Our Travels in Detail

So there's been a request for me to post about our travels. You don't have to read everything but for those who do want the details I'll try and please, and include some selected photos for those who can't be bothered - I'm planning on putting all of them on Facebook on Monday or Tuesday.

Delhi
Day 1 - Ryan and I met at WHSmith at the metro station - it was a good way of breaking him in slowly to Indian life! The metro's exactly like the London underground but newer, shinier, and cheaper. I'd found all our hotels/homestays via Tripadvisor and BnB Chrysalis here did not disappoint. We were really made to feel at home and the owner met us for dinner on the first night with the other guests so we were sharing stories for the next few days at breakfast. There was also air conditioning!!! I hugely appreciated this and it was cool enough for me to have my hair down for the first time in over a month. Relaxed at the hotel then went out to a local indoor mall. I searched and searched for somewhere that sold authentic Indian cuisine but struggled amongst the Costa Coffee and McDonalds. We ended up getting lunch from a street cafe, it was baptism by fire for Ryan's stomach.

First Indian meal for Ryan

Day 2 - We planned to head out in the morning, come back during the hottest part of the day, then return out, but we got a bit carried away with sightseeing. We first hopped off the metro to see Safdarjang's Tomb, which is clearly not high on the tourist's priority list but was therefore peaceful and impressive to see as our first mughal architecture.

Safdarjang's Tomb

Next stop was the Lotus Temple, one of Delhi's newest sights. We then went to see India Gate, but unfortunately approached it from the wrong side so couldn't get any good photos. Ryan was beginning to get sick from heatstroke so I made the executive decision to retreat to a metro station and Cafe Coffee Day rather than find photo opportunities! Later we ate out at an Indian vegetarian restaurant and ordered far too much food as we wanted to try every style of bread on offer. The cheap prices led us into believing that we should order more, a lesson we only learnt to avoid by day 12. Retreated to the BnB for the IPL final - Mumbai Indians won.

Lotus Temple

Day 3 - We met with Ben, a medical student friend from Bristol who'd spent his elective in Bangalore, and decided to explore Old Delhi. Learning from previous mistakes we spent the middle of the day in eateries and cafes. We took photos outside the Red Fort which was closed for the day, then went to Jama Masjid - India's largest mosque. This is when we realised that as white tourists we were one of India's biggest attractions. Wherever we went during out travels people would ask for photos with us, or of us, and me in particular. Ben and Ryan started to call me Madonna and Ryan wondered how I'd cope back home without my fame. Anyway, after my photoshoot at the mosque by randomers who are probably claiming to be my boyfriend on Facebook by now, we went to Connaught Place and a short metro ride to see India gate (from the correct side) and parliament buildings.

Jama Masjid

Day 4 - Stayed in the hotel until 3pm, bypassing most of daylight but consequently not dying in the heat and using the time to wash clothes. We went to Akshardham Temple Complex, which was by far the coolest thing we saw in Delhi and was the only place not to allow cameras! Typical.

Akshardham

Agra
Day 5 - The alarm went off at 5.25am and by 7 we were on our train to Agra. Ben and ourselves were staying in Sai Homestay, where the family made us feel welcome with a home cooked lunch and persuaded us to hire a taxi for the afternoon to see the sights - something I'd never normally do, but in India the taxi for the whole afternoon cost us £10. Split between 3 of us it was a small price to pay for a personal driver and A/C comfort. We went to Agra Fort, which reminded me of a British castle, but hotter with more sandstone and more marble. Here we got our first sight of the Taj Mahal from a distance. Next we went to Chini-Ka-Rauza, a small riverside tomb which boasted beautifully decorated walls, but these had been fairly worn down. From here we went to the Baby Taj Mahal, or Itimad-ud-Daulah. I loved this intricately decorated imitation and we spent a long time sitting in its grounds watching chipmunks. I got so distracted that I left my Lonely Planet here and am very grateful to Ben for leaving me his when he left the country the following day! The last stop on our taxi tour was to a point directly across the river from the Taj Mahal as the sun set.

