Ah, the crispiness of life....
Life's Great!!!
I am loving my insanity!!!
:-)
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Yo Health Services!
Now that I have settled down into my daily schedule of life of a grad student in a US school, some things have begun coming naturally to me.
I cook in huge quantities, when I cook. I happily eat old food, and conveniently forget how old it is. I wash utensils, I fish for quarters every week to put in the washing machine. Yes, I shop for groceries, and lug inhuman masses of groceries back home, in a hope that I won't have to go again for a long time. But I seem to be eating a lot, because I need to buy more veggies, milk and yogurt every week..
Oh yes, I check weather forecasts, before I leave home everyday!! Back in Delhi, we used to check the temperature of the day before, to reinforce our judgment of how hot or cold the day had been.... Life's sure changed a lot.
As a grad student, I take courses (not go to classes), take weekly quizzes (not give tests), do homework ( and hope some arbit form of plagiarism ( there are many kinds defined) may not plague it), grade homework and quizzes for undergrads (not check them), hold recitation sessions and so on... The week passes by so fast, and packs in so many to-dos, that by Friday evening, I feel victorious that I survived the week.
Friday evening is BIG here, party time... Everyone parties, except Indian Grad Students, who shop for groceries... :-)
Weekends are times for movies( watched online by live streaming), lots of sleeping, mass cooking for the week, potlucks, calling up family and friends in India; and yes, catching up on the week's studies, and homework.
The lectures here can be compared to Helicopter rides over Delhi for a geography lesson, and the quizzes would then ask for exact directions from Connaught Place to Paranthey Wali Gali in Chandni Chowk. So, lots of catching up to do over the weekends.
You can imagine that I would often goof up, what with so much at hand, and so little RAM. ( I refer to my extremely fickle memory here, that most of you have had trouble with at different times)
Now, let me come to the Subject the title promises, US health services.
I was in a tearing hurry last tuesday, not unlike the other days of the week, prone as I am to postponing essential activities till the last minute. I was putting on contact lens, when the one in the left eye just disappeared. I searched all over, as well as I could with one good eye, and one eye full of tears... groped stupidly all over the carpet and all.. 7 mins to go for the class, and I suddenly realised, that the contact lens has disappeared into my eye... I blinked hard, stared hard too, in hopes of coaxing it out, but to no avail.. I had no option but to run for the class, with my eyes...
I sat through the class, half shutting my left eye to get a clear, non-blurred view of the whiteboard. I shot an sms to my roomie, telling her the issue at hand... Poor girl, she got all worried and panicky... and advised me to rush to the Student Health Center, whose personnel gave us long and tedious presentations in our Student Orientation, as to how anxious they were to be of use to us. She was right ofcourse, but after hearing all the stories about medical processes in US, I was apprehensive of how seriously they would take this. If they referred me to a specialist in New York, and delivered me there in an ambulance, I would be too embarassed to return to school afterwards.
I nervously scanned all the possibilities, and fervently prayed to the lens to emerge out of its hiding place and save me a whole lot of trouble. The lens was obviously having fun at my expense, and did not budge from its place under my eyelid.
I finally decided on the Health Center. But I had a class to attend directly afterwards. I shot a mail to the professor, saying I was feeling unwell, and if my presence in the class was not indispensable(I am a teaching assistant in that class), I would like to visit the health center. The sincere Swissman replied promptly, asking me to take care of my health, and that he would pray for my quick recovery.
I never felt more dishonest in my whole life. But what was done was done, that too in middle of another lecture, where I was taking notes and asking doubts aside of my sidey activities.
We have still not reached the Health Center, and I can see many of you shaking your head...
"Classic Sruthi Tales"
Fast forward to Health Center now...
The nurse at the Health Center took me into an examination room, and returned with my file.
N:"Do you have TB?"
Me: ( showing last week's TB test spot on my hand) " No TB !"
N:" Tell me about your Alcohol and Drugs Usage"
Me: :" I don't take either, and I have something in my eye that irks and hurts. Can you help me with it?"
N: ( undisturbed) " How active are you sexually? "
Me: (still more perturbed) " I am not sexually active ! "
N: " Honey, If you ever change your mind, do come back here for tips on safe sex"
Me: ( What are you trying to do here?? ) " Sure, I will."
N: " Do you wear a helmet to ride a bike?"
Me: "I have no vehicle, I walk to school, and take a bus to farther places."
N: " Excellent. Do you wear a seatbelt when you drive your car ?"
Me: ( Lets try a proactive answer now) " I dont have a car, but when I buy one, I will surely wear a seatbelt when I drive it. "( one big smile)
N: "Excellent, wearing a seatbelt is a very good habit."
Interogation ended, but the lens was still lodged inside.
