best way to learn Hindi??

[daktari]

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Hi, I'm going to India this summer and really want to learn some Hindi before I go. Does anyone have any experience with any CDs/books/etc that work well? I really don't have the time to go out and take an actual class. Thanks!

 

[bananafish27]

Hi, I'm going to India this summer and really want to learn some Hindi before I go. Does anyone have any experience with any CDs/books/etc that work well? I really don't have the time to go out and take an actual class. Thanks!

Hi Daktari,

I wanted to share my experience because I spent a month volunteering in hospitals in India immediately after the August 05 MCAT. I honestly do not feel that words could justify the intensity and exhilaration of my experiences there. I attended about 20 surgeries, actually performed the physical exam/patient history and communicated that information to the attending physician, and got to experience a sort of primitive yet true/rare/raw form of medicine. It is amazing to see clinical care that is not weighed down by administrative and financial barriers - it's about providing subsidized healthcare to the public at large, and it is absolutely amazing. I have no doubt it will be a lifechanging experience for you. No other volunteer experience has provided me has affirmed my direction in life to pursue medicine. The surgeries are really exciting; you scrub up and witness it firsthand, a foot away from the OR table. Sometimes they ask you to assist with something small (eg holding down the patient's arm or helping to use an instrument). The most exhilarating procedures I saw were an emergency C-section for a delivery and an autopsy on an automotive accident victim (incidentally he was not wearing a seatbelt so his body was pretty mauled).

I dont know what your background is, so I guess this answer may or may not help you. Personally, my parents migrated from India and so growing up I had a bilingual experience (even though I never spoke Hindi in response). I was nervous about going to India due to my inability to speak Hindi. The point distills to this: if you have some exposure you'll be fine.. being immersed in that environment fosters your language abilities nicely and you'll catch on. If you have never before been exposed to Hindi and wish to learn to speak/interpret, then that is a road I'm not too familiar with. If you have any more questions or want to see some pictures from my photoblog send me a message and I'll hook you up.

Aman