Burma is gorgeous!

I went to Burma for a week, stopping in Bangkok for a couple days on either side. It was a great trip -- Burma is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I'll let the pictures do the talking. Bangkok felt like going back to the US -- a big, busy city, where I drank Starbucks and ate sushi. The street food is the best thing about Bangkok, there is lots of great stuff and it's all cheap and clean.
Here's my album of pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64846389@N04/sets/72157631980212777/

Watching the election from abroad

I so missed being in the US during the election, especially for some really exciting races in Washington state. I did vote, though -- got my ballot through email!
This was by far my favorite comment about the whole election -- a tweet from Dana Bash at CNN:

@DanaBashCNN: Ladies and gentleman - 4.2 b spent for status quo government.

As the election highlights the large disagreements and polarization in America, I think this is one problem that we can all agree on. The amount of money spent on campaigning for the election this year was absurd. I don't know what exactly this figure is -- total spending only for the presidential election, for all the races combined, only for the federal ones, etc. -- but the point is that sooo much money was spent, and to what end? If this contributed to truly informing voters, I would be more ok with it. But I think the vast majority of this went to creating ads full of half-truths that helped to further polarize Americans and dumbed down complex issues into sound bites. I think there should be no campaign ads, so that people hopefully turn more to publicly funded debates, candidates' voting records, and their histories of achievements in office to evaluate them. On top of all that, the irony that we are spending billions of dollars on an election for which reducing the deficit has been called one of the most important issues is not lost on me. I wish there was a way to take all the money spent on these campaigns and use it for something worthwhile and lasting. Sigh. 

This NYTimes page also has some interesting information on campaign funding: http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/campaign-finance

Fun with tropical diseases

Last month, I celebrated one full year in Delhi by having dengue fever! Ok, it's not funny. It was scary and uncomfortable, but luckily I came out fine. But it's actually a big and growing problem. There have been a lot of cases in Delhi this year, the topic of several recent news stories:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/07/world/asia/alarm-over-indias-dengue-fever-epidemic.html?hpw

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Your-house-is-dengue-mosquito-s-favourite-spot/Article1-956476.aspx

I wanted to point out that it is no coincidence that there is no vaccine for dengue fever while there is for influenza, hepatitis A, or certain other viruses. Dengue disproportionately affects people in poorer countries, so the market for any pharmaceutical products developed to tackle it is potentially much less lucrative than, say, a new product for heart disease or something that afflicts lots of wealthy people. For this reason, dengue is one among a group of diseases that have been deemed "neglected diseases" to highlight their need for greater research funding. This relates directly to my project at work right now, which is to assess the funding given for health research in India, including which topics/diseases receive what proportion of that money and looking at that in relation to their share of the total disease burden. 

A wordy update

I apologize for my complete lack of posts over the last 3 months and more importantly, as pointed out to me by one of you, for the fact that the image at the top of my page this whole time has been of cockroaches! oops. I don't really have any exciting pictures to post, but will try to summarize some of the highlights of the summer without boring you entirely.

I guess one major change -- or gradual development -- is that life feels really normal here. When I first came everything was different, overwhelming at times, and full of new experiences. But now most things that used to frustrate or fascinate me, have become commonplace. And as I come up on one year in Delhi, that was the thing I think I was most anxious for when I first arrived -- for things to feel normal. It's a really nice feeling to be comfortable and settled, and allows me to see and appreciate new things about this experience now that I'm not jumpy and panicked every time I cross the street, lonely, or irritated by something that at home would take 15 minutes taking 3 hours.

Speaking of being jumpy while crossing the street, one of the more entertaining things I've done in a long time was going on Old Delhi by Cycle in July when friends from IHME were here visiting. This is a possibly disastrous idea that entails a group of tourists being led around on bright orange bicycles through the narrow, crowded alleys of Old Delhi. It was an obstacle course of humanity. I was--not always successfully--dodging cows, carts, trash, barking dogs, people, walls, moving vehicles of all varieties, children shouting greetings, pots of boiling food, butchered animals; annnd sweating like crazy in the heat! I would never do it again but I am really glad that I did!

There were a lot of goodbyes this summer, including my roommate and several good friends, but that, too, I've realized is just part of living here and meeting people from all over the world, who, inevitably, are likely to return home. I got to go back to Seattle and Alaska for two weeks in August, which was wonderful. I think my biggest moment of culture shock was being on a quiet lake in Alaska, with mountains rising over the still water,  and only a few people and cabins in sight. I could see so far!

I've kept up Hindi and yoga, which I continue to really enjoy. Gradually I am able to utter a few more sentences with confidence... And lately have been busy studying for the GRE and exploring graduate programs, since I've decided to apply for a PhD in global health policy/public policy/international relations for next year. It's a lot of work but I am really really excited about it and continue to become more sure that this is what I hope to do next. Advice welcome!!

And finally, the weather has gotten better! The extreme heat is gone, the monsoons are over, and although I never expected to call 90 degrees comfortable, I am loving it!

Miss you all and lots of love.

Disgusting!!!!!

Nothing says "welcome to the weekend" like coming home on a Friday evening after a long week and having to kill 8!!! cockroaches!!!! Ahhhh.
One guy didn't make it in the pictures with all the rest of these guys.
So traumatized.
Update--as I am writing this, Sue and I just got several more. Lost count. 13? kdjfldskjflksdjBaaahhhhhh

In other news, monsoons have arrived and Delhi is wet!

Final roach count close to 20. Literally not drinking anything to avoid my bathroom until tomorrow. Can't handle it. 

Pics of the week

All of the five-star hotels in Delhi are known for their fancy buffets. This week a family friend of the landlords' took us out to the dinner buffet at the Eros Hotel. They had Indian food, American, Japanese, Italian, Greek...

Dessert bar

Salad bar

This made me laugh sooo hard....so Friday was my roommate Sue's last day at work. She's leaving soon to move back to the U.S. I ordered this cake and asked them to write "Good luck, Sue" but a little got lost in translation...

Even hotter!

Couldn't resist the temptation to one-up my last post. Check out this HEAT!

In other news, I had my first experience receiving medical care here. It was just a sore throat, so probably the least threatening thing I could possibly go in for, but all went well. It's interesting the way that insurance plans work here--from what I understand, they almost all only cover hospitalizations, so any outpatient visits and prescriptions are all paid out-of-pocket. By US standards, those things are very cheap. My office visit was $18 and my prescriptions were about $1.50. I went to one of the nice private hospitals, but one of the big problems with health care here is that "doctors" will open clinics without actually having any qualifications. I think the problem is worse in rural areas than in big cities like Delhi. But, still, it's best to go to a hospital or follow a recommendation from a friend, because not every sign that says "doctor" means there is someone who has actually gone to medical school! This unregulated private sector is definitely one of the big challenges with the health system in India that needs to be addressed.