Visa's and the elusive passata

Yesterday was Sunday and Simone had been on-call saturday into sunday morning.  He came home and we went for a trip to Manthri Square, another recommendation from friends at work.

We took the bus as usual up to Majestic (the big bus station), spent half an hour, as usual, looking for the next bus to take, then arrived at our destination.  It was a huge mall, apparently the biggest in Asia (but I don't believe that, I'm sure places like Malaysia would have bigger ones... but anyway, who am I to argue with 'local knowledge') and it had lots of nice shops and eateries.  We went to a chinese restaurant and had an all-you-can-eat buffet.  The restaurant reminded me of Hakka San in Tottenham Ct Rd- yes it was very plush.... Happy Lou Lou and happy Simone :)

We then decided to return to the South of BAngalore, closer to where we live, and as usual spent half an hour wandering around looking for the bus to take us back.  It seems that WHENEVER we venture out on the bus, we can NEVER find the bus to take us home.... you would think it would be on the opposite side of the road that you disembarked, but oh no, as we often disembark in the middle of the road and usually they are one-way streets.  Well, eventually we found our way back and headed south.

We went to find an Italian restaurant that Simone had found online, that had good reviews.  Our original plan had been to eat there for dinner, but then the oriental lunch buffet scuppered our plans.  Nevertheless, Simone wanted to go in 'for a drink' to see what it was like.  It was on the top-floor of a 4 storey building, so we took the lift directly up.  It was about 5.30pm.  The lift doors opened.... and we were greeted by Indian people face-down, sleeping on rather comfy looking sofas and one oriental lady smiling at us...
"Erm are you open?"  Simone asks
"No Sir, 7PM"
"ah ok"
And we got back in to the lift.
I have to say.... they didn't look very Italian to me... but who am I to judge?

So today it was back to work.  Simone really couldn't get out of bed this morning and as a result had a cobb-on the whole day.... like it's my fault.... but I think he's hilarious when he's grumpy.

So today we were supposed to go to register at the foreign office with a guy from the hospital.  This had all been arranged by the secretary of Simone's boss (and our Landlord).  So 1030am we were told to be in his office with the 2 sheets of paper they told us to get signed on friday, which we did.  So I had to get mine all done by the nursing superintendent and Simone's by his boss.  I got all paperwork signed and The Secretary  (who btw, has a secretary) organised all of Simone's then the guy rocks up at 1030...
"wadadalaalabababablababalabababbabababbbarararraraababababablaalalalalalhahahalahaa Sir"
"Pardon?"
"wadadalaalabababablababalabababbabababbbarararraraababababablaalalalalalhahahalahaa Sir"
Oh FFS this is not gonna go well.

So we deciphered that I needed a photocopy of the nursing superintendents ID etc and we needed photographs of ourselves and our invitation letter... In other words, loads of paperwork we weren't told to bring.... I eyeballed Simone and could see steam starting to seep from his ears....
Off I went to get the ID stuff, and when I came back the guy had disappeared.
"Where's he gone?' I ask Simone
"I have no idea"
"What about the passport pics?"
"They will have to take us home on the way to the visa office"
"Ok"
We waited.... and waited, and waited.....playing fruit ninja.... waiting...
1150am he arrives back
"So how were you planning on getting there?" The guy asks us, and The Secretary looks at us..
"I thought that was being arranged by you" Simone says
"No Sir, I told you he would take you, not that we would arrange the car"
I'm trying not to laugh..... And I can see Simone, who was previously IMPLODING about this whole debacle, is about to EXPLODE....
So we say we will get the bus, and the guy says "no no it's too late, we are meant to be there by 1pm.  We have to go tomorrow"
"So we have wasted all morning sitting in this office, I've taken a day away from theatre and tomorrow I will have to do the same.... I CAN TELL YOU NOW I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE BECAUSE I AM ABOUT TO BURST.  Now we will go back to work"

The single funniest moment of this trip so far unravelled before my eyes and I could not contain myself.

So we left the office..... and we didn't go back to work, we went in to Bangalore for lunch.  Waiting for the bus outside the hospital this cute girl came to us begging... not the right moment for Simone, he was bursting with rage....

So we had a lovely lunch in Bangalore then came back home.

The next pic is for those of you who can't believe we live on "Cloud 9"

And the next one is Simone's little project... a project he will never complete, but he has been trying for almost 3 weeks...  Fixing the bin lid (where our household rubbish goes, opposite our house) so that the dog that lives on the complex can't open it and take all the bags out, looking for food, that then end up strewn all across the field opposite the house..

Wait wait wait wait wait...... there is a close contender fot the funniest moment of the trip... literally real time, it just happened...

So yesterday in the supermarket Simone was looking for a passata for his pasta as the cartons we have don't match up to his expectations, so he bought a bottle (like a passata bottle at home).

He is cooking now and opened the bottle, smelt it and went "THIS IS KETCHUP" in a surprised and really annoyed tone...

No Shit Sherlock.

I hope tomorrow he wakes in a better mood :)

Buona notte xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Electricity and dressing myself issues

0620 and the alarm went off, I dragged myself out of bed, with Simone already half way through his first case in theatre.  I had a shower and washed my hair, looked out of the window and saw about 2 metres ahead... It was very very foggy.  'ok' I thought, 'it's probably going to be cold'... so I planned my trip to work wearing jeans, a vest top, t-shirt and my woolly cardigan.  Last thing I wanted today was to be cold.  I switched on the hairdryer and after 5 seconds...... out go the lights and all electricity in the house....'I don't believe it', 'the one friggin day it actually looks cold outside I'm gonna have to go out with wet hair'

Yipppeeee the lights came back on, hairdryer on... 2 seconds later....all electricity goes out.  20 seconds later lights back on, hairdryer on.... 2 seconds later.... all electricity goes out....... and this is how it went, until my hair was almost dry.. FFS

'Ok today is not going to be a good day'

So I arrive at work and am greeted by the manager in cath lab. They are having an audit today after 12pm, and as I don't have a radiation badge, and neither do any of the anaesthesia staff, all paediatric cases are cancelled, except for the first one.  And so by 1030am, first case finished, delivered safely to PITU and I have nothing to do for the rest of the day.  

