ok so the update all my fans have been waiting for in anticipation! photos will follow soon but i only have 10 mins now but i promise i'll get on it. ok so lets start with the most important stuff...my tan. you'll all be extremely surprised to hear that the tan has yet to develop...I blame monsoon season and the almost permanent cloud i'm living in at the moment. i thought the rain was bad in Ireland but it's nothing compared to here, it's hot but there isn't a lot of sun and the days there is sun i keep forgetting that i am pale and need suncream and suffer the consequences!fear not once i get off this mountain i am sure my golden tan will develop.
This morning I'm off to a village to see some patients with this missionary, this will be the 3rd time I've gone with him and it's fun, altho the trek across the mountain to get to some of the villages is quite a hike, and though i would like to blame it on altitude and not my extreme lack of fitness it is a real struggle at times.
This weekend past I wet to Rishikesh, home of yoga and the beatles enlightment...it was fun went rafting in the Ganges and had a little swim...i feel a lot more spiritual now.
Last week i went to an Indian wedding (couple unknown), it was an absolute thrive, got my photo taken with the couple and everything!
I love the hospital and everyone is very friendly and there are always other students about, aside for some near misses with a few monkeys where I thought i was going to be attacked and the never ending supply of dhal that they serve us in the hospital mess I am loving every minute and can't believe I only have just over a week left!
I'll try and get those pics up tomorro...i want you all to see this little baby that is orphaned that we've been looking after in the hospital since she was born

ok so this is a quick blog because I am in the hospital office...but I have so much to say!!!where to begin?
ok so Delhi was nice if not suffocatingly hot, so I mostly enjoyed the indoors and the air conditioning when I was there; am planning on seeing it properly on my return at the end of this month. Although shopping for my salwaar chemis( I think i spelt that wrong), the clothes I am going to wear in the hospital and what all the women wear here was fun. Still finding it hard to get used to the stares as you walk everywhere, especially when you get asked for a photograph with an entire Indian family, not looking your best!
i then took a car ride with another girl from the hospital (laura very nice american girl) up to Mussoorie...the 9 hour (should've been 7) journey was an experience and the classic lane system we enjoy in the uk doesn't seem to apply in India, I'm pretty sure I am deaf now because of the constant horn beeping, and there were moments where I was seriously fearing for my life!
Ok so Mussoorie, it's 6000m above sea level i believe, it's very mountainous and extremely beautiful, and thankfully not as hot as delhi! the hospital is a mission hospital that just recently had a massive $1million refurb so it is quite (well by heres standards) pretty modern. my room is nice, it has an en suite and a double bed, plus the added bonus of a family of monkeys ouside my window that come and visit me every so often.
Having laura around is really good because she has been showing me everything, and it seems nobody else is around to explain anything so I've been making it up as I go along. There has also been the welcome arrival of 2 other girls; both medical students one canadian and one american who have been really fun and I have been exploring mussoorie with them. one of them is travelling around when i am so i think we're gonna do it together!
However when it was my turn to act as guide for them we kinda got a little bit lost in the mountains...not really bad except for the fact that apparently there are bears and leopards and tigers in the mountains, not to mention the rabid dogs - don't worry mum and dad we were perfectly safe...i think...(it was only after this trip did I tell them the story of getting lost on the way to Mcdonalds that one time lizzie and katy).
Hospital wise it's minly good alothough sometimes there isn't time to translate so i don't really know what's going on but i've been seeing loads of stuff.
Ok that's probs all for now...I've probably left loads out...pictures to follow. love to you all! x
p.s. mum if your trying to ring me i've had some issues topping up my phone but will get it sorted next time i can be bothered to walk down the massive hill!x

farewell uk!

So while I sit in Heathrow airport waiting for my flight to Delhi (eek),full of waggamamma(the last one for a while I imagine.) And still feeling sad after saying bye to all my housemates(I hope you girls have an amazing summer)...I thought I'd make a start on this blog. After spending the past 3days packing and scrubbing my house in uni(in a bid to get at least some of the deposit back) I am relieved to be actually finally going...well relieved and terrified! My terror was not helped by reading the 'beware woman travellers' section of my lonely planet just before; now I'm scared of being groped as I walk down the street!I suppose its better to know than be suddenly shocked when it happens...never mind I suppose its all of the experience and I'm glad I invested in my argos gold wedding band to ward off any potential admirers!I think its just fear of the unknown and worried I'm not prepared for it.reading my guidebook really highlighted how naive I am!
On the plus side I was pleasantly surprised that the rucksack I'm going to be carrying for the next 3months is only 14kilos! I am very excited for the adventure...let's not forget all the exciting medicine stuff I'm going to encounter!
I am being met at the airport by a lovely lady named zarema and I'll be staying with her so at least ill have a guide to ease me in to the intensity of Delhi and from sat ill be in the more peaceful foothills of the Himalayas! Ok gonna go and catch this flight...ill let you know how it goes!x