HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVIE!!! 2 on 22!! That even sounds super special! I love you and miss you! (Please give her extra hugs and kisses from me!)

Last night our day guard's nephew, Salam, came over to the house with his two friends to show us a traditional dancing and drumming show (sans the traditional costumes). The boys dance at the local Culture Center and sure can put on an incredible show! They did an hour long performance filled with elaborate drumming and INSANE dancing that moved joints in ways I didn't know they could move! We invited the Canadians over to join in the fun and we had a really, really fun night. We moved all the furniture in our living room to give plenty of dancing space and seating lined the room. We saw our night guard sitting on the front porch listening so we invited him inside to enjoy the show. They went around and took turns bringing each person up to dance with them and, WOW, what a work out and such hard moves!! I took some great videos that I will be loading onto my blog once I'm in the states and have time to figure it all out. Bottom line, an amazing experience and I'm so excited that they were generous and thoughtful enough to offer us the opportunity!! To make them EVEN COOLER they just stopped by our house to drop off a cd of local music they thought we would enjoy!!! Soooo awesome because I've been loving the music here but couldn't figure out how to get my hands on it. Now we have tons of wicked fun music and I couldn't be more stoked on it!

Today we went to the crocodile ponds in Paga, right on the border of Ghana and Burkina Faso. It was a 2.5 hour drive for about an hour of fun, but it was totally worth it. Dr. Wanye was even able to join us for the adventure!! Actually, he spoiled us and made the trip so much fun. He said he hasn't been able to see us as much as he wishes because of all the overnight surgery trips he's been taking and wanted to take this opportunity to hang out with us (he's so sweet!). The ponds were pretty crazy! Lots and lots of crocs who are oddly docile. There are goats, sheep, donkeys and one horse chilling around the two ponds, even drinking the water which I thought seemed risky but apparently wasn't at all. It is said that there are over 200 crocodiles of various ages and sizes residing in the ponds. The crocodiles are sacred and, therefore, live unharmed by any humans. It is said that there have never been any croc attacks and the locals view the killing of a croc to be as horrible as homicide. (There are two legends that explain the crocs being sacred, both dating back to the late 1600s when a crocodile saved a humans life and, therefore, was repaid by not being hunted.) At the pond, live chickens were used as treats to reward the croc for coming out of the water and allowing tourists to pet them. The poor little chickens!! Mark told me not to give them personalities but I know the little guys were aware of their fate and were chirping “damn, this sucks! Get it over with or just let me go!” I accidentally saw one be chomped but didn't make that mistake again! Apparently, crocodiles attack only when their tails are submerged in water. I got some great pictures of the crazy close encounters with the scary creatures and will post them one back in the states. After the crocs we went across the road to visit Al Hassan's compound which is a great example of the extended family homesteads characteristic of the Burkina Faso border region, a traditional style called Sahelian. The compound, said to be over a century old, was a fortress-like construction with a wall surrounding the many homes and a spacious yet cosy courtyard. The walls are curvaceous and made of mud and dung with flat rooftops that are slept on in the hot nights. Intricate and beautiful pictures (more like murals) decorate the exterior walls. An interesting feature of the homes are the extremely low doorways. It is said to be a relic of the slaving era – a low entrance and high rim immediately inside made it impossible for somebody to enter a home without giving the occupant ample time to whack them on the head! Interesting...

After the road trip we went to Dr. Wanye's house to watch the Ghana Black Stars (national team) crush Gabon in a World Cup qualifying game. He treated us to a HUGE feast of fufu, groundnut (peanut) soup, light (tomato/pepper) soup, jollof rice (cooked in palm oil), guinea foul and steamed yams. YUMMMM!!! It was overwhelming and we all ate ourselves into comas. Sooo good!

As some of you may know, I am conducting research while I am out here. I am looking at the prevalence of eye conditions in the Northern Region and the rationale for treatment. My idea was that a solid understanding of their traditional healing and beliefs behind eye diseases and treatments would allow modern medicine to complement their traditional medicine in a way that would appeal to more patients and, therefore, improve eye care. What I am finding is really interesting. I've conducted over thirty interviews so far (aiming for at least fifty by the time I go) and have found that the issue is not that their beliefs in traditional healing is holding them back from seeking treatment. Actually, less than half the people I have interviewed have even seen a traditional healer and those who have only go because it is cheap and accessible, not because they think it will help. Everyone, so far, has said they trust modern medicine more so because they have friends who have had good results. While traditional healing is used in a variety of treatments, the healers really don't do much pertaining to the eyes. The healers will typically give a concoction of grass and roots in water to wash their face with or bathe in, but they say it only helps a little (usually decreasing swelling or pain) but never improves their sight. Basically, what I have found so far that the only thing keeping people from seeking medical attention for eye conditions is the cost and accessibility. Everyone I have interviewed has been really grateful for our organization because we travel directly to the village and provide free screenings, so they don't have to take time away from their daily work or pay for transportation or service. Unite for Sight's chapter in Accra goes even farther by providing transportation to the cataract patients from the village to the hospital and even pays for accommodations for the night. Unfortunately, here in Tamale we are unable to afford that so the number of cataract surgery referrals is much higher than the number of patients who actually get the surgery. I hope this gets addressed soon because I have only seen a small number of patients who aren't interested in surgery while all the others would happily have their sight restored if given the opportunity. (Dr. Wanye shared a funny story about a few people who thought that surgery meant that the eye ball would be taken out at cleaned and then put back into the socket and the patients wanted to know about what if the eyeball fell out after. Surprisingly, it's a common misconception so they typically avoid the words “operation” and “surgery” and rather says “fix”.)

As I have already mentioned, Marielle and I are being giving a really sweet gift of having a driver take us wherever we want on the way down to Accra. Dr. Wanye encouraged us to see a sight or two and just pitch a few dollars to the driver for gas. (I think we may buy him a little gift, too.) Our flight is Wednesday so we would have to leave Tamale by Monday in order to get there in time. Since we wouldn't be able to work that day, anyway, we've decided to take off Saturday morning. We'll spend all day driving (fresh twelve hours) down to Cape Coast, a few hours west of Accra on the coast. We're going to spend most of Sunday at Kakum National Park and end the day visiting the Elmina Castle. We'll spend another night at Cape Coast and spend Monday sight seeing around the city. We're going to spend Monday night in a quaint fishing village between Cape Coast and Accra and get into Accra early Tuesday morning. We've rented a hut on the beach at Accra (for WAY cheaper than you'd expect, only $5 each) and we'll spend Tuesday and Wednesday seeing a few sights and lounging on the tropical beach. Our flight leaves late on Wednesday and I'll spend a few hours in London then fly into Boston a little past one on Thursday afternoon, July 3rd. (I can't believe how quickly my time here has flown! I'm already going home!)

I'm completely torn on whether I am happy to be leaving or not. On one hand, I feel my time has flown by and would be so happy to be spending another month or two here. On the other hand, I feel confident that I made the most of my experience and don't feel the trip has been too short. I am really excited to spend a few quality weeks in Maine (summer's obviously the best time on the island!) and see my whole family again. I've got to say the thing I will miss most (besides the people) is the most amazing, freshest mangoes I will probably ever encounter in my life! (Until I come back, that is.) The thing I am looking forward to the most, though, is a washing machine!!! Hand washing my clothes is not only a wicked chore but I can't help but be aware of the fact that my clothes are never truly clean because there is always at least a little dirt in the water that you can't rinse clean. A washing machine that spins dry, adds fresh water, and spins dry again... brilliant! The food here is good but I don't really see myself missing it when I'm back home, maybe banku and fufu but that's about it. They eat mackerel here!! I find that to be crazy! I've never thought of those fish as more than a fun catch and useful as bait.

Iodine deficiency is an issue here, as in most developing countries, and I finally saw the effects of it last week. A community we went to had multiple patients with goiters on their necks but one man's was the size of a baby. It was shocking to see and very disturbing. I interviewed him about his eye condition and he kept referring to the pain throughout his whole body and how it affective his daily life. It was so sad and made me wonder why it is difficult to get iodized salt. From what I can remember in biology, it doesn't take much to avoid the deficiency and after seeing what it can do... there's so much that has to be done and it's upsetting to know it's not getting done any time soon. Sad realities.

Well this is most likely going to be my last post while here in Africa. Once I get home to Maine I will post another one to wrap up the trip and tell about our incredible adventures through Southern Ghana. I will also post more pictures on my webshots account and the blog in addition to trying to load videos onto the blog. Thank you to everyone who took interest in my journal. I've had a great time writing it and am honored that people beyond my family were interested in hearing about my experience. I am going to leave this blog on something I have found highly entertaining. One of the ways Ghanaians like to demonstrate their faith is by naming their business after religious sayings. The unintentional humor is great! Here are a few of the best:
*Innocent Blood Restaurant
*Holy Spirit In Charge Communication Center
*Trust in God Hair Salon
*Solace of My Desire Spot
*Jesus Loves Fashion
*Consuming Fire Fast Food
*Blood of Jesus Hair Care
Alright, everyone take care and I will see you all so soon! Best wishes!!

Katherine

Elizabeth and Tom – We found a local food called bo froot and it is a deep fried ball of dough, just like ollie bollen (sp?)!! I have to assume they got the recipe/idea from the Dutch because the Dutch influence is very obvious here. All the bikes here are used bikes shipped in from “away” and I am convinced they are all from Holland because they are exactly the same with the cool tire kick stands and generator lights! Apparently the Netherlands do a LOT with the agriculture programs here so it makes sense that their influence continues on past once being a Dutch colony. Thought you may find it interesting :) (I was stoked to have something to similar to ollie bollen!)

