Name: Saritha Goriparthi Age: 19 Father: Rao Goriparthi City: Fremont, California

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1 Name: Saritha Goriparthi Age: 19 Father: Rao Goriparthi City: Fremont, California University: University of California, California Current Year of Study: First Year (freshman) Grade Point Average (GPA): 3.2 Awards: Presidential Scholar award, AP Scholar award Extra-curricular activities: High School Tennis Team; Indian classical dance and film dance Leadership Roles: Student Body Council Member, Indian Club Officer, Link Crew leader Wants to: become a pediatrician A couple of months ago, I would have never thought that I would be spending my summer in Hyderabad interning at Medwin Hospital. When my parents first told me about the TANA International Internship Program, I was somewhat reluctant, but I thought there would be no harm in applying. Once I was accepted to participate in this program, I was definitely a little scared and nervous about traveling to India on my own and staying there for six weeks to pursue this internship, yet I didn t let my fears get the best of me and I decided to seize this opportunity. Looking back now, I can honestly say that I am glad that I applied for this program and I decided to participate, because through this Internship program, I learned more about the Indian Healthcare system and my Telugu culture than I ever expected to. Five of us students were chosen to participate in this International Internship program put on by the Telugu Association of North America. We all filled out an application and wrote an essay on why we wanted to participate in this program. The TANA committee then evaluated each of the applicants and chose five students each from different states to participate in this sixweek internship. The five of us were then notified that we were accepted and further informed about what we would be doing in India for the 40 days. The five of us then arranged for our own travel to India and each arrived there with different expectations and different ideas about how exactly this program would be. INAUGURATION: On Monday morning, June 25 th 2007, five of us interns all met at Medwin Hospital with our family members and our luggage for the Inauguration ceremony. This was the first time I met the other interns as well as our project coordinators in India. The function included speeches by Vamsee Ramaraju, Dr. Srinivas, and by the guest of honor Akkineni Nageswara Rao. We were all extremely unprepared for and surprised by the numerous newspaper and television reporters present that day. Throughout the ceremony, the reporters took hundreds of pictures and

2 at the end of the function, each one of us was interviewed by many different reporters. The first day was already more than what we expected. After our orientation ceremony, we were taken back to our guest house in Hayathnagar. We were each placed in our own single room with an attached bathroom. Upon arriving here, we situated into our rooms and then all had lunch together. Our meals in India consisted of a variety of things, including a mix between both Indian and western food. Normally, we had bread or biscuits and juice for breakfast. For lunch, lunchboxes of idli, dosa or something similar was packed for us to eat in the hospital. For dinner, we usually had a traditional south Indian dinner which comprised of rice, lentils, a curry, and curd rice. On occasion, we would also go out to eat.

3 Upon arriving at our guesthouse in Hayathnagar, though we encountered small problems, we learned to take each obstacle as a part of the experience and face it as best as we could. For example, we learned that there would be a power outage in our rooms every morning from six to eight a.m. This became quite a large issue considering that we were supposed to leave for work every morning at eight a.m. Since the power outage meant that there would not be any hot water or lights in our bathroom during those hours, we learned to accommodate by waking up a little earlier at 5:30 and turning on our geysers for hot water and then going back to sleep for an hour or so before we got up to shower and get ready for work. Other issues we encountered were also dealt with in a similar manner. For example, when we would get sick of eating Indian food every day, we were able to eat noodles or other snacks that we preferred. On our first day of work we all got ready in the morning and came down to eat breakfast and wait for the car around 7:30 in the morning. The car came and took us to the hospital where we first met our project coordinator Dr. Srinivas. Dr. Srinivas told us about what he had planned for us for our six weeks there and asked us if there were any specific things we wanted to cover in our time there. His schedule for us was well-planned out and we agreed with what he had in mind. We then met two other ladies who would be in charge of us and would help us with anything we needed, Mila and Fatima. That first day they put us on the ground floor and we observed the information counter, the admissions area and the Registration counter. Everything was new to us so we also spent that first day observing the hospital and talking to different people and simply explaining who we were and why we were there. We were also given a tour of the hospital and we got to observe how large of a facility we were working in and the many different departments that they had in Medwin Hospital. After our first day of work, the car came to pick us up at around four in the afternoon. Unfortunately for us, we still had a while before getting back to our guest house. One of the biggest problems we faced during our trip was the long commute everyday because of the location of our guest house as well as the Hyderabad traffic. Our commute usually consisted of one hour in the morning from our guest house to the hospital and three hours in the afternoon from the hospital to Jayabheri and then back to the guesthouse. The long commute that we faced made it difficult for us to be able to go anywhere during the evenings. In addition to not being able to go anywhere, because of the lack of internet or television in the guesthouse, we got extremely bored some evenings. Though at first it was very hard for us to cope without the internet and other amenities that we were used to, we learned to entertain ourselves by talking to each other about our lives, telling stories, playing games, or watching movies on our laptops. Medwin Hospital: Our five weeks at Medwin Hospital were spent visiting and observing different areas of the hospital and understanding what goes on in each department. During the first week at Medwin, we were first given an entire tour of the eleven floors of the hospital. I spent a day in Admissions/Discharges observing the different procedures that patients go through. I got to observe the paperwork that is involved with admissions and discharges and also how patients pay for different services in the hospital. I also spent a day observing the old Outpatient Department on the 2 nd floor. There I learned how they enter patient s information in the computer and the

