Dental tourism

July 13, 2008-(Sunday)- Palumpur, India

This morning I slept in! After I got up I went downstairs, got some tea, and sat on the balcony and stared at the mountains. I am really going to miss this view. Once I got dressed I went for a walk to the market. On the way I saw that the Christian Church was having a service! I had passed this church so many times (The Church of St. John in the Wilderness), but it was always locked up! I walked up to the church and went inside. I could tell that this was an Episcopal Church by the way it was set up. Although I couldn’t understand the language, it was nice to sit in a Christian service. I felt very much at peace. When the time came for communion, I participated just as I had for 14 years at All Soul’s Church in Jacksonville. One thing that really surprised me is that after the service no one came to say hello to me. As I had gotten such a warm welcome from other Indians, I thought I’d get an even warmer welcome from my Christian brothers and sisters, but this was not the case. After the service I went back to the house for a CCS meeting. Once this was over I went back into the town to get some more fabric. I wanted the tailor to make me some pajamas out of the incredibly soft material they have here. I chose some, and then brought them to the tailor. She assured me that they would be done by Wed. I relaxed for the rest of the day. I can’t believe that my time here is almost over. I played with the idea of staying an extra week, but there’s so much I need to get back to. I really miss the kids, the dog, and my life in the U.S. Besides, I am really tired of the drama going on here with the other volunteers who are left. I am looking forward to the new volunteers who are coming tomorrow, but I will only have a few days to get to know them. Then I fly out of Dharmasala to Delhi on Thursday. I’m hoping to get to see the Taj Mahal on Saturday, but that’s still up in the air. Tomorrow I am also going to go see the dentist. The CCS staff told me that the doctor who donated the money to the school I’ve been working at is a dentist. He has agreed to put a permanent crown on my tooth. I have been delaying this procedure because it costs over $1000 to have it done in the U.S. and that’s WITH insurance ! Here, I can have it done for 4000rs, ($100) !!!! Dr. Singh told me that he gets many people coming to India for Dental Tourism. I am so excited and happy about this! Well, that’s all for now…. ]