Mummy – strawberry rubharb pie when I get home??? hehehe

Hey again,

Last night all the girls went out dancing! It was so much fun and, as to be expected, an experience. One of the Canadians we met, Jessica, is dating a Ghanaian who shows her all the good places to go. Last night he took us to a dance club called The Corner and we NEVER would have found it on our own! It was weaved inside this side street, that side street, and looked like a little hole in the wall. Once you got inside, though, it was a really spacious air conditioned (wicked bonus) dance area with black lights and bathrooms with toilets! (Not to say that made them “good”.) Us five girls did a really great job of keeping a constant eye out for one another. It was nice because if a guy came up dancing and you weren't loving the situation, you knew you would be saved in a matter of moments. That said, we told the guys we are all married and felt bad dancing with guys who were not our husbands so we tried to keep it as everyone dancing in a circle. To be honest, though, it wasn't the guys who had issues keeping it appropriate. It was the girls! The guys, who are the most amazing dancers I have ever seen in my life and put all the guys in the States to shame, were so into dancing they tend to dance with each other and not really pay attention to the girls. The girls, however, have no issues coming right up and totally invading your space. I had to get forward with one because she kept saying “you likey! you likey!” while grabbing me and physically pulling me from my friends so I had to yell at her and let her know that, no, I didn't likey. Around 2:30 the sea of guys got more intoxicated and graby so we decided it had been a fun night but it was time to go home. Marielle had found the ONE highly respectful guy who spent the whole night dancing with her by holding hands and skipping around the dance floor (even bought her a beer!) and, fortunately, he had his own taxi and was able to give us a lift home, free of charge. (Not exactly free of charge, he told Marielle he was in love with her and gave her a kiss on the cheek... that's kind of a fee.) No doubt, it was a wicked enjoyable night and I'm really happy that's how we got to spend our last Friday night in Tamale! Tonight we have a group of traditional dancers coming over to our house to give us a free show with drums and (I think) costumes. We're all really excited for it because we know they are wicked talented dancers and very handsome, to boot.

Last weekend, while I was being tortured and made into a joke (braids), the girls went to a futbol game at the new stadium in Tamale. (This stadium was built last year by Chinese architects to host the Africa Cup this past February. It clearly cost a pretty penny and really upsets Dr. Wanye because the hospital is falling down and couldn't be a less appealing health care facility. He said it clearly shows the priorities of the people and it's a shame.) At the game, they met a girl who Dr. Wanye has told us about because she has a very sad story. The strikingly beautiful eighteen year old girl has one eye constantly shut and can only open her other eye a little bit, but prefers to keep it closed. During a traditional celebration in the streets this past March, she was an unlucky victim of a misfired shotgun. The incident left eight people injured and one dead. This girl, a senior in high school, was left with seventeen shotgun pellets lodged in her eyes causing her to lose her sight forever. Dr. Wanye did extensive operations on her eyes to remove the foreign bodies and try to minimize her pain. She still feels pain but it is not that bad, she said. The girls went by her house on the way home and the mother warmly welcomed them and showed them x-rays from the accident. They were all very moved by the sad story and felt for the girl.

(On a side note) I don't know if I mentioned, Dr. Wanye is the only ophthalmologists for over two million people in the Northern Region. For this reason, he is very well known and greatly loved by all. He was fortunate enough to travel to Europe to go to college on scholarships. There he met an ophthalmologists from Russia who appreciated his dedication and wanted to sponsor him through medical school and ophthalmology school. He humbly accepted and received the rest of his education in Moscow where he met his beautiful wife. He spent twelve years practicing in Russia and, after a lot to convince his wife, finally moved his family to Ghana. He felt an obligation to use his specialties in his home country where it is so badly needed. It's really sweet to hear him talk about certain luxuries he buys (such as spending ten dollars on a block of real cheese and importing quality chocolates) for his wife because, as he sees it, she compromised so much to let him practice here and wants her to not miss anything. You can tell he is very well off my Tamale standards and is very generous with his money and takes great care of his employees. He's a man of great integrity and we've all fallen completely in love with him and find him to be an inspiration.

So, as you can probably assume, it is pretty rare to see fair skinned people around here. We've estimated that we have seen no more than twenty other “whiteys” around town. When we travel to far villages on outreach, we are certainly one of the few, if not the first, fair skinned people the children have ever seen and, in some cases, the adults too. Because of this, we become an attraction. (Apparently this is why we do what we do for volunteer work. A few weeks ago we asked why local people don't do the work of screening, refracting, and acuity because it seems it would go a whole lot faster without the language barrier and they explained that it is because we are here that the people take it seriously and actually show up for the screenings.) They run up and say “salaminga! salaminga!” (“white person! white person!”) and usually touch our hands. Some kids are scared and cry (I had to get used to this because I felt really bad the first few times I made a kid cry by looking at them) and some kids are completely enthralled by us. At the village yesterdy, though, the kids were horribly suffocating. They circled around us and would grab this and that and say “give me” or “I want” or “water!” One girl even tried to take CuRi's hair! They wanted our rings, water, clothes, earings, hair... anything and everything, all while yelling “salaminga” at us. It wasn't the day for this, though, because it was wicked hot and our Trooper (which we have to push start whenever the engine gets cold) finally died completely and we pushed it down the road, up the road, down the road, and back up the road before finally accepting the fact that we were stranded an hour away with no way home. The kids worked our nerves and we finally had to yell at them and tell them to give us room. It's not uncommon for the locals to ask for your possessions right off your back, though. When I was getting my hair braided, the woman loved my Chacos (shoes) and told me to give them to her. Later she and her friend noticed my rings and told me to give THOSE to her. They even had the audacity to start moving it up my finger (which are swollen from the humidity and heat, so there was no chance of it coming off so easily). I've had a woman at a village tell me she liked my hair clips, give them to her. Lots of things like that happen. It's kind of an awkward situation because, no doubt, I have more than these people but it doesn't mean I should feel obligated to give them my possessions. If it is something of little value to me or easily replaceable, that's one thing, but my ridiculously nice sandles that I don't have the money to replace and my priceless family rings?? Hell no! I always just laugh and say, “I like them even more, sorry.”

Getting hollered at around the city being called “salaminga” gets old, for sure, but not as old as what poor CuRi, Yue, and Jessica have to deal with. What do you see around here even less frequently than Caucasians? Asians!! While the three girls do get called salaminga (which they respond with, “we're not white, we're yellow!”) they also get “China! China!” or “Japan!” CuRi and Jess, being Korean, yell back “wrong country” but Yue, who is Chinese, proudly states, “they guessed right!” We had one funny experience when our car was parked and we were waiting inside with our windows open. A man comes up and pointed to CuRi and said “From China?” and CuRi said nope, she was from Korea. The guy then laughed and said, “Don't you all look the same? Isn't it the same?” She laughed, rolled her eyes, and said “I guess so.” CuRi said she's going to make a shirt that says, “I'm not a country” or “If you can guess right, I'll be impressed.” It's a daily annoyance we all have a good time laughing at.

CuRi and I have been doing a really good job of running everyday for the past week and a half. We run just around our neighborhood, staying to the dirt roads and avoiding the main streets to minimize the number of people we see. There is a school that we pass, though, so we do see end up seeing a fair amount of people and their reaction is always so priceless. You won't find any African here just exercising like that. They don't need to. They do so much manual labor as a part of their everyday life that they certainly do not need to lift weights or go running. Plus, every single person under the age of thirty plays soccer at any spare moment. They get enough physical activity just living and find it totally strange that we actually go out and run for a period of time on our own free will. We get a lot of laughs and smiles and a fair amount of confused expressions. It's funny.

One last thing before I go. As I've mentioned, the kids love to hang around us on out outreaches. They LOVE to mock us and repeat what we say. “Palm” when we are telling them to cover one eye with their palm, “other eye” and “you're good!” What they really get a kick out of, though, is when we (try to) speak Dogbani. My accent sucks and I'm not great at distinguishing between similar sounding sayings that come in sequences (like the typical Good morning, how are you, good day. If someone puts those out of the expected order, I'll respond incorrectly and give the person a good laugh). What we have down PERFECTLY, though, is “debyerra” (is there pain) and “dezasarah” (is it itchy). Obviously we have to ask every patient these two important questions and can understand a head nod and shake. If they respond with a full explanation, though, we're lost. I usually politely smile and nod my head because they are going to see the nurse either way. The kids think it's so funny that these are the only words we really know, though. They'll be behind us mocking us in a high pitched voice, “debyerra?? dezasarah?? hehehehe!” At one village, a whole group of young men who never got their eyes checks but just sat on a bench watching us do acuity spent the whole day laughing at us and repeating those two sayings in a mocking tone. Annoying and funny, but much more enjoyable to go with the funny aspect so we just laughed and rolled our eyes.

Alrighty, that's all for now (as if that's not enough)! Sorry I've been writing a novel for each entry, I didn't realize how much I've been writing until I scrolled down my blog the other day. I'm long winded, nothing new :) Dr. Wanye is taking us to the crocodile pond tomorrow!! Apparently we can sit on the crocs and hold them my their tails... I'll get some epic pictures. After the croc pond we are going to his house (which has to watch the Ghana National team (futbol) play on tv and then we're all going to make fufu for dinner at his house! I'm pretty sure I've talked about fufu and the involved process of pounding the boiled yams with a huge oversized morter and pestle, slowly adding water until a gelatinous ball of yumminess is made. We're excited for our day with the doctor!

I hope everyone is doing well! See you soon!

Katherine

Daddy – I'm getting wicked excited to play cribbage with you in less than two weeks! Get ready to be skunked!!

Pictures Posted!

Ok, so I posted 46 new pictures from the past few weeks, be sure to check them out! No picture of the crazy bug, yet, but soon enough...