Me: " Aren't you going to anything about my contact lens?"
N: " Lets check your BP and vision first."
BP is checked by a automatic machine, and cross-checked by a manual instrument, and I am praised for my excellent BP.
We proceed for the vision test. I read right with my right eye, but not left with my left eye. She says: " This means your lens is not placed right on your eye." ( Aunty, I told you this as I came in, You spent half an hour more rediscovering it??? ) I meekly nodded and followed her back into the examination room.
Nurse: " Honey, I realise these are tough times for you, please be brave. I guess you would be in much pain, let me see if there are any doctors who can help you out. Please sign this form where I filled all the info you gave me."
Interesting part ends, but story must end happily, so here goes.
A doc came in, they switched off all lights in the room, shined a light into my eye, opened it a little wider, and the lens came out. I removed it, thanked them profusely and ran away, vowing never to "fall ill" again!
I cook in huge quantities, when I cook. I happily eat old food, and conveniently forget how old it is. I wash utensils, I fish for quarters every week to put in the washing machine. Yes, I shop for groceries, and lug inhuman masses of groceries back home, in a hope that I won't have to go again for a long time. But I seem to be eating a lot, because I need to buy more veggies, milk and yogurt every week..
Oh yes, I check weather forecasts, before I leave home everyday!! Back in Delhi, we used to check the temperature of the day before, to reinforce our judgment of how hot or cold the day had been.... Life's sure changed a lot.
As a grad student, I take courses (not go to classes), take weekly quizzes (not give tests), do homework ( and hope some arbit form of plagiarism ( there are many kinds defined) may not plague it), grade homework and quizzes for undergrads (not check them), hold recitation sessions and so on... The week passes by so fast, and packs in so many to-dos, that by Friday evening, I feel victorious that I survived the week.
Friday evening is BIG here, party time... Everyone parties, except Indian Grad Students, who shop for groceries... :-)
Weekends are times for movies( watched online by live streaming), lots of sleeping, mass cooking for the week, potlucks, calling up family and friends in India; and yes, catching up on the week's studies, and homework.
The lectures here can be compared to Helicopter rides over Delhi for a geography lesson, and the quizzes would then ask for exact directions from Connaught Place to Paranthey Wali Gali in Chandni Chowk. So, lots of catching up to do over the weekends.
You can imagine that I would often goof up, what with so much at hand, and so little RAM. ( I refer to my extremely fickle memory here, that most of you have had trouble with at different times)
Now, let me come to the Subject the title promises, US health services.
I was in a tearing hurry last tuesday, not unlike the other days of the week, prone as I am to postponing essential activities till the last minute. I was putting on contact lens, when the one in the left eye just disappeared. I searched all over, as well as I could with one good eye, and one eye full of tears... groped stupidly all over the carpet and all.. 7 mins to go for the class, and I suddenly realised, that the contact lens has disappeared into my eye... I blinked hard, stared hard too, in hopes of coaxing it out, but to no avail.. I had no option but to run for the class, with my eyes...
I sat through the class, half shutting my left eye to get a clear, non-blurred view of the whiteboard. I shot an sms to my roomie, telling her the issue at hand... Poor girl, she got all worried and panicky... and advised me to rush to the Student Health Center, whose personnel gave us long and tedious presentations in our Student Orientation, as to how anxious they were to be of use to us. She was right ofcourse, but after hearing all the stories about medical processes in US, I was apprehensive of how seriously they would take this. If they referred me to a specialist in New York, and delivered me there in an ambulance, I would be too embarassed to return to school afterwards.
I nervously scanned all the possibilities, and fervently prayed to the lens to emerge out of its hiding place and save me a whole lot of trouble. The lens was obviously having fun at my expense, and did not budge from its place under my eyelid.
I finally decided on the Health Center. But I had a class to attend directly afterwards. I shot a mail to the professor, saying I was feeling unwell, and if my presence in the class was not indispensable(I am a teaching assistant in that class), I would like to visit the health center. The sincere Swissman replied promptly, asking me to take care of my health, and that he would pray for my quick recovery.
I never felt more dishonest in my whole life. But what was done was done, that too in middle of another lecture, where I was taking notes and asking doubts aside of my sidey activities.
We have still not reached the Health Center, and I can see many of you shaking your head...
"Classic Sruthi Tales"
Fast forward to Health Center now...
The nurse at the Health Center took me into an examination room, and returned with my file.
N:"Do you have TB?"
Me: ( showing last week's TB test spot on my hand) " No TB !"
N:" Tell me about your Alcohol and Drugs Usage"
Me: :" I don't take either, and I have something in my eye that irks and hurts. Can you help me with it?"
