Roti & Chai | Monthly Moments Feb '19

Hi guys!
OK, I definitely called it. Remember last month when I said I had the feeling that this year was going to keep flying by at a hectic pace? Boy, was I right! February has more than lived up to those expectations.

Placement
We've spent most of the month within the walls of the local hospital completing our elective placement. My friend and I have been placed in Obstetrics and Gynaecology together and have been really enjoying the experience and the challenges! As you would expect, a lot of the patient interactions happen in hindi or punjabi, but we've still managed to keep up fairly well as all the notes are written in english, which leads to us peering over the shoulders of the doctors while they write and trying to work out what's happening. We've been able to observe lots of interesting surgeries and procedures we wouldn't have seen at home; like IVF planning and egg retrievals, which is all within the private system back in Australia.
It's also quite a novelty to get to wear a white coat as that's not something doctors do at home!

Snazzy shoes they make you wear in the operating theatre in India

Exploring
I'm actually writing this from my train seat travelling from Jaipur to Udaipur, how exciting! Although most of our week days have been consumed with running around the hospital trying to find our supervisor, the weekends have been free to actually explore India! We're now doing some more travelling and have so far visited Agra (and the Taj!), Jaipur and very soon Udaipur. Next we'll be heading to the south of India to the lands of tea fields and beaches, which I am excessively excited about. I've been surprised by how much I've loved Indian food and how well I've handled the spice so far; my GI system is sensitive at the best of times so I had a feeling this would be a bit of a test! My usual coffee addiction has been fully replaced with a Chai addiction, and I'm really not complaining. You will definitely be hearing all the details about my adventures once I find the time to write about them all!



Assignments
Unfortunately, this being a university trip and not just a holiday, I still have a lot of work to attend to while we're away. The downside of us having no exams during this sixth year is that they have been replaced with twice as many assignments to complete!
Being so far removed from our normal university life and not being able to attend all our regular lectures while we're away has meant that we actually didn't know about one of our assignments until about a week before it was due which has been ~very~ stressful to fit in around all our other adventures. I'm very much looking forward to getting most things submitted within the next week so we can travel and explore in peace!

So, how did your February go? Did you try any new foods or experiences this month? 

See you in March for more stories from India!

Kate x