4 record book and how they make appointments as well as notify doctors when patients arrive. The old OPD was busy throughout the day with the phone ringing, patients coming in to make appointments, nurses coming to get files, and lots of paperwork to be done. We spent another day on the 7 th floor Cardiology floor observing how the echo machines work and how they the machines monitor the normal and abnormal blood flow. We spent a little bit of time also observing a nursing station where a lot of paperwork is done. There were usually not many people at the desk because the nurses are normally spending time taking care of the patients in their rooms or delivering files. Another week at Medwin hospital was spent on the first floor where a lot of the lab work takes place. The first day was in the sample collection room where we observed how different specimens were collected, labeled, and tested. We also spent a couple days each in the Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Pathology labs. In Pathology, I learned how different tests are conducted to test for diseases. I observed the different work that happens under each of the four branches of pathology: hematology, clinical pathology, histopathology, and cytology. We also learned how to make a slide out of a patient s blood sample and then how to analyze the slide under the microscope for diseases or abnormalities. In the biochemistry department, we observed the different machines they use and for what purpose they each individually serve. One machine, the Hitachi Automatic analyzer analyzes different proteins using a varied amount of reagents. There are also other machines they use to analyze hormones, electrolytes and to take glucose readings. Lastly, in the Microbiology lab we learned about virus screening for HIV using the ELISA method as well as about Gram s stain. During our third week at Medwin hospital, we spent a day in the basement and then a couple of days going on rounds with a doctor and observing the critical care unit. In the basement level of the hospital, we observed the X-Ray, MRI, and CT scan rooms. The doctors in charge of each area explained the different machines and how they work as well as the different prices each examination would cost a patient. We also went on rounds with a doctor in the hospital and learned about his daily routine which including him visiting his patients that are residing in the hospital. We also got to see how other patients came to see the doctor and how he treated these simple cases in his office. Since we were following around a pulmonologist; we were able to observe a bronchoscopy procedure. In the acute medical care unit, we observed different patients and how they were being treated by the doctors and nurses. We also witnessed the heightened security in the intensive care unit. There are security guards at the entrance of this department and they only let authorized personnel into this area. The next week at the hospital, we spent a lot of time on the sixth floor at the Jaya School of Nursing. There we got to talk to many different nursing students, sit through some of their classes, as well as visit their hostel and their dining area. The school of Nursing has first, second, and third years who are all going to school as well as working with doctors and nurses in the hospital. There are about 150 students at this school and they all came from different parts of India and from different social classes. It was really interesting talking to these girls and the few boys at this school because they were all fairly close to our age so they were as curious about our lifestyle as we were about theirs. After talking to these students on a more personal level, it was interesting to see the shy, quieter manner in which they behaved during class.

