but something I ate yesterday just crippled me today. I had to skip work because I could not move and had a splitting headache.... this actually never happens to me when I come to India. My stomach is always under control so it was a bit strange...all this after I raved about the food in India...Ah the irony!

Anyway, I felt horrible for having my cousin's wife leave work to drop me off at her neighbor's place. Her neighbors were these two sweet 60 something year olds who basically let a stranger crash at their place... I slept literally the whole day- getting up only to eat a little, chat a little, play a little computer game with the lady... they had the most interesting stories to tell. Their two sons are both settled in US and both are married to white women. The couple has grandchildren, whom they adore and have visited many times in the US . But, there is a struggle to maintain a connection with their grandchildren, while not wanting to burden their sons and not leaving their roots in India... I want to go back and have a real chat when I feel like myself...

Funny thing is I have to go on my case study tomorrow morning at 6am. So, I needed this rest! I am going to be staying in rural public health center in Gumballi, Karnataka run by the Karuna Trust for the next 24ish days. I am looking forward to observing, recording, and getting to know their practices in treating mental illness. I am definitely a bit nervous about being away from my comfort zone... I have never just immersed myself in a project like this before...

Sadly, internet access is very very limited so I doubt I will be able to post for the next month or so... but the I will try to write posts in a word document and mass post when I get back...

I'll leave you with an interesting ad I found in the newspaper! Corruption is rampant in India...I don't know if it has any effect really but I found this ad to be particularly innovative!

Anusha

The Journey and then some...

Two layers, three flights, listening to a German choir composed of old men sing an impromptu concert in the Dosseldoff airport, beating all the levels in the free Angry Birds app on my iPhone, and I am finally here!

This was definitely one of my longest journeys to India to date! Started from Newark, then stopped at Dosseldoff, Germany, then caught another flight to Frankfurt, and finally headed to Bangalore, India where I was greeted by my cousin and his lovely wife at 1:30 in the morning. We shared some lime juice and crashed at their apartment.

Today, my cousin and I ordered some idly (ground rice dumpling), vada (fried rice dumpling) and sambar (lentil vegetable stew), went to the super market for some groceries, and tried watching a movie before I crashed. I was supposed to have Anu's Kitchen: Season India with my cousin as the surprise guest and make lunch... Instead, I conked out for 3 hours. I may not be invincible... but then again...

After I woke up from the brief jet lag, we watched Fast Five- the new fast and furious movie- bootleg version of course- it's actually a pretty good action movie with heart- and then we went out for some chat (Indian snack food)- I had samosa chat and shared pani puri (a fried hollow ball fill with potatoes and a spicy water) with my cousin. Delicious! I feel that a major part of this blog will definitely be the food! Maybe I should start taking pictures to tempt you all!

We went and saw their new apartment they are about to furnish. A life together- that's what they're building but while taking into consideration that there is a future where their parents may come live with them, may start a family, among other considerations...

Anyway, tomorrow I'll check out the place I'll be working from...I'll let you know how that goes!

 Many more adventures to follow!

Anusha

What am I doing this summer?

I am heading to India on Thursday. Crazy I know! Two weeks at home have passed so rapidly! But I am psyched for the journey. I got my malaria pills, my new camera, and enthusiasm for my research. I was skeptical of blogging but I hope the pictures I take will give sketches of my experience in India, whether it's observing NGOs or visiting my cousin's new baby girl! Hope you enjoy and feel free to comment!

Research:

This summer, I will be testing the hypothesis that non-specialist health workers (NSHW) can be effective in delivering mental health care. The aim is thus to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of NSHW involvement in mental healthcare in low resource settings to better inform the process of health system organization and delivery of mental health services at primary care and community levels. The proposed project examines the effectiveness of NSHW in mental healthcare in government and non-governmental primary and community mental healthcare initiatives in India.

To address the research objectives, quantitative, historical and qualitative methods will draw on several data sources. I will be assisting my research mentor, Dr. Nadja van Ginneken and Professor Vikram Patel of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in conducting ethnographic observations and interviews at NGOs and Government Hospitals in Karnataka, India. I will also analyze the observations and interviews to arrive at a conclusion on the effectiveness of NSHW.