Items of Interest

Well, I have a little bit more time to write now, so I thought I would write about little things that I find interesting here. Before I start, the connection is way too slow to try and upload pictures right now, so I'll just have to show them to you all when I get home.

I just returned from "chai" or tea. Every day at 10:30, everything stops for tea time. It's actually a wonderful time to talk to the hospital staff and it has given me an opportunity to bond with the nurses here. As those of you who know me know, I usually hate tea. Here, however, it is very good. It is made with steamed milk and water and they add some sort of spice that gives it a wonderful flavor. Also, every day with tea we eat manazi, which is basically like a beignet without the powdered sugar. It is quickly becoming my favorite thing here.

I normally consider myself a pretty kid-friendly person in that kids usually like me. Not so much here, though, with the little ones, at least. They just kind of stare at me and I have made several cry. I'm told this is quite normal, though, as many of them have never seen a white person. Dr. Larson tells me that he regularly makes kids scream when he walks through the village.

Women here are tough! You walk through the maternity ward and don't hear a sound. Also, when they leave the hospital to go home, many walk up to an hour or more to go home, carrying their infants and their bags up steep hills along bumpy roads. I think I may now find it hard to feel sorry for many of my patients in the States :)

There are a group of kids that are often playing in the open area in the middle of the "station" (where all the mission houses are). They like to point at me when I walk by and then they say something to each other and giggle. Yesterday as I was walking by, they yelled "Muzungu!", which I knew meant foreigner from a book I had been reading. I then said "Abari" (how are you?) and they replied "Mzuri" (good) and smiled. I think it was a breakthrough!

Everyone here continues to be wonderful. They always stop to say hello and shake your hand (they shake hands like Americans hug). Last night, I had a movie night with the 2 female medical students here from Nairobi. It was a lot of fun. I was also thankful that the usual nightly rain didn't happen while I was walking back to my house.

Well, not much more to write right now. I'm on call today, but right now it's pretty quiet (knock on wood). Later today, Alysia Larson (Dr. Larson's wife) is going to go with me to the town center to experience some culture and pick up a few things.

Hope all is well at home. I'd love to hear from everyone! God Bless.