Gan(dhi) to India: Bhubaneswar and the (test) feast

After that long run, I was going to shower but Biku got in first for his hour-long morning soak. I talked a little with my family and then ate breakfast. We had planned to leave at "8, 9" so we got on the road at 10:30. Biku had said we would go see statues and mountain and the city center, so we stopped first at a hospital for Biku to consult with a gastroenterologist about one of the nurses. We went to Apollo hospital which Biku claims is the nicest hospital in Bhubaneswar. It was so different from out little village hospital. There were marble floors and art on the walls. The building was 10 stories and doctors had individual offices. It was slightly dirtier than an American hospital but wouldn't have been out of place in New York. There were definitely much more people though. It was also built right next to a huge slum.

After consulting with the doc, (who spoke great English and asked me about America) we went to the hospital affiliated with Biku's medical school. He said hi to a couple of his friends and then went to meet a nurse friend from school (nurses are called sisters). We wandered through the hospital, which is also private but not as nice as the Apollo. There were many more people here and the building itself wasn't quite as high end. There were private rooms with AC for the wealthiest patients and semi private rooms that were shared between four. The rest of the inpatients were in big crowded wards that had about 50 beds each. The roof of the hospital was also filled with patients clothes drying. It was great to be able to compare these hospitals with the one in Juanga. Biku also says he'll show me a government-run hospital sometime soon.

After the hospitals, we went to eat at "Michael's favorite restaurant" called something like Tami South Indian cuisine. Biku just ordered a bunch of food for all of us and it came out in fancy platters and we were served helpings by the waiters. The bathrooms had actual soap! I was so excited about it because it may be the first time I've seen liquid soap since coming to India. The food was great (and obviously oily and vegetarian). Biku ordered an extra dish to bring to Govinda, which we let sit in the back window of the car, baking in the sun for the rest of the day.

Then we went to an actual supermarket. Most of the food was Indian but we bought a big thing of macaroni and a bunch of vegetables and supplies to make a "spaghetti feast" for a bunch of the hospital staff.

We went to several stores to help Biku find markers and on the way back we stopped at an outdoor book market and bought a "learn Oriya in one month" book for about 70 cents. We also stopped at a furniture store on the way back so Biku could take pictures of a "King chair" he wanted to show to his carpenter so they could make it cheaper for him. He joked that he could just tell his brides parents to add that to the dowry. We never know where we are going before we get there and even if we are told the plan beforehand, it's never what we end up doing.

We got back to the hospital around 8 and started cooking. We washed the vegetables less than recommended (if you don't peel, open, or boil it, don't eat it). So we'll see how that goes soon enough. They have these big gas stoves that have two settings, high, and higher. We were making a vegetable red sauce from scratch and some macaroni. We let the sauce stew for about an hour and a half and then made the pasta. We added much more red pepper than we would have back home and used a bunch of other spice. It was great watching everyone eating the pasta with their hand. Would've been fun to get spaghetti.

I think the pasta had mixed reviews. They all claimed to love it, but we don't believe them. Chiku probably did enjoy it because he ate three huge helpings. Biku added more chilli and enjoyed it, manu picked out the eggplant but I think liked it enough. The night watchman and some other people definitely liked it but Dr. Mohanti and two of the other staff definitely did not. They pushed it around their plates and tried to hide it under rice and Dahl. Maybe we'll try again sometime before we leave. I thought it was great and definitely the healthiest meal I've had since stepping on the plane in JFK.

Exhausted after dinner, but it was one of the only clear nights so far. I layed on one of the rusted bedframes on the roof and watched the stars for half an hour before bed.

-AB

Compare hospitals

Never hope to know the plan

Indian pasta