My two friends who are anaesthetic nurses take me off on a wander around the other hospital on site, as they also have absolutely nothing to do until their day finishes (which is later than mine).  We wandered around and wandered around until lunch time.  The dreaded lunch time. 

"erm I'm going to go up to PITU and see the patient"

"No now it is lunch time, you go later"

"But I don't have anything with me, I'll go to the shop after seeing the patient"

"No you come with us now, we have food"

'yeah and no cutlery' I'm thinking

So off we went and had lunch, which by the way was really nice, not so spicy and really tasty :)  I like free lunches.

Next stop was the nurse educator 'to pass some time' and by this time it was 1330.  I then headed off to see my patient and get a coffee.  I really wanted to go home but I had 2 problems 

1) it was really early and

2) I had Simones wallet and couldn't get hold of him.

So I got changed, hoped no-one I knew spotted me (which is virtually impossible-see previous blogs) and headed to sit in the sun and read my book on the grass.

I had drunk 1litre of water and a coffee in the coffee shop, so after half an hour sitting on the grass I started to feel my bladder 'oh no, I can't go back in the hospital in case anyone sees me in my own clothes when I should be working', so I started to put my book away, ready to go.  Simone would just have to survive with no money.  

A lady who was sat close by then came over and started talking local language to me and the only thing I deciphered (from her gestures) was..... 'lunch'

"aita" I said, which means finished

she continued to gesture and talk local language

I felt so bad that I couldn't communicate with her and she just sat there and I sat there in silence... I felt too rude to get up and leave at this point, even though I had already made my decision to go home.  She said something then went back to her family......

Oh no, no no no, she took some food and started heading back towards me... I stood up and said thank you but didn't take it.  So kind, but SERIOUSLY I have already had lunch. 

Off I went to head home, I really needed a wee.  "Oh no, no, no, no " I had looked down and realised at that moment I had my t-shirt on INSIDE OUT, tags and seams EVERYWHERE.   

I suddenly became very hot and didn't know where to put myself....

M O R T I F I E D..... I can't go back in to the hospital... I left my vest top in my bag so can't change it outdoors...and the cardigan I chose to bring today was massive and woolly, not what you want to wear in 30 degree heat when you're already wearing jeans..... OH. MY. GOD.......  SO desperately needing a wee, carrying a heavy bag (owing to my stupid woolly cardigan) and wearing my t-shirt inside out, I practically ran home. 

For the first time, today, I was desperately hoping that everyone that stared at me was doing so because I'm white.... and not because I can't even dress myself.. at 29 years old..... Surely the locals will think it is a 'western'fashion trend' to have seams and labels on show... SURELY?

I knew today was going to be a bad day.........  

Namaste xxxxx

Republic day, Interviews and a moving platform

Happy Republic Day people....  I could kiss whoever made today Republic Day in India because today, we got a day off work.

This morning my alarm clock was Simone calling me from work, about to finish his on call... at 9am.... ahhhhh bliss, I slept till 9am, happy days.  I waited for Simone to arrive from work, with the mocha on and the breakfast cooking... cause that's how I roll (and how I would roll every day if I didn't have to work ;)).  After he arrived home we got ready and headed out in to town to a place called Lal bagh, which was a recommendation from a friend at work.   It is a huge botanical Garden with a flower show, especially for the celebration of Republic Day.  We took the bus there and found the place.  We entered and the atmosphere was pretty nice, lots of people selling popcorn, fruit, samosas etc and lots and lots of people, hoping to get a peek at the flower show we were all there for.  We came across some stalls selling bags, honey, food items and jewellery, to be honest I was in heaven.  Then we decided to queue for the entry in to the flower show.  There were lots of people hoping to get inside so we joined them.

After a short queue (as it was continuously moving) we got inside, and got pushed, shoved and generally trampled on by people trying to get a closer look.  There were Policemen protecting the displays by poking bats in peoples faces.  We took a quick few photos and tried to get out as fast as we could, with one kind man helping make room for me to dart closer to the exit.  As we exited, I almost got a police bat in my eye.... almost...

Next was a walk around the gardens with every other person stopping us "Please can we have photo?" to which Simone's blank response was "No".  But it was a nice place I have to say, despite the fact I then needed to use the bathroom... 2 rupees for the pleasure of entering in to what I can only describe as a chamber with a hole in the ground... Next time I'm gonna join the 95,000 men I see every day taking a leak in the street.  If you can't beat em.....

So we stopped to take an ice-lolly and just as I was getting my chops around it a lady and gentleman with a big camera (he) and microphone (she) stopped us and asked us to talk to them on camera for an Indian TV station. Seriously you couldn't make this stuff up..... As she interviewed us for around 4 minutes, a crowd was gathering around us ( now I know how Posh and Becks feel) and I was desperately wanting to lick my lolly...... SO if you see an interview with 2 white people in Bangalore on Republic Day, with one of em uncouthly sucking on an ice lolly, that's us..... Bollywood here we come.

I have to say I was quite surprised that there weren't more tourists at Lal bagh, I really thought there might be quite a few white people, but there weren't... there were 2.

Next stop was MG Road, as by this time I really needed an alcoholic beverage.  We walked a liitle bit, took a bus, got taken to God knows where, got off the bus, found another bus and eventually ended up in MG Road.  We found a street with a lot of bars and nice eateries on it and so stopped by for a drink in one.  Simone had set his heart on a burger as I had mentioned the words "Hard Rock Cafe" earlier in the day, and so we ended up in there to eat............ And found EVERY SINGLE WHITE PERSON IN BANGALORE.  No, they're not taking in the culture at the Republic Day Parade, they're drinking pints in the Hard Rock Cafe.... and now, so were we :)

The journey home was the same as every other journey home from MG Road, walking about 6km trying to find a bus that goes in our direction.... but the highlight had to be when we were sat on the bus, minding our own business, and then a 'bus' pulls up next to us.... The WHOLE of the front of it was missing.  It was a platform, with the driver sat in the drivers seat and lots of seats behind it, but with no outer shell on the front corner.....

