Hello Friends

Hey everyone!!
I hope you're all having a wonderful time. Everything in India has gone well so far. I arrived in Delhi, which is soooo busy and HOT, but I was only there for one night. Last week I was in a town in the Himalayan Foothills called Mussoorie. It was really beautiful there, and the temperature was much better (although it rained a lot- Monsoon season here). I've been paired up with a girl named Vivian, who is from San Fransisco and entering Pharmacy school this year. We have a lot in common and are getting along well. We stayed in a the hospital in Mussoorie and attended clinics there. The hospital is a missionary hospital and is pretty small, but does quite a lot. They run clinics in the morning and I saw some surgeries in the afternoon and attended a clinic at a Tibetian refugee home. That was interesting. The home is a pretty big campus with housing, school, an infirmary, among other things and has about 3000 kids, most of whom were sent from Tibet by their parents who they will probably never see again. I think they're pretty well treated and they look happy for the most part, but it is still sad to think about. The doctors in Mussoorie were really nice. A couple of them are pretty young (younger than us), and just finished school. They're working there for a bit and then write an exam before deciding what speciality they want to go into. They were fun to hang out with and they showed us some of the sights.
On the weekend, I went to DharamSala, the home of the Dalai Lama. We didn't actually see him, but we went to the temple. It is in a really beautiful area as well. The only bad part about that weekend was the 17 hour drive overnight to get there and 14hours back. It wasn't supposed to take that long, but I guess the main road was flooded. The roads are all narrow and winding through the hills so you can't go very fast either. To add to it, we had the windows down most of the trip so we were covered with car fumes and dust. Good times.
This week, I am in the city DehraDune. Vivian and I are staying with a family and attending clincis in the city (this week is Opthomology and OBGYN). The family is great. There are 2 girls, ages 10 and 11 and I think they are pretty enamoured with us. They both speak pretty good English and they have offered us personal Hindi classes each night. I think there is a quiz tonight. This afternoon, the younger one asked if I had read over my notes, haha. The city is a bit hectic. It's hot and dusty, until it rains and there is tons of traffic. People really like to use their car horns. Traffic jams are sooo noisy. Even if there is no one around, they will still use their horn.
The food has been pretty good. It was a bit simple and repetitive at the hospital, but it is getting more exciting now that it is home cooked!
I'm in DehraDune next week as well and then we're off to a little village for a week. I'm really excited for that, it is supposed to be gorgeous (in the foothills again) and peaceful (not much to do after the clinic but relax and medidtate and do yoga). After that, I'm meeting up with my friend Neha and her cousins to visit Delhi, the Taj Mahal and Jaipur (the pink city).
Well, that is it for now. Sorry if this was too long, there's lots going on.
Hope you're all having a good time. Don't be a stranger to the Blog posting!!
Caitlin