Hospital Day Four

Got up early and head out to set up for the video conference. Things got crazy as soon as we set up and figured out that we could not see the other conference room. They could see everything and hear everything we were uploading but we could not hear or see them. I scrambled to try and figure out if this was a setting that I had control over. Eventually we figured out that it was not something I could fix and we opted to try another route. Someone had a magic jack and so we plugged that into Doc’s computer and called over to the conference room. We had to set up the router so that we had more than one connection to the internet, and I was afraid that it would hurt our upload speeds but it did not. So Doc had to wear an earpiece and conduct the interview that way. It wasn’t ideal but it got the job done. We started out by bringing out some of the crew we had been working with throughout the week and introducing them. Then we got the staff that worked at the hospital that had been helping our crew care for the patients all week. The kids and families all lined up at the window outside of the entry way, which is where we were conducting our broadcast. We didn’t get to move the camera outside or up the hallway of the hospital because we had to stay in one place in order to use Docs computer to get the audio with the San Diego room. We brought a few of the families inside and had a few questions for them on camera. It seemed to go over really well and was a big hit with everyone who participated. Word came back to me after that no one had fallen in asleep during the conference and there was standing room only! It was a victory:-) We managed to make it through the whole thing without losing our connection once which seemed like a miracle.

After the conference wrapped up I worked on wrapping up the cords and breaking down the mobile cart we had built. The guys who work here at the hospital all helped me with wrapping the cords and putting things away. They were so great and helpful. I also learned from J how to wrap my cords so that I could throw them down the hall and they would not be tangled.

After getting everything put away I was told that a few people were going to go into the street and shop so I asked if I could go and take pictures. I jumped in the car with another one of the photographers, C, that was on the trip. We went to a store where there were Sari’s and the women proceeded to purchase a few items. I took a few pictures and then sat on the side wall inside of the store waiting. One of the guys we were with looked at me and laughed. When I asked why he looked and me and said you are sitting here like you own the store! I jumped up and quickly moved but he said it was ok. I had no idea that the store owners sat at the front of the store. Soon it was time to leave and C and I went with 3 of the guys who had brought us. They said we were going to go on a tour of Damoh and see the old Damoh and the new Damoh. We went slowly away from the store and asked if it would be ok to roll down the windows so we could take photos. They said it would be fine and to let them know if we wanted them to stop. We started down the street and immediately a man approached us and offered us drinks. We politely said no thank you and he insisted. He kept saying the drinks were free they were on him. Eventually one of the guys in the front told us that it was his friend and that it was ok to accept the drinks. They had a good chuckle while we were thanking the man for the drinks. He handed us Mountain Dew and Coke in plastic bottles! We had seen Pepsi and Mountain Dew but everything was in glass bottles and a few aluminum cans. We stuck our drinks in the seat next to us and continued to take pictures. We headed up to the top of a hill where we could see old Damoh on one side and on the other side was New Damoh. It was a very beautiful view point. There was farm land and we saw the pipes that they used to bring water into Damoh. We were told that they bring water in from some dams that were near. As we were taking pictures on this hill top, it seemed from out of nowhere a man, woman and a dog came up the hill side and he starting speaking very loudly and waving his arms about. We thought he was upset and C looked at me and asked if we should run for the car. One of the guys we were with said it was ok and then translated to us what the man was saying. He said he was praying to his god that we were happy. We breathed a sigh of relief and ended up getting in the car anyway. We thanked him and then went on our way. On the way back to the hospital compound we were driving through town when the Magic of India Man, a Sadhu, approached the vehicle. He approached on the opposite side of me and I had my camera ready so got the picture. Its one of my favorite pictures. IT all happened so quickly and was gone just as quickly. We finally arrived back at the hospital and our grand tour was over.

I was so grateful that I was able to see the beauty of Damoh and take pictures of it.