NOW I've seen it all..

Buona notte xxxxxxxxx

Hair dye and a pic for Peggy

Last week I looked in the mirror and I thought
"Jeeezus Louise, you might be living in India, but there is no need to look like a hippy".....

Two and a half weeks ago, pre-departure, I had tried in vain to get a hair appointment to have my ever sprouting grey hairs covered. GUTTED.  No hair appointments available but to be honest, I was so caught up in everything else I just forgot about it and decided it wasn't the right thing to get stressed about. WRONG.... Two weeks later... I have DISGUSTING wiry grey hair multiplying by the day and I look like one of those 'new-age' women who scrape their dark hair back, but right there, RIGHT THERE in the middle of your natural parting (and nowhere else, just where everyone can see them) are an ever expanding number of curly grey hairs heading for the sky. GROSS.

So, I had no option but to head to the shop and buy a hair dye.  Being a 'home hair dye virgin' I was a little bit concerned about a) what colour to get and b) actually dying it myself and probably ending up with patchy colour.   Enter Simone.
The last thing I wanted was to end up looking like Morticia Addams, but against my better judgement I went with the darker colour that Simone assured me was closest to my colour..  I couldn't actually see the colour in the shop against my hair as it is now too short..

We came home, I disappeared to the bathroom and applied the dye... Oh good God, I had hair dye EVERYWHERE.  Up my arms, all over my face, down the back of my neck and ALL OVER THE BATHROOM..

"Simone"
Silence
"SIMONE"
silence
"S I M O N E"
"What?"
"COME HERE NOW"

So he cleaned me up, and told me I was VERY lucky this was not at my parents house... For those of you who know my Dad..........................  :)  Fake tan is enough to send him in to a frenzy, let alone hair dye.

So; bathroom clean, Lou Lou clean, Simone covered in hair dye.. Time to have a cup of tea.

It said to leave it on 15 minutes, but what with my unruly greys I decided it better to leave it on a bit longer, I'd be well peeved if after all that trouble, the greys were still there....

Voila...  To my surprise, the colour was fine... dark brown hair with 100% grey coverage.  Happy.

Today, Simone is on call again, but this morning we went to work together as he had a 'late start' in theatre.  This means 0730am.  I had to walk home by myself, and to be honest, at 4pm after a long hard day at work ;) I find my patience wearing thin with the amount of people staring at me.  I found myself with inner rage, boiling to the surface and wanting to shout "PISS OOOOOOOOOFFFFFF" like Will from the Inbetweeners when he calls Neil's dad a 'bumder'..... If you haven't seen that episode, please watch it.  Seriously, the amount of men on motorbikes who were doing a 180 to get another look... I'm considering putting an advert in the Bangalore gazzette
"White girl living in Bommasandra, on show 1st feb for 2 hours, after which anyone found gawking will be subject to a tirade of verbal abuse"  I mean fair's fair.

I have also discovered a new fear on this journey home.  SO many cars/trucks drive by with their windows open and men usually hanging out of them.  I have become TERRIFIED that one of them is going to take the opportunity to spit, and it's going to land right in my face.... I'm not saying they would directly mean to spit on me, because I really don't think they would... but there is such a thing as being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The picture is for Peggy :)

Tomorrow we get a day off.... for Republic day, yipppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee :)

Oh and today I walked past 2 nurses (in green) that I have never met before
"Good morning ma'am"
"Good morning"
"Have you had breakfast?"

FFS

Namaste xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Update on Music II

Here you go
Today in theatre we had:
-Bryan Adams with So Far So Good
-randy travis with "Forever & Ever: The Best of Randy Travis"


Not bad....not bad at all

In my next life I wanna be a cow

Yesterday was a very solitary day for me as Simone was on call (yes the first weekend employed and on call on the sunday- our only day off, I think we call that 'stitched up' in UK terms) and I had my one day off.  So he went to work early doors and I had a nice long lie-in, but with the sun shining through our home-made curtains it didn't last too long.  I got up and did some washing, reading and chatting on the phone and before I knew it it was bedtime.  Some say this trip will be a journey of discovery and I can tell you now that the one thing I've discovered so far is that I have the overwhelming ability to waste time doing bugger all.

I spoke to some good friends yesterday, and I miss them all dearly.  But I think I miss Jody and her bluntness the most, as she saw me on skype, the first thing she said was
"God you're not very brown"
Not very brown??? NOT VERY BROWN???????? I work six days a chuffin week... OF COURSE I'M NOT VERY BROWN...  and actually it dawned on me that this is not a holiday, even on my day off, I don't want to sit in the sun, I am quite happy staying indoors hiding from it..... after all I don't want to lose my nickname at the hospital 'the girl with the white skin'.

So today saw me finishing work at 3, and with no word from Simone I could only assume that he was busy in theatre.  I decided to brave the streets and went in to town on the bus alone to get some shopping... The whole way to the bus I was thinking 'should I go or not?' and next thing I knew I was on the bus...  Asking the bus conductor for the ticket was a bit of a challenge, as she looked at me blankly.  I repeated myself twice and on the third attempt thought 'I'm gonna have to get with it and say it in an Indian accent'...... and so I did, I spoke English with an Indian accent.... and I giggled to myself the whole way to the supermarket.
Then off the bus I had to navigate crossing the road.  I had visions of me standing at the side of the road for half an hour with all the locals pointing and laughing at me.  The traffic is truly mental here.  There are no rules on the road and even if the traffic is stopped and you start to cross, the car behind just comes at the side of it with no slowing down, so it is a careful process of weaving through the traffic.  ALAS a huge gap with NO CARS.. I was thinking
'wow this is amazing, I've never seen this before'
and I thought that my stunning looks and white skin had managed to stop the Bangalore traffic.  But oh no..... on closer inspection.... I looked down the road and saw three cows in the middle of it, blocking every single lane.....

