The Big Temple at Thanjavur, public health training, and a trip in the works

Yesterday several members of our group, as well as our two instructors, ventured to the Big Temple in the town we're staying in, Thanjavur. The Big Temple (also known as the Brihadeeswarar Temple) is an incredible series of constructions dating back to the year 1002, although many additions have taken place since then. The highest temple tower is a sight to behold- carved stone reaching 63 meters (189 feet) high, and illustrating 16 different stories through detailed carvings. Although we were told by our tour guide that the temple was built from a single stone, I've since done my research and seen otherwise. Regardless, this is one of the most amazing structures I have ever seen and remains a World Heritage Site for a reason! As we entered the temple grounds, we were beckoned by a man with an elephant to stand nearby as the elephant put his trunk over each of our heads- it was the funniest sensation feeling the hot and smelly air blowing over my head! After that entertaining experience, we were fortunate enough to enter the temple to see how the procedures within take place, where people are presented to Shiva and receive a blessing in return- it was truly a magical experience to be at the heart of something so grand. We also entered a smaller temple on the grounds which was devoted to Ganesha, which was also an interesting and unique experience. Strands of flowers were presented to us and we were marked with red ash to symbolize life, in contrast to the white ash we had received in the other temple that represented destruction of life (or destruction of the self). Visiting the temple was a peaceful and powerful experience.

The past 2 days we have been getting down to the nitty gritty of our coursework, learning to implement basic public health strategies in the field, to be able to identify what is "normal" health and what is not. We were trained in performing basic dental/oral examinations to check for any obvious issues with the mouth, jaw, gums, and teeth- it was pretty entertaining getting to practice on our classmates. Today we discussed GI health, specifically problems associated with diarrhea since that is one of the primary causes of death in the developing world. We practiced making oral rehydration solution (ORS) to use when dehydrated, and learned how to chlorinate water in order to purify it for drinking (although this was not complicated, it was interesting to taste the chlorinated water just to get an idea of what it's like and why some people are resistant to using it). In the future we will learn other practical skills related to the other illness areas we are studying- cardiovascular health, cancer, and maternal and child health.

As for tomorrow, several of us are planning a trip to Puducherry (formerly known as Pondicherry), a region of India formerly colonized by the French and therefore having different architecture and points of interest. Pictures and stories coming soon!