The girl between 2 towns

Its another long day and I have a small dinner with the girls tonight for s friends birthday. I was so tired yesterday I didn't even get the chance to get ready properly and my hair was a mess. One of the benefits of living in Bulgaria is that there are a lot of small businesses which need supporting and provide services at a cheap price! So before the dinner instead of walking all the way home I decided I would just go to a local hair dresser In the area and get my hair washed and dried. I found a place that did it just for 5 lev which is about £2.50! She even massaged my hair as she washed it and really took her time to do a good job. It was so relaxing and in the price of a meal I had some real treat. I doubt I would be so lucky at home in the UK. And I will for sure do this more often and look for some more little treats to do. Happy Friday !

I love those moments where after a long day of university all I want is a good dinner and I'm blessed that my mom has made dishes for me and froze them so I can just simply defrost them and have home food even when I am away from home. I made my self a quick chapati and defrosted a meatball curry. I feel so good right now! Thank you mom! I recommend all students to get some frozen food from home and you wont go back.

I had a very busy morning and finally have a small break before he next lecture . Fistly I had  a lovely cup of tea at a restaurant near the uni campus which was so relaxing. Now I'm at the university campus. It's finally a warm and sunny day but the best part is the cool breeze today. I'm just sitting waiting for a friend and it's so quiet and I'm surrounded by the beauty of nature. Feeling so at peace xxx

Yesterday two of my lovely friends decided to eat out at Plovidv center and invited me. It was so good they did because i needed a change after not being out with them for so long and missing the center too. There was a restaurant open called Atlas and we originally decided on Happy's but i suggested this place and I'm so glad we went there. it was beautiful. i dont think I have every been to such a gourmet restaurant and I tried to be healthy and took just some vegetable starters which were grilled zucchini wraps with cheese and some hummus with bread and it was all so perfectly arranged on the plate and it was so tasty and i was surprised how satisfied i was with the meal. And i had a lovely chat with the girls and I felt again very blessed. <3 I'm considering having a birthda y meal there especially upstairs where it was magical with the nature projections across the room.  Sometimes the extra price really is worth it! what an experience it was...

So today was a very intense and special day for me. The whole day I was basically very productive and thought that I have to write it all down. Cardiology class was very interesting today and we did patient examinations, Urology we saw a suprapubic drainage and a urethrocystoscopy in the operating theater and in gynecology i saw my first Caesarean section! The C-section was amazing and I was just praising God when I saw it and it just hit me how beautiful life is for that moment and how blessed I was to see what I just saw. The operation was so quick and the baby cried very quickly and I had a great view of thr whole thing. I also wore my new scrubs the whole morning and they really suited me which made me extra happy. I had an hour lunch break and since i live near the hospital I popped back to the flat and had a lovely lunch which was a Bulgarian pepper cheese pattie and it was healthy with no carbs (need to get the name) and I enjoyed it with an episode of Modern Family. Lunc...

I forced myself to go to a yoga class for the sake of being there for a friend. Instead it was cancelled in the end. On the positive note there were many stalls of local fresh produce and i bought apple and cinammon jam, chocolate honey and an olive oil and flower face treatment. The most interesting part was the person who i bought the Jam off was actually British and i recognized hum by his accent. Turns out he moved to Bulgaria 12 years ago after a few days because he had fallen in love with it and now lives in a small village just outside of Plovdiv and wakes up to the views rivers and mountains everyday. He is now living a more simpler life but goes home to visit his grandparents and get all the UK goods like clothes and PG tea bags! His parents also live here with him and now he also speaks fluent Bulgarian. He also has his own search engine because of all the extra time he had. He gave me some tips on how to pick up the language and how I can watch some tv shows in Bulgarian to ...

I'm absolutely exhausted from the week. Fourth year is definitely taking its toll on me and its only been the second week! Anyway today I had to go the center bank to get a statement for my Bulgarian ID which is far but its the only bank i could go to. The good thing was it was another opportunity to see the beautiful center including the mosque and the morning sun really did make the scene all the more magical. Had o wait for  a while at the bank biut at least that job was sorted! I then returned to university since I really missed the homemade hearty and healthy canteen food and of course Bulgarian cuisine and I love trying new dishes. Even though i cannot eat the meat, I still have plenty of options for my lunch. I wasn't too hungry so I took just one dish and a salad. I had the quinoa kofte and they were superb and i had it with a homemade tomato sauce which complemented it well.  After that it was just another two intensive lectures in neurology and dermatology and by...

Today I really felt blessed . So many good things happened today . I passed my neurology exam after. A few days of stress and cramming revision and a night of less sleep but it was all worth it! I actually passed shjch I was so supposed about . Not only that but I was so tired and I couldn't be bothered to put much effort into my appearance and didn't feel so good but I had so many complements from my fitness that I looked pretty which boosted my confidence . And I forced myself to go to a fitness class after university which I almost didn't go to but afterwards I felt so good and thank god I managed to get some foods from outside after ages which was a beautiful Turkish meal from one of the most popular retursns in Plovdiv ! It was simple but just delicious and such a delight. Additionally the weather was lovely today . The chill was still there but the sun was making everything glisten and Plovdiv looked even more beautiful . This picture was taken in the center which ...

So today is the first day back after a short holiday at home post exams . There was a problem with the flight landing in Plovdiv due to the foggy weather which isn't surprising because of Bulgarian weather. We managed to get buses back to Plovdiv after reaching Sofia safely and it was an extra two hours to the journey but never mind. The important thing wa s getting back safely. I got back to my Apartemnt at 12:30 and quickly went to bed and managed to squeeze in 5 hours sleep before lessons commence the next day. Now the morning has begun and I'm so tired but let's just get through this long day and I can rest well tonight!

Surprisingly I cant take such beautiful photos in England and this picture of the winter sun on one of the final trees with life was just simply enchanting! Taken between classes at the medical campus.

So January is exam season and there are no univerity classes this month. Its just an intense exam session during an intense winter. Its been a month of revision for my exams in pharmacology, clinical pathology, ENT and genetics.My advice is start early with revision and save yourself a lot of stress and sleep deprivation, the workload only gets more every year! In terms of the weather it was a constant freeze throughout the month (much colder than my home) and it was dangerous to even walk outside because of the icy roads.                                             A heads up: they are quite slow with clearing the roads over here, especially within neighbourhoods and it can be a bit hazardous. But a benefit is the beauty the snow brings.    

Hello everyone! I have finally decided to create a blog to share my experience of studying medicine abroad. I am just a regular girl who is constantly balancing life between my home in the UK and my other home studying in the beautiful historic town of Plovdiv in Bulgaria. Hence the girl between 2 towns! Uswah xxx