Photos

So we're over halfway through the rotation and definitely getting into the swing of things at the hospital--getting better at IVs, blood draws, and which transport folks to schmooze to get patients transported to x-ray (otherwise it's me or a med student!). In exchange for getting one of my patients with "pneumonia r/o TB" (probably our most common admitting diagnosis) to the X-ray department, one transport lady wanted me to prescribe her some pills, but didn't know the names. Then she asked me to push other patients around with her. Or that's what I thought she asked--it was an awkward Setswana/English mixed conversation. Now every time she passes me in the hallways she laughs at me. As I always say, I'm just doin' my job...

As for P, she's doing great. For the past week, the doc running the adult HIV clinic has been away so she has had a taste of what it would be like to work there. She sees the adult family members of the child patients since those children serve as the entry point into the ARV (anti-retroviral) system. I nearly did a double-take when I heard P utter the words, "I think I really like primary care here."

But enough about work. Gaborone is an interesting city. It's spread out like Houston, but has about 1/100000th the number of restaurants. Not a "walking friendly" place at all. We call our buddy T the Zim taxi man to take us around to most places. He's great--plays reggae in his 1983 Toyota Cressida and always has good chat for us. There's definitely a large ex-pat community here--mostly Brits and South Africans. They tend to congregate at a couple of pubs and at the yacht club (that's right, we're in the desert--see photos) on Fridays.

We went to this place that was billed as a "jazz club" two weekends ago called Satchmo's. Every website I found said that this was the place to hear music. So like idiots we showed up at like 8:15. They were still stocking beer in the fridges when we showed up. So we went to the pub next door and met a scrawny guy named V who offered to sell us a house, then a car, then to be our personal security guy. We took that as a message to go back to the club. In the end, the band showed up around 1 am, but we were too tired to stay. On the up-side, the DJ was playing amazing Afro-pop the whole time and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Then there was the Kalahari last weekend--we'll let the photos speak for themselves.

All in all, Botswana is a unique place. It is mostly rural (3 people per square mile) but has a growing urban population with upper and middle classes. It is a stable democracy but is bordered by a country with the most unstable of governments. Members of rural tribes find themselves confronted by the harsh realities of development and industrialization (see the case of the San in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve). Zimbabweans are here in great numbers--they seek refuge here but find themselves working for little to no pay and without access to basic services. In the hospital, Zim patients must pay 80 pula per night (about $12) and for all medications (needless to say, most abscond without settling the tab).

To whet your whistles, our first round of photos are up for viewing. You may see photos of folks you don't know, but the point is that we've met great people here who enjoy a good "braai" (BBQ).

http://picasaweb.google.com/dacsocles/BotswanaRoughingIt#

http://picasaweb.google.com/dacsocles/WorkHardPlayHardGabs#

http://picasaweb.google.com/dacsocles/TheKalahari#

To all those in Houston/Galveston, we hope that "Dwight David" (as my father calls the hurricane) spared you, your families, and your property any harm or damage.

Until next time...