India Week 3!

I cannot believe I am halfway through my third week here. I only have 9 days left!
I was able to change my flight to be a few days earlier, so I will be traveling with Ron and Merriam to Mumbai (and I'll have a direct flight to London!). I'm very happy to not be traveling alone and to be traveling with such great people.

This past weekend was Diwali! We spent hours decorating with flowers and candles. It was just beautiful. There were fireworks all around the city that we could watch from the rooftop on the women's side. And it was lasagna night.

Yesterday we went to Sky's house for tea. We watched the sunset from the roof and then danced to Indian music. It was a great evening.

I have learned a great deal about Meher Baba and have had great conversations every day. I have really connected to a lot of the pilgrims and am enjoying all the social...ness. :)

I started working last week, too! My favorite place to work is in the dispensary in Meherazad. They are open in the mornings, four days a week. They see over 100 patients each day. Michael, who is a chiropractor and manages the place, was able to show me around. I mostly worked in the pharmacy, filling prescriptions, but I can go watch the doctors and nurses and ask questions if I want. The lab technician may teach me how to draw blood later this week. There are a lot of sick people, but I love the environment at the dispensary. And the people I work with are so friendly and kind. There is mandatory tea every day. All the workers stop and drink tea and have cookies and then go back to work. It is lovely.

I have also been working with Dr. Anne in Meherabad. I helped her take inventory of the homeopathic remedies and organize a cupboard of supplies. When the patients came, she translated for me and I watched what she did and helped where I could. Friday I went to the free clinic down the road in the village. I did my first blood pressure readings on real patients (that weren't family or friends), and watched Dr. Anne work. She seems to do everything from Western medicine to homeopathic to acupuncture to tuning forks. It is great to watch her work.

Today I was going to go shopping in town, but it is still crowded because of Diwali, so we will postpon. It's hard to imagine it being much more busy than it is on non-holiday days. I can't even describe what Ahmednagar is like. So many cars and three-wheeled trucks and goats and people. I've been taking pictures. People drive on the left side of the road, but that seems to be only sometimes. There aren't lanes and it is amazing that people get from one place to the next without running into each other (or the cattle sharing the road).

Well, it appears that I am only going to get around to using the internet a few times during my trip. It's lunchtime in an hour so I think I'll hike back up the hill the the MPR (Meher Pilgrim Retreat). Oh, It's bucket bath day! They are having a big drought so we get to take bucket baths every other day. It gives you something to look forward to though.

Anyway, hope all is well back home! See you in a few weeks!