N: ( undisturbed) " How active are you sexually? "
Me: (still more perturbed) " I am not sexually active ! "
N: " Honey, If you ever change your mind, do come back here for tips on safe sex"
Me: ( What are you trying to do here?? ) " Sure, I will."
N: " Do you wear a helmet to ride a bike?"
Me: "I have no vehicle, I walk to school, and take a bus to farther places."
N: " Excellent. Do you wear a seatbelt when you drive your car ?"
Me: ( Lets try a proactive answer now) " I dont have a car, but when I buy one, I will surely wear a seatbelt when I drive it. "( one big smile)
N: "Excellent, wearing a seatbelt is a very good habit."
Interogation ended, but the lens was still lodged inside.
Me: " Aren't you going to anything about my contact lens?"
N: " Lets check your BP and vision first."
BP is checked by a automatic machine, and cross-checked by a manual instrument, and I am praised for my excellent BP.
We proceed for the vision test. I read right with my right eye, but not left with my left eye. She says: " This means your lens is not placed right on your eye." ( Aunty, I told you this as I came in, You spent half an hour more rediscovering it??? ) I meekly nodded and followed her back into the examination room.
Nurse: " Honey, I realise these are tough times for you, please be brave. I guess you would be in much pain, let me see if there are any doctors who can help you out. Please sign this form where I filled all the info you gave me."
Interesting part ends, but story must end happily, so here goes.
A doc came in, they switched off all lights in the room, shined a light into my eye, opened it a little wider, and the lens came out. I removed it, thanked them profusely and ran away, vowing never to "fall ill" again!
Yo USA!
I arrived in the US of A about a month ago, and I am loving it so far!
First 2 weeks were indeed tough, though I am now getting adjusted into the new lifestyle. This place isn't too different from India, except that they drive on the wrong side of the road. One month in here, and I still look on both sides of the road(sometimes even up into the sky, just for symmetry) before I cross,coz i cant remember which side to look. :)
Another big difference in my life is that I have to do a lot of shopping. Right from veggies to trash cans, everything has to be preplanned and bought. There are 2 big supermarkets which are 10 mins away by bus. One has food stuff and another has everything else. Bus has definite times, and is free for university students. We take a bus, and as soon as we reach, we decide which bus to return by and time our shopping accordingly. As soon as trolley is full, we take stock of how much we will be able to carry, which limits how much we can buy in one go. I have made endless trips to both the shops to buy just the essential stuff. I so loathe the fact that I will have to keep shopping every week, to keep the pantry stocked up, a thing I never worried about at home.
Univ is great, profs, staff and students are really friendly. The way treat students is amazing. If the professor interviews you, he also tells you all about what he can offer you, and also gives you the right to take the final decision of whether or not to join his research group. I like way these professors work with open doors to their offices.
Lots of chinese here, 8 in my class of 13. I am still struggling with chinese names and chinese english, both of which demand concentrated listening effort.
My roomie is really nice, and we gel well together. We are both crazy, and laugh a lot...
Troy is a really small place, uphill Troy has nothing except the university. The lone eatery is a Pizzeria, which has 3 veggie choices. But the pizzas are tasty. :)
A great place to live for 4 years.And attitude is everything, I realise... :)
First 2 weeks were indeed tough, though I am now getting adjusted into the new lifestyle. This place isn't too different from India, except that they drive on the wrong side of the road. One month in here, and I still look on both sides of the road(sometimes even up into the sky, just for symmetry) before I cross,coz i cant remember which side to look. :)
Another big difference in my life is that I have to do a lot of shopping. Right from veggies to trash cans, everything has to be preplanned and bought. There are 2 big supermarkets which are 10 mins away by bus. One has food stuff and another has everything else. Bus has definite times, and is free for university students. We take a bus, and as soon as we reach, we decide which bus to return by and time our shopping accordingly. As soon as trolley is full, we take stock of how much we will be able to carry, which limits how much we can buy in one go. I have made endless trips to both the shops to buy just the essential stuff. I so loathe the fact that I will have to keep shopping every week, to keep the pantry stocked up, a thing I never worried about at home.
Univ is great, profs, staff and students are really friendly. The way treat students is amazing. If the professor interviews you, he also tells you all about what he can offer you, and also gives you the right to take the final decision of whether or not to join his research group. I like way these professors work with open doors to their offices.
Lots of chinese here, 8 in my class of 13. I am still struggling with chinese names and chinese english, both of which demand concentrated listening effort.
My roomie is really nice, and we gel well together. We are both crazy, and laugh a lot...
Troy is a really small place, uphill Troy has nothing except the university. The lone eatery is a Pizzeria, which has 3 veggie choices. But the pizzas are tasty. :)
A great place to live for 4 years.And attitude is everything, I realise... :)
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