We got another email from Summer. Enjoy!
So yesterday was our second medical rotation, and the busiest one our coordinator has seen in a loooong long time! It was so busy that we ended up needing two washing stations! And with me as the water manager, that made for a long and exhausting shift. I was also cutting of bandages whenever I had the time to do so! As water manager I was responsible for filling up the two huge containers of water whenever they started to run low. After each patient's feet were cleansed, I carried the dirty basins ridiculously far away to dump them in a safe location, wash them with water and then with sanitizer, then quickly bring them back. I was constantly making the trip back and forth since we had so many people, sweat was pouring down my face. At one point as I was dumping a basin, a cow marched right up to me and stood over my two buckets. The cows here can be aggressive and the people let them do their own thing, buuuuut I needed those buckets......so I slowly and carefully reached under the cow's gigantic head, got what I needed, thanked him, and went back to my business. After that he just stood a few feet away and ate some trash.
I was quite nervous about cutting off bandages. I had no idea what to expect underneath them! I'm required to wear double gloves and a mask for that job. I had to sanitize the cutting utensils (they were basically fancy doctor scissors) between each use, and with my water manager job on the side, doing all of this was rather stressful. Luckily my first ulcer was a small one, but they gradually seemed to get bigger throughout the day. The ulcers are yellowish dead skin on the outside with soft pink something on the inside, they can get pretty nasty, but the anticipation is the worst part. I was right next to Sierra who was doing the washing, and the first time she went to wipe off the ulcer, I had a knot in my stomach and I could feel myself tensing up. But she did it, and I watched it, and it was fine! The nervousness was mostly just from not knowing what to expect, but now I feel like I could do the washing station and be fine. Some of the volunteers were playing Jenga with the kids, and a few of the patients joined in! One lady is missing both legs and she rides around on a little board with wheels, but seeing her face light up while she played Jenga was amazing.
After our exhausting but awesome rotation we drove a little ways to visit a Hindu temple. The hike up was very long and very hot but i love hiking, and the view was sooooo worth it! I absolutely love the chalk drawings they have in front of each house here, and the ones at temples are even more extravagant. Oh some of the things us volunteers have been doing....the other night we had a dance party on the roof, and last night we played 'never have I ever' and had a giant dessert potluck. The people are awesome and I wish I could stay all summer.
I just fried myself up some Parotas, I was hoping to bring them home but apparently they expired yesterday. So I guess I'll start eating them now! Some sort of bug(s) attacked my foot today after dinner so now I have 6 bites that are driving me crazy, they aren't mosquito bites so hey at least malaria isn't an issue here. Love you guys, stay safe and brush your teeth. Enjoy faucets with water that you can actually put in your mouth.
Love, Summer
I was quite nervous about cutting off bandages. I had no idea what to expect underneath them! I'm required to wear double gloves and a mask for that job. I had to sanitize the cutting utensils (they were basically fancy doctor scissors) between each use, and with my water manager job on the side, doing all of this was rather stressful. Luckily my first ulcer was a small one, but they gradually seemed to get bigger throughout the day. The ulcers are yellowish dead skin on the outside with soft pink something on the inside, they can get pretty nasty, but the anticipation is the worst part. I was right next to Sierra who was doing the washing, and the first time she went to wipe off the ulcer, I had a knot in my stomach and I could feel myself tensing up. But she did it, and I watched it, and it was fine! The nervousness was mostly just from not knowing what to expect, but now I feel like I could do the washing station and be fine. Some of the volunteers were playing Jenga with the kids, and a few of the patients joined in! One lady is missing both legs and she rides around on a little board with wheels, but seeing her face light up while she played Jenga was amazing.
After our exhausting but awesome rotation we drove a little ways to visit a Hindu temple. The hike up was very long and very hot but i love hiking, and the view was sooooo worth it! I absolutely love the chalk drawings they have in front of each house here, and the ones at temples are even more extravagant. Oh some of the things us volunteers have been doing....the other night we had a dance party on the roof, and last night we played 'never have I ever' and had a giant dessert potluck. The people are awesome and I wish I could stay all summer.
I just fried myself up some Parotas, I was hoping to bring them home but apparently they expired yesterday. So I guess I'll start eating them now! Some sort of bug(s) attacked my foot today after dinner so now I have 6 bites that are driving me crazy, they aren't mosquito bites so hey at least malaria isn't an issue here. Love you guys, stay safe and brush your teeth. Enjoy faucets with water that you can actually put in your mouth.
Love, Summer
She posed in front of this chicken coop in honor of her cousin Ellie that just passed away last month at the age of 12. Ellie had designed and constructed the cutest coop for her little hens in Utah. Much cuter than this one in India.
She's having a blast with her friend Lindsay.
She already purchased henna bottles to bring home.
This was a text I got from her this morning (which was already late at night for her): Hahaha we were having a lip sync party and now the Indian police are outside because we were being too loud 😂 so we have to stay in our rooms haha but it's all good
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