Weekend in Belgaum

Today we have seen a little bit of sun. And it is the first dry day since Monday. And it is Sunday, our
only day off during the week! Time for celebrating…
Saturday night was spent watching a movie, The Karma Sutra. Beautiful costumes and stunning
scenery filmed in India. We had freshly made crisps made of banana and potatoes – a proper girlie
Saturday night!
I slept in today though not by my usual London standards. The whole week I have been getting up
between 5.15-5.30am to get ready for our clinical placements but today I only got out of bed a couple
of hours later.
It was time for a good clean in the flat. It seems like it is always dusty and dirty on the tiled floors – no
matter how much you wash them. We go through a few cloths every time we do the cleaning… The
hospital is adamant on us getting a cleaner (which we declined – we all just clean in different ways) and
a laundry wallah (probably from tomorrow). However I was really excited today when I found a
laundrette which claims to have a washing machine. What kind I have no idea. But it sounds promising.
It has been so wet and damp that even washing light and small bits takes days to dry.
On my venture out to explore our part of town I had breakfast on a really lovely and very smart cafe
where all the young and trendy students from the Engineering and Science University goes, a place
where they rent out DVDs in English too and on my way back I found Indian Vogue Magazine. Bliss.
So now I have been soaking my rather dirty feet and given them a good clean while feeding my soul
with the beauty of fashion (from a yogic point of view there was an interesting article by Deepak
Chopra on Indian women and spirituality including yoga)!
Now it is soon time for lunch and it is just wonderful to be able to walk outside without getting soaked
from the constant showers.
Back from lunch… And we got caught in the rain – again. We had lunch at the trendy cafe. Very tasty
and not too spicy at all but by Indian standards rather expensive; two vegetable dishes, vegetable
biriani, two breads and a freshly made pineapple juice for nearly £3.
One of our doctors had recommended us to go the Rama Krishna ashram for evening bhajan. We
arrived quite early and had a look around the grounds. We found the bookstore… and if you like books
and if you like books on anything to do with spirituality then India is your place. I came back with 5
books and many more I want to purchase. I love books… and here they are very cheap! I think the
Royal Mail will find a lot of book parcels coming back to my home in London!
Well, now it is time for our evening ritual. We usual end our day with hot milk – or milky herbal tea
before bed. And tomorrow is another day at the hospital.