Mumbai-Jamkhed-Rajasthan-Lucknow

In October, my ma and pa-in-law decided to come visit Chris and I in India for Christmas and New Years. We decided to plan a whirlwind trip through parts of Southern and Northern India to highlight some of the best that India has to offer. 

Our trip started in Mumbai. Chris and I arrived a few days early to visit a friend who lives there. On the first day, Chris caught me staring at an Indian girl in shorts and a spagetti strap tank top. He said, "Far, what are you looking at?" I didn't even realize I was staring! I soon discovered that I actually had not seen that much skin (she was not wearing anything slutty by any means!) since I was last in the US, four months earlier. In Lucknow, I barely see women in the streets and if so they are very rarely wearing jeans let alone shorts! 

Mumbai is hectic and awesome. We ate good food, went out, and met some great people. The city had crosswalks with walk symbols and taxis on demand. Women and girls were out at any time of the day or night with not a care in the world (quite unlikely in Northern India).  There were bars, clubs, and lounges. Our friend was quite surprised at the extent of our culture shock, I told him he'd have to come visit us in Lucknow to fully understand it. 

After our fun filled Mumbai weekend, we met our parents at the airport and began our journey into the heart of Maharastra. We visited old family friends of the Taylors who run a community health project in the district of Jamkhed.  Shoba and Ravi, the daughter and son of the Arole family who run Jamkhed hosted us most graciously! As it was a few days before Christmas, our rooms were decorated with colorful lights, trees, and streamers. We enjoyed  delicious meals, a tour of a local village (I was shocked as to how clean it was, my conceptions of an Indian village were totally incorrect), an unbelievable fireworks show on Christmas, sing-a-longs, and were able to participate or observe the workings of the community health project which was really an enlightening experience! Not to mention, Ravi called a snake charmer one evening and Chris got to play with a cobra! (I was too chicken.)

After leaving Jamkhed, we headed to Udaipur in the heart of Rajasthan. I immediately fell in love with the city. I had read that it is called the "most romantic city" in India and I totally agree. The city is built around beautiful lakes and the City Palace is absolutely stunning. We took a boat ride, explored pretty gardens, and ate scrumptious food. Udaipur is known for its miniature paintings so we scooped some of them up and then made our way to Johdpur, the blue city. 

In Johdpur we explored the magnificent Mehrangarh Fort (definitely recommend getting the audio tour) and went to what we thought was going to be an authentic Rajasthani dinner evening for New Years Eve but ended up being a "Jungle to Rainbow" (no matter how hard you think, there is no rhyme or reason for the theme) themed all you can eat buffet party which we promptly left after some Indian adolescents got a bit carried away with my pa-in-law on the dance floor. I wish we could've spent a bit more time in Johdpur and gotten lost in the streets of the old city where most of the homes are painted blue. Fun fact, some people believe the homes were painted blue because the indigo in the paint was a mosquito repellant. The next morning we left the blue city to head to the pink city and capital of Rajasthan, Jaipur. 

In Jaipur we explored the Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds), Jantar Mantar (A collection of ancient architectural, astronomical instruments), City Palace, and the Amber fort. We spent two fun filled days in Jaipur touring, shopping, and eating. Then we headed back home to the City of Princes, Lucknow. 

It was actually awesome showing my ma and pa in law where we lived and how we spent our days. Although it was absolutely frigid in Lucknow for the three days they were here we indulged them with our favorite sights and foods. I think Kulcha Nihari, the Indian equivalent of biscuits and gravy is now a family favorite! 

Overall,  we had a blast. I really got to know my in laws a lot better without the pressure of planning a wedding. I am a firm believer that if you really want to know someone, you must travel with him or her. I'm actually looking forward to the next trip the four of us can take! The beautiful sights and awesome hospitality we experienced through this trip, reminded me of the reasons why India is so incredible (Cue Incredible India commercial). India has so much to offer, it's breadth of history and culture is mind-boggling (or as Indians would say mind-blasting)!

Adventures in an Indian Hospital

Early Tuesday morning, January 8 at approximately 12:30am, I slipped and fell smacking my forehead, causing a laceration. It was dark so I didn't even realize I was bleeding until I felt wetness all over my face. I yelled for Chris and as he turned on the light, I saw the horror on his face. Thankfully, once we got the blood cleaned up, the cut didn't seem so intimidating. It was approximately 1/2cm deep and 1.5cm long. We figured that I likely needed stitches, so Chris did some research and decided that we should go to what was listed as the best (private) hospital in Lucknow. Chris quickly called the hospital and they informed us that they could provide transport; he explained that I have a small cut and all I needed was a small car....

Well, a fully equipped ambulance showed up! The attendant (equivalent to an EMT) asked who the patient was, despite the large gauze bandage smack in the middle of my forehead. I indicated that it was I. As I sat in the ambulance he presented me with a seat belt. I looked around me to find the buckle and then asked, "Where's the buckle?" The attendant responded, "No, no, just hold it in your hands." Ha! Safety first!

We arrived at the hospital and within 20 minutes I was examined and the doctor on call determined that I should see a plastic surgeon to minimize what could be a facial scar. We were told to come back at 9am. 

In true Indian fashion, everything ran late. When we arrived at the hospital at 9am, we were told that the doctors wouldn’t be in until 10:30 or 11:00am. Around 11, the doctor finally saw me and indicated that he wanted to do "a micro-something something" (medical jargon) reconstructive stitching which would require me to be admitted to the hospital. Once admitted, I was to wait until 3pm before they could do the procedure. (Why we couldn't just wait in a coffee shop until the surgery, I have no idea.) So I was given a bed in the general ward to wait....