Agra Fort

Day 6 - Up at 5.25am to see the Taj Mahal as it is at its best beauty and least crowded at this time of day. It IS beautiful and magnificent but I'd been most excited at our previous views as from the grounds you see it as you've seen it before in photos. That didn't stop me from taking many of my own photos though! Ryan felt that the guy who built it as a tomb for his wife would have been better to use the space to build a giant house, feeling that a tomb was a bit of a waste for such an awesome monument! I felt privileged to be there. We relaxed in the afternoon (afternoon nap was needed) then spontaneously met up with 4 other Bristol medics for dinner. It was great to swap elective stories and eat delicious curry with a rooftop view of the Taj.

At the Taj Mahal

Jaipur
Day 7 - Up at 4.05am (!!!!) for our train to Jaipur. We wandered into the centre of town after checking in at Hotel Anauraag Villa and were immediately harassed by numerous rickshaw drivers insisting that it was too hot to walk and that we should use their services. Unfortunately for them we had real no destination in mind so enjoyed slowly wandering, discovering an ice cream shop, internet cafe to send reassuring emails home, then one of Jaipur's main markets within the 'Old city', otherwise known as the 'Pink city'. The bazaars here were very organised but provided us plenty of opportunity for haggling over everything from belts to jalebis (deep fried sugarry sweets). We ate at an Italian that the Bristol girls had recommended, enjoying a break from curry that I enjoyed and Ryan's stomach needed by this point!

Monkeys on a motorbike

Day 8 - We gave in to the autorickshaw drivers and paid for one to take us into the centre of the Pink city. We then paid to go into Hawa Mahal, otherwise known as Palace of the Winds. The five stories offered fabulous views of the city and surrounding areas. We then spent along time walking through bazaars and stopping at ice cream milk shake shops.

View of Jaipur

Day 9 - We checked out of our hotel but enjoyed lunch and a couple of hours of reading time in their gardens before venturing out again after the main heat had subsided. We were taken by auto rickshaw to the Albert Museum (built in celebration of the Prince of Wales visiting Jaipur many years ago, also the reason that someone painted the whole old city pink) but decided that our money would be better spent visiting a zoo rather than a museum. Consequently "Caucasian Humans" became the most popular attraction at the zoo, with Indian visitors taking more photos of us than the white tiger, panther, leopard, black bear, alligators, monkeys, gazelles, and birds that we were interested in! After dinner we boarded our overnight train North.

Number one attraction at the zoo

Shimla
Day 10 - 10 hours later, we woke in Chandigarh. People here were very friendly and with the help of a couple of them we found our way to our coach to Shimla. The coach trip offered beautiful views as we entered the Himalayas, but unfortunately half of the bus suffered from travel sickness as the driver sped around hair pin bends. The other half of us were conscious enough to fear for our lives on the roads which had steep cliffs on one side! It rained for a few minutes at one point - the first rain I'd seen since early April. Ryan (being one of the travel sick ones) was pleased when we finally got to the hotel, and we were both awestruck by the view that our room offered. After recovering we explored the centre of town and found an awesome Indian restaurant that we'd spend the next 4 evenings eating at.

A room with a view

Day 11 - Sleeping through breakfast had by now become normal, and when we ventured out at 1pm we were delighted that we'd left the 45 Celsius heat behind us. This is the reason that Shimla's one of the top tourist destinations for wealthy Indians wanting to escape the heat in the summer months. With walking boots on instead of sandals we explored the twisting paths and found our way to the Jakhoo Temple - a huge orange monkey statue on the hill overlooking Shimla. Here there were hundreds of non-rabid (hopefully) monkeys, awesome. We also passed a hospital which must have one of the best locations in the world.

The trek to the orange monkey

Day 12 - We spent the day relaxing in Shimla, either drinking cold coffees and mango milkshakes or exploring the winding up and down markets and bazaars.

Shimla markets

Day 13 - We checked out of our hotel, dealt with sensible things such as getting money out of ATMs and posting my Indian sim card back to Naini, then went to the cinema to see 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani' - a Hindi romantic comedy which we managed to follow despite the language barrier. The songs were fun too, and are currently providing my music via Youtube! We relaxed with a cold coffee and our books before dinner and an overnight coach to Delhi.