5 Our last week at Medwin was probably the most exciting out of our time there. In addition to seeing surgeries, and visiting the nursing college, we also got to visit a government hospital. We spent a day visiting the Nursing College and were able to compare the school of Nursing to the Nursing College by talking to the students there as well as sitting in on some of their classes. We spent a couple of days observing different surgical procedures with different doctors. The surgeries were extremely interesting because the doctors were exceptionally helpful and even explained to us what they were doing during the procedures. The last day at the hospital, we spent some time saying good bye to all of our new friends that we met and then we visited Osmania Hospital. Osmania, a government hospital was extremely different from the private hospital that we had been interning at. Osmania does not charge patients any fees for services so there were lines of people waiting to be treated and get a bed. The hospital was also a lot dirtier and smelled and it was hard for us to believe that a hospital could exist with such unsanitary conditions. By visiting Osmania hospital, we were able to compare a government facility to a private facility. Though I learned a lot during my time at Medwin, I felt as though we spent a lot of time in the hospital with no work to do. It was hard for the doctors or nurses, or technicians we were observing to give us work to do or even explain everything they were doing because we are not medical students so we don t have enough experience or knowledge. Even though we got to visit one government hospital, I felt as though our medical internship would have been further enhanced if we were able to compare Medwin to other private or government hospitals around Hyderabad. I also believe that my time at Medwin would have been improved if I was able to spend more time interacting with the patients there because that is one of the main reasons I would like to be a doctor; to talk to and help the patients. Lastly, if we were given simple jobs in the hospital such as delivering files or doing simple paperwork, maybe we would have felt more engaged. Though our time at Medwin was sometimes dull, I do feel like we learned more about the Indian health care system. Some of the things that we noticed about Medwin were that it is an extremely large facility compared to some of the other hospitals in Hyderabad and also has about every department present. Some differences that we noticed between Medwin hospital and some of the hospitals in the U.S, is that Medwin seemed to be less sanitary in some ways yet their employees are all extremely friendly and everyone their behaves as a family. We were able to meet a large number of hospital employees that fully made us feel welcome, were always willing to help us out, and really cared about teaching us something valuable and keeping us engaged during our time there.

6 Weekends Excursions Our weekends in India were spent doing a variety of things from visiting religious sites, to meeting famous renowned people to attending important functions, to visiting important city attractions. Our six weeks were definitely excitingly busy. Religious Sites Throughout our time in India, we were able to visit several renowned religious sites. We spent a day visiting Yadagirigutta, the Thousand Pillars temple, Bhadrakali temple, and the Warangal Fort. All of these places were extremely beautiful to see and though I have heard about how popular they are, I have never previously been able to visit them. The thousand pillars temple was really interesting for me to see because observing the architecture of the temple, you can see how the pillars have all started connecting now, but one day there really were one thousand pillars that you could individually count. The Warangal fort was also really nice to see because it was extremely clean and beautiful and there were lots of religious statues around the park area. Another comparable temple that we visited was the Sanghi temple. The Sanghi temple was really amazing to see because it is located up on a hill so from the temple you can see a large part of the city. It was also extremely clean, beautiful and really peaceful.

7 Another important place that we got to visit was Puttaparthi. Puttapurthi was someplace that I have wanted to visit because I have heard so much about it yet I never got the chance to see its beauty before. At Puttapurthi, I was amazed about how clean and nicely organized the town was. There was a hospital, a university, a children s school, a musical university, a sports arena, and many other important facilities all in one area. It was amazing to see how one person could create such an amazing town with so many facilities that are available to everyone. Lastly, we were also able to visit Tirupathi by train and spend a couple of days there. Though I have visited Tirupathi before, I was still very glad that we got to visit again especially at the end of our internship. At Tirupathi, in addition to visiting the temple and seeing god, we were also able to see some of the natural wonders such as the waterfall and the arch. We also got to see many of the important sites at the top of the city, Tirumala, and the important sites at the bottom, Tirupathi. I am extremely glad that we got to incorporate so many important religious places during our six week stay.

