I never learn to ask instead of to assume

My first day at VIMHANS was awesome simply because I was able to interact with people. As of now, I also think that I felt more comfortable in the hospital than anywhere else. People definitely stare less because they probably know how awful it feels to be stared at.

But there obviously was also a bad part to it. I knew that VIMHANS offers internships to students here in India. They have to take courses at the hospital, get case studies and at the completion of the internship they receive a certificate. It's more like a training than an internship and they have to pay for it. This internship is a requirement for them to finish their school. I thought since I don't really need that certificate and don't necessarily want to take classes, I am not going to do that. I am going to be a rather "real intern." The person who I was in charge with made it seem as if I will be working specifically with him on his consultations and I didn't ask any further. I simply assumed that my assumptions were right. As it turns out, I was wrong. I am in the same boot as everybody. This means I will have to write case studies, take classes and rotate with everybody else from one section of the hospital to the next.

However, even though not what I expected, I like it. It's totally fine. We will be moving from day care for outpatients to the inpatients' ward and back to the simple consultation sessions of outpatients; ten days each. In between we have classes, lectures and case presentations. It sounds like a lot of  work but I think it will be fun.

One thing that I am not seeing at VIMHANS for obvious reasons is the positive environmental impact on the patients that I expected and wanted to see. The hospital is pretty big and has a big garden in which the patients can walk around. But neither yoga, meditation nor group therapies are conducted outside. Instead, it is done in the basement. When there is 45 Degree Celsius outside, nobody wants to go outside and that's the problem, the heat. And the basement is not a really good alternative but what can they do. I would suggest make the basement more comfortable.  

However, in another part of my day, I saw some actual interest and concern about the environment. One of the topics for the group discussions was how to conserve water. The patients were very creative and motivated to come up with answers to that question. And I was a little surprised by the choice of that topic. I am totally influenced by the mainstream, by what they say in the newspapers and television because in my head I had ingrained that Indians don't care about the environment so who comes up with that topic. Even the poor ladies among the group had great input about how to conserve water. Not only the rich and intellectual people can be environmental, but the poor as well by for example reusing a bucket of water for washing dirty laundry and afterwards the floor, a patient said.