Cold coffee and kindle overlooking Shimla

Delhi
Day 14 - Thankfully the driver back didn't cause anyone to be sick, but instead we broke down at 5.30am on the outskirts of Delhi, leading to a crazy 30 mins of mixed messages, eager taxi drivers telling us to go with them, and someone fixing it with a spanner. We were thankful to have a room in BnB Chrysalis to return to and shower in. We spent our final day in the cool mall we'd discovered on day 1 as having been in cool Shimla we weren't used to the heat in Delhi. By the evening we were heading towards the airport where we spent the evening before out 6am flight to London via Istanbul.

Live music at 4am in the airport

That really is the end of my story.

Concluding quote
As Judi Dench in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel would say:-

"India is an assault on the senses. Initially you're overwhelmed. But gradually you realise it's like a wave. Resist, and you'll be knocked over. Dive into it, and you'll swim out the other side."

The End. Sort of.

So, it's my last day here at The Leprosy Mission Hospital in Naini. I have mixed emotions about leaving. I've had a fantastic time here, made some great friends and would gladly stay longer (though maybe not into the monsoon season) but will be seeing Ryan for the first time in 8 weeks tomorrow for an explore of North Western India together.

Here are 5 points that I could have written about but didn't have the time:-

1. Surgery
I've undoubtedly spent more time in operation theatres seeing surgery here than in my entire 5 years of medical school in the UK. Dr Premal Das is the only surgeon so has a huge range of skills which I find very impressive. I've also had the chance to carry out some of the surgery myself, notably skin grafts to cover ulcers, caesarean sections, and the removal of various lumps. This has usually meant that everyone's gone home half an hour later than usual but I really appreciate their patience. This Tuesday I was left to do some stitches while Dr Das moved on to the next surgery so I'd like to think that I finally saved a bit of time, though my slow excision of a lipoma earlier that day probably made up for it! I may never see the inside of an operation theatre again so am delighted that after so long in medical school someone has finally inspired me to appreciate that surgery can be amazing and not boring.

Ooo, gory photo of surgery

2. Chapel.
I've been to church every day since Easter, wow! I hope this makes up for the fact that I was on a plane during the Good Friday service. Morning Church of Northern India chapel services have been a brilliant way to start each day. Although I couldn't understand most of the time, I could follow the daily Bible reading in English as well as the daily devotional prayers said all over TLM centres in India that are also written in English. These 20 minutes each morning gave me a chance to rest, put my trust in God, and prepare for the day ahead of me. On Wednesday I led the service with a talk about my faith and a reading that I'd chosen - Pslam 25 verses 1-5 if you're interested. Daily chapel offered comfort in the first couple of weeks while I was settling in, and more recently have been a place where I catch up with friends over a cup of chai and biscuits afterwards. I made the right choice in carrying out my elective in a Mission hospital.

3. Sightseeing.

One of my favourite moments was when I went on a boat trip to the Sangam with the CMCV students and junior doctors. The Sangam is a very holy point for Hindus where the rivers Ganges and Yamuna meet, as well as a mythical river. It was the site of the huge Kumbh Mela earlier this year - the biggest religious gathering in the world, ever. As well as this, we visited Anand Bhavan - the home of the Nehru family that provided India with its first Prime Minister when it gained independence.

I'm proud of this photo!

4. The rabid monkey.

So there was a money on the loose within the campus that was biting people. It was costing staff and patients a lot of money. Children were not allowed out alone, and I stayed indoors at night to eat my bread and jam rather than venture to the dining hall. It bit a total of 5 people - 2 staff members, 1 staff child, and 2 patients. Patients were moved wards, and cottage patients were feeding it breakfast so that it wouldn't eat the bananas in the trap set for it. A week after the first bite, the monkey was caught by a monkey-catcher with a cork hat called Tarzan. The hospital breathed a sigh of relief.

