April 6

Saturday April 6, 2013

It rained again yesterday afternoon, so I never went for my walk.  The rain is quite noisy on the roofs of the hospital; there was some hail mixed in also.  I had a chance to talk for awhile to the nurse anesthetist who was on duty overnight.  He is someone who was in the first class of Master’s students when I first came to Ethiopia and is now in charge of the program.  It was great to talk about the students and the programs and to hear what is happening.

I went out twice before bed to look for hyenas.  The security guard said they had been out, but I guess they didn’t like the rain any more than people do.

This morning I went for a walk and went to the Lion Zoo, about a 20 minute walk.  It was a small zoo with lots of lions!  I was told that some of them are 20 years old.  The younger ones were pacing their cage, maybe waiting for breakfast, the older ones were sleeping.  There were some other monkeys, birds and tortoises and a few little rides for the kids.  It was fun, and I took the long way back to the hospital.  It was a bright sunny morning and great to be outside. 

The roads weren’t as crowded as evenings during the week, but there were still plenty of people around.  There were vendors selling lots of things:  garlic piled up in pyramid shaped cairns like you see on a hiking trail; wheelbarrows full of tomatoes; potatoes, lettuce, and other veggies.

The driver took me to the Sheraton where I checked in, unpacked and then went to the pool for awhile.  The sky was dark and there were a few raindrops and some thunder but it never really rained much.  I swam for a while and then eventually went to the lobby to meet the first half of our team who arrived this afternoon.  They are settling in and then we will meet for dinner.  The rest come later tonight. They looked great for having just arrived!

There are a few educational things planned tomorrow with the ENT residents, but nothing else.  It will give the team a chance to rest and prepare for Monday.