Unforgettable memories!

The last two weeks have been filled with so many fun experiences and great memories. Going back to Thanksgiving, I had yet another turkey day abroad. This year, the four of us interns went out to dinner and took our driver along to help us celebrate. We were all really excited to eat non-veg, and although turkey wasn't an option, we opted for tandoori chicken. Due to a miscommunication while ordering, instead of one FULL order of chicken, we ended up with FOUR full orders of spicy chicken on the table. I'm not sure if you can visualize it, but that is A LOT of chicken. Not to mention the three other dishes plus the orders of butter nan. After stuffing ourselves with as much food as we could, we left with two bags of left overs in hand and almost the full after-effects of the thanksgiving spread in our belly. Not a bad way to celebrate, but I'm still eagerly looking anticipating the real thing in December! The next week we were able to attend our program driver's wedding which was in a very rural area- probably the most removed from society I've been. We stayed in a... very memorable hotel. Our room was painted pepto-bismol pink, had plush red velvet couches and looked as if it hadn't been cleaned within my lifetime. Luckily we all brought our travel sheets and found plenty of humor in the whole scene. The wedding was totally different than the urban ones, and still mesmerizingly amazing. I felt so lucky to be part of the event. I think I was surrounded by a minimum of five (brave) children at all times The shy children were not so sure about us- we were the first foreigners they'd ever seen- I think I would be scared of us too! I watched at the families preformed traditional rituals, a fully decorated white horse danced rhythmically along to the live band, and the men from the village dance with more intensity than any step-up dance movie I've ever seen. I had so much fun being there- it was definitely a highlight of my time in India! My last weekend in India was spent in a town about 5 hours northeast of Pune, Aurangabad. There are two very old, famous religious caves carved into a mountain side that the guides book raved about, so myself and two other girls went to check them out. The weekend was full of laughter, lots of pictures and lots of time spent admiring the stunning caves. Some dated back to 4th century AD and were intricately carved with Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain religious figures and symbols. There were two sites and each had about 30 caves in all. By the end of the weekend, I was all caved out but left with a fascinated appreciation for the time, skill, and effort spent creating these masterpieces. On a lighter note, the bus rides to and from were worth noting... Since we were three of us, one person ended up sitting with a stranger on each bus ride. Now in the states, that is (usually) not a problem, but here we kind of stick out and I couldn't bring myself to rudely ignore the friendly older man next to me the whole time. The problem was he knew minimal English but was still jazzed to be attempting. We spent a good five minutes of him repeating “Would you like (l-i-t-e) to meet (m-e-t) a school?” The girls sitting in front of me got a good laugh as I tried to interpret what he meant. I never figured it out, and ended up saying over and over “I hear you, but it does not make sense!” So much for being polite. And the ride didn't get much better. I knew I was in trouble when the young guy across the aisle conveniently switched seats with the man next to me. It was like a movie. I sat there, attempting not to make anything that looked like eye contact and instead engrossed in watching the lights passing by, but to no avail. I hear him break the silence with “So, are you interested in software development?” I can laugh about it now, but at the time It was not funny. I think I replied something along the lines of... “umm... well not particularly in development but I like software...?” oh goodness, the girls got another good laugh at that one. It all comes full circle though, because on the way home Catherine had the open seat and I kid you not, had a guy sing Brian Adams- Everything I do, I do it for you (which was his favorite song) to her. We now break out in a little Brian Adams diddy randomly and it hasn't got old yet. My last week of rotation have been at a slum clinic in town. The town I am in, Pune- is known to be “the oxford of India,” and has ~4 million people, 40% of which are living in the slums. I spent the last three days learning about and seeing the different educational, health camps that are taking place everyday within the slums and also went to the medical camps that were in the area. We saw so many women and children- mostly standard, cough/cold/fever patients. It was really nice to see the work that is being done to bring aid to this often overlooked population. Seeing so up close the way so many people are living was difficult, and also fueled within me a fire to get more (medical) training and return back here with useful skills. I came to India unsure of what career path to take, and leave feeling pretty sure of where I am going. Medicine is such an incredible field, I love that no matter where in the world you are, the human body- all it's structures, ailments, and needs are universal. I loved watching the surgeries, was truly amazed at the birth process (yikes), and also really enjoyed being part of the typical clinical interactions and appointments. I cannot believe that in a few days I will be leaving India- but I am looking forward what the God has planned for me and am so incredibly thankful for every experience I had here!

and this is why!