5. The weather.
Such a huge topic! So when I arrived on March 31st it was a hot but bearable 38 degrees C. I was told "Wait until April." In April a desert cooler had to be installed in my room (an ugly device that requires electricity and a tub of water) and my fan turned up to full in order to sleep at night, with temperatures averaging 42 C. I was told "Wait until May." May has been consistently hot with a maximum of 46 C, and this week it's also become humid. I didn't understand the importance of humidity before Monday, the first day when I thought "Take me back to the UK right now!" - it was that bad. I walked the 3 minutes back from eating dinner at 9pm at night and was sweating all over. Thankfully it's become less since then. I've been told "It'll get worse in June" - I'm pleased that in June I'll be mainly in the Himalayas or in the UK!

42.6 C is a low point here...

I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has helped me with this trip. A year or so ago I emailed the TLM England and Wales office and without Alisia's reply and my crazy day trip from Bristol to Peterborough I wouldn't be here. Thank you.
Thanks to everyone here in Naini who has made me feel so welcome. I think that this has played a big part in my happiness here. I'm going to remember you all fondly.

Random mention - This is the first time that I've spent 8 weeks sleeping in the same bed for about 5 years! I hope I don't have to wait another 5 years for that luxury, or have to travel as far to get it.

Next stop(s): Delhi -> Agra -> Jaipur -> Shimla -> Delhi -> U.K.

Thanks for reading: This blog's had 562 page views at time of typing.
Becky :)

(I may put up some photos of our travels if you're lucky and we have internet access!)

Leprosy:- 10 Things That You Probably Didn't Know

So unless you work for TLM, you probably don't know an awful lot about leprosy. Neither did I. After 7 weeks here I am finally going to educate you!

1. Leprosy still exists. 
You probably do know this, but I'd like to re-enforce the point. The World Health Organisation stated a few years ago that leprosy had been eliminated from India. So how is it that every day this hospital diagnoses several new patients? "Eliminated" is a term used when the prevalence of disease in a population is less than 1 in 10,000. This may well be the case over the whole of India but within the region of Uttar Pradesh it is not.

2. Leprosy is curable. 
Dapsone was introduced in the 1950s which helped to control the disease to some extend, but it wasn't until the 1980s that multi-drug therapy (MDT) was introduced. It combined dapsone with other drugs such as rifampcin and clofazimine. It's taken for a minimum of 6 months, depending on the type of disease and after completion of the course the person is cured.

3. It is not very contagious. 
It's classed as a communicable disease but the chances of me or any other member of staff catching leprosy is extremely rare. It's transmitted by droplets in the air but a strong immune system can fight it off fairly easily, and over 90% of the population are naturally immune. This means that the majority of people have had prolonged contact with a family or friend with the disease and they are usually from poor backgrounds. After taking just 1 month of MDT that person is no longer contagious.

Male Ulcer Ward 1 of 2

4. Some people see it as a curse.
Stemming back thousands of years societies have shunned people with leprosy. Here I have met a man who decided that his disease must be a punishment of some kind from God. He left his family and has spent the past 15 years of his life in a monastery serving penance, as he feels that he must have wronged God. I have also met a man who was left here by his children. They told him that they would collect him in 2 days, yet they didn't return. Lastly I met a girl younger than myself who will never be able to marry anyone in her village because they believe that she is cursed. "If she marries at all, her husband will likely be a cripple."

5 It affects the nerves. 
Before my arrival here I thought that leprosy was purely a skin disease. It isn't. It causes nerve thickening and can have effects on the motor, sensory or autonomic functions. This causes loss of sensation over the hands and feet, loss of sweating leading to dry skin, and deformities.

6. It can cause permanent deformities. 
Following on from the above, the disease can cause 'absorption' of fingers and toes. These can't be grown back again. It can also lead to a clawed hand, making daily functions very difficult. It can cause a foot drop. These can be treated with reconstructive surgery, requiring persistent physio care.