(I post-dated a new entry for June 12th, so don't miss that one)


LOVE!

A Short Novel...

Hello!

Something the roommate's were talking about last night that I thought would be interesting is a cultural difference here that everyone says what they think you want to hear. Though it sounds like it may be nice, it can get really irritating. An example of this is two week when our driver dropped us off at the market so we could quickly exchange some money and get a few groceries. He said he would park just down the street in a short twenty minutes. We were there in fifteen minutes and started the waiting game. Waiting... waiting... forty five minutes later, we called Sanusi and he said “yes, I am on my way.” Ok, annoying but wait a little longer. After an hour, we called again. Same response, “Yes, I am on my way.” This time we asked where he was and how long it was going to be, but he just repeated himself without answering the question. It was frustrating because we had just finished an extra long day of work and it was when I had my cold and just wanted to get out of the sun. An hour and a half after our meeting time, we called him AGAIN. Surprise! Same response. Finally, two hours later, he showed up apologetic and claimed he couldn't help it. We were pretty annoyed and asked what, exactly, he meant by not being able to help it when he was the driver of the vehicle. He explained that the hospital gave him the task of dropping of two doctors at the airport and he just picking up the doctors when we called the first time. We were so frustrated! We explained to him that we would much more appreciate him to be honest. If he had just explained that he was going to be a while because he had to run this errand, we would've happily taken a taxi home and it wouldn't have been an issue. He kind of understood what we were saying but couldn't get over the fact that he was supposed to be driving us, though, and would rather just tell us he was on his way and make us wait. Argh! Another example is one we deal with everyday, but isn't nearly as frustrating. While screening patients, we have to ask questions such as if their eyes are irritated or if they have any problems. The go-to answer when they can't understand us is, “yes” with a nod. We caught on to this pretty quickly so will ask the same question in the negative and find that the answer still remains the same. We've learned little ways to try to avoid this and, if nothing else, will get a translator in to get an adequate response. We've learned to just laugh at this fact, and any other frustrating cultural difference for that matter, because it makes it easier and more, ultimately, enjoyable.

Ok, now for my crazy scary experience! I have never in my life been such a whiny, scared, pathetic little girl as when this happened to me two nights ago. Mark was asleep and all the girls still awake playing cards. I was exhausted so decided it was time for bed. After brushing my teeth and collecting my things, I took off my house shoes and pulled open my mosquito net, foot up and ready to hop in. Just as I was about to put my foot on the bed, I saw it! The most disgusting, biggest, CRUNCHIEST looking bug I have ever seen in my life!!! I've seen big bugs here (bigger than anywhere else I've experienced) but not in my bed! I let out a pathetic squeal and jumped back, nearly falling. I threw on my shoes and ran out to the girls in the living room, hysterical, saying they had to come see this and help me. They thought I was being pretty ridiculous and reluctantly followed me to my room. Once they saw the bug, though, they freaked out too! Honestly, this bug was the size of a small hand. Easily four inches long, two inches wide, and very thick around! It looked like the ugliest cricket ever with the big bent hind legs, but it was the coloring of a cockroach and had four gnarly looking pinches in the rear. It had wings, but didn't fly well. The scariest thing was that he had gotten INSIDE my mosquito net! In my bed! Oh man, creeps me out just thinking about it. I was freaking out and didn't know how to approach the situation, I just knew I desperately wanted him out of my bed! I didn't want to squish it because it looked like it would make a wicked mess. I also didn't want to grab it, though, because it looks like it could pinch or bite. I told the girls they had to help me figure this out. CuRi ran out of the room and came back with her camera, bug spray, and a fly swatter. I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdness. Not only would it take a whole bottle of spray to poison the monstrous thing, but I didn't want my bed covered in deet! And the fly swatter? Yea right! The camera was brilliant, though, and it was necessary to take a video of us wussy girls and pictures of the alien bug. (I hope to post a picture of the nasty thing!) We did try to swat it, but it merely made him flip over and he'd jump right back up (which was scary). We tried waking up Mark, but he refused to wake up because he thought we were being stupid. I found a bag that I figured I could grab it with and bring it outside, but the girls said they wanted it dead. Meanwhile, the bug is climbing all over my bed, in and out of the sheet and my pillows (EWWW!). Finally, we decided the help of a professional. We went out to the night guard and told him we needed help with a bug. He started laughing but was happy to come in and help us. Marielle ran into the kitchen and refused to watch. The rest of us followed him in but when he boldly grabbed the bug with no hesitation, we all ran out of the room screaming. He was getting SUCH a kick out of us!! (We were being completely ridiculous.) On his way out of the house, bug in hand, he pretended to throw it at us which just made us freak out more. We thanked him profusely for “saving our lives” and brought him out an orange, bug spray, and water. He was grateful but thought we were pretty ridiculous. I promptly got a clean sheet and made up the spare bed in CuRi's room with a clean net, refusing to get into my bed until I could wash everything on my bed and check my room for a colony (which I never found). Everyone, except me, had crazy nightmares about the little bugger.

We told everyone the story the next day and, come to find out, they eat those things! They call them “panga” and (typically) boys will go searching in the cockroach holes and pull out a bunch at once. They drop them into water for ten minutes to drown them and saturate them, then fry them up in oil. It's extra yummy, apparently, over rice. Hmmm, interesting. They said it tastes like corn on the cob. I don't think I'll be trying that local dish...

Oh! So I always think it's funny to see the white girls with braids. Somehow, though, I was convinced by the roommates and Nurse Lydia to get my hair braided so my hair would be long enough to put in a ponytail without pins. HA! Sunday morning I went to a woman who braids hair for a few dollars and spent the five painful hours of hair pulling to get weave braided into my hair. In the spirit of the whole trip, I am interested in doing anything new because it makes for a new experience, which is what I am looking for. Oh, wow. After getting braided, they pour boiling hot water on the “hair” to straighten and soften it. This did make it look better, but it didn't make it look good! Has anybody seen Axle Rose since his awful make over?? Yep, I looked like a black haired Axle Rose, not cute! It was like having a carpet on my head! I kept it in for two days, but only because Nurse Lydia was so adamant about getting braided so I had to show her. Funny enough, she thought it was SO beautiful! She couldn't get over how “well it suited” me, which was certainly the exact opposite of my perception. Oddly, all the Africans thought it was beautiful. So funny because I thought it looks so ugly and funny to see the white girls with braids, apparently they love it.

We had an unfortunate experience the other day. Harsh reality of how people see us. We have been aware of the fact that people assume we are rich because we are white and from America (though it is assumed that all Caucasians are wealthy). This in itself is a frustrating thing because every one of us took out loans to pay for this trip, but they don't understand that. Dr. Wanye has warned us from the first day that we must be weary of people who want to be our friends because they may have ulterior motives and it may take weeks, even months, for these to surface. He explained it as that people think we have crazy amounts of money and don't know how to spend it all and are hoping to grab a portion of the “excess.” Well we finally got our first experience of this.

Olu is a Red Cross volunteer. He is very friendly and eccentric and has been eager to show us around since our first day meeting him. He took us to a futbol game the other day, which was exciting, and brought us to his house to see his monkey and python. He had become very close with Mark, who was always willing to take him out to lunch and dinner with the understanding that he would have to pay because Olu could not afford it, no big deal. We started having doubts about his intentions when he would ask for a cedi (equal to 1USD) here or there for a cab ride or whatever else. Mark had no issue of say, “no, I'm not your bank.” Then he asked CuRi for her to get him a US visa when she gets home. She had to explain she can't even get her Korean cousins visas so her answer was no, which he got upset about. He then started dropping hints about how previous volunteers and Dr. Wanye pay for his tuition and we should, too. The breaking point came two days ago when, after dinner, we were hanging out at the house and he was sitting in a chair while we were doing data entry at the kitchen table. We noticed he was being sketchy by getting a bag from the corner, going over to the side of the room that has all the glasses lined up by prescription, and filling the bag. He then sat back in the chair, pushing the bag out of plain sight, and looked around suspiciously trying to figure out if we saw him. Being aware of it, we locked the door (with the bag in the house) as he went outside to say goodbye to Mark. We tried to just say goodbye without him coming back in the house but he said he left something inside. We told him he didn't come with anything so what could he have left? He pointed to the glasses and claimed he was gong to drop them off at the clinic for us. This, of course, makes no sense because we are in charge of the glasses and the Red Cross has nothing to do with it, other than sending volunteers on the outreaches now and again to translate. We stood our ground and he eventually left, but we felt odd about the situation. That night he borrowed Mark's motorbike to go home (against his better judgment) and was 45 minutes late the next morning returning it. Mark had to wait for him, which he was wicked upset about because it made him late for work, and was really confused when our driver came back to pick him up because he explained he'd just take his bike in. Well we figured it all out at the end of the day when Mark rode his bike and realized Olu had crashed it pretty badly and done serious damage. Olu, trying to avoid confrontation, called our driver back to pick up Mark so he didn't find out right away. He never said anything and, when finally confronted, said he took it in to get washed and it must have happened there. Clearly the damage didn't come from washing (busted horn, brakes, alignment, etc), but he refused to come clean. Mark was totally ripped and, I think more than anything, was really upset with himself. We all made it clear to Olu that we weren't happy with his dishonesty and clear attempt to steal glasses. He hasn't come around since then and sent a text message to CuRi apologizing and saying it wouldn't happen again. Upon talking to Dr. Wanye, though, he's no longer welcome in our house and there will be no opportunity for “it” to happen again. Apparently there is reason to believe Olu stole from a generous volunteer last year who even bought him a passport! Also, he doesn't go to school so there is no tuition that has ever been paid by Dr. Wanye or the volunteers! We found out a plethora of lies he told us and were so upset to hear about it. It really hit home that you have to be weary of all “friends” because, thinking logically, they probably only want to befriend you for one reason. Mark was really upset because he has befriended a number of local who he now has to second guess, a sad reality. It is hard to decide who you can trust and who you can't, but to be safe you have to go with not trusting, which is such a bummer! Some traditional dancers came over the other night with Salam, who we were told is the nephew of our day guard, and while the dancers were talking to the girls, Salam told Mark that they are lying and not trustworthy and not really his friends. He said they had followed him and they are merely acquaintances, but don't trust them. Later that night, we find out Salam isn't really related to Yakubu and shouldn't be trusted too much, either. He is said to have a reputation of befriending the white people and then asking for money. It's so upsetting! The way I am trying to look at it is I will take each person as they come. I will not put myself in the position to be at a loss, such as leave my computer out when company is over and keep my wallet in my room, but I will be friendly and assume they mean well. If the situation of asking for money ever does come up, it won't be too hard for me to say no because I honestly can not afford anything and will then know what intentions the person had. It is just so upsetting that we are commonly seen as just money, not as friends. Oh well, I guess it's just the way it goes.