In India, we were reminded, women (it's hard to generalize in India because it's very diverse country but women at times are) are invisible. While waiting, one of the physician's assistants looked right over my head. "What's her name?" he asked, pointing to me and directing his question at Chris in Hindi! Chris found the urge to reply a cheeky, "Ask her yourself!" but since we needed to stay on their good side he kept it to himself.  Ironically, I had just spoken to him a mere five minutes before! (I guess I lost my ability to speak for myself once they realized my husband was there.)

Just as I got to my bed in the General Ward, I heard a man to my right (behind a curtain) yell, "Just because she's dying doesn't mean the rest of have to, too!" and a female response through sobs, "How can you be so cruel?" Then a series of insults back and forth before two nurses came in to mediate what seemed to be an argument between a father and daughter while the wife/mother was lying in the bed. Needless to say, I wanted teleport myself to New Jersey to give my mom a hug! 

Shortly thereafter, the two nurses came to take my blood pressure and check my pulse. They had just seen Chris leave so the typical series of questioning ensued: "Who is that?" "How'd you two get married?" "Where are the kids?" "What are your qualifications?" "So, are you really American? Your Hindi is quite good!"  Um, are all these diagnostic questions?!

On my left hand side, there was an older lady who had several family members visiting. They also became very interested in me and Chris and a similar series of questioning took place. Shortly after our conversation ended, one of the family members slapped their little boy (about 4 years old) three times across the face for wanting sweets. I opened my mouth to say something. But when one of the other male family members saw the horrified expression on my face, he quickly took the boy out of the room. The nurse came in, saw the boys’ tear-stained face, and rattled off, "Oh, what mischief have you been into? You probably deserved that slapping!"  I did a double take. In the US, the nurse might have called child services for physical abuse, not taken the mom's side!

Chris had gone home to scoop up my laptop, thankfully upon his return, Downton Abbey and my Bose headphones kept me in my own little world. 

At 2:30pm, hospital transport came to pick me up to take me down to the Operation Theatre (OT) and the head nurse came in to have me sign consent forms. I looked down at the forms and noticed a lot of blank spaces where informative things like "Possible side effects" should have been listed. When I inquired, she said, "No need to bother with all that, just sign here and here." Two minutes later she came back and said, "I need your husband's consent too." I said "But why, I'm over 18 and I just signed for you." Her response, "We always need your husband or father's consent." 

After signing the consent forms, the hospital transport guys asked me why I was still in my own clothes. I responded by saying that I wasn't given any other clothes. So they call another attendant in, she looks at me and at them and says, "Where are your hospital clothes?" I told her that I wasn't given any. They both stared at each other and then back at me for another minute or so while I, for the third time, explained that I wasn't given any hospital clothes. Still, a pause. Finally, the one woman said, "Oh, so do you need me to get some for you?" I responded, "Well I don't know where you keep them!" I thought I would get a hospital gown...  but she handed me a Georgia peach silky-polyester-y skirt and matching T. 

So off to the OT I went. It was quite intimidating seeing that most of the people in the 'pre-op' room were about to undergo some major operation while I was merely getting a set of super-fancy stitches. I walk into the OT, where I was connected to a heart monitor and my forehead was prepped. (Why a heart monitor is necessary for stitches, I have no idea!)  Cell phones rang during surgery and the surgeons answered, "OK, yes, ok, well, wait, though. I'm in the OT let me call you back." Huh?!  Taping up my laceration after stitches, one attendant said to the other, "No! Tape straight across!" The other replied, "Why? I'm trying to make a cool design on her forehead." "Forget the design; tape it straight."

I forgot to mention, I hate hospitals. It's hard for me to see people in pain or see lots of blood and guts. I tend to get very sick and either throw up or pass out. I would have much rather this whole experience be as an outpatient. I have never been in admitted (knock on wood) to a hospital in the US so I'm not sure how this experience compares. 

After 2.5 hours, I come back up to my bed and Chris asked me, "What the hell happened, why were you down there so long?!" I had no idea I had been gone for 2.5 hours! Before I could be discharged, the nurse came in and told me that we need to go down to billing. As I started to get up she says, "No, no, not you. Him." (Pointing to Chris). Obviously. The husband deals with the money...  I am really having trouble getting used to this severely patriarchal society. 

Additional points of interest:

• All the nurses, doctors, and other hospital personnel wear flip-flops or sandals to work and many were in the OT barefoot! Cleanliness in India means not wearing shoes (such as in temples and mosques), when in the US, bare feet are typically considered gross!

• Bathrooms were shared between female and male wards.

• The waiting room included rows and rows of straw mats, no chairs.

• As I was wheeled back to my bed post surgery, no one gave me the right of way. I obviously just had a bandage on my forehead but I was pretty surprised that the Indian way of knocking elbows went all the way to a hospital elevator. 

• The doctors were awesome, super nice people. I trust I was in very good hands. 

Although I feel like a total idiot for this accident, it was quite an adventurous day! 18 hours after the incident, I was finally home in sweats with a five-pepper pizza from Dominos (only real non-Indian food in Lucknow is fast food). 

Hope to write about the excellent holiday I had with my ma and pa in-law in my next post! My love-hate relationship with India continues! Stay tuned...