Loss of toes: a patient in the female ulcer ward

7. It can result in horrific ulcers.
Due to a sensory loss on the feet, people with leprosy don't notice that stone inside their sandal, or that nail that they stood on when walking barefoot. The skin becomes damaged but they don't realise it - how often do YOU look closely at the bottom of your feet? This worsens and develops into an ulcer. I don't mean a teeny little ulcer, I mean a big three-quarters-of-your-foot ulcer in some cases. Some of the worst ones have maggots crawling in them after flies have laid their eggs in them. Ew. Diabetic ulcers in the UK will be nothing compared to what I have seen here. Ulcers take a very long time to heal and are difficult to treat, requiring dressing changes twice a day by the dedicated nursing team. One ulcer patient has been here for over 390 days.

8. A patient can become acutely unwell due to one of two types of reactions. 
A reaction can occur before, during or after treatment and will involve a flare up of symptoms. They can cause nerve or nodule pain, and damage to the peripheral nerves as well as those related to the eye. Treatment needs to be prompt and aggressive often with immunosuppressant steroids and sometimes with thalidomide, in which case the patient will have to stay in the hospital for about 4 months.

9. There are 14 patients who live here full-time. 
They're called Snehalaya ('mercy home')patients, and most of them have lived here for the majority of their lives, moving in decades ago. Thrown out by their families because they had leprosy, they had nowhere to go and so the hospital took them in and looks after them to this day. What is just an outpatient department for most is a home to these 14 and without Snehalaya they would have been destined to a life of begging.

10. In India, you can divorce someone because they have leprosy. 
In the Special Marriage Act of 1954 (before the dawn of MDT) it is stated that if your wife is has leprosy, this is suitable grounds for divorce because the disease is "incurable". The law hasn't been changed. Similar laws mean that a patient with leprosy cannot board a train or hold a driving licence.

Point 11? It can affect any age. Teenage surgical patients.

Sugar and Spice

A bit about what I've been eating since Easter day, aside from my two a day rationed mini eggs.
Everything contains either sugar or spice.

Sonia and Manjula fashioning 'Panipuri' - crispy shells filled with spicey liquid that you put whole in your mouth

Breakfast:
Two days a week we get jam and proper real full-fat butter on toast. This was previously my favourite breakfast as it was well known but lately it's been overtaken by...
Puri and paratha. Chapatis with added oil, what could possibly go wrong? These breads are really delicious and are always served with an aloo masala - potato curry
Igli - A southern dish that apparently tastes better in the south. Either the cooks can't get it right here or I just don't like it. A day of cereal bars instead!

Puri or paratha? Depends on who you ask. Either way they're lovely.
Image taken from Google.

Lunch and dinner:
There is always chapati, rice and dhal (lentil curry) on offer. As well as these regulars there's always a vegetable dish of some kind. Special days:-
Two days a week we get a chicken curry.
Two days a week we get an egg curry.
One-two days a week we get a paneer curry. Paneer's a soft cheese that doesn't really taste of much, usually served with peas.
The remaining days are pure veg days.

"Mattar paneer" - tastes slightly better than it looks.
Image from Google.

On top of this there's morning coffee served with samosas or other savoury nibbles, and afternoon tea served with biscuits.

My journey with food in the training unit mess:-

Week 1-2: Novelty of curry still exists, can't possibly stomach eating spice for breakfast, being a bit picky about what veg I'm eating and don't like eggs.
Week 3-4: Getting really fed up of curry, craving anything else, buy myself bread, jam and cheese spread.
Week 5-6: I love the food. By now I'm eating the aloo masala at breakfast too; I look forward to every meal.
Week 7: I'm eating eggs.

My not-so healthy fridge! There are grapes at the back...
 Taken a few weeks ago, though I'm still working my way through the biscuits

As well as mess food I've been enjoying Western luxuries when out and about. I've had two trips to Dominos and a trip to Pizza Hut - my favourite restaurant back in the UK. I've also been to a coffee shop chain which serves cold coffee mixed with chocolate sauce and ice cream. Yum! I've eaten a lot of ice cream including the local 'kulfi' made with frozen milk, nuts and fruit.

Look! A Pizza Hut map!

