Day One: A Moment of Sentimentality in Madurai

Hello All! Let me recount our first day here in India:

Getting off the plane in Chennai was surreal…partially due to the huge sleep deficit I was fighting but mostly due to the realization that these were my first official steps on the continent of Asia.

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I came into this class with the expectation that our trip to India would be an incredibly new experience, mostly because I was traveling with people I’d never traveled with before and because we’d be traveling as an academic cohort, fundamentally interconnected through our shared undying love for the subject of biology. Observe Rachel below, photographed  candidly during class back at Dartmouth in a moment of deep concentration:

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But in all seriousness, the newness of the group faded within minutes during our first class meeting in September and we’ve quickly formed a family, as cliche as that may sound. It was a privilege today to step off the plane with a group of individuals, all of whom I respect so profoundly for not only their intellectual prowess, but more greatly for their zeal to learn and to love all that surrounds them. There would seem to be no greater group of people with which to travel the world.

Once we thoroughly cleared customs in Chennai and collected baggage, we headed to the hotel for a quick few hours of sleep. A few of us woke up early and headed downstairs to start the day. The highlights of today include the 2.5 hour breakfast, filled with dosas and chutney (beautifully modeled by Tammy)

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and effortless conversation with Christine and Jalen,

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as well as the plane ride to Madurai when I was sincerely concerned that Arun’s knees would not fit in the seat, pinpointing our exact geographic location on the giant world map on the wall in the Aravind Guest House,

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seeing Bharani’s familiar and friendly face, and fitting five people into a tuk tuk intended for three.

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Further, the temple was spectacular, bursting with color and ornate details that make you pause to fully appreciate the creativity and diversity of this world’s cultures, expressed so divinely through architectural works of art like this one;

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We walked through the surrounding streets at the foot of the temple, only to find ourselves at one of the central markets where I was in awe to find even more color and creativity.

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Maya and I wandered through the circuit maybe three or four times, still enjoying our third lap just as much as our first. It was the most sublime feeling to digest everything all at once, from the explosion of color and shining gold to the realization of just how different this culture differs from our own.

We embarked upon yet another tuk tuk adventure. Important to note: those with preexisting heart conditions should under no circumstances keep their eyes open when riding in Indian traffic. We made it safely home to the guest house and powered through our jet-lag to enjoy a fabulous dinner prepared for us and the other guests.

But even with the perfect day of touring and exploring, nothing could compete with the most innocent and genuine joy at the end of our day of being able to look around Emma and Rachel’s (unfairly giant and spacious) bedroom where we all huddled for a team meeting, and feeling so utterly appreciative to be exactly where I was at that particular moment.

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I feel so fortunate to be sharing this most enthralling experience with these exact people who have made these past few months of learning together so incredibly engaging, productive, and just downright fun. An excellent first day to a trip that is destined to be a cherished lifelong memory!

Cheers from India!

-Caroline King

Some fascinating background on this trip… Well, we think so!

Many blog readers know a little bit about the how and why of this course, but we wanted to bring all our followers up to speed — especially our new ones!

The original course (BIO70) didn’t include any field experience.  Professor Zegans taught the upper level course to mostly seniors, where it consisted of lectures, team literature presentations, and the creation of an NIH-style grant proposal.  In 2015, the team at the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning began offering pilot funding for undergraduate courses that expanded the teaching to include a clearly defined experiential learning aspect.  Professor Zegans and Dawn Carey moved forward with their Experiential Learning Initiative (ELI) course funding application to cover the costs of travel to southern India during winterim.

The on-campus component of the fall course follows much of the same format and content as the original.  One small change was winnowing the large number of qualified applicants down to the course cap of ten.  With the limitations of travel funding and time, this process allowed the faculty to select students with an appropriately high academic and research background. During the ten-week, on-campus, component, students were introduced to the science side of eye health on a cellular level, along with gaining an understanding of the environmental and behavioral aspects of disease.  In addition, the students attended a required Cultural Navigation class, where they explored some of possible opportunities and challenges found in traveling to a new locale.

The ELI funding also made it possible to host a visiting research scholar from our partner institution, Aravind Eye Care, as another component for feedback and content for the classroom.  This researcher spearheads our scientific conference activities here in Madurai.

Many thanks to DCAL and the ELI for making all this possible!

 

We are here, we are here!

FullSizeRender (1)After almost two days of travel, we safely arrived at the Chennai Radisson, tired but happy.  Somehow, we magically flew during the only two days this week that Lufthansa was NOT striking, so already feeling pretty lucky.

As you can see from the lovely note on our pillows, tomorrow in Chennai promises to be in the mid-eighties for temperature.  After a quick sleep tonight, we will be back on a plane to Madurai in the morning, with temps in the low nineties.  The wee bundle above the note is a small sachet of fresh jasmine — truly intoxicating scent.

Our featured blogger for tomorrow is Caroline, so look for a recap of our first day on the ground then!

Here we go!

229156_1027784408603_3342_nWelcome to the blog site for the Fall16 BIO70 trip to India.
As we spend eleven days traveling to, through, and back from Tamil Nadu, we will share our experience with our friends, family, and supporters in the United States and elsewhere.  Each student will take turns reflecting on the academic experiences, new colleagues, and exciting context during our time in the city of Madurai.

Because of the extraordinary generosity of our host, Aravind Eye Care System, all ten BIO70 students,224177_1027813169322_7439_n along with one of our PHD students, are featured presenters at a two-day conference. In addition to these presentations, researchers from the Aravind Medical Research Foundation are slated to present in both lecture and poster form.

Our students will spend time with other researchers and clinicians at Aravind, and visit their labs, hospitals, health centers, manufacturing center, and training centers.  Their schedule also includes visits to some of the temples and ancient sites in the area.

We look forward to posting more about this amazing adventure in the next few weeks!