[Eric R] Week 4

I seem to have really good weeks (last week in Mumbai!) followed by really bad weeks (this week in Bangalore), in terms of my project at least. Last week was extremely enlightening, and I managed to meet with many doctors at some very excellent hospitals. I learned a lot, and can tell that a bulk of my research material will come from my visits in Mumbai.

Going into this week, a great number of things changed for me. First, I moved to Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India. I left Mumbai Tuesday afternoon, and arrived here on Wednesday late-morning by bus. The drive was spectacular, and I loved getting the opportunity to see the country a bit. I sat next to a gentleman (Shreeshan) who had studied civil engineering in Mumbai but was headed to Bangalore to interview for a spot at a college studying journalism (he got bored, he said). I enjoyed traveling with him, and the 18 hours felt more like 3 or 4.

Second, the monsoon season started! B’lore is much more elevated than Mumbai and also inland, so it’s cooler here to begin with. The result? It’s a mere 80 degrees here, completely overcast, and a nice breeze to keep the humidity at Ann Arbor summer levels. It rains for only about an hour here each day, usually in the late afternoon. In Mumbai I’m told it rains much more (up to 6-8 hours/day), but again, due to the elevation and proximity to the ocean, B’lore’s monsoon season is much less pronounced.

Third, my phone was put on hold. As a result of the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, it has become much more difficult for anyone to get a SIM card. Mine was working perfectly fine, until someone somewhere decided I needed additional verification, which includes a trip to the stall that I purchased my card at originally…in Pune. So, I’m working with OHUM to get my service restored ASAP.

This leads into my fourth change: unbeknownst to me, three of the four hospitals I wanted to meet with in Bangalore had been trying to contact me on my cell phone since Monday. They eventually all emailed me, a couple days later (the day I arrived in Bangalore), regretting to inform me that it would no longer be possible to accommodate my project. Their reasons were all because they were denied approval from their research boards. So, as far as Bangalore goes, my research has hit a wall. I’ll be visiting the remaining hospital on Monday (Manipal Hospital).

Next Thursday I’ll be attending my GSI’s wedding in Bangalore! I’m so proud of him for being the recipient of this year’s ChE Department‘s Excellence in Teaching Award, and can’t wait to be there for him! Two other ChEs, Carrie Yarina (another CSAS Fellow!) and Pete Wangwongwiroj, are also in Bangalore and are attending as well. We look forward to bonding in Bangalore!

Next Friday I’ll be taking the 35hr train trip to Delhi, the last stop for my research project! I’m looking forward to my hospital visits there – everyone I’ve talked to so far has said that Delhi is at the forefront of EMR adoption. While there I will take a weekend trip to the Taj to take that iconic picture! It will provide good closure for my trip, and I will be sad to leave this beautiful country. I can hardly believe that I passed the halfway mark, and know that the rest of my time will fly by. I plan to make the most of every moment and learn everything I can.

Until next week.

-ericr