8 City Attractions Some of our weekends were spent visiting important city attractions and popular hangout areas for locals. During our time in Hyderabad, we visited popular attractions such as Ramoji Film City, Prasad s IMAX Theatre, the Salarjung museum, and the Qutb Shahi tombs. All of these attractions though different in their own way were all interesting to see and helped us learn more about culture and the city of Hyderabad. Ramoji Film City was probably my favorite attraction that we saw during our stay in Hyderabad. In addition to meeting Mr. Ramoji Rao, we got to take a tour of the entire film city and appreciate all of its aspects. We were able to visit areas of the film city where popular scenes from movies were filmed, were able to see how a lot of aspects of movies are simply effects, and we were also able to visit the Eureka part of the film city where there were arcade games, dance shows, musical performances, and rides.

9 Prasad s IMAX theatre was also really interesting to see because it was a part of the city that was extremely modernized and the shops and food places inside this mall-like area were all very westernized. In addition to seeing the new Harry Potter movie in the IMAX theatre, we saw a plethora of people of all ages simply there to walk around, shop a little, eat, and enjoy their time with their family and friends. The Salarjung museum was interesting to see because it is a popular museum in Hyderabad and it included artifacts from a variety of places around the world. The tombs that we visited were fun to visit because the place was like a large park in which seven large tombs were

10 situated all throughout the park. The tombs are for seven popular past kings. Though this is a historical site, there were many friends hanging around this garden area simply there to sit and talk or play a game of cricket. Functions/Meeting Important People Throughout our internship in India, we had the privilege to meet several renowned persons either during functions or simply during interviews. At a film function, we met the actor Srikanth. It was a function promoting his new film Operation Duryodhana, and since we had seen the film the day before, we all spoke a little bit about how we enjoyed the movie. Though I didn t know who Srikanth was before we saw the movie, it was still pretty exciting meeting a famous Telugu actor. We also attended a scholarship function in which 50 deserving students received scholarships from the Telugu Association of Metro Atlanta. During our time there we were also able to meet important politicians such as the present Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, as well as a past Chief Minister Sri. Nara Chandra Babu Naidu during our graduation ceremony. The idea that these important people took time out of their busy schedules to come meet us made us feel extremely fortunate.

11 Alpha Foundation Schools/Vegesna Foundation We spent one Saturday visiting ICFAI Republic schools. These schools were really great to visit because they provide children from the lowest economic status knowledge and skills to allow them to live a successful life. These schools work hard to shape these underprivileged children into responsible adults. We got to visit three schools like this and observe the differences amongst the three. The director of the schools showed us around the school facilities as well as explained to us how these students pay a very minimal fee, and in some cases no fees at all, and attend these schools where they can get school books, school uniforms, and meals for such a small price. It was truly a great experience visiting the classrooms and talking to these children because they all seemed so happy to meet us and talk to us. We also spent a couple of days visiting the Vegesna Foundation School for physically handicapped students. We were able to observe each classroom and talk to the students, as well as also visit the physical training area of the school and the vocational training area. We learned about the students schedule and their way of life and noticed how different it was from our own. For example, they go to school six days a week and only get one day for recreational activities and fun. We were also able to visit the girl s hostel and talk to them about their personal lives,

12 for example where they are from, and their families, and what they want to do with their lives. They told us about how their daily schedule consists of waking up early in the morning and studying before school and then attending their normal classes, and then again studying several hours, showering, eating and then sleeping. They made us feel extremely special because they told us how visiting them on a school night to simply talk to them was exciting for them and something out of the ordinary. Overall, I got to meet a plethora of amazing kids at the Vegesna Foundation that I would love to go back and see again. Telugu Culture/Traditions During our time in Hyderabad, I noticed some cultural differences between the United States and India. In India, the five of us were extremely sheltered and also very dependent on others to do almost anything. For example, we were even restricted from walking on an empty street even when the five of us were walking together. This was completely different for us because at home in the U.S, we all have a lot more freedom and we are definitely allowed to go out when we feel like it. In addition, we definitely noticed the double standard between boys and girls that is prominently present in India. Boys definitely have more freedom in India and are allowed to do a lot more and go out a lot more than Indian girls are. Another simple observation I made during my time in India was how laughing loudly or seeming too excited in public places was not considered proper. It was also evident that while taking pictures, many people in India do not laugh wholeheartedly; instead they either have a straight face or smile a little. There are definitely many cultural differences between India and America; however these are a couple of the big differences that frequently reoccurred.

