A brief update

I seem to be running out of new and unique topics to post about (though I've got a library of half-finished posts that I've started for this very reason), so forgive me if I post somewhat less frequently in the future. Hopefully in the next few weeks we'll start some new things at the hospital and go on a future adventures. It looks like we'll taking a few trips around Pune, and probably heading to Goa for a weekend as well. All of us are hoping to end the trip with a bang by spending 24 hours in Mumbai before flying out next month.

However, it's been amazing to see how much time has flown these past two weeks. Two weeks is the longest I've ever been abroad before, yet it hardly seems that long ago when we were flying out of Newark. For the most part, we've all adjusted (certainly to the time zone, evidenced by the difficulty of getting out of bed each morning), and seem to be getting into a routine.

At the hospital, Donna and I have spent most of the mornings in the Outpatient Department (OPD). This morning we went to endoscopy, which I can now categorically say I won't be doing in my career (over the past few years I seem to have become exceedingly good in eliminating possible careers--today was no exception). Quite frankly, stuffing tubes into the GI tract does not seem like a fun job. It was, however, very interesting to watch.

As Donna and I get more comfortable with the hospital, the different contacts that we've met in different departments will allow us more flexible in deciding what sort of things we want to do and see. In addition, we should start a research project here in the next few weeks (though we still don't know what it will be). The weekends should get slightly more interesting than the past two, as we begin to make more plans for the weekends and get out and see more of the city and (hopefully) the rest of India. This weekend should be interesting, because Donna and I will be heading back to the slums to watch an immunization drive. Based on my last experience in the slums, I'm sure this will be quite the experience. In all, things are going well here, and now that we've settled in, we're looking forward to the next month and a half.