Drinks? Water, cold water and frozen water! There's an on-campus shop that sells glass bottles of fizzy drinks for the equivalent of 16p. There are 3 different companies all fighting for the mango juice market and I've loved them all. Tea ("chai") and coffee are served in small cups with a LOT of sugar and milk. I still can't tell the difference between the two as I just taste it as a warm sugary milky yumminess. I tried to make myself a 'normal' cup of coffee but it didn't taste very nice. I'm a bit worried that this means that I've become converted to the way of chai and will need to take my coffee with 6 sugars when I return home.

The gang at Coffee Cafe Day.
Image thanks to Manjula's camera/randomer who took it

Needless to say, I'm not starving and in fact am probably gaining weight! So much for the expected Delhi-belly diet.

My one craving? Pasta.

Shout out to my sister Jenny who's flying tomorrow to watch Eurovision, have a safe trip :)
And to my parents who are going to be just a teeny bit worried with both children out of the country...

Trips to the Villages

Time for another work, ish, blog entry.

Once a week Pavan, the social worker and one of the paramedical workers at TLM Naini, takes a doctor into one of the surrounding villages to spread awareness about leprosy.

Villages are very different to cities in India. During my first week here I'd been shocked by a newspaper article (Times of India, of course) that stated that those living in slums were in a better position than those living in the villages. In the media we regularly see films and images of Indian slums and I think we can all agree that they look very dire. The article explained that at least in these slums there is a nearby hub of activity and many entrepreneurs can arise due to the massive possibilities of trade and business that can be found in cities. 

In the fields. Photo thanks to Pavan/Manjula

Villages, however, are far from the beaten track. On the first trip I joined Pavan and we had to walk for about a mile because there was no road for our vehicle. Village inhabitants earn a poor living by working on farms. A few of the men will make a weekly trip to the nearest market for food, but there's little in the way of hope for the children here. The government has in recent years given free education for all children so they do go to school, but even the most ambitious would find it difficult to escape their surroundings.

Spreading awareness. Photo thanks to James/Manjula

I was amazed by the generosity and hospitality of the people who lived in this first village (I imagine that they do have names but most people refer to them as 'the villages' no matter which village you mean...). On arrival we were given chairs and offered water, tea and biscuits. It's unwise to drink water from unknown locations but the custard cream style biscuits are harmless so I helped myself to a few! We were made to feel very welcome and comfortable. Soon we had an audience, mainly women as the men were working in the fields. Manjula and Pavan explained to them the signs and symptoms of leprosy and I observed, picking up a few of the Hindi words and contemplating how people managed in 40 degree heat without ceiling fans.

Our audience. Photo thanks to James/Manjula

Secondly, when the students from CMC Vellore visited we paid another trip to a larger village. Their task was to ask about ration cards and to measure the BMIs of the members of twenty families. Most of the students had never been to so remote a location and it is a wonder how these villages were started so far from the beaten track. 

Me and the CMC Vellore med students. Photo thanks to Pavan/Praneet

The government supposedly issue ration cards to each family though the survery found that 50% did not own one. In theory, they can use this to buy supplies of rice, sugar, oil and wheat. BUT, there currently is no ration shop in the area as the owner has been suspended because he sold products on the black market. It is right that he should be punished, but now each family has to suffer too as there is no food source. 

It was a long day out and we were all relieved to return to the friendly campus.

Home sweet home.
View from the mess, past the training unit on the right, to the wards.
 Photo courtesy of Praneet.

So I went to a wedding reception...!

This week has been extremely busy and contained a lot of fun, as 8 medical students from the Christian Medical College Vellore in Southern India were here for an annual mission hospital placement. Consequently there are many stories that I could tell from the past week here but I'm going to focus on a very unexpected event!

It was Monday and I was on morning tea break with the other junior doctors when I overhead my name being discussed. The next thing I knew, I was handed this:-

Envelope and inside card

Translation, anyone?

It was an invitation to the wedding reception of the son of one of the vehicle drivers of the hospital! Needless to say that in my thoughts of what I'd be getting up to on my elective I'd never considered this to be a possibility. I was very excited. First thoughts - What do I wear?!