One last thing... today I was in the bathroom at work, waiting for the loo and a nurse came in who I have never seen before
"Hi I'm (? don't remember her name), some of the anaesthesia students have told me about you, how are you finding it here?"
I was so gob-smacked, how on earth did she know it was me............................

One thing I know, is that I'll never be able to get away with anything in this hospital.....

Oh and have all you readers eaten breakfast?

Aaaaaaaaggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Have you had lunch?

Aaaaaaaaggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Until next time.... xxxx

Daily update on music I

As the last post has received a lot of comments asking for a daily update on the music I listen in theatre during surgery  ...... well here it is


Today: 
- "Paid Vacation" by Richard Marx (I felt so old)
The best of Boyzone (....It s not time to make a change just relax take it easy............ and.......It's amazing How you can speak Right to my heart Without saying a word, You can light up the daaark...... when the going gets tough...........the tough gets going)


and the un-missible swedish speed-metal


Thank you for all the comments.....

I ll keep you updated

Simone

The hospital

Today I am on call, which means "try to find something to spend your time until tomorrow at 6 AM". Of course  if they need a pediatric cardiac surgeon I ll be here and happy to help, but apparently they don't.......yet!
That s why I have time to write this post.
There are a lot of interesting things about this hospital. First of all it is ONLY cardiac! (like heaven to me). 20 operative theatres, 4 intensive care units. and 5 wards..... plus a cardiac A&E (ER for who is not British) and interventional cardiology. One fourth of the activity and the premises is dedicated to the Paediatric side.

All people working here are colour coded.......
Surgeons and anaesthetists are dark blue (like the attending in Grey s Anatomy)
Cardiologists are Green
Young nurses in the wards are light Green
all nurses in Theatres are light Blue
Senior nurses are Pink
Physiotherapists are dark Green
Perfusioninsts are dark Greys
Cleaning Ladies are either light light light blue or with Sari (I still ignore the reason)
"May-I-Help-You" ladies are white
Louise and I are White as well.......eheheh hell yes, apparently we are naturally colour coded to them and easily spottable.

This division is really interesting because it states exactly who you are and at what catergory you belong. (I suppose that in a society with casts this organisation comes quite natural.) and at the same time stimulates the eyes. I don t have any idea about it, the only thing I know is that I don t dislike it.

I have been in several hospitals, but I have never seen such a crowded place. The waiting rooms as well as every single corridor is full of people (patients and relatives) waiting, walking, chatting. It s like to be in Portobello road on Saturday mornings with the only difference that here the only italian is me.
To face such  flow of patients the hospital provides a large number of floor employees to ensure that this flows continues to move. That's why every floor has "May-I-Help-You" ladies telling you where to go and where to wait. If the corridors has 3 doors, there will be three May-I-Help-You ladies, one at each door, sitting on a plastic chair waiting for you approach, and if you are  blue or green, they will stand up and open the door for you. There is also one May-I-Help-You lady for each lift.

I spend most of the time (95%) in theatre (that is the main reason why I decided to come here) and I have to say that strange things happen in there as well.

There is no strict policy on whether to use the music or not, it depends on the surgeon; and as i can assure you the music may be enjoyable during some phases of the surgeries, all the theatres have music. So everyday I spend mornigns listening to Radio BIG FM 92.7 MHz, that broadcasts only indian music......yes exactly, only indian..... no Shakira, no Lady Gaga, no Take That etc..... only the ads are in english.
In the afternoons I become luckier as the other surgeon has an Ipod full of international music. He plugs it on the dock and selects random album and off we go. The first day I listened to 3 hours of "The best of the Eagles", the second day 3 hours of Swedish speed metal ( that was painful) and  the third day ABBA+MammaMia. I dont know which one of the two swedish music was worse....but anyway at least I smile when the surgeon told me he didn t know Piers Brosnan could sing. I replied: in fact he cant.
Some times, at least twice every hour, the electricity shuts down for 10 seconds, so: No lights, no Diatherm, no ventilator, no Cardiopulmonary bypass and no Piers Brosnan. And of course no AC. and when the electricity comes back, Mamma mia is still singing, the diatherm must be reset, and a loud and ear-breaking noise tells you that the AC is working again......

Ahhhhhhhhhh what a difference if think of my prof in Italy that wanted religious silence in the whole floor during surgery........

Despite that, I am feeling less and less new and more and more tolerant with their ways of doing things.......at the end of the day I am the guest.


One last thing:
Illa means NO
and  Houdu means YES

Learning to eat all over again

Well today saw me learning to eat 'Indian style'...  Every day I go in to work and they ask me what I've had for breakfast (or 'tindi' in Kannada)... As most of you will know I don't actually ever eat breakfast, but with the fear of them telling me to come with them and eat I have been embellishing the truth and saying
"yes yes I've had breakfast"
"what did you have?"
Damn.  The dreaded question.
"Erm toast"
"toast?  you mean bread?"
"yes"
Roars of laughter ensue.  I mean who eats toast for breakfast?
EVERY DAY I have this conversation.  So today I told the truth "NO I din't have breakfast".
So I got sent away to go and 'eat' but thank goodness- alone.. So I went away, had a coffee and came back.
"What did you have?"
"Coffee and muffins" (cause it's the only thing they sell that I know what it is.)
Laughter.
"Today you eat lunch with us"
"OK"...... SHIT.
So I put it out there and told them I cannot eat spicy food, I'm just not used to it.
"Don't worry it's not spicy"
Yeah right I know their idea of 'not spicy' but I had no option, other than to be rude, so I braved it and went to eat lunch with them, which was actually home cooked food they took out of their bags in containers.
So we sit down and then the realisation dawns on me, not only am I gonna eat food that's gonna blow my head off... I'm looking around the tiny room that is not even a staff room thinking 'oh God, no, there is no cutlery'.............
I came clean and said
"Listen guys this is my first time eating in this way (without cutlery) so this is going to be a learning experience for me".
They were so excited (and surprised) and so we tucked in.  At first it was fine because it was a chapati (flat bread) with a pumpkin curry sauce thing which was easy to pick up with the bread as it was quite thick.  Then came rice and a sauce the consistency of soup......
"I'm full now"
"No no you must try this too" and on my lid (of the container) it goes.... 'how the hell am I gonna eat this with my hands' I was thinking, but I did it.  I was a great source of amusement for them and myself but eventually I got used to it.. and so, there you go, the cutlery in the house has gone in the bin. CUTLERY?  Who needs cutlery?  I'm getting down with the culture.....  Only thing is, I'm right handed so I still wipe my bum (using toilet roll) with that hand, and now I eat with it too........
:)

Ciao

Too much salt gives you hypertension (and puffy eyes)

So today I'm alone.  Simone has abandoned me to do his first 'on-call'.... I hope it goes swimmingly, I'm sure it will, they only have 80 beds in the cicu.

