Indian Life: first day at raksha

After a sleepless jetlaged night (how can we be jetlagged with only 4.5 hours difference??!?!?!) today was our first day of our second clinical affiliation!!! It was a very short but interesting day. We were just looking around getting to know the place and people a little, seeing all their classes, including the primary and secondary classes, the vocational school where the over 18 year olds learn to sew, do wood works and make bags out of old newspapers and of course the quite well equiped physiotherapy room.

Denise and I had some lunch there (and will have for the next few months), a traditional keralan dish, rice with some spiced potatoes and carrot-ginger-something stuff. And for good integration we were eating it with our hands!!! I love eating with the hand!! It feels like being a child again, mashing all that food together with your fingers ;-) We were warned that the food is very bland...but actually we thought it was quite hot...so i am wondering HOW HOT is their food normally?!?!?

We were quite fortunate to see the 4th birthday celebration of one of the children there. She got some cake and all the children from her year came with their parents and teachers to congratulate.

What i ahve seen in germany and the netherlands so far is that most of the children there would have 1 on 1 lessons or therapy. I respect these teachers here very deeply for having 6 of very handicapped children at the same time. It asks a lot of the teachers (mainly female teachers). They have to be alert every single second.

I have learned today that only 6 of the maybe approximately 120 students live in an orphanage, all the others live with their parents. I always thought and had heard that the disabled child is more often neglected here than in western countries. But this doesn't seem to be the case at all!!

I am very happy that denise and i will be spendig the next 15 weeks in this school. It seems like a very friendly and nice place. The Physiotherapists seem to be very eager to test our knowledge and teach us.

Our working days start at 10am and stop at 4pm!!!!!!!!!!! I can't beleive it!!!!!!!!!!!! It's only 6 hours?!?!?!??!?!?!? (plus a lunch break in between!!!!)

I forgot to take my camera today...so i stole some photos from denise :)