The event was held on Thursday evening (you can make out the 02 and 2013 on the invite). Almost everyone who works in the hospital came along, which made me feel even more part of the family that is TLM Naini. I wondered what would have happened if a patient became very ill in those few hours but was reassured that there were a couple of nurses staying behind and Drs Premal and Loretta Das who are in charge were also still on campus. The patients were in safe hands!

Me with some of the staff

It was a Hindu marriage, and the wedding ceremony had already happened on Tuesday. On Wednesday there had been the bride's celebrations and so Thursday was the groom's celebrations. I think that having a party that goes on for several days is a great idea!

In true Indian style the event began an hour later than expected but we were served Nescafe and nibbles in the meantime. Then, the bride and groom walked down the aisle to sit upon their throne. I have to say that neither of them looked very happy. Maybe this is normal in arranged marriages, maybe after three days of entertaining they were really fed up, or maybe if I didn't know half of the guests at my own wedding reception I'd be miserable too.

A not-very-good photo of the couple (me not knowing the etiquette of photo taking)

Next, we all went up to the stage and shook hands with the bride and groom, offering congratulations and handing over gifts.

Next stop - food! And there was a LOT. But there were a LOT of guests! A few hundred hungry mouths to feed, and this was day 3. I enjoyed some spicey noodles as an alternative to my usual diet, but managed to fit in some traditional curry and rice too. Some guests had even begun eating before the bride and groom had arrived, ignoring them as they made their way down the aisle. Maybe these guests had already done days 1 and 2, or maybe they were college students crashing the events for free food - I was told that this happened. With so many people and the fact that apparently you don't have to know either member of the couple to be invited this would be fairly easy to do.

Below is a video that sums up the atmosphere before we left, which may or may not work... in case that it doesn't work I'll post a couple of photos too!

A couple of hours later we arrived home. The junior doctors and I, being girls, then spent half an hour in the dark trying to get a good group picture of ourselves looking all dressed up. 

Manjula, Sonia, Swati and Anila back at the campus.

Conclusion - a fantastic experience and an amazing feeling to be included in such an event.

Photo Shoot

Today I was asked to take photos of myself with some of the inpatients and have been told that it's ok to share them. So, after 4 weeks I have some photos of myself, in a hospital, doing hospital-type things.

When I asked whether he read my blog Ryan told me "Nah, you write too much, I only look at the pictures". After initially being shocked I thought that maybe he had a point and so here is a photo-only entry, apart from my previous 5 lines...

A  group of patients who were in the right place at the right time to be grabbed for a photo

A gentlemen in the post-op surgical ward

Pretending that I 'm the one doing the drug rounds

In the dressing room. As in, ulcer dressings, not pantomime costumes.

Actually taking a blood pressure - not pretending!

A "Let's find someone in a wheelchair, that'll make a good photo" picture - outside the wards

I hope there weren't too many words, and that you like my new kurta :)

Learning to Love Dermatology

Having received a few messages recently from people who have said that they're enjoying reading my blog (shout out for dedication has to go to my Grandma who sent me a card via airmail that took 10 days to reach me!) I realised that it's been over a week since my last post.

To reassure you that I'm still safe and sound I thought I'd post an update about hospital life again.

Generic photo of the hospital entrance, taken after sunset, hence no blue sky

I spent most of the last week in the doctor's outpatient department with one of the dermatology doctors, Dr Evangelynn. For those not in the know, dermatology's the study of diseases involving the skin.  My training in this speciality  so far compromised of two clinics and some evening teaching in deepest darkest Somerset. Needless to say that I was never that inspired, firmly believing that a lot of the pictures shown looked exactly the same. As part of finals we had a list of about 100 different conditions that we had to be able to recognise, half of which I'd never heard of beforehand. 

If I was given that list now I'd probably be able to say that I've seen over 90% of them first hand! 

In Britain the commonest complaints are eczema, psoriasis, acne and skin cancers. Here, psoriasis, acne and eczema are common but cancers are extremely rare as the skin colour of Asians protects them.  To make up for the work load (and there's a lot of workload with 3 full time dermatologists) there's a lot of vitiligo - skin losing its colour, that would be unrecognisable on most white people, and then a whole host of stuff that I'd only thought I'd ever see on Google images when preparing for exams.

