So this is what cold feels like

so, I am writing from the mountains.
Kate and I had one of those truly epic trips, beginning with a 13 hour train ride, and continuing with an 11 hour bus ride. I must admit, that though a small part of me may have wanted to travel in Indian style, whatever portion that was, was entirely snubbed out by my 11 hours crammed into a rickety bus, sweating, and cursing every time we turned a corner. I have flash images of peeking out the window and looking straight down into what I can only imagine would be a very immediate death. We hairpin turned through the mountains, arriving a whopping 3 hours late, and I had to literally contain myself in order to not kiss the ground with gratitude once we stepped off. Kate had a death grip on the seat in front of us for the majority of the trip, with a somewhat glazed over look, and I spent a solid portion of the ride attempting to avoid getting thrown up on by the small girl in front of me.
Either way, for as horrid as the trip turned out to be, Manali is as inversely beautiful. We arrived in the dark, so really had no idea what we were in for. when we woke up on sunday afternoon, we walked outside only to be greeted by what I can honestly say is the cutest little town, entirely flanked by the snow peaked Himalayas. They are stunning and I find it hard to focus on much else because they do so much to command attention.
The town is a bit touristy, but it also means we have access to whatever we need, and can wander for hours through the small back streets, and then on up into the wilderness whenever we desire. The most important factor of course is that its no longer hot. It was well into the hundreds when we left Jaipur, and here, well...let me just say that I have already invested in a new pair of wool socks.
Kate and I are working in a small hospital here, a mission hospital at that, so we are continually greeted by seemingly random verses from the Bible at every turn. Though I am not quite convinced Jesus said "do unto others as you would have them do unto you", perhaps its the message that counts.
The hospital staff is amazing, and we are here with a few student volunteers from Europe, so we have spent some time trading stories, and reminiscing about western culture. We will have the chance to travel to the remote clinics with them, as well as observe the surgeries that are going on throughout the week. Kate and I can't quite believe our undergraduate luck. Not to mention, we stumbled upon nutella and oreos last night, so perhaps the juice diet might wait. Operation "detox" might be more like operation "no more dal". We are spending the equivalent of 50 cents per meal, and 2 dollars per night in the hotel's guest housing, which leaves plenty of money left over for all of the shawls and angora socks which we no doubt will be relying on for the next four weeks. That or a plane ticket back to Delhi to avoid that wretched return bus ride.
So, overall, things are fantastic, the weather is gorgeous, the mountains are awe-inspiring, the hospital is absolutely perfect, and seeing as I was informed I might have a chance to paint a picture of Noah's ark on the wall of one of the waiting rooms; I can make the generalization that this is the most amazing thing I have ever done in my life.
Endless amounts of love.