I think the past volunteers have added to the false perception of wealth because they did crazy things! Last summer, one girl bought Olu a passport (as I already mentioned) and bought a few girls school outfits. Another girl, a 22 year old Yale student, ADOPTED two students so she is financially responsible for them!! When Dr. Wanye asked her how she would pay for everything she said her parents would help if she can't afford it, which she expected to probably not be able to. Unfortunately, Olu is the person who she communicates through to find out what the children need and he has been caught, by Dr. Wanye, writing e-mails filled with lies of burnt down houses and sick mothers to receive more money. Finally, another woman told two children in our neighborhood that she will financially support them and send for them to come to America and attend private school. (naive) She realized how difficult it was to do that and is now sending checks periodically to them. It's a difficult situation. It's obviously really generous of them to do that but it makes it perpetuates the stereotype of us being made of money. A few of us were talking about if we feel bad for not doing as much or smarter for not being as naive and I said that I certainly do not feel bad. I am doing all I can do, even going beyond my means to do so, and I think that is more than enough. If I actually were made of money I would undoubtedly be doing so much more, but I'm not.

Ok, I think the novel I've written is enough for now. Oh except for one last thing that I think is SO cute. As I've talked about, our day guard, Yakubu, loves his chickens and guinea fowl. Well, given our crazy rain storms, all the houses are built with intense drainage systems with gutters that drop into a trench that surrounds the house. The chicks go into the gutters because it offers nice shade beneath the steps during the hot hours of the days. The other day we noticed that the little ones weren't able to hop out of the trench. The next day we saw a series of rocks piled in a way to make steps for the chicks to get out. The guard made steps for the chicks!! So cute!! It reminded me of the “Sammy-ramp” at the foot of my parents be so the little runt can get onto the bed. Aw, it was precious!

I'll be posting this as soon as I can and will probably be writing another one or two before I leave. Sadly, my time here is limited and I don't really desire spending it at the internet cafe so we'll just see how it goes. I'll likely post one last one once I return. Everyone take care! I'll talk to you soon!!

Katherine

P.S. On the walk here we encountered a HUGE herd of cow! At least twenty or thirty of them walking our way that we had to walk through. It was funny and certainly the first time I've ever had to walk against a whole bunch of cow and bulls!

unreliable internet!!

Hey guys!

So I have had a blog all written up and ready to be posted since Friday! Unfortunately the internet has been down until today and, even still, it won't work when I plug the Ethernet cord into the computer so I can't even post the blog or my pictures, which are all ready to go.

I only have eleven more days here in Tamale :( But then Marielle and I get a four day vacation in southern Ghana visiting national parks and historical sights (and ending the whole trip with a day on a beautiful tropical beach!) before flying out of Accra on July 2nd. More to come on those details, but we are very grateful for the opportunity to experience more of Ghana!!

Check back soon to see my blog entries that I will post as soon as I can! Also, a whole bunch of new pictures!! I hope everyone is doing well. Love and miss you all!

Katherine


Elizabeth and Tom: Please tell Evie happy birthday from her Auntie in case I don't get back on the internet by her 2nd birthday! I'm a horrible auntie and didn't put anything in the mail to her before leaving! When I get home, though!

Stef: Happy birthday!!

Gina: I have a FIVE PAGE e-mail all typed up and ready to send!! (I know, ridiculously long.) I can't get it off my computer, though, so you will just have to wait. Sorry!

Faith: I hope Portland is rocking your world! Let me know how it is going. I am calling you as soon as I am back in the states!

Everyone in SLC: I've been thinking of you guys a LOT! I hope all is well. Take care and give Maxwell extra lovings from me! Has he forgotten about me yet?? :(

Surgery in Yendi

Hey there!

Yesterday I traveled to Yendi with Dr. Wanye, Nurse Maggie, and CuRi to do seventeen cataract surgeries. The hour drive out to Yendi was a scary one because it was storming like crazy and our driver was driving way too fast! Apparently our car doesn't have a windshield defrost and I don't know how the drive could see anything. Even if it weren't all foggy, the solid sheet of rain alone made visibility next to none. There was another health care provider sitting in the passenger seat and CuRi and I in the backseat. After trying to watch the road for the first ten minutes I decided I ought to just close my eyes and go to sleep because it was scaring me wicked. I heard the passenger say every now and again, “child!” or “goat!” or “turn!”. I figured if I were asleep, at least I would be limp in the case of an accident :) We did finally make it to the hospital, which is a beautiful facility with running water and an operating “theater” at least twice the size of ours at the eye clinic. It was lots of fun because it was only us four in the operating room so CuRi and I got to help a lot and we all had a fun enjoying one anothers company. CuRi and my main job was to keep a sterile environment and clean the operating utensils. The last surgeries I watched were conducted at our clinic here in Tamale, so it was interested to see how they maintain (to the best of their ability) a sterile enviroment while traveling.

First and foremost, Dr. Wanye and Nurse Maggie are the sterile people and are not able to touch anything that is not sterile. The clinic has a huge duffel bag that is packed in advanced with all equipment needed. Every gauze, cotton swab, eye cloth, tool kit, gown, etc. is individually wrapped in clean wrapping paper with it's contents written on the outside. Upon arrival, CuRi and I disinfected two stainless steel table tops with alcohol. These were to be the two sterile surfaces that we were not allowed to touch from that point on with ANYTHING. Below each table top was another shelf where we were able to store extra supplies so we could unwrap them as needed throughout the day, and these were not considered sterile zones. To set up the stations, CuRi and I were in charge of unwrapping the marked packages in a certain order WITHOUT TOUCHING the actual contents (I messed this up the first time) while Nurse Maggie, all scrubbed in and gloved up, would take it out and place it where it was needed. After the stations were organized, we had to unwrap seventeen pairs of gloves with care. We were allowed to touch only the outermost wrapping, but nothing beyond that. To accomplish this, we pulled the tabs at the top and had to turn the envelope sideways, taking care not to let the outer paper touch the table top, and let the gloves fall onto the table top. Again, I messed this up the first time and accidentally let the packaging touch two of the sterile eye clothes so Nurse Maggie had to put those clothes in the laundry and we unwrapped two more.... oops! After the operating room was all set up, the surgeries began. After each surgery, CuRi and I traded off the task of taking the tools into the wash room to wash them with antibacterial soap, soak them in alcohol, then soak them in saline. Relatively speaking, it's a clean procedure. However, at the end of the day when we cleaned everything, my heart dropped to see Nurse Maggie had put the syringes and hollow needles in the bin to be cleaned. Clearly written on these objects is, “Discard after one use.” I realized not only had the few we have been reused through the patients of the day, but we were going to use them for at least one more day of surgeries ,and I have to assume many times beyond that. Of course, they have no choice about it. Ideally they would have new needles for each patient and throw them away, but it just isn't and option to them. They aren't giving the funds or availability to buy them. Despite this, Dr. Wanye said it is very, very rare to have anyone suffer from complications of infections and they do administer a heafty dose of antibiotics directy into the eye before bandaging. Still, I couldn't help but be saddened by the realization.

Every surgery yesterday was a difficult one, Dr. Wanye said. Because of this, each one last closer to 20-25 minutes, making for a long day. Dr. Wanye started a little before eleven and went straight through to 6:30 with a ten minute break to eat some banku. (He's a rockstar.) He loves to joke about how we should give him a break and take over for a while. CuRi and I enjoy playing into this game and say how it doesn't look too hard, anyway, we can handle it. A simple cut into the eye and *pop* the lens comes out. I am amazed out how the lens does seem to just pop right out after he scoops around for a little while, making sure it is fully detached, and scoops it out through the little incision. He thought it was hilarious that I say it just “pops out” and now uses this term to explain that what he does isn't too difficult. I got a perfect video of exactly what I am talking about and hope to load it onto my blog today we'll see how it goes. (Daddy, don't watch this. Mummy, enjoy it, it's wicked cool!!)