So last night we came straight home after work and chilled out a little bit (no wine) and did some cooking, well I say 'we' and 'cooking', actually Simone cooked the curry and he left me in charge of doing the rice- plain white rice, boiled.  Surely it is not possible to go wrong with boiled, plain white rice?  WRONG.  I managed to make a mess... His curry was ready, and my rice?  Well it tasted like swallowing an entire cup full of sea water... imagine.  OVERKILL on the salt, and so chef Simone demanded I start over again, which meant the curry practically evaporated and we ate at well past our bed time (9pm- we are so rock n roll).

This morning I got up at 0615, after Simone had left... I felt like a zombie.  Maybe it was the salt (cause I did eat a little bit of that rice), but my eyes were so puffy.  Even one of the anaesthesia nurses said "you have some swelling no?".... great, I look like Rihanna after spending a romantic night in with Chris Brown.

So today in work was good.  One of the cardiologists turned around and starting talking. 'Is he talking to me?' I wondered as he repeated himself.  There were 2 main problems for me:
          * I still find it difficult to understand if they're talking local language or English
          * He has got one eye looking AT you and one looking FOR you
At first I just ignored him, thinking he was looking at someone else.  Then he repeated himself and I did what I HATE, just nodded even though I didn't have the slightest clue what he had just said.... anyway, from now on I'm going to avoid eye contact with him, which means I might have to avoid being in the same room as him....

Tonight I'm going to be eating left-over, partially-evaporated curry and salty rice (I saved it, because I'll eat it alone, mix in the extra hot curry sauce and the taste of salt will melt away).  I'm sure Simone won't eat anything tonight- they don't do pasta in the hospital canteen.  Hopefully he has stocked up on some crisps whilst the shop was open.

Well I'm sat here in our big house reflecting on the craziness of the last 10 days (using Gibbs of course), looking around and I'm wondering 'will Simone ever empty his suitcases?', the answer quite honestly, is probably 'no'... It will save packing in December I suppose...

Namaste xxx

Today has been an "ordinary" day (yes, as if...).  We got up slightly later (6 AM), got ready and walked to the hospital. The morning was misty and the sun was just showing up. Indians dressed like in the queue   for the ski-lift in St Moritz and the two of us in flip-flops (this for those who say that the temperature is not a mental attitude!!!).

The day went  quite smoothly, Louise in Cath-lab trying to understand what to improve (or better...where to start from!) and I went to theatre.

There is one consideration to make: India is NOT a country, it is a PLANET. They follow their own rules that are completely different from any other country. The way they manage the interpersonal relationships, the way they reclute mucus from the bottoms of their lungs up to the throat and then spit it, the way they shamelessly stare at you as you walk by as they ve just seen a guy with two heads, and if they are walking and they can t believe to what they  just saw, they come back and have a second peek. The issue becomes funnier and funnier whenever we meet another caucasian person  (wanted to write "white" but I opted for being polite), because they also stare incredulously at us as to say : "No way, I am not alone!".

In the hospital being "white" has its pros and cons:

PROS:
- as we are easily spottable, people of the offices remember of us immediately and we don t need to tell them why we went there. This worked everywhere: HR department, security guys at the main entrance, in the bank, and , above all, in the coffee shop. When as we enter the guy already knows that I want an strong espresso and Lou a Latte without sugar.

CONS......well this is not being polite, but except for being constantly looked at , we cannot find a single thing to say......on the other hand, one year is a looooong period and I am sure I ll find something.

Anyway tomorrow I ll have my first oncall.... I ll let you know.

Booze

So yesterday was my first day at the hospital, and actually it went ok.  It's VERY different from working in the UK, but that was to be expected.  I went to the hospital with Simone so I didn't have to walk alone, and as they start their first case at 630am, he has to be there at this ungodly hour.  So, the alarm went off at 0510 and eventually we dragged ourselves out of bed at 0530.  We left the house and it was a little bit chilly, just enough to wear a cardigan.  Well out on the streets you would think we were 30,000m at the top of Everest- all the locals were wearing big coats and balaclavas...  I mean is that REALLY necessary?  Aside from the necessity, they look bloody scary.  I was half expecting to see a pair of salopettes and snow boots, and there was me, prancing down the street in flip flops- 'bloody tourists' I can hear them muttering in Hindi........

Anyway, yesterday after work we stopped by a local eatery and picked something off the menu- a random choice because of course we have absolutely no idea what anything is... It makes it interesting and exciting, waiting to see what will be put down in front of you.  It was actually really really nice and even now I can't tell you what it was, because I have nothing to liken it to.. We came home and Simone collapsed (he's not used to this work mullarky(I disagree!!! by Simone) at 8pm and I did some reading- work stuff, of course, like "how to interpret and ECG" NOOOOOOOT, a good old trashy novel :)

So this morning I really couldn't be bothered to go to work at ridiculous o'clock so I decided to brave it and walk alone.  It was fine, no problem at all, and all the scary ski outfits had gone- of course because it was light by this time.  I started work at 8 and finished at 3, I think I can cope with this.  My pink scrubs go amazingly well with my array of shoes that I brought out here, which is great, because 'footwear' (and I use the term loosely) in the hospital is whatever the hell you want- so tomorrow I'm going to don my gladiators :)

Being in the hospital is strange because everyone looks at me like I just fell out of the sky (which effectively I did).  Not only because I am white, but also because I'm in pink, and also because they wonder what on earth a western nurse would come over to India for.... In fact yesterday I had 2 male nurses chase after me out of the hospital asking me where I am working and what I am doing here (and I wish I could answer both of those questions, but I really can't).  Well if I thought I got stared at alone, huh, when I am with Simone, they look at us in a state of shock and then turn to each other, start whispering and look back at us- I get the impression Dr's and nurses don't mix over here.  Oh I still haven't got my ID badge btw........

