1st Day in Delhi

All of us got into Delhi last night safely, and after experiencing a day out in the city, it seems like we've all managed to escape the effects of jet lag. I don't want to change my biological clock now that it's set, so I'll keep this to a few short stories.

You've adapted to India's culture when...

I've never had Indian food, besides Indian club's samosas. Breakfast was a fantastic experience for me. We had great chai tea, and some flatbread and pancakes with chickpeas and yogurt (actual names will come later). I learned some basics: Indian food is commonly eaten with hands, but eating with your left hand is considered offensive. Importantly, Mihir recommended that we each have some yogurt, which was a bit counterintuitive since dairy's usually off-limits. But, the bacteria in yogurt can compete with the bacteria that cause stomach issues. Also, yogurt's alkaline properties can counteract the spiciness of Indian food. I grabbed more yogurt as the spiciness became more noticeable, and Ananya remarked to me: "you've adapted to Indian culture when you're mixing yogurt with curries [and other spicy dips/sauces]."

Pradip Sarmah

We met Pradip during breakfast. He was a very cheerful guy with a lot of interest and accomplishment in helping low-income people. We clarified his priorities for the healthcare project, and were happy to find that they were overarching goals that aligned with our interests. His first priority was to 1) provide employment to low-income individuals, and 2) to promote and improve health. We were happy to hear this, since we're leaning towards leveraging local workers as basic health providers.

More on this later.

A park in Old Delhi

We spent a good part of the late morning looking at solar-powered Rickshaw bikes. While walking to the solar-charging station, we passed a homeless woman. She was sitting on the side of the walkway, and her baby was on a small 1 ft x 1 ft blanket. Next to the baby was a milk bottle, identical to US bottles expect it was smaller and considerably dirtier. I was thinking: "Depending on our scoping, this woman may be part of our target population. How can we encourage this woman to improve sanitation when it's obvious that she has [arguably] bigger, more immediate needs?"

A tour of a marketplace in Delhi

Walking around in Delhi, I was at times a bit claustrophobic. Lots of people, oftentimes narrow spaces, and anxiety that you'll lose sight of your teammates. Here's what one of the more open market-spaces looks like:

We walked around the wholesale medical district, consisting of dozens or hundreds of individual shopkeepers, many selling identical wares. Notably, they were well-stocked, with products from major multinationals like J&J and Roche, but at a slightly lower price compared to the US. I took pictures of one man buying a glucometer at ~1000 Rs [replace in a couple hours w/ an accurate figure]. He was very well-groomed and well-dressed, with nice slacks and long-sleeved shirt. He was also wearing a Titan watch, which ranges from 1000-19,000+ Rs. Interestingly, the shopkeeper showed the man how to use the product. He did a good, thorough job, and even pricked his customer's finger to draw some blood for a demo test.

Sleepy

In the evening, Ananya's parents took our team to a very classy restaurant. The food was delicious and incredibly varied, and Ananya's parents were incredibly nice people. Our meal had a desirable effect, and put us to sleep by the time we got back to the hotel.

Good night and best wishes to ADE teams in Alabama and Ghana!

-Sam, from Varun's computer