I did see two really neat cases in the day of surgery. First, a woman with no left eye ball! After completing the surgery, Dr. Wanye made a quick comment of how she had no eye. Her eyelids had been shut tightly since coming into the room, but I didn't think much of it. In disbelief, I asked him to clarify, “You mean NO eyeball in the socket?? Nothing there??” He smiled at my amazement and said, no, nothing there and then pulled open her eye lids. She didn't have an eyeball!! I never really thought of what a socket with no eye would look like, but if I had to guess it wasn't actually as gross as I would've thought. It looked like two little pillows the same texture as the inside of the eyelid with a small button pinching it in the middle (the remains of the optic nerve). I then realized that this woman must have been completely blind for quite some time, due to the mature cataract in her one eye. Dr. Wanye said he guesses she has had no vision for at least five years, based on the maturity of the cataract. Today (the day after her surgery), when she goes to her post-op visit, they will take off her bandage and she will have nearly perfect vision! It's amazing! A woman who has been completely blind for years upon years has been given back the gift of her sight. It was a pretty moving story and a really cool sight. Second, I saw the doctor fix a case of pterigiym. This is a case unique to the tropics where UV damage cases intense scaring of the cornea, starting from the corner of the eye and moving inward. Once the scaring covers the pupil, sight is affected and eventually lost. To fix this, the doctor simply used his scalpel to cut the scar tissue loose from the cornea and then cut it off. So simple! So neat!

After our day of surgery, the ride home was fun. Dr. Wanye asked CuRi and I about our views of our politics which, honestly, I hate to get into because I could go on forever. This one was a good one, though! He said he found it interesting that Bush has ended up being one of the most notorious presidents and I explained why I thought it made pretty perfect sense. It was funny to hear Dr. Wanye speak so eloquently about US politics and I realized he undoubtedly knew significantly more than most all US citizens, myself included. The real kicker was when he asked what we thought about Hillary being out... oh my gosh I am so embarrassed to say we didn't know she was out of the runnings!!!! We don't have tv, haven't come across a paper yet, and the internet is so slow I am on just long enough to check my blog, Tom and Liz's blog, and my e-mail if I'm lucky! Later that night we were hanging out with the Canadians and I was even more embaressed to find that they have all known for well over a week! They asked how they could have all known without us knowing and I told them they seem more interested in our politics than us, anyway, probably because it's a form of entertainment and they don't actually have to live with it to the extent that we do. Oh gosh, soooo embarrassing!

That's about all for my day of surgeries. Lots of fun, new exciting cases, always a fun time with such a fun crew. Now we are on our way to go to an open mic pool party just outside of town, yay! Before I go, I have two quick little stories I find really funny: 1) We were at a community the other day and there were tons of little tykes all around. After a while of “being in the way” they were all put into one room near our screening stations, kind of like a daycare. All of a sudden, they all starting screaming REALLY LOUDLY, crying and running away. Turned out Ali, one of our coworkers, had told them that they were all getting injections that day, so they freaked out. It was pretty humerus, but a little mean of him :) 2) Jessica, a fellow volunteer, had something huge click in her head the other day. She actually saw a yam for the first time ever and was SHOCKED to see it was a root! She thought yams were an animal!! Mind you, we eat yams at nearly every meal here. For the past three weeks, she thought she was eating animal and was really confused as to why Yue, a vegetarian, would eat them. Wicked funny, she will never live that one down!

Ok, I didn't get around to uploading the pictures and video onto CuRi's computer yet, so I'll do that tomorrow and get them up onto WebShots early next week! Sorry, Dad, I know you're excited to see them.

Everyone take care and I hope you are all doing well!! Lots of love and missing!!

Katherine

P.S. Can anyone explain to me why the children have extremely swollen, enlarged bellybuttons? I am assuming it has to do with malnutrition, but why does it seem to cure itself? (The adults do have these kind of belly buttons.) Also, why do the bellies get swollen? We have all been sharing theories, but none of us can remember the actually cause.

P.P.S. Marielle and I just found out we are encouraged to leave a day or two early to Accra and have the driver available to us to take us to a sight or two before taking off! We are so stoked because we didn't know we would have this opportunity and now are going to go to Cape Coast to see some amazing historical sights that date back to the 1600's and be able to spend a few relaxing days on the tropical beaches. More on that later!

Tony – Darling!! I keep thinking about you and thinking how you would love it here! I foolishly lost your e-mail address and haven't been able to send you a message. If you read this, please drop me an e-mail and let me know what's new in your life!! (At this point you could just as well wait until I'm back in the states...) katherine.hill@utah.edu

Beth – Thank you so much for your note! I would love to talk to you about your experience in Africa when I get back to the island. I am certaily staying safe but am being sure to take in every moment possible. Thanks for the birthday wishes and thoughtful note!

Hello everybody!!

I only have a few minutes and didn't do the usual thing of typing the blog at home and cutting and pasting it in, so this one won't be as long but I'm sure I'll make up for it later :)

Monday night was a wonderful birthday evening. After dinner, my roommates and I went to the Jungle Bar and met up with the Canadians we met over the weekend at Mole NP. It was really enjoyable and we all had a good time drinking a beer and sharing stories. The Canadians bought me a box of red wine for my birthday like I had never seen before. It is in a carton like you would buy milk! It's funny. Certainly not the best wine, but not as bad as you may imagine.

Two days ago we went to a local school to perform screenings. Up to that point we have screened approximately 1,100 people in our 2.5 weeks of work. That day, alone, we screened over 500! It was a wicked crazy busy day, but always fun. It was really cute because the kids do a little bow as they come up to hand you their form. It was so sweet!! I have NEVER had anybody bow to me before! Also, where we put "age" and "sex" a lot of the children wrote in full sentences, "I am a female" or "I am eleven years old." It was really precious. I fully enjoyed the children!

Today we went back to the school because, surprisingly, there were still a lot of children to screen. Two hours into our work a HUGE storm blew in! As the wind was picking up and the sand was flying around I kept saying it was just a matter of time. When the rain finally hit, we all took shelter in a classroom. This was the first time I have been inside of one. On the chalk board was the Ghana National Anthem, which the children sung for us. I thought it was a beautiful song and wrote down the lyrics:
God Bless our homeland, Ghana.
And make our nation great and strong.
Bold to defend forever,
the cause of freedom and of right.
Fill our hearts with true humility,
make us cherish, fearless, honest.
And help us to resist oppressor's
rule with all our will and might.
Forevermore.

The storm has yet to let up. "When it rains it pours" REALLY applies to this country during the rainy season! This is really the first real rainy day we have had because it usually passes within an hour, if not sooner. I actually got goosebumps today! I definite first here in Africa. It is quite a nice break from the incessant sweating though, I must admit. I'm even wearing a long sleeved shirt!

And, on that note, I am out of time! I am traveling to Yendi tomorrow with Yue to help with surgeries. Yendi is about an hour east of Tamale and is currently experiencing an intense water crisis. I am excited for the experience.

I'll be in touch! Much love to everyone! Take care!
Katherine

P.S. Oh yea!! I started interviewing patients for my research project (more on that later) but an interesting one was a 70 year old woman with cataracts who believes the cause of her condition is a toothache she had a while ago and let go untreated. I'm excited to gather more interviews, for sure.

Gina- I keep meaning to e-mail you!! You will have an e-mail coming from me shortly. Sorry for the long wait, I've been thinking of you tons!!!

My Perfect Birthday Weekend!!!

I just experienced the most epic birthday weekend of my life!! I wouldn't be surprised if I never top this one and I also wouldn't be disappointed. (Fair warning, I'm sure this entry is far too long with too much detail but it's animals! In the wild!! I can't help but write it this way!)

We just arrived back from Mole National Park. This park is said to be one of the best parks in Western Africa. The park is a rather large area set aside and controlled by the government to preserve the natural beauty and wild animals. Aside from that, it is like no national park I have ever visited. There are few roads that actually go through much of the park, leaving much of it unused. Unfortunately, this results in high rates of poaching. There is one place available to spend the night and it is strongly aimed towards tourists. It's a rather nice motel set on a cliff overlooking the watering holes frequented by elephants and crocodiles. There is a resturant, a pool, and a landing also overlooking the cliff. It is surprisingly not crowded and your proximity to the wildlife is insane!

We left for the park wicked early on Friday morning, arriving to the motel around 9am. We spent the day lounging by the pool and watching the elephants from afar. We took tons of pictures from far away, not realizing what the next day would deliver. It was an amazingly relaxing day, though rather uneventful, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Saturday was the day of all things new! At the pool, we recognized a few people we've been seeing around Tamale (believe it or not, light skinned people stick out like sore thumbs!) and we were able to make friends with them. They are really nice student from Canada who are working on development projects around Northern Ghana. They actually live at the guests house above the bar where we are celebrating my birthday tomorrow, so they will be joining us for dinner and a drink :)

Saturday morning we got up at 6am to do a walking safari. The only way to get close to the wildlife is to hike around the park, though you are required to be lead by an armed ranger. Getting up we opened up the curtains of our room to see a HUGE elephant walking through out backyard!! We couldn't believe it!! We went out on our balcony and he was honestly no more than ten yards away, ambling about with a lazy stride. Shortly after passing our room he headed down the steep hillside to go to the watering hole. We knew from this moment the day would be incredible. On our way out, we opened the front door to be greeted by numerous warthogs chilling on the trampled grass, picking up anything they considered edible. Warthogs! Like Pumba! These things are so funny looking and I found them really cute (surprise) but was considered to be loony for it. After meeting up with the ranger, he briefly explained the history of the park. It was established the 1957, the year Ghana became it's own nation, the first independent nation in Africa. It originally allowed hunting but this was banned by the early 80s. He said there were 94 species of mammals, and a huge variety of both butterflies and birds. (Ghana is said to be home to an estimated 1,000 butterfly species compared to roughly 650 in the whole of North America.)