So today after work we ventured in to MG road on the bus, again another pleasant bus journey.  We got off the bus and stumbled upon a PUB.  So we went in and had a beer- it would have been rude not to.  BOOOOOOOOOOOOZZZZZZZZEEEEEEEEE, we found BOOOZZZEEEEE, yippppppepeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee- no I'm not an alcoholic.

So we travelled along, and then stumbled upon a swanky bar selling mojitos- M-O-J-I-T-O-S.  Ok now, I know, I can definitely live here for one year.

We ate in the bar, which had a very varied menu, including mexican, italian, fish and chips etc etc.  SO what does Simone order?  "I want something Indian"...  I mean, our one opportunity to eat something 'normal' and he chooses chicken tikka masala.... but oh no, as expected it wasn't chicken tikka masala as we know it, it was HOT and watching him struggle to get it down the hatch was enough to make me rather smug that I had ordered 'mediterranean vegetables', which went down really well with my rather tasty mojito...............................

Oh and FYI... Freddie Mercury isn't dead.  He is working as a bus conductor in Bangalore

xxxxxxxxxxCiao xxxxxxxxxxx

Today is Sunday also in India, who would have thought that!
The sky was completely blue, without clouds and the temperature around 32 C. We decided to start exploring this new and fantastic country called India and what it offers. But, as with everything, we started  exploring what was nearer to us. So the cunning plan was: Home in the morning and the complex where we live in the afternoon. The plan worked perfectly.
The house starts to look and smell like a normal house. As you all know the curtains\saris are on and with the sunlight poking through them the lounge and kitchen get a nice colour. We decided to have a walk outside and explore the complex. There are several villas of different sizes....and ours is one of the smallest. The complex is always deserted and all you can meet is a security guy proudly riding his bicycle around checking that everything is OK and some dogs staring at you as you walk by, sometimes getting a little bit closer making Louise a little bit tense and then trotting away.

The complex has a play area for kids with swings and slides and a fitness club. As the playground is completed and fully accessible, the fitness club is still empty. There is an open swimming pool (15 m) which has been filled overnight (as yesterday was empty....watch out here....rocket science!!!!!!). To be completely honest, with a warm weather like that, a clean (yes, clean!!!!) swimming pool was really tempting.
We decided to try the swimming pool another time when we see someone else inside who isn t melting because of the high acidity given by the chlorine!!!!


And this is all.

I know, i know it s a very boring and not-funny-at-all post, but i know you all will understand.

Now we go to bed as tomorrow we ll start our first week dressed in blue and pink!!!

I ll leave you with two pics of Louise enjoying the weather.

Simone

The bank, buses and saree/curtains

So today saw the early rising of Simone and Louise at 6am. Yes, 6am on a saturday, because in India, the weekend consists only of one day and that is sunday. So 6 day weeks it is from now on. We walked to the hospital and at such a time in the morning it was a very pleasant walk, cool and only around half a million people instead of a million.

Simone went off to theatre and I just hung around drinking coffee, sitting in the sun then going off for occupation health visits.... again.

Next stop: the bank, to deposit the money to open our accounts. There were around 6 people sat in there but not actually at the desks, so I didn't want to just go and stand at the desk, in case this was a queue. Eventually I realised that it wasn't and went to the guy we had seen yesterday. He told me to fill out the cash slips with the amount etc etc. This process took me around 20 minutes for both accounts as it was in Hindi followed by English. I went back to the guy, he said 'go to the cash desk'... I went to the cash desk. He moves from his seat to behind the cash desk and spends 20 mins trying to turn on the computer. 'Go over to the lady there'. I go over to the lady, who is sat exactly where the guy had been sat originally.

"how much you want to deposit Ma'am"

"74000 rupees"

"no we can't accept that much on a saturday, only 49000"

"ok"

"so you need to fill out another cash slip"

FFS.

10 mins later with my new cash slip I go back to the lady

"no miss you need to go the cash desk" off I go to the cash desk.

Hurrah all deposited.

"When can I pick up the cards?"

"1pm ma'am, come with you passports"

"will you still be open then?" (It states quite clearly that the hours are 10-1230 on a saturday)

A wobble of the head, which in India means 'yes'

Ok, so I went off to have some more coffee and sit in the sun.

I strategically plan my time, include walking around the hospital, going in the front for a wee, through outpatients and out of the back of the hospital to arrive at exactly 1pm. Guess what.............. shutter down with a 90cm gap at the bottom. "I KNEW IT" I mutter under my breath... It's bloody well closed... A-holes.

As I was stood there thinking 'that's really annoying' a doctor waltzes out of the hospital, walks directly toward the bank, dives under the shutter, opens the door and goes in to the bank. So I do the same (whilst thinking I'll probably get in there and they'll say "sorry ma'am DOCTOR'S ONLY") but to my surprise, no......... Project bank card, complete.

After Simone finished, we met and decided to take a bus in to town to go to the supermarket. Taking taxi's everywhere is way too expensive when we earn an indian wage.

Well the bus journey was surprisingly pleasant- A/C, not too busy, no awful smell and no-one spitting out of the window.

We got off the bus and next mission- crossing the road. Simone just ran for it, and I was like a cat caught in the headlights, and I swear my head was spinning around like Chucky. A poor Indian driver obviously felt sorry for me and was waving me across the road... Ok deep breath.... GO... I screamed like a girl the whole way across, with Simone stood at the other side with a big grin on his face.

