Neuroanatomy

After breakfast this morning, I went on a short walk with the abbot of the monastery and two other monks.  We walked from the dining hall up a hill to a place with multiple stupas.  The abbot described some of the projects and buildings going up at the monastery.  The monastery is a very peaceful, calm place, away from the hustle and bustle of a city.  It is also very quiet, except for the sound of birds, and the occasional barking dog.

Class today started with a discussion of the external anatomy of the brain.  We also talked about brain dominance and laterality.  As a demonstration, the monks determined whether they were right or left handed, footed, eyed and eared.  The data came out as expected:  about 10% of the monks were left handed and left footed, and about half were left eyed and left eared.  The monks commented that it was difficult to determine whether they preferred to use their right or left ear and we discussed the possible reasons for our findings.

After tea, we moved on to the parts of the brain including the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and brainstem. To reinforce these concepts, we built brain hats.  All of the monks took their time as they colored their brain hats and taped them together.  And many of the monks wore their brain hats to tea and during afternoon lessons.

Introduction to Neuroscience

Breakfast is early here in Bir -- 6:30 am.  That's not a problem for me, at least not yet, because I was up at 3 am and couldn't get back to sleep.  The dining hall is a 10 minute walk through a forested area about the Sherabling Monastery.  This morning it was cool, with a slight breeze blowing through the valley.

My first class did not start until 9 am so I had a chance to review my slides and get the classroom set up.  All the monks were on time before I started teaching.  My introduction to neuroscience starts with a bit of a personal introduction about who I am and what I do.  Then, with a game called "Snowball," I learn a bit about what the monks know and do not know about the brain.  Each monk writes his name on a piece of paper and a fact about the brain and then rolls the paper into a ball.

The monks then throw their paper balls at a wall, then pick up a different paper ball.  They must find the person whose name is on the paper and find out what the other person knows about the brain.

I also learned about the monk's knowledge of the brain with a game of "What's a Brain."  Pairs of monks get an everyday object and must make a list of how the object is similar and different from the brain.  Many of the monks provided interesting comments such as when one group compared a rubber band to the brain.  This group said that a rubber band can stretch physically and the brain can also stretch to learn new things.

The monks were also challenged to place 15 different neuroscientific discoveries in chronological orders.  This is a difficult exercise and none of the four groups got all of the events in the correct location.  

Wherever I Go

Wherever I go, people come up to me to ask directions or get information from me.  I am not sure why this happens.  And it has happened to me twice already during my trip to India.


The first time was at the Delhi airport.  I was waiting to pass through security when a man behind me asked if it was ok to walk through the metal detector holding his cell phone.  I said, "No," and pointed him to the x-ray machine that was scanning carry-on luggage.


The second time was when I was getting off the plane in Dharamsala.  As I was walking off the tarmac, an elderly woman approached me and asked if I was going to Bir (Deer Park).  She was going to Bir and wanted to share the cost of a taxi.  I responded that I was going near Deer Park, and that if there was room in the car, she could share my ride.  As I waited in the baggage claim area,  she came up to me again and said that she met a monk who was also going to Deer Park and that they were going to share the cost of a taxi.  She then thanked me and we parted ways.

Bir - Day 1

The flight from Delhi to Dharamsala takes only about 1 hour and then it is a 2 hour car ride to Bir, India.  Bir is only 50 miles away from the airport, but the road is narrow, bumpy and crowded and goes through some small towns that are very congested.

The Sherabling Monastery, where I will be staying for the next week or so, is located about 5 miles from the main town of Bir.  The monastery is quite isolated in the forest at the foothills of the Himalayas.  It is my understanding that the monastery is home to about 700 monks.

My room is in the guest house which is a short 10 minute walk through the forest to the main part of the monastery (classrooms) and dining hall.  When I arrived in the afternoon, I had a quick lunch and then watched Modesto (see photo to right), a teacher from the Exploratorium, give his final lesson.  After his lesson, Modesto posed for pictures with the monks who said their "goodbyes."

Temperatures here seems to be in the upper 70s during the day and mid-50s at night.  Low humdity, so it is quite comfortable.

View from my room in the guesthouse.

India Arrival

It has been about 48 hours since I left Seattle and I have had about 4 hours of sleep during this time.  I find it difficult to sleep on planes:  the seats are not comfortable, there is too much  noise, and there are people always moving around.  When I do happen to doze off on a plane, I can't stay asleep because something wakes me up.


But the trip to India went smoothly (mostly).  On arrival at the New Delhi airport at midnight, I quickly made it through immigration, changed some dollars into rupees, and found my bag.  I had arranged with a hotel to pick me up and take me to their hotel.  Even though I would stay in the hotel for only a few hours, I wanted a place to rest up. 


When I exited the airport terminal doors in search of my driver, I couldn't find him.  Sure, my flight was a little early, but I had emailed the hotel three times with all of the information they needed to confirm the reservation for a room and a car. Perhaps the driver was just a little late.  I waited.  And waited. Finally, I decided to call the hotel with a phone near the terminal door.  For 10 rupees (about 15 cents),  I made the call to the hotel.  They assured me the car was on its way.  I waited some more; another 30 minutes passed.  I called the hotel again.  They assured me the car was on its way.  I waited again, but no car.  I had stayed at this hotel in the past and had never had this problem.  The hotel was only 10-15 minutes from the airport.


As luck would have it, I noticed a driver holding a sign with my hotel name waiting near the terminal exit doors.  However, the name on the sign was not mine.  After talking with the driver a bit and explaining my situation, he decided that he would take me and come back for the other passenger. 
I finally arrived at the hotel after waiting for a car for an hour.  I checked in and was able to get about 3 hours of sleep before I headed back to the airport.


I hope the other passenger is not still waiting for his ride!

And So It Begins

Computer?  Check.  Camera? Check.  Powerpoint slides?  Check.  Coffee?  Check.

Everything has been packed and I am ready to begin the trip.

For some reason, the Seattle airport has some of the longest and slowest security lines I have ever encountered.  Yes, Sea-Tac airport is a large airport, but I have been to many large airports and they seem to handle passengers much more efficiently.  It took me 45 minutes to get through the security line.   It's a good thing I always give myself plenty of time to make a flight.

Looking Ahead at the Weather

It appears that I will be in for a weather change in Bir, India.  Temperatures here in Seattle have turned cool and the rain clouds have returned.  Bir is located in northern India in the foothills of the Himalayas (1,525 m; 5,003 ft).  The weather forecast for the next two weeks in Bir is for warm temperatures and mostly dry conditions.