The safari started walking up to an overlook and then we dropped down into the basin where the waterholes are. The first animals we came across were lots of warthogs. As already said, I thought these little guys were so cute! They are grey in color and have a very thin covering of hairs, most found along the spine. They have wart-like bumps on the face and rather large, upward-curving tusks. They are surprisingly muscular and usually seen in groups. And, surprise!, the babies were soooo cute!! I thought they were really comical because they can't reach the ground while standing so they bend their front legs so they are crawling around on their elbows while cleaning up their food. We walked through dense trees and came out to a large field with lots and lots of antelope! The antelope travel in either huge herds of females and two or three males (the strongest ones) or in groups of only males. The one we saw the most were the kobs. This red-gold antelope has a white throat and is amazingly long and slender and very graceful. We also had the pleasure of seeing a bushbuck, which was my favorite because of the coloring. It's smaller than the kob and is a deep chestnut color with lots of really beautiful white lines patterned over the whole boy. The last antelope we saw was the water buck. this was the largest antelope we say and has a shaggy brown coat and white bum. The horns are much bigger than the others and lyre-shaped.

Then we came to the baboons. WOW the baboons! I didn't realize how big they are!! And they can be freaky, too. Apparently, the first three weeks of an antelope's life are dangerous because they can't walk and have to be hidden deep in the bushes. During this time, baboons seek them out and eat baby antelope! The ones we saw on the safari weren't too interesting, it was later in the day that they gave us a unique experience! I'll get back to that later.

Before dropping down into the basin, the ranger brought us to a HUGE termite mansion! Way, way taller than I am. I had seen these structures on the drive up to the park, but I didn't realize what they were. Apparently a whole colony will make their home and, when the queen dies, they must relocate, determine a new queen, and build a house all over again. You can tell when the termites have abandoned the home when there are holes in it. At this point snakes, mongoose, and other dwelling animals will take over. I was amazed by the huge structure those little insects can create in an alarmingly sort period of time.

Once at the watering holes, we spent some time in a treehouse built to overlook them. The birds sounded lovely and the view was unbeatable. We actually saw a crocodile in the water, but it was just it's form and wasn't worth a picture. We then walked around to the second watering hole and sat on the ledge where there were about ten elephants cooling off a mere fifty yards away. This part was AMAZING! They are so huge and playful! There were two babies in the group who were incredible neat to watch because they would rough house with the other elephants who usually responded by pushing them under the water, their trunk sticking out like a snorkel. Occasionally, one or two would go off to swim for a bit and I wish I could've seen them below the water, I bet it looks cool! I captured the most perfect video of the elephants and I really hope I am able to post it! It was really neat to see them hose themselves off and see how they move those funny, huge trunks of their! I'm sure this is an obvious one, but a zoo just can't do them justice. In the wild they were so animated and incredible to watch – I could've stayed there for hours upon hours. The head elephant signaled to the reset of his troop that was time to leave and they all lined up and marched out of the pool. (It totally reminded me of the marching scene in the Jungle Book when Mogali is trying to pass as an elephant.) We walked over to get a better look and watched them mud themselves up to stay cool in the hot sun. They put their butts together and formed a circle and they all filled their trunks with mud and sprayed in behind their heads. It was genius because any misdirected mud still managed to land on an elephant. It was crazy to see how huge they are out of the water. According to our ranger, they are the second fastest mammal on land, but I find that hard to believe – they are HUGE (the largest land animal in the world)!

The safari was amazing with crazy close proximity to many animals. Unfortunately we didn't get the opportunity to see any hippos, lions, leopards or hyenas. Dr. Wanye was so excited to see how much fun we had that he has already planned to take us up to Paga, on the border of Ghana and Burkina Faso, to see the crocodile sanctuary.

We finished the safari after 2.5 hours or so and went to a little “restaurant” near the information center. It was an odd place and the service was strange and, overall, we were unsatisfied because we were overcharged. The way we saw it, though, was it gave us a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Ghana is considered to be the safest country in Africa and the crime is said to be nearly non-existent, especially up north. Well, we encountered our first theft – by a baboon!!! Our food had just been brought out to us and we were all picking at the odd colored rice and mystrey meat deciding if we would eat it, our heads down. My head shot up when I heard Yue scream, Marielle follow, and both of them try to run from their chairs but end up on the ground, chairs broken. I had no time to react, just laugh hysterically. A very large baboon had walked right up to our table and grabbed rice right off Yue's plate! Once the girls started screaming he did a little jump up and ran away. There was another one perched on the fence close by, seemingly scoping out the situation to see how the attempt would pan out. Apparently CuRi had noticed the hand reach up and first thought it was a kid, quickly concluded it was too hairy and was probably a dog, and then finally realized it was a baboon. Yue, also, first thought it was a kid and then decided the hand was too hairy and looked up to see his face. Oh man! The episode was so perfect! While waiting to settle the bill we walked around the little patio and realized the baboons were everywhere! There were at least twenty baboons, ranging in all sizes, circling around the building and figuring out how to get food. Some were jumping onto the roof to eat leaves. Others were climbing fence posts and eating flowers. Some were snapping branches off trees to chew on. Bottom line, though, they were all just waiting for their opportunity to snag some yummy human food. Marielle is extremely scared of the baboons and literally had rocks in her hand on the walk back to the room just in case one decided one of us looked tasty.

(It's not uncommon for the baboons to help themselves to whatever human luxury they want. There were three girls staying a few rooms down from us who were all taking an afternoon nap and decided the leave the door open for a better breeze (stupid!). They woke up to three baboons in their room. Two girls ran out but the third girl ended up locking herself in the bathroom and spent the next twenty minutes or so waiting for the baboons to leave, listening to the tear the room to pieces in the meantime. Crazy!)

Apparently, Saturday is the day the monkeys and baboons come out to play. After our exciting lunch, still laughing and in disbelief, we went to spend the rest of the day by the pool. There were baboon all over the grounds and, after a little while, the monkeys came out to play, too. The patas or red monkey was running around the grounds reeking havoc. These monkeys are pretty large for a monkey (but no where near as big and intimidating as a baboon) and has a wicked long tail. It is a yellow-orange with a black forehead. They first made their appearance when they poked their head out from behind the bathroom building to see if the coast was clear. It was about 10:30 and there weren't many people eating or swimming. Two monkeys then slinked out to the front of the building and threw a trash can over. The loud crash made an employee run over to yell and throw objects at the monkeys. They sqeeled and ran away, but only for a moment. Next they came from the other end of the building and stealthily made their way across the roof of the restaurant and down the other side. It made a quick dart for a piece of toast and, again, was scared away. This whole time I was sitting by the pool watching the scheme around. It was so funny because it finally dawned on me why people use the term “monkey business.” More and more monkeys came to the area and all camped out in a tree next to the pool, waiting for opportune moments. Occasionally, a monkey or a baboon would run through the pool area and the restaurant patio and I'm convinced they were only doing it to laugh at the squeals and jumps of nearby visitors. At one point, a baboon jumped onto a table where one woman was eating her breakfast and slapped a Fanta bottle to the ground. Another time, one of the monkeys got freakishly close to a tourist eating her lunch. He walked around her chair and poked up beneath her arm, she rather calmly shooed him away. He darted to the other side of her chair and straight up punched her arm!! Not as calm this time around, the lay threw her bag at him. He ran around the table, jumped on top, ran over and took her mango off her plate, put it in his mouth, gave a funny little snicker while looking at her, and ran away. It was hilariously inappropriate!!

Without a doubt, my weekend was spectacular!! Seeing animals in the wild is my favorite hobby, if you can call it that. To see such unique and rare animals in their habitat – it was unreal! We had monkeys, elephants, and antelope chilling outside our balcony to greet us in the morning. We had a wonderfully relaxing time by the pool, birdwatching. It was perfect. The icing on the cake was that it was my birthday weekend. I couldn't have made it more ideal! I'll be posting pictures of the weekend on my website soon enough. I'll let you know when I do so!

This morning we woke up to a gloomy sky. If it storms in the morning, we don't work. We were all selfishly hoping this may be the case because we have a lot of statistics work to do with our screening data, not to mention a lot of laundry and errands to run. When we were all waiting for our driver, a huge clap in the sky was followed by INTENSE rain fall! It was sweet!!! It stormed wicked hard for a good two hours and we got to play in the rain and enjoy the wind. Dr. Wanye called to tell us not to go to work, just get our data entry done at home and enjoy my birthday! No doubt, this has been the sweetest birthday to date. Maybe even forever.

That's it for now (as if that's not enough). I'll be in touch soon! Everyone back home, please take care. I love and miss you all :)

Katherine


Aunt Bev, Vu and Wetzle (if you've been reading the blog) - You would LOVE all the birds out here! They have fire finches that are barely bigger than humming birds but fly forward! They have so many birds ranging from really big to really small. At the park I saw lots of different kind of kingfishers, oriole arblers, sunbirds, starlings, parakeets, canarys, partridges, and pin-tailed and long-tailed paradise-whydah – and that's just what I was able to identify with my little chart! We also heard a lot of parrots, but weren't able to actually see them. I kept thinking of you three when the guide kept pointing out birds.

Hey there!

I've been keeping a list with me that I add to when I want to remember something to put in the blog. I don't have much time today so I am just going to go through the list and explain each one. Sorry for the lack of flow :)

Driving to our outreach program today we say an interesting sight. Apparently the Minister of State was in Tamale so there was a HUGE police escort. Every police car in the area (about 30 cars) were following one another with their lights on. The point is that no one knows which on the Minister is in to avoid any attacks. It was interesting.

Marielle, Cu Ri and myself went out with someone we met the other night. We went to a bar downtown and it was crazy how dead it was. It made the poverty very apparent because the carts and shacks that are usually filled with colorful fruit and fabric and overwhelmed with the daily hustle and bustle were left barren. There was so much litter and you could see how delapitated the structures were. Most depressing, though, were the people sleeping on the streets or on little benches in front of the shops. Some of these were night guards and were being paid, but far too many were there because they had no other place to go. I asked if they were the owners and it was explained that it was more likely an uncle or other family member who wasn't doing well at the time and asked to crash there. It was sad to really see the poverty. Until now I have been under the impression that, while of course their standards are not what ours are in the States, people still seemed to be doing fine and taking care of themselves. I have also been more aware of the children's swollen bellys and protruding belly buttons, an obvious sign of undernourishment. It makes me sad to see.