We went to the mall to buy some things for the house and some food. The one thing we needed was some fabric to use as curtains on a few of the windows that didn't have them. I convinced Simone that we should get saree's as they were 3 for the price of 1. At first he didn't understand the concept of a saree, and even when i said they are really big he wanted to 'double check' so I asked the guy "6 metres long sir"....... So I bought my first saree, that is currently masquerading as a curtain, but when I leave, it is definitely coming home with me. Saree's are so elegant and beautiful, only thing is I know for sure that if I wore one I would be walking down the street and the whole thing would unravel, leaving a pretty hideous sight that would take another 15 minutes to put back on...... I think I'll leave the saree wearing to the Indians, unless I have safety pins.

Namaste. xxx

Bank, Apple store and Facing the death

As in Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" I ll tell the same day from my point of view.

In the morning, the idea of getting to the hospital early has been accomplished by the use of a Tuktuk (or Auto as they call it), an APECAR (Italians will understand immediately) with 2 seats on the back, otherwise no doors .....only roof.

Anyway as Louise was trying to accomplish her mission against the local nursing HR I went around for my tests: blood sample etc etc. As I was waiting for my eye test I couldn t help noticing that a lot of boys walk along holding hands. Apparently it is not a homosexual behaviour(according to the guidebooks) but a physical manifestation of the friendship between two guys (hhhhhmmmmmm?!)

Once my eye test was concluded we went to the bank that Nagarajan suggested. First of all it was outside the Health village. The impression we had approaching the bank is that they were trying to beat the Guinness Record for how many Indian people they could fit in only one room.( that was supposed to be the queue for the desk we needed). We opted for the smaller and internal bank that opened our account in 5 mins.

So what next, ahh yes I remember, the Sim Cards. There is a stand for the Vodafone , the same one you find in Tesco when they promote coffee or cheese and you can have a sample. Also in that occasion I could appreciate how doctors are treated much better than nurses. (now I understand how a British nurse feels :-) )

Anyway Vodafone has a contract for our hospital: if you call any other hospital vodafone user the call is free...not bad.

The cabs was booked and the centre of Bangalore was next.

Approaching MG road, Lou yelled:" a MAC store". Excitement and happiness spread throughout my body as I thought :" perfect, so I can buy something for my computer!!!". Immense sadness and deep disappointment when I found out that it was a ONLY make-up shop.

I have to say, India, and in this case Bangalore, is a place that even if you don t want, it enhances your senses: loud and chaotic traffic noise of engines and horns used as Paracetamol with the fever; several bright colours of buildings, cars, saris etc; very tasty smells that tingle you palate alternated by stinky and smelly odours of open sewages. As you walk on the pavement, or by the street, or ON the street ( it makes no difference at all) you need to watch out where you put your foot to avoid stepping into a ditch, at the same time you need to pay attention not to bang your head onto an open window, or not to be run over by anything with an engine.

The mall where we went was no different to any other "western" mall. The time flew and we found ourselves in the middle of Bangalore at 7.30 of a Friday night where Indians decided to win the Guinness Records for trying to drive all the indian cars in the centre of Bangalore. And tonight probably they succeeded. so we decided to take a cab home.

The taxi driver was continuously spitting outside of the window both while driving and when stopped at a traffic light. For this reason I could not open my window to inhale additional pollution because afraid to inhale part of his spit. (weaw gross). Louise was sat on the opposite side of the car, safe from any sparkle of saliva.

He was ( I hope he still is) a mad driver, but the scary thing was that he had only one eye!!!!!!!!!!!! It was dark when we got the cab, so we realised it halfway through.

I saw my life, and the one of other 4-5 hundred pedestrians flash before my eyes.

At the end we arrived at home safe and sound.

Some practical notes:

• 16 spring rolls in an expensive mall = 160 rupees

• monthly unlimited phone call SIM card = 99 rupees

• Spit in your face= free

• Death night journey home by a cyclopes spitting indian driver= priceless

Good night

Pink Scrubs, MAC and the spitting taxi driver

So day 3 in Bangalore and we went back to the hospital early this morning. I was left to my own devices to go and organise things with HR while Simone ventured off to do his x-ray and eye test. I handed over all of my documents, had to sign a few things and was then taken off by a lovely girl to go and pick up my uniform. We went in to ITU to meet the sister there and all of the nurses were wearing green scrubs..... Cool I thought, it's quite a nice colour. Then off we go to the department to pick up my uniform..... Pink scrubs?! I haven't seen anyone wearing pink scrubs... but ok, sounds good, I like to be different. So I have my scrubs and the lovely girl takes me up to the children's ward where I'll (probably/maybe/don't know) be working. On the way up there I ask the girl:

"Why are my scrubs pink?"

"Because ma'am you are senior nurse. To be in charge of shift"

Ok I think.... pretty much the same as I have been doing for the last 6 years at GOS... I can handle that.

So we go to the Children's cardiac ward and I am introduced to the sister.

'Wow this ward is really nice' I'm thinking.... So I ask the sister a few questions about the ward.

"So this is all cardiac children?"

"Yes ma'am, all children 0-15 years pre-surgery, post-surgery, post cath, pre-discharge, cardiology investigations etc etc"

"Great that's pretty much my background and what I'm used to, how many beds do you have?"..........................................................................................................................................................................

"104 ma'am"

SHIT.

"Ok great, I'll see you monday" aaaaaaaaaggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

So then I went to find Simone, and I found him having his eye test. We then had another 350,000 things to organise including getting an Indian SIM card... easier than I thought. They took Simone's hospital ID card, photocopied it twice (cause I don't have one yet, apparently doctor HR can do it in one day, nursing HR can do it in 5 days) and gave us 2 SIM cards on a monthly contract that will be taken out of Simone's wages... BUZZING. So I'll be sure to be in touch with you all,making plenty of International calls.

We took a hospital cab in to town, the famous MG road. I had heard that MG road was fairly cosmopolitan for an Indian city, but to be honest I wasn't expecting great things.. And then I came across a MAC shop. A MAC SHOP IN INDIA. Things are looking up guys!

We got lost in a shopping mall looking at beautiful sari's and buying very normal hair products; like Loreal shampoo :) By the time we got out it was dark, the traffic was absolute mayhem and we needed to find a way home..... roll up Mr. Taxi man.