13 Bonding with the other interns I really believe that one of the best parts of this trip for me was that I was able to meet four other students from around the country that I got to become so close to. The five of us all came from different states, different universities, and different backgrounds yet we all bonded a lot during our time together. We all shared the fact that our parents were born and raised in Andhra Pradesh and we were brought up in the United States. Though we were all from a Telugu lineage, I think we all felt as though we were not as aware about our culture as we wanted to be. Through the program, in addition to learning more about my motherland and my culture, I got to meet four other individuals that I could definitely relate to and get along with very well. Closing Ceremony Our closing ceremony took place on the morning of August 4 th 2007 at NTR Trust Bhavan in Bhanjara Hills. The Chief Guest for the ceremony was Mr. Chandra Babu Naidu. The function was not very big and did not host that many people other than our family members and the press. The ceremony consisted of Mr. Chandra Babu Naidu talking about our program and presenting us with our graduation certificates, and Mr. Murali Mohan and others also talking a little about our program. The five of us interns also spoke a little about our experiences and thanked everyone that put on this program and made it successful.

14 I definitely think that this program is useful and should be continued in the future for other students as well. Though there were definitely some parts of the program that could be enhanced, I think overall, we all fulfilled the purpose of the program by becoming more aware about our culture. It was definitely a good experience to travel to India by myself and participate in this internship for six weeks because not only did I learn about the Indian healthcare system, and more about my culture; but I also learned more about Andhra Pradesh as well. One reason that I think this program worked out so well was because of the way the program was arranged and organized. Vamsee Ramaraju and his committee in India worked really hard to meet all of our needs and they definitely did a lot to make this program successful. Also, Prasad Thotakura, being all the way in Texas, still communicated with us on a regular basis and made sure everything was going well. If there were any problems that we had, we felt very comfortable to talk to him about them because he was very flexible and understanding.

15 There are so many other functions we attended, places we visited, and people that we met that I know I did not get to mention in this report; however, because our six-week internship included such a variety of activities and kept us busy for the majority of the time that we were there, it would have been close to impossible to mention everything. Overall though, we were able to learn a lot more about our Telugu culture by all the little things we did. For example, attending functions, meeting famous people, visiting historical and religious sites, and visiting important city attractions enabled us to be more aware about our Telugu society. In addition, we became more aware about our culture and background by eating the food, wearing the clothes, watching the movies, and speaking the language. Overall, I think that this TANA International Internship Program was a great experience for me and I am extremely grateful that I got to be one of the first people to participate in this internship. I would really like to thank our coordinators in India, Dr. Srinivas at Medwin hospital, Prasad Thotakura, the TANA committee and everyone else who made this program as successful as it was.

16 Suggestions: Though I feel like there were many strong points to this program, there are always ways to improve. First of all, I definitely feel as though if the Medical part of this internship continues next year, then the interns should be given more work to do. I also believe that students interested in the Medical field would be very interested in visiting different hospitals as well as interacting with the patients. In general, I just believe that the medical part of this internship should consist of more than observing and note taking. I also believe that if the program continues again next year than the location of the guest house in respect to the locations of the work places should definitely be considered. The four hour commute everyday was extremely tiring and strenuous and really cut back on our ability to do other things in the evenings. For example, initially we asked Vamsee Ramaraju if we could do dance and music lessons and Hindi lessons on the evenings or weekends. Since our weekends were already really busy he said that we would try to do weeknights. We were completely okay with this idea because we all got really bored during the evenings; however, because of the long

17 commute, we were unable to make this happen. I also believe that the guest house should have at least one computer and definitely needs internet connection because that became a big problem for us. In addition, a television would have also been nice because there were some nights where we really had nothing to do. I also believe that it would have been nice if we had more input on what we were going to do on the weekends; for example trips and day excursions. Whenever we tried to mention anything that we wanted to do, I felt as though our ideas were shot down either because the coordinators in India did not like them or because they felt as though they had already made plans. I think it would have been a good idea to ask us for a list of things that we want to see or have incorporated in our program, and then to at least have us be able to visit the most important places on the list. For example, we were not interested in attending some of the functions at all because they had little to do with anything that we understood; yet I felt like we had to attend because our coordinators were the ones hosting the functions.