A neat thing! One of the many things carried around on the women's heads are hug trays of hard boiled eggs. you buy one for a few Ghana peswas and they have a spoon to crack off the shell for you and you put the shells back on the tray and enjoy your complete protein :)

Dr. Wanye came over the other night and hung out for a bit. He told us the story of how the new eye clinic came to be and I thought it was neat, so I wanted to share the story. Four years ago the eye clinic was a single room with no AC and no fan. Dr. Wanye, still the only ophthalmologist, had only a pen light (which merely checks for constriction of pupils) and an ophthalmascope (which can only diagnose cataracts). The microscope he had was in horrible condition and he didn't have an area for sterile surgeries, anyway. The Swiss Red Cross stepped in and worked magic, along with a prestigious ophthalmologist from the Moran Eye Center in Salt Lake City, Dr. Tabin. (I am actually hoping to get in touch with Dr. Tabin upon my return to SLC and try to work with him doing research or volunteering for his organization, the Himalayan Project, which brought him out here in the first place.) The Swiss Red Cross renovated the one room clinic into a beautiful office with a pre-op room, and operation room, a waiting room, Dr. Wanye's office, a room for the optometric nurses, and a pharmacy. There is air conditioning in most all of the rooms. They also helped gain the support for Alcon to donate the prosthetic lenses used in the surgeries. Dr. Tabin donated a plethora of wonderful tools and microscopes. The eye clinic was transformed into a modern clinic suitable for sterile surgeries, routine eye checks, and dispensing medication and glasses. It's really great and inspiring. Furthermore, we touched upon politics and being a group of liberal students an anti-Bush comment was inevitable. I was surprised and happy to hear Dr. Wanye to step up and explain that, while of course the man has done a number of crappy things, his administration has actually done a lot of great things for public health in Africa, ranging from addressing the HIV crisis to improving the eye care system. I was really happy to hear that he had this credited to him because at least he has made one improvement in his despicable eight years in office. At least he has helped the health care in Africa be improved, I can now give him that.

The majority of the people here in Tamale have scars on their cheeks. Most have just one vertical scar on each cheek beneath their eye, but some have two or three and some have additional at different angles. It took us a while to gain the courage to ask what these scars were for. We finally asked and got the answer that some are the scars from administering medication while the person was younger, but most is just a sign of their clan or village they come from. As babies, cuts are made in a certain pattern to show where they come from. The other day I saw a kid who had about eight scars radiating from her belly button, kind of like a sun. If you look closely in the picture of me with the kids on my photo album, you can see these scars.

Yue, Cu Ri, and myself went to a village the other day while the other three went to see surgeries. It was a small village with tons and tons of animals. Upon arrival we went to say hello to the chief and thank him for having us to his village. We took off our sandles upon entrance to his hut and, out of respect, bowed down and sat with our knees bent to stay lower than him. The chief thanked us for coming and then gave us all names, which was an honor. Yue's name is Wombi, Cu Ri's name is Nepari, and my name is Katumi. Lydia, the nurse who we travel with every day, now only calls us by these names. She either loves me or my name because she always makes a point of calling out “Katumi!! Dasiba!?” (How is the day) She now introduces us to the villages by these names and it must be impressive to have been given these names because the locals always seem impressed by them.

We went to an Islamic private school yesterday called Al-Saadi Senior High School. It was clear that these kids were better off than other people we have seen. It was fun and screening was easier because they were all literate and spoke English well. All the kids love my RayBan aviators and kept asking if they could have them. I had to tell them that, unfortunately, I loved my glasses more and was unable to part with them. I should've thought of this ahead of time and realized that people would want “cool” sunglasses. If I had thought of this, I would've brought a number of cheap glasses so I could give them away as I wanted. Oh well, next time. I also got my second marriage proposal at the school by a handsome man who is 22. I gave him two stipulations: 1) I will be the only wife, I do not accept multiple wives. 2) I'm not getting married for 10 years, so he'll have to wait. He laughed and said he could deal with just one wife if she were white (here, one way your wealth is shown is by how many wives you have) and said he, too, would like to wait for marriage so he can accomplish his “dreams and aspirations.” We had a good laugh and I said we'll meet back up next decade.

Today we went to another small village with more baby animals I have seen the whole trip (Marielle and I was obnoxiously “awww”ing at every animal). Again, upon arriving, we went to see the chief and give him the first screening. We couldn't understand what was being said because they were speaking Dogbani, but it was clear Lydia was very upset. When we left the chief's hut she explained what was happening. Apparently it is very common for deceiving “doctors” to visit villages and offer “cataract surgeries.” What they are actually doing is just scamming the people for money and, in the process, blinding them with a horrible procedure. They simply stick a pin, which is rarely sterile, through the cornea into the pupil and push the lens back into the anterior cavity. This permanently blinds the individual, not to mention causes a lot of pain, and there is nothing the clinic can do about it. While screening the eye, you can see the scar tissue on the cornea and there is no lens to be found, only a black pupil. It's a horrible sight to see and really, really sad. I was astonished to hear that there are people so heartless and greedy!

Well that's all for the day! Tomorrow morning we are being picked up at the prime hour of FIVE AM to do the three hour drive up to Mole National Park!!! Mark and Jessica will continue up to Wa with Dr. Wanye to see surgeries and Cu Ri, Yue, Marielle and I are staying in the park for the weekend. I'll take truly epic pictures and post them as soon as I can. I won't be back on until after my birthday, though, so everyone take care!!!!

LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL!!!!
Katherine

Another Week in Africa (ha!)

June 1st: (would've been posted years ago, but you know how it goes here....)

Hellllllo...

It's been a few days since I've been able to get to the internet cafe and I haven't done a great job of writing daily, so this one may be kind of long and sporadic. We've been really busy doing outreaches that have been going later into the afternoon than expected. It's crazy how much energy the sun drains out of you. When we get home we usually lounge beneath the fans, play cards, and wait for dinner to be ready. Yue taught us how to play spades and we are obsessed now!

So today we spent the day at the market. The market is in the center to Tamale and is set between three main roads. It is pretty overwhelming, It consists of (approximately) a million and five carts arranged in ways that provide small mazes of very skinny pathways. Some carts have roofs, of sorts, that make those paths particularly stuffy and cuttered. Large wagons carrying goods are pulled through the little paths in addition to huge baskets being carried on heads. You definitely have to be aware of what is going on and where you are going so you don't ruin someones day by knocking over their load. The carts carry anything and everything, really. Kitchen ware, fruit, grain, clothes, shoes, toys, fabric, and every kind of meat you can think of. We had to go through one portion that was nearly unbearable. It was the butcher's stretch. Lots and lots of different animal carcasses being hung, chopped, packaged... you name it. The smell was grossssss! It's ok though, always an experience. Undoubtedly, the highlight of the market was the fabrics and seamstresses. I am currently having a skirt and a dress being made with local, hand-dyed faric for a ridiculously good price. The seamstress takes your measurements on the spot, sketches out her pattern based on what you tell her, and given you the option to get it the same day for a little more money or tells you what day to come back and pick it up. I'm so excited for them! (Update on this, the woman BLEW IT!! The skirt goes to my ankles rather than below the knee, luckily it's a cute dress so I'm ok with it. But the dress!!! It took two girls to help me get it on because it is very fitted but has no zipper!!! Not to mention she didn't put the pattern diagonal like I asked for but horizontal - NOT FLATTERING! I took it to a woman on the corner near our house and she is fixing it into a pretty skirt for me. Sheesh! I was going to bring clothes home but I have no nixed that idea.)

On the way home from the market I saw a fabulous sight; two men on a motorbike, the back man holding two goats! Honestly, a sight you would NEVER see in the states! There are a lot of motorbikes here, but even more bicycles. They even have wide bike lanes here that are between the road and the sidewalk, which I think is really cool! Of course, walking around on the main road of Tamale is wicked hectic. I at least have some practice walking on roads with bike lanes because of Holland, but the other group members are new to it. I feel like Elizabeth sometimes, having to constantly grab their arms to pull them back onto the sidewalk and out of the way of fast cruising bikes. The kids love to mock me as they pass when this happens, “Bike!”

So, obviously, HIV is a huge pubic health issue here so there are lots and lots of billboards to inform/remind people how to stay healthy. Oddly, these give us some good laughs, as horrible as that sounds, because they put funny slants on their messages. Our favorites is, “AVOID WOMEN, SAVE YOUR LIFE!” Great message.

As I have mentioned, we have a guard outside our house 24 hours a day. We have a day guard and a night guard. The day guard speaks English a little better than our night guard and he is wicked adorable. He's an older man and so friendly. The best part, though, is his love for chickens. These chickens are his best friends!! He has three wicker baskets that he carries on his bike to our house everyday. I was so surprised to see the contents of them that first day. He placed them on the ground, unlatched the top and out walks a hen and lots and chicks from each basket! It's so cute! When he calls to them, they hustle on over to him. He doesn't even need to whistle or anything, just talk to them. They love him! He packs them up at the end of the day and brings them back home. The chicks are really, really cute. They are very little. They are crazy fearless, though. I was laying out reading my book the other day and they had no issue coming right up to me, even when I shooed them away. They still came right up and even pecked at my toe! It's ok, though, because they are so cute I let it slide.

