Madras Day 1 : Orientation

This morning we had breakfast- hard boiled eggs and toast. Afterwards we met up with Dr. Subbiah, the virology professor at VMRCVM. When he heard we had boiled eggs two days in a row he immediately addressed the chef and told him to give us an Indian breakfast. So I guess tomorrow will be exciting as far as breakfast.
Then Dr. Subbiah helped us exchange some of our money. The conversion rate is 63 rupees for every dollar. We ended up purchasing a small notebook and a lab jacket from the vet school for 281rs, just under $4.50. Our work boots come in tomorrow and are a bit more at 881rs.
Then it was time to head to the vet school, were we received a tour of the teaching hospital. Their small animal clinic sees on average 150 cases per day. Walking in, I was surprised by how many purebred dogs we saw. Dalmatian puppies on our way in, pugs, great danes, labs, spaniels. There are 8 different blocks we will be able to visit with ~2 days on each. We are however encouraged to join another block if our block is slow or there is something interesting going on. We will follow our block from 8a-12p each day and then break for lunch and go back for necropsy in the afternoon from 2-5p. The prices at the hospital are insane. In small animal, a visit costs 50rs (less than a dollar), minor surgeries are 200rs, and major surgeries are 500rs. That means for less than $10, your dog could have it's ACL repaired! Large animal prices were similarly low- 20rs/visit, and 200rs/sx, and any ultrasounds required are free. The government subsidizes the cost since it is a teaching hospital. The large animal caseload is not nearly as much as the small animal caseload because large animals are not allowed to live inside the city of Chennai. While touring we saw a 1 y/o dog with undiagnosed cyanosis for over a month duration, a goat with a fractured leg, and a dog with erhlichiosis undergo an ultrasound, which showed it's enlarged spleen (symptom of the disease).
After the tour Dr. Subbiah took us all out for tea. Anyone who knows me knows I am not a hot beverage drinker. I don't really enjoy hot tea, coffee, or chocolate. But the Indians are crazy about their tea. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. I figured I should try some. It was really good. Like a super creamy chi tea. They only serve it in small amounts too so it cools very quickly (more enjoyable for me). He then showed us the supply store where we bought the notepads and lab coats. Afterwards we took a picture in front of the hospital's ornate exterior and Dr. Subbiah then called out  "Let's take a selfie!"
We went back to the guest house for lunch- Lemon rice, white rice, carrots with coconut, dohl ( some of the sauce type stuff we had last night- its basically split pea soup and you can put it on rice), and appalam (a fried flat tortilla chip type of thing that you crack and use as a spoon for your rice and dohl). We headed back to the school later to meet with a bunch of doctors from the school and formally introduce ourselves.
I don't think anyone here really ever sees a blonde person. I feel like I stand out a little more than the other "white people" in our group. We will be walking down the street or in the vet hospital and lots of people will stare or whip out their phone to get a picture. It's funny. I wonder if their facebook posts are along the lines of "Omg! White people!"
There is a church directly across from the vet school. I found it interesting but looked it up when I got back. In Chennai, although 80% are Hindu. there is 8% of the population that is Christian. Which is a lot in a city that over 10 million people call home.
We had the rest of the afternoon off to relax. I read a little and took a nap. Dinner we had chicken (I'm not sure what type of sauce it was in), sliced apples, and puri, a puffy fried bread. Everything is still delicious. We have our own chef who fixes all of our meals, and they are very nice about refilling anything we have cleared.
After dinner we played cards with some of the group and relaxed. Tomorrow is our first real day at the vet school!
-7/6/15

Cyanosis- check out that tongue

Tea!

"Lets take a selfie"