MADE IT!

Arrived safely in New Delhi at 11 pm.  The photo to the right shows the sunrise over Iceland, taken from my window seat on the plane.

After gathering my luggage and exchanging some cash in the airport terminal, I walked into the midnight air and was greeted with a temperature outside of 97 degrees F and a strong smell of smoke.

A short ride from the airport brought me to my hotel where I checked in for the night.  I was able to sleep for a few hours and then met my colleagues for some breakfast.  The photo to the left is a picture from my hotel window.  I am headed to the airport soon and will travel to Dharamsala in the north part of India.

Halfway There

Hello from Amsterdam!  I am now halfway to India. 

I have a two hour layover in Amsterdam before getting on another plane to New Delhi.  The 9 hour flight from Seattle was uneventful.  The flight from Amsterdam to New Delhi is another 9 hours!

Next Stop India!

I am all packed up and ready to go!  Next stop, New Delhi, India!!

One suitcase is filled with teaching supplies; I'll check this one in at the airport.  The other is filled with my clothes and camera equipment; I'll carry this one on the plane with me.

It will take me approximately 21 hours to get from Seattle to India.  I've got my laptop computer, a few papers to read and an unfinished manuscript to write to keep me busy.

It's Getting Hot!

The weather in India will be a bit of a change to what I am familiar with in Seattle.  Next Saturday, the expected high temperature in New Delhi, India, will be 52 degrees WARMER than that expected for Seattle.

Hello

Just a quick video "hello!"

Language Barrier?

One challenge to teaching in India will be a language barrier.  Some of the monks and nuns speak a little English, but I speak no Tibetan.  Therefore, everything I say must be translated into Tibetan.   I have tried to simplify many of the graphics, worksheets and handouts that will be used.  For example, in a lesson about comparative neuroanatomy, I use a graphic that asks people to match the brain with the animal it belongs to.  When I use this exercise in classrooms in the States, I show photographs of brains with the names of different animals.  I have altered this graphic for use in India so instead of the animal names on the image, I use silhouettes of the animals (see image to the right).  Now, it is not necessary to read English to match the brains to the animals.

I hope to learn some Tibetan during my short stay India; right now I know only one phrase “Tashi delek,” a common greeting.

Melatonin to the Rescue?

One important hormone that helps regulate body rhythms is melatonin.  Melatonin is produced by the pineal body in the brain.  Some research has shown that taking melatonin supplements helps reset body rhythms.  I've decided to give melatonin a try at fighting jet lag.

I recently purchased a bottle of 1 mg tablets of melatonin ($5.00/bottle).  I plan to take 1 tablet about 30 minutes before I go to sleep after my arrival in India.  According to research studies, melatonin will not prevent jet lag, but it may speed up recovery from traveling across time zones. 

Early Packing

I've started to gather teaching supplies to take to India.  So far I have a good collection of visual illusions on laminated cards, plastic brain models, a set of neuroanatomy posters, blind spot testers, vials for the neurotransmission game, magnifying glasses, Benham top inserts, comparative neuroanatomy cards, and cranial nerve testing cards.  And this is only the beginning.  There is still much to do.  For each lesson, I want to have interactive, hands-on activities to illustrate concepts, so the supplies I will bring will grow considerably.

I plan to purchase an inexpensive suitcase to transport these supplies.  I'll leave the suitcase and all of the supplies in India when I leave.

Found It!

After a week of searching, I was unable to find a Type D electrical outlet adaptor anywhere in Seattle.  Without an adaptor, I would be unable to use my computer and camera battery charger in India.  The Internet, however, quickly came to my rescue.  With a few choice keywords into a search engine box, I was able to locate and purchase my prize for $7 plus $5 shipping.

Neuroethics, please!

In addition to discussing the basics of neuroscience with the Tibetan monastics in India, I plan to bring up topics related to neuroethics.  The field of neuroethics deals with the moral, legal, social, and cultural implications of neuroscience.  One of the world leaders in this field is my friend Dr. Judy Illes.  Dr. Illes is a professor of neurology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, B.C.  She is also the Canada Research Chair in Neuroethics and the director of the National Core for Neuroethics at UBC.

I phoned Judy last week to get her ideas for specific topics and questions that would make for good discussion.  She and I came up with a good list of possible neuroethical questions that the monks and nuns could debate; here are a few of them:

What if a future neurological or mental disease could be predicted?  Would you want to know?  Should a doctor tell you?  Would it make a difference if the disease could be cured?  What if the chance of the getting the disease was only 10%  What if it was 99%

What is intelligence? How can (should) intelligence be measure?

What should researchers do if they find an incidental finding during a study?  What is their responsibility?   Should they tell their experimental subject if the finding is not part of the research?  What if the finding had no significant health risk?  Does it matter if the researcher was an MD or a PhD?

What is the difference between an "abnormality" and just "being different?"  How should this be determined and what, if anything, should be done?

The answers to these questions are open for debate and are shaped by an individual's own background and culture.  I look forward to learning from the monks and nuns about their way of thinking about these questions.

120 V, 60 Hz to 230 V, 50 Hz

While in India, I hope continue to add entries to this blog.  I plan to bring my small computer to help with my teaching and to access the Internet (when available).  In order to use my computer, however, I will need electricity!  In the United States, electricity is delivered as 120 V, 60 Hz; in India, electricity is delivered as 230 V, 50 Hz.

Most new electrical devices like computers are built to run on electricity in these different forms.  The problem is getting the electricity to the computer.  Different countries have different shaped electrical outlets (see below).

The solution to this problem is really quite simple:  an adapter.  My computer power cord will be plugged into the adapter and then the adapter, with the correct outlet configuation, is plugged into the wall.  I just hope I will be able to find the correct adapter at a store here in Seattle.