If I don't come home...I'll be in Goa!

Other than the ridiculous long (10+ hour), uncomfortable, cold, loud, sleepless bus ride, everything about my short weekend escape to Goa was incredible. It really could have gone either way- we arrived into Goa without set sleeping arrangements or any plans. With just our backpacks on our backs, we (luckily) were woken up to get off at our stop and after a few minutes of grogginess, decided to take a taxi to Anjuna, a smaller town up north we had read about in the Lonely Planet guide. Another CFHI participant was planning on staying in a guesthouse in that area, and we hoped to find a place close by. The only landmark I knew in Anjuna was a chapel's name and the name of the other participants guesthouse. I ask to be taken to St. Anthony's Chapel and from there ask direction to Vanila Guesthouse. Perfectly, the guesthouse was just down the road past the Chapel and again perfectly, they only had one room left for only one night. We were welcomed by the sweetest old lady, Clara and her daughter-in-law Paulina, into their guesthouse as if we'd known them for years, a comfortable relationship forming in a matter of minutes. We readily accepted and are shown to the room complete with our own private terrace. The sun was shining and our stomachs were grumbling so we leave our belongings and set out to find the sand, sun, and FOOD! The guesthouse id quietly nestled back about 50 yards from the beach, and we go into the first restaurant we see. We sit down at a table looking out over the ocean; the restaurant is completely open- no outer walls, with the ocean, blue sky, and palm trees as it's borders. We all order a tropical drink- papaya and banana smoothie for me, and are instantly in love with Goa! Our breakfast of banana and nutella crepes tastes amazing and gives us just enough energy to make our way (slowly) through the colorful stalls down to the beach where I order another delicious fruity drink and sit lazily in the shade looking out over the vast Arabian Sea and sun shining down on the tanned foreigners, colorful locals, and...cows. Yes, cows roamed about on the beach- looking for any left over fruit peals and sometimes not the left overs- I witnessed multiple of times cows going up to a unsuspecting, distracted people's food and making out with quite a good meal! The rest of the 48 hours in Goa were just as wonderful- amazinggggggggg food! (fresh fish, more crepes, tasty Indian food...), fruit drinks- I think I had about 4 a day!, alternating between swimming in the warm blue ocean and relaxing on the beach chairs, sitting on the terrace and shooting the wind with the other guests, bartering my way down the endless line of colorful, plentiful stalls, talking with the local women and children, and soaking up the sunshine. It couldn't have been better. Goa is a dangerous place! I wanted nothing more than to leave everything and set up camp right there in Vanila guesthouse with Clara and Paulina and live happily every after. I could go on and on about those 2 days, but I'll leave you with just a couple more highlights-We had the pleasure of meeting a kind, open French man named Francios who was also staying at the guesthouse. One afternoon we all sat in the terrace together and were talking about traveling, our internship experience, and life. Every word that he spoke was poignant, wise, and true. For example~“As you travel more, it's not what you do; it's what the trip does to you”Catherine: “Did you do anything interesting today?”Francois, paused thoughtfully for a brief minute and replied: “Well, yes but I can't really remember what” as he quietly laughed and continues, “all things are interesting depending on your frame of mind”“The people of France can be very cold, like the weather and thats the opposite of here. There they are very compressed in space and in mind.”Me: “So are you planning on seeing Agra?” Francois: “Yes and no, it depends. Planning is a funny thing- deciding on what to do in the future is difficult as you may change your mind” Every word out of his mouth was poignant and wise and true. I felt like we were talking with someone who knew the secret of the living, but wouldn't tell us, he would rather show us. Like I said, it is hard to imagine a sweeter family than Clara and Paulina and to top it off, they gave us the most heartfelt sincere send off. We all hugged, exchanged information, and were walked out to our taxi where they blew kisses and waved us away. If I ever come back to Goa, which I really hope I do- I know where I'll be staying!“Come see my shop, I give you good price...” After hearing this throughout the whole weekend by every shop owner in Anjuna we got a little tired of it, but still got a good laugh at the store literally named, with a huge sign up top- “Come See My Shop, I Give You Good Price”