Monday April 1, 2013
There was a big storm during the night with thunder
and lightning, and the dogs were barking through it all. This morning the sun came out, and at 6 am
all I heard was the birds, a rooster and the call to prayer. I slept well and
am feeling quite good in spite of the time difference and jet lag. It is a little cool during the night and in
the morning, but it sure beats snow! The
altitude is close to 8000 feet, but unless I try to run up the stairs or carry
heavy bags, I don’t notice it too much.
We had six orthopedic cases today in the OR, for
patients ages`4-15. They were for foot deformities;
several had had surgery previously as well.
I know most of the people who work in the OR from previous visits, so it
was quite easy to feel right at home.
Everyone has been quite friendly and helpful, and it doesn’t matter much
that I don’t speak much Amharic. It is a
difficult language to learn.
I asked several of the ferenge (foreigners) about
taking a walk, and they gave me suggestions as to where to go, so after our
cases were done, I took a long walk through the surrounding neighborhood and streets. I passed several official Ethiopian offices,
the Egyptian embassy, a radio station and lots of little shops on the
road. I walked through part of Addis
Ababa University which had some beautiful flowers along the road and some
students playing soccer. There were many
people walking, kids coming home from school, some traffic but not as bad as I
have seen before. A few people said
hello or talked to me, but most just walked past. I saw lots of walkways to houses, most of
which are behind a wall or aluminum facing.
I would love to take lots of pictures but it doesn’t seem appropriate. I also saw several chickens and dogs running
around.
It is 5:30 pm and starting to cool off a
little. I will eat dinner in a bit and
then try to read some before bed.
Tomorrow we have two adult patients who are having surgery. Cure hospital is a charity hospital but takes
care of adults who can pay for advanced orthopedic care that is not available
elsewhere in Ethiopia in order to help support the hospital. More about Cure can be found at cure.org
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