We met with some geopolitics masters students, who are located in the building most of our classes will be held, and got to know them in an speed-dating type setting.
We also visited an art gallery in Udapi, the next nearest town, where we got Bharatanatyam dance performances from a group of young girls, a presentation from the owner, his photographs of India, and a chance to walk around the gallery.
By Friday we finally got our class schedules! I am taking global health problems, epidemiology in developing countries, Ayurveda – traditional Indian healing, contemporary Indian culture, and maternal and child health. I think I will also audit a class in Indian dance three days a week. Fridays are reserved for public health field visits around the area with our faculty. I am super excited for all my classes, especially Ayurveda!
Throughout the week everyone in the program except me (knock on wood) got really sick, and three ended up in the clinic/hospital for IV’s and anti-nausea shots. After that everyone has been pretty cautious with food.
One afternoon we had a really long break in our schedule so Alexandra and I headed out to explore the town. I bought a phone charger for my Kenyan phone so I could use that here and then we wandered up and down streets stopping at stalls and in stores. I bought a nice kurta, though it seems like it might be too big. We also bought a fresh coconut off the street to share. As we wandered we stumbled upon a park near the Old TAPMI building (where most of our classes our located) and we went inside to relax. In the shade, the day was actually quite lovely. We sat on amphitheater steps for a while and enjoyed the beauty for a while.
That night we went back to Aditi, the art gallery in Udapi, for a performance by a famous artist, Chitra Mitra, who painted a huge canvas in just a few minutes. It was really fun to watch and see his work in the gallery. He is excellent at every single medium!