half way !

I am now officially half way through my time in India and also have one week in Pune under my belt The transition from Dehra Dun to Pune was an interesting one. On the train ride to the airport, our train hit and killed 5 men that were working on the track. Apparently they were working at a section with a lot of rail traffic and got off the track they were working on to let a train pass and didn't see ours coming the other direction. I heard that about 16,000 people/year die this way in India. It was gruesome. By the time the train stopped, the men were in pieces and the car we were sitting in happened to unfortunately stop right in front of some of the main body parts. I'll spare the details, but it was horrible. And even more so, the fact that while this effected me for about an hour, the lives of these men families will be forever marked. With that disturbing start to my day, we finally made it to Delhi and had climb the ridiculously long flight of stairs up and back down with 59.5 lbs of luggage. Yes, I know the exact number because I had to pay $20 US for those extra 10 pounds. I guess it's not so bad but when everything else here cost me about $3-4 dollars... it was hard! Because our group was splitting up with one person catching an earlier flight to Mumbai and Nicole and myself to Pune on a later one, we arrived at the airport early. What was suppose to be a 5 hour wait time, turned into an 7 then 8 then 9 hours before finally departing due to... well India. But I did have some nice down time to journal, blog, play cards, eat pizza (!), etc. We arrived in Pune a little after 1 am and were picked up by a CFHI driver and taken straight to our flat where we promptly passed out until the next morning. It was SO nice to know I'd be in ONE place for more than a week. All the moving around and living out of my suitcase for... 8 weeks now, was getting old! I unpacked my clothes and set up camp in the guest house provided by the program. It felt so good to be settled. We spent the first week in an 'upper class' government hospital, Deenanath Mageshkar (don't worry I still don't know how to pronounce it correctly either). Posted in the OBGYN department, I saw 3 births, a vaginal hysterectomy, laproscopic salpingectomy (removal of fallopian tubes), cervical biopsy, and joined a paediatrician and a gynecologist for their daily out patient appointments/walk ins. The most amazing thing was the laproscopy procedure. I was able to see the surgeon scalpel into the abdomen from the inside out! I am feeling really good about where I am; medically I am exposed to so much and I am looking forward to the rest of my time here. The end is in sight- how crazy! We started making weekend plans (this weekend- staying in Pune and seeing the sights around and in the city, next going to Mumbai to meet up with friends and see another wedding!, next going to Goa- beach vacation, yes please!, next going to some famous caves in the area, and next...flying to Malaysia to see my best friend Shannon!!) I have found that sometimes, the time just flies by- like when making plans or realizing I have been gone for 2 months now. And others...it seems like the time is suspended, barely moving- like when I am stuck in between 4 lanes of traffic with cars, rikshaws, and bikes coming at me in every direction. But some how, I manage to take a step forward, weaving between the obstacles, and reach the other side- proud to look at what I have accomplished!
I am excited to see what our next week in a 'lower-middle class' government hospital has for us!