Tips and Tricks for Future NUR480 Students

So this section is dedicated to the future nursing 480 students who may be travelling to India, although I think a bit of it could probably be applied to anyone going to India in general. Keep in mind this is advice based on the experience of a person who stayed basically in the south, during the monsoon season (even though it didn't rain that match). Take what you want from these notes, remember it's just a guideline...

Be VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY CLEAR ABOUT ANY FOOD ALLERGIES YOU MAY HAVE...ESPECIALLY TO NUTS AND EGGS. They cook quite a bit with these two ingrediants, so make sure people know if these will make you ill. And be sure the person you are telling understands English.

Things to bring: Mosquitoe repellant is a must, although some repellants end up attracting flies while repelling the mosquitoes. Mostquitoe nets are kind of useless, not once did I have a place to hang mine at any of the villages we stayed at. Bring flashlight, camera and lots of batteries, a really big memory chip for the camera, USB key, mp3 player to listen to music (its good for those times when you're waiting around for hours on end, but it does have the potential to take away from the Indian experience), also bring a few books to read to help pass the time, and bring your own journal to record your experiences. Bring granola bars (a box of 40-80 should suffice) and 2-3 pairs of scrubs is a good idea, they're versatile and dry quickly.

You MUST MUST MUST bring with you toilet paper, kleenex (and keep the kleenex on your person b/c non of the public washrooms have toilet paper) disinfecting hand wipes and hand sanitizer, and a money belt. Bring nail clippers and a small swiss army knife.

Also bring: an umbrella and a poncho, travel alarm clock (or just use the one on your cellphone). A water pump and water drops (Caitlin bought hers from MEC and so far they've proven pretty useful, the rest of us just bought bottleld water though. Buying water was not as much of a challenge as I expected too and FYI: a 1 liter bottle shouldn't be costing you more than 15 rupees). Don't forget to bring: your own travel cutlery, a bed sheet, pillow case, a small pillow (if you have space). Also brings lots of small "Canadian" gifts to give to the staff that you will be working with (boxes of maple candies is a must. Other things we brought were pens, notepads, small shampoo and lotion bottles for the nurses).

Bring topical analgesics, (such a Benadryl pen) so you can apply them to those oh-so-annoyingly itchy mosquitoe bites and be sure to keep it on your person at all times since you can itch anywhere you are. It is also very dusty in the rural areas so eye drops to keep your eyes moist may be helpful. Bring twist ties to tie the zippers on backpacks, bring ziplock bags, bring flip flops and decent runners, and a fly swatter.

When crossing the street, walk alongside the locals, b/c they know how to navigate their way through these insane roads without getting hit.

If you are going to buy a cellphone while you are here (which is a very wise investment as long as you don't get scammed) have with you: ~1500 rupees for the phone itself and ~1000 rupees for activation and buying minutes. Also have a passport sized photo of yourself, a letter from CHAI stating that the purpose and duration of your stay, and have it signed, and it should be on a CHAI letterhead.

When at CHAI or any of the other rural place you will be staying at, make sure to wash your own dishes after you've finished eating. Dress conservatively, long pants and t-shirts are generally acceptables, as well as pants 3/4 length or longer.

Expect things to go wrong on a fairly regular basis. Things here have a tendency to be 10 times more complicated and take 5 times longer then they ought to.

Take few pics of friends, family, and familiar things from home, that way you can look at them when you are feeling homesick.

They have tea time here twice a day, so get used to it...especially if u don't like tea. They don't really take no for an answer when it comes to continuously feeding you.

Try to avoid overly crowded places as these tend to be target areas for bomb blasts.

Expect to find the following in your room at one point in time (especially in the rural areas): geccos of all sizes, giant cockroaches, giant spiders, ants, really big ugly catipillar/worm things and toilets that don't work.

Give yourself a lot of extra time when travelling to a new place since nothing here has an address and therefore, can be difficult to find. BEFORE you get in the ricshaws, have the price of the ride negotiated with the driver, because if you use the meter, there is a pretty good chance they will take you around in circles so they can charge you more. Since addresses don't really exist here, you'll have to give the drivers landmarks close to places you want to go. For example, to get back to CHAI from Abids, we would tell the driver "Diamond Point Hotel" and he would drop us off there, and we would just walk to CHAI from there. To get to the mall, we would ask for Abids or GPO (General Post Office).

When you're in an area that sells stuff you need, buy it there. Don't wait until you go to the next village because the next place may not sell the thing you're looking for.

One interesting thing is that people here always seem to stop whatever they are doing, from giving presentations to giving you customer service at a store, to answer their cellphones...it's kind of funny, but has the potential to be annoying as hell when you just want buy a bottle of water or something.

Educate yourself ahead of time about HIV/AIDS, including its four stages, the CHAI organization and it's projects (their website is good place to start). Bring a drug book along to look up meds.

People will be very curious about you, so get used the blatant staring which occurs every time you are out in public. You will also likely be meeting a lot of people who are directly or indirectly involved with CHAI, so be prepared to explain who you are and your purpose in India very often.

Telugu is the local language in the rural areas we stayed at so here are some words that may be helpful (which I'm sure I spelled wrong):

meepeduenti - what is your name?
napedu - my name is...
manchidee - good
bowoonarda - how are you?
ownoo - yes
kadu/ledu - no
coonchin - small
aiepoientee - finished
nopeeunda - are you having pain?
tinadra - did u eat?

A couple good mottos to live by while in India:
1. I'll shower later
2. In the midst of all this craziness you have to be crazy yourself...

That's pretty much all I can think of so hopefully the tips and tricks (and the blog in general) has been helpful. Good luck!!!