Pictures!

At the Mubai airport

Samosa!

Our ride from Coimbatore to Kodaikanal.

Typical South Indian lunch...

Thalis (typical South Indian lunches seen above) consist of various types of bread, rice, and an assortment of sauces/dishes to be eaten with the right hand (sans utensils).  Our lunch was followed by bananas and ice cream.  Lunches are usually spent in one of the local restaurants trying a variety of cuisines from Tibeten to traditional South Indian.  We have a very nice woman who comes to our home in the evenings to cook us homemade traditional South Indian food.  Most of the time our dinners are interrupted by scheduled power outages (8-10 am, 2-4 pm, 6:45-8 pm and 9-10 pm) and resumed via candlelight.  So far everything has been so delicious and not as spicy as we were expecting.

Pasam Hopsital or "Germany" as the locals refer to it.

One of the less graphic posters advertising the plastic surgery camp in March.

Enjoying an after work stroll around the lake.

In the center of the town is a star shaped lake.  We are hoping to enjoy the boats, horseback riding and souvenir shopping it has to offer.

The various services offered at Pasam.

The procedure room where burn patient wounds are dressed daily.

Shawna at Pasam Hospital.

The bus taken for "propaganda" day.

On Thursday we joined Dr. Masacrenas (the physician who had trained in Germany and founded the hospital) and his staff as he ventured to various schools and churches in the plains surrounding Kodaikanal to spread word of the plastic surgery camp.  Dr. Masacrena's would meet with the principal's and priests and asked them to spread word of the camp to the congregation or student body in hopes that those would then spread word to their neighbors and villages.

Students at one of the schools visited.

Everywhere we went the students were so excited to see us.  We definitely caused quite the distraction!

Dr. Masacrena's (middle) surrounded by students and a staff member.

Claire and the K.H.M.S. ambulance.

On Friday Shawna and Claire spent the day with Dr. Thami, the ob/gyn physician.  It was a full day of academic discussions that ranged from the attitudes toward sterilization, nutrition in pregnancy, and abortion to local attitudes of families toward their female children and the importance of education.  She was a very enthusiastic and knowledgeable teacher having spent many years as an academic physician. She was incredibly receptive to any questions we had and it seemed that no topic was off limits.  She has spent a large amount of time traveling and spent time working as an OB/GYN in Saudi Arabia and was more then happy to share her experiences there including delivering a G24 and a woman who was having her 6th Cesarean section.  We also saw many patients with her which led to many clinical discussions.  She was more then willing to review the physical exam and just how much information you can gain from it.

The Emergency Room at K.H.M.S. Hospital

K.H.M.S., the private hospital in Kodaikanal.

Left to right: Arun, Shawna and Bryant.

Friday evening we decided to have a campfire in the field next to our house.  We even roasted marshmallows for some smores, Indian style!

To bring fire wood to Kodaikanal women will carry bundles of wood from the hills down the 2 mile road to the center of town.  Distances here are somewhat guestamates but it took us 40 mins to walk down the road.

On the hike

Saturday we spent the day hiking up the highest peak in Kodaikanal.  It was supposed to be a 6 hour hike but I'm pretty sure it wasn't that long.  Some of Bryant's friends were able to join us and have invited us to play ultimate Frisbee tomorrow on the local playing fields.