Saying Goodbye to Friends

One of the great things about Kapsowar is that we always have people coming and going from station. We almost always have medical students rotating here, from all over the world. From Oct – Nov, Kim and Eleasa were here. We were told they were Australian medical students – so I was very surprised when I first talked to them and they didn’t have a hint of an Aussie accent. Turns out, Kim is actually from Taiwan, spent her high school and college years in Canada, and is now in medical school in Australia. Eleasa was born in Hong Kong, grew up in Canada and is also in medical school in Australia. We are quite a multicultural bunch! They were a joy to have here and always provided smiles wherever they went. They are just finishing up their first year of medical school, and so everything was new to them, which was fun. We were so glad to have them here and sad to see them go. For their last night here, we presented them with some Kenyan clothing (see below) and watched, what else, “Australia”.

Another sad goodbye was saying goodbye to Ben and Cathy Sawer. They were here to fill in for Bill Rhodes, the long-time surgeon here who has been in the States (and returns in less than a week). They became like surrogate parents for me here and I enjoyed many long discussions with them, as well as Cathy’s weekly Sunday night dinners (chicken, stuffing, homemade biscuits, veggies, even smoked salmon!). They are incredible people with an incredible story of hope to tell, as they recently lost their daughter to breast cancer. You can read about/hear her powerful story and testimony at www.deathisnotdying.com. They made a lasting impression on all of us here and we were so sad to say goodbye. We’re hoping they’ll be back sometime!

As we said goodbye to the outgoing students, we welcomed 4 more (well, 3 plus a husband J). More to come on them later.

Eleasa (L) and Kim the night of their goodbye dinner

Me with Ben and Cathy