I worked up an appetite today...... It was not too busy at the hospital. One D&C for a missed AB, along with a fair number of gyn patients, but no major operations and no cesarian sections. It wasn't until mid afternoon that I consumed most of my energy....
It was about 3:30 this afternoon when I made a return trip to the local bank to ask if my "predeparture allowance" check from VSO has cleared yet. Long story short, the check hadn't cleared yet, but the point of the story - As I left my house and turned towards the main road I saw a large herd of cattle passing by. Usually if I'm heading to the market at this time, I stop and wait for the herd to pass, but due to the rain and lack of patience, I jumped right in the middle of the road and found myself neck and neck with two of the largest cows I've seen here....One of the cows stopped to relieve itself in front of me; good news, I avoided further disaster, bad news its the topic of this blog, sorry:) And, it led me to start thinking, how did I manage to get myself in such a predicament?
It was just 1 year ago I was working in Chicago, finishing my ob/gyn residency, about two months from graduating......little did I know that a year later I would be walking in the midst of a herd of cattle dodging feces in pouring rain in a small town in Tanzania:)
Joking aside, I am still very happy here, despite all of the "challenges"..... I've managed to stay healthy, avoiding further tropical diseases like Malaria or Cholera, and still finding the work to be very rewarding! Though I do miss my family and friends back in the states!!
On a separate note, I am looking forward to another mini vacation next weekend in Mtwara as we're heading to the beach house. Then in about 3 weeks I will return to Morogorro for "intermediate" Kiswahili language training.....something I am definitely looking forward to. Until next time. Salama (Peace:)
BTW picture above taken in Mtwara as a herd passed by, don't have actual cows from today but this is close.
2 comments:
so you are over there in africa dodging cattle...while we are here in dc dodging rats and termites!!! i found some termites the other day coming out of the faceplate to our light switch in the kitchen. never a good thing! i think i would prefer the cattle...even with the huge pile of feces!
keep saving lives!
j & j
Thanks for keeping it in perspective. sorry to hear about your termites! Speaking of insects, I have also been dodging millipedes and centipedes in my house, and of course the reptiles, there is one East African twig snake that lives close by and the wall ghecko's who I share a house with:)
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