We got in the cab and he started chatting to us, after 20 seconds, he spits out of the window. After another 20 seconds, he spits out of the window. After another 20 seconds, he spits out of the window. After another 20 seconds, he spits out of the window. After another 20 seconds, he spits out of the window. After another 20 seconds, he spits out of the window. After another 20 seconds, he spits out of the window. After another 20 seconds, he spits out of the window. FOR THE WHOLE JOURNEY HOME that took 1 HOUR. This is gonna take some getting used to. So I'm trying to ignore urinating men in the street, only to be confronted with a spitting taxi man. I CAN'T WIN.

Until next time........... Now I'm going to have a wee in my garden; just because I can.

Breakfast

So after arriving in Dubai airport for a few hour lay-over we went and had seafood and mojitos- both of which were AMAZING- although this idea was probably influenced by the fact that we knew it was going to be the last of both... for a long time. Our next meal was 'breakfast' on the airplane (see photo) aaaaaaaggggghhhhhh .

We arrived in Bangalore at 9am local time and managed to (somehow) breeze through immigration-phew.... I've had much worse experiences at US immigration when I want to go on a 5 day holiday. After all the drama involved in getting our visas organised I was somewhat sweating at the thought of passing the immigration. OK so we are off to a good start :)

Next stop- baggage. Done, no problems, waited around 15 minutes longer for one of our bags, but at this stage we were happy that we had already collected 3, that is 75% success rate... NO WAIT... My make-up is in that other bag!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I think Simone (more than me) was relieved when it finally arrived.

We got a taxi from the airport to the hospital to collect our house keys. On route I think I saw around 15 men urinating at the side of the road..... OH NO, those of you that know me well, will know that this is the ONE THING I CANNOT STAND. I think this year in India is going to change me- A LOT.

I was so tired at this stage, it was 1230 in the afternoon and all I wanted to do was sleep. Then Simone came bowling out of the hospital saying 'get out with the bags'. His boss had organised his driver to take us to our house, drop off the bags then go shopping to get food. So instead of going to bed we had to go shopping. Great.

On route to/from the shopping place....... 7 men urinating in the side of the road...... OK now it's time to stop counting and GET OVER IT.

We got home and as I am emptying shopping bags Simone disappears upstairs and returns some 15 mins later

"Erm Lou, we have a problem"

"What's that?"

"I did a massive poo.... and it really doesn't flush away, I've tried like 4 times and it's still there... I don't know what to do now"

So off he trots with his hand well and truly buried in a plastic bag, and the rest......... I'll leave to your imagination..... All I can say is there is good reason to have Delhi belly, at least it will flush away.

We ate one slice of dry bread each and went to bed at 8pm.

Next morning involved a walk to the hospital which actually took us half an hour, even though it's not really that far. We went in to Simone's boss' office where his secretary (who is a man) got tea and water etc for us. Then the nursing director came to meet me. I asked her what exactly I will be doing. "Yes yes you come and work with us, wherever you think is best" ok great what about shifts? "yes there are 3 shifts 730-1430, 1430-2130 and 2130-0730" ok so will I be doing this shift pattern? "no no you come in the morning and you go home at 4pm" great!!!!! I like the sound of this... except I have no idea what I'll be doing. Despite this I was then whisked off to HR then blood tests, chest xray and an eye test????!!!!!!!! Yep and eye test... and btw I have 20/20 in both eyes :)

We then ate in the staff canteen where btw, they have DOCTOR's ONLY section where they have a little waitress who takes their orders and serves them the food.... for everyone else it's self-service. On this occasion I was graced with eating in the DOCTOR's ONLY section as I was with Simone (and dressed in my own clothes), I'm sure once I have my nurses scrubs on, I'll be eating off the floor.

THIS IS INDIA :)))))))))))))))))))))))))) xxxxxxxx

Addison Lee, Cruella De Ville and clementines

The alarm-clocks went off at 7.00 AM. Still wondering why we got up so early as the cab was supposed to arrive at the flat at 9.00 sharp, and Lou had already cleaned the place and packed everything yesterday. Anyway everything went smooooooooothly.
8.45 ready to go downstairs and wait for the cab. 9.01 (i know.. I am not patient at all) I realised that the successful booking confirmation wasn t successful at all. Anyway in 13 min a brand-new cab parked outside Theatre Building and we were able to head for the airport.
What about the traffic? you may wonder. Well no traffic at all.

Once at the Check in we realised that the bags we carefully weighed million times were 5 kilos over the limit. "erm it's £25 per kilo over sir".... Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. At this moment I realised Louise was about to have ANOTHER emotional meltdown. HELP!

The wonderful lady (who on first impression looked like a dead-ringer for Cruella Da Ville) helped us to rearrange the bags to put more weight on the cabin bags. In the end we were only one kilo over the limit, which was eventually granted after Cruella moved to compassion as we are going to india as "volunteers".

Anyway, cab...check!

check-in...check!

Security.....check....no wait.... "Simone.."...."yes Lou?"..." do you want a clementine? I have 1 kilo of those in my bag"........................

Now we have to go.... boarding and stuff......
I ll leave you a pic of Lou, secretely stroking her blanket.

See you later
Simone and Louise

.......everything started......

......8 months ago when Simone mentioned the possibility of a placement in India for a year. At first I was totally willing and up for the experience and opportunity to work, not only abroad, but in INDIA. I guess that as with all things, I never thought the day would arrive, and well, here we are, the night before our departure.

The last few weeks has been a roller-coaster of emotions for me. Not only have I been living in London for the last 12 years, but I have worked in the same place for 8 years and have made a lot of friends ( and enemies ;)). Saying goodbye has been difficult for me, and at any opportunity have avoided it as much as possible! I will miss everyone a lot, but as we all know, a year goes very quickly.... as long as you know you're coming back after a year; which we don't.

SO; I've quit my job. I'm renting out my flat. I'm missing out on the 1st year of my close friends baby's life. I've sold half of my belongings and tomorrow we will fly to Bangalore... and I know it will be one of the best experiences of my life :) Here we go.............................................................