Namakkal Day 2 : Clinics + Research Farm + Bar

Today was our first day of clinics in Namakkal. It was also Julie's birthday. The head of the clinics in Namakkal was very inviting and welcomed us with coffees in his office. He was also very philosophical.  He had heard that some in our group were purchasing yoga mats. He then told us that he does yoga everyday while treating animals.  'It is a practice of mind, body, and spirit,' he said. We were paired up for clinics and Julie and I were sent to the LA Med. It was a little hard to get an idea of what each case was presenting with and being treated for. I think the students were a little nervous talking to us. I did get to stick with a doctor and watch a couple of ultrasounds and other procedures. They treat water buffalo here, which is really cool, but they are scary at times as they are big and not nearly as tamed as the cows. When they are stuck with an injection many thrash around in their stalls.
Later during the morning they surprised Julie with a cake. While introducing us, it turned out that it was also another student's birthday. Julie and the Indian student cut the cake together. We joked about it being her Indian wedding, and said she should feed him cake. I guess some overheard us, and apparently the Indians have a tradition where a mother feeds a child cake on their birthday. Another Indian student volunteered to feed her cake as a surrogate mother. It was bizarre to say the least.
In the afternoon we went on a tour of their research farm. We have been on a lot of these same  tours but its okay because its fun to play with the animals. They raise rabbits here in Namakkal, mainly for meat. We also saw their goats, cows, and pigs. Later we went to the Milk Co-Op,where farmers brought milk from their cows to add to a larger collection in order to get pasteurized in bulk and then sold. One young boy was there and said he came with his father that day because his dad said the Americans would be there. He said he had then been working on his English all day. Its a neat dynamic the people have with their cattle here. Instead of hundreds to thousands of cows on one farm, one person will have 2-4 cows and they are treated much more like pets than they are dollar signs like in America.
Afterwards, Julie convinced the lead professor to let us go out to a bar for her birthday. We went to a hotel bar for safety and we were more or less the only people there. It was fun though, just being able to relax with everyone.
-7/27/15