To the medically minded readers these include bullous pemphigus and pemphigoid, discoid lupus, neurofibromatosis, cutaneous amyloidosis and pityrosporum folliculitis to name but a few excitingly named ones.

Even though you may think that there's little point in being able to recognise these conditions I'm really pleased that Dr Evangelynn is asking me to make a spot diagnosis on almost every patient. At some point in my career I'm bound to see some of these rarer conditions, and it's been useful to be questioned on the "bread and butter" that will undoubtedly come up in the future. Two clinics in Yeovil didn't give me much chance to do this, and Google tends to display the extremes.

I'm also learning to see why doctors would pursue a career in this field - it's extremely satisfying to be able to diagnose based on your sight and knowledge alone. At the same time there are a lot of patients who don't necessarily fit into one box meaning that you'd never have a day when you've been 100% certain of your decision 100% of the time. 

It also has a pretty good quality of life!

Generic photo of hospital entrance again, because blogs look better with pictures

In other news, yesterday I had the great joy of eating my meals in the guesthouse with a British couple, Amelia and Andrew, who were visiting for the day having spent time at home fundraising for TLM and therefore wanting to see the work that was done here. I was very surprised when Amelia mentioned that we share a mutual friend back in Bristol! It was good to swap stories with them, exchange tips on travel in India, and talk about where we used to live in Clifton - talk about the world being smaller these days!

To follow at a later date: "Learning to Love Surgery" - I'm half way there, believe it or not... 

Spiced Coca Cola and a Korean Blessing

What I got up to on Saturday...

The hospital's open on Saturday mornings, so after a morning at work I took a trip out of the campus. I'm not allowed out alone due to the fact that I'm not only one of, but all three of, young/white/a woman so this was quite an event! 

A girl I'd met here who is on work experience between school and University had invited me to her house and then for a bit of shopping. I felt very honoured to meet her family and to be shown her home. Prathna's parents work with the church and attached school so her house is within a larger commune resulting in little private space and  eating and bathing that would be considered public by British standards. Everyone was friendly towards me and I can see that this kind of communal living must be a fabulous place to grow up in. I met her parents, sister and grandmother.

Outside Prathna's Grandmother's home

We then ventured into Allahabad and visited two clothes stores and a third shop that provided me with rations of biscuits and a bar of Dairy milk. The week before I'd bought two 'kurtas', which are long colourful tops worn with trousers. They're much cooler then the shirts I'd bought with me, and are very lightweight. On sunday I discovered another fact too late much to the peril of my white clothes - the colours run in the wash! Prathna persuaded me to spend more money on a fancy kurta from an upmarket store that she said looked Indian enough to wear back home. After shopping, she bought me food from one of her favourite street side eateries. We shared a chicken biryani and paratha with small mutton burgers. I was then told that I just HAD to try coke masala, a local favourite drink. Masala is the Hindi word for spices, so I was a little apprehensive. I was right to be apprehensive - the mixture of spices, salt, pepper and cold coca cola is enough to confuse any non-Allahabadian's taste buds. I can almost certainly say that it was a once in a lifetime experience! Even the experts leave the dregs at the bottom.

Yummy authentic Indian takeaway

I was returned to hospital and heard singing coming from the chapel. I ventured closer to discover that it was fit to burst with inpatients watching a dance. 

Terrible photo, but you get the idea

This turned out to be annual entertainment from a group of Korean-born-but-now-living-in-India Christians. The two hour long session comprised of traditional dances followed by a Bible based drama and group prayer session. They were intrigued by my presence (neither a leprosy patient or of Asian origin!) and I was given one of the scarfs and boxes of national sweet treats that were being handed out to the patients. They then asked whether they could pray with and for me. So, after an already busy day, a Welsh girl was being sung a Korean prayer in India. 

I'm sure that stranger things CAN happen but I can't pinpoint anything that matches this in my lifetime!

Me with the group