The night guard is also very nice, but he isn't as outgoing and communication is difficult because he can't speak English very well. He is Moslim which has been really neat to see. While Christianity holds the majority for the country, Northern Ghana is predominately Moslim. There are mosques all over and it's all new to me. I have learned about the religion in high school, but it's so neat to actually see it. They pray five times a day, starting at sunrise and ending at sunset. The mosque plays music over huge loud speakers to alert of the time. After washing their feet, they go to their mat and face the sun. They chant prayers for about five minutes. My first night here I woke up at 4:30 in the morning to really loud yelling and music and was wicked confused. That morning at breakfast, Dr. Wanye asked if we had heard the chanting that morning and explained what it was. We are traveling to Larabanga, about two hours south of Tamale, in the next few weeks to do eye screenings and we will spend a night there because it's a really cool town. Apparently there are really beautiful mosques made of clay that are intricately painted. I am excited to see them.

On the note of traveling, we are going to Mole National Park next weekend!! I'm sure most of you remember my obnoxious non-stop talk about the park I wanted to visit. There are LOTS of HUGE-eared African elephants, hippos, many different monkeys, lots of butterflies, real buffalo, lions and crocodiles!! OH MY! I'm stoked!! Dr. Wanye is traveling with another ophthalmologist to an area a few hours beyond the park for the weekend to perform surgeries. He knew I was interested in going there and worked it out so they can drop me and whoever else is interested off at the park on their way up and pick us up on the way back down. It's said to be one of the best wildlife sanctuaries in West Africa and is the most economical to visit. We'll be taking a walking safari with an armed ranger for an unreal fifty cents per person per hour. I can't wait!!!

Mummy always told me, “Hear hooves, don't suspect zebras.” That's nearly impossible to get people to do here because of all the horror stories you hear. Every achy joint and lazy moment makes people think it's malaria. Two days ago I started coming down with a little something. I'm certainly not worried about it because it makes perfect sense that new germs are just giving me a little cold. Luckily I don't have headaches or stiffness to accompany my stuffy nose and sore throat or else I may be more worried than necessary. (Yes, Faith, I totally have the sexy bluesy voice going on!) (Update, back to good, just a gnarly cough but all is well.)

Oh! We had a lizard in our house today! It was about eight inches long and bright yellow and black. We showed him the way to the door and he left :)

So that's about all I can think of that's new. I'll stay in touch. As always, take care and I love and miss you all!! “bye-bye!” (Dogbani for bye... haha)

P.S. I started studying for the OATS... ewwwch. At least I got a solid month break from math and science. I've given myself three months and six days to study for the test, let's hope I can work it out.

P.P.S. The group is getting along so well, it's fun! I received the best compliment ever yesterday when Yue said, “What if when Katherine leaves all the fun goes with her!!”

New experience that happened on the way to the internet cafe (not a pleasant one): We were walking down or dirt road to the main road (four of us girls) when a man biked by us. He proceeded to pull over on the same side of the road we were walking on just a few yards in front of us, pull down his pants and defecate!! I couldn't help but let out a little yelp and dart to the other side of the road (I was closest to him) and Yue let out a loud, “Oh my GOD! Avert your eyes!” First time for everything...

Ok, I blew it. First off, my post would've been up on Friday but the internet has been down allllll weekend and Monday so it was out of my control. Then I walked the hot 20 minute walk up here today only to find out my computer was not charged like I thought it was. I have my blog and e-mails all typed up on it but no power cord! I'll be back later tonight to post it all. In the meantime, I've been trying to post the pictures but this website is being a pain. Instead, I've made an online photo album on Webshots. Please check out the pictures!! My address is:
http://community.webshots.com/album/563682392YUmDGA (there must be a better address, but I don't know how to get it.)

Alright, be back soon to post what I actually meant to post. LOVE EVERYONE!!

Cataract Surgery!!

Hey there!

So today Yue and I stayed at the clinic to watch cataract surgeries! Mike, Jess, Marielle, and Cu Ri went out to another village to perform eye screenings. The day at the clinic was pretty crazy. Our only “job” was to watch and learn... not too bad! We scrubbed in and had the whole gown, cap, and mask going on. The extent of our assisting was at the end of the surgery when we got to help tape the eye patch over the eye. We watched Dr. Wanye perform seven surgeries in three hours. Each one lasts only about fifteen minutes with the exception of one that took a little longer due to deep set, small eyes on one elderly man who required stitches through his eye lids to pull them far back. We got to be right at the table and lean over to take as close of looks as we wanted – it was sweet! I was completely enthralled and couldn't get enough detail, but after the first one, as he was covering up the eye, I realized I was sweating profusely and was very light headed. I hadn't felt like I was getting grossed out at all during the surgery, but apparently I had an adrenaline rush or something because I had to sit down and have some water before getting back to the operating table. I'm going to describe the surgery in moderate detail, so sorry if it's too much for you weak stomached to handle :)

The procedure starts in the pre-op room where you give a series of shots and eye drops that completely numb the eye and the surrounding area in addition to dilate the pupil. I assume they also give the patient something along the lines of Valium to calm their nerves (they are awake during the whole surgery) but I don't actually know if these patients get that luxury. The patient is then brought to the operating room and lies on the table, their head in a rest that positions it straight and tilted slightly back. Dr. Wanye sat at the head of the table with the surgical table to his right, where two nurses stood to hand him the tools, and the microscope/optical light to his left, where Yue and I stood with a medical student who has been shadowing Dr. Wanye. (On a quick side note, this lovely 22 year old woman is in her fourth year of medical school, attending the school here in Tamale, and the programs here are seven years!) Dr. Wanye started by first scrubbing the eye lids and surrounding area with swabs of iodine to sterilize the skin. He then put a sheet over the whole face with a cut out hole for the eye. He made the first incision in the cornea with a TINY pair of scissors just above the iris. He then cut a line across the top of the iris and pulled the cornea back. He controlled the bleeding with a small cauterizing tool (this part smelled nasty). During this whole time the nurse is irrigating the eye with a syringe to ensure it doesn't dry out. Then, using a small, triangular shaped scalpel, he cut into the sclera to be able to access the lens. At this point, the doctor is “inside” the eye and all wetting is done by the doctor with a small syringe that he puts into the incision. The lens is shaped like two bowls facing each other and it is the interior of this cavity that is damaged (cloudy) and needs to be replaced. This allows there to be no issue with the cilliary muscles still performing their job of stretching and relaxing the lens. (I thought the whole lens was replaced and was confused as to how they reattach in muscles.) With the incision now running behind the lens, the doctor is able to take a tiny scalpel bent at a 90 degree angle to cut the front portion of the lens away from the back portion. Dr. Wanye then bent a very thin, very sharp wire in the right shape (90 degrees down, flat, 90 degrees up, handle) that allows him to put it into the eye flat, turn it upright so the small tip points downward, and then run it along the lens. He uses this tool to cut around the inside of the perimeter of the lens, freeing it from the rest of the lens. Then it gets crazy!! If the cataract is still soft (only found in children and young adults who only have a cataract as a result of intense trauma, which we did see today in a twelve year old boy), then the lens can be suctioned out with a syringe. Otherwise, the lens is scooped out with a spoon-like instrument and popped out through the incision, which is mostly the case. It's pretty insane to see it popped out through the sclera!! The moment it is out the pupil changes fro the silvery solid to a clear, dark healthy pupil – it's amazing! The lens is about a millimeter or two in diameter and is hard and completely opaque if a mature cataract (as most are around here). Even to the untrained eye, you can tell it is diseased. (Cataracts is the clouding of the lens and, when mature, results in total loss of vision. It is the number one cause of preventable blindness in the world. You can tell when a person or animal has a full cataract because their pupils look silvery. They are most commonly caused by UV damage but can also result from trauma). More irrigation is done to wet the eye and also administer antibiotics to prevent infection. The prosthetic lens is then unwrapped from individual canisters. The lens is the same size but looks much more fluid and is entirely transparent. There are two little, arched blue threads across from one another that act to anchor the new lens into the existing capsule. Once in place (you can see it moving through the pupil, though barely because it is healthy and clear), the cornea is folded back down and a large injection of antibiotics is administered in this cavity. (In some cases, Dr. Wanye had to stitch the tiniest sutures I have ever seen. The knot of the stitch is pulled through to the anterior cavity (between the cornea and the lens) as to not irritate the inside of the eye lid. These sutures are remove on the post-op visit.) It creates a huge, very odd looking bubble beneath the cornea, but this will disperse and disappear within two days. The lid if closed over the eye, gauze is stacked on the lid, and a cupped disk is taped over to protect the eye. That's it! The patient returns to the clinic in the next two days and once the bandage is removed, they will have their sight completely back!! It's amazing!

Two funny things that happened today in surgery: 1) Dr. Wanye requested that music be put on. I was shocked when Johnny Cash is what come out of the speakers! It wasn't his fun Ring of Fire, A Boy Name Sue, Folsom Prison Blue, etc but his slow, gospel-like music. The nurse leaned over to me and asked if I knew this music and I said, yes, I enjoy Johnny Cash but I really, really enjoy their music with the upbeat baselines and fun singing. Later, they put on some local music. 2) One man was having a hell of a time standing still. He kept bringing his hand to his face to try to scratch it (God knows why he had the desire to get near his eye while being operated on!) and Dr. Wanye would yell, pretty sternly, at him. He also was having a hard time not touching himself. It was awkward! Yue and I didn't really know how to respond so we just tried really, really hard to not take our eyes of his eye. Again, Dr. Wanye had to yell at him because, not only was it inappropriate, but it was also causing him to move which is NOT a good idea when you have sharp objects cutting open your eye.

Our day was completed around 1 o'clock, which was convenient because the rest of the group returned about the same time. We came home and I finished Slaughterhouse-Five. Very good book, very sad story. Fried rice, again, for dinner. I am dying for a huge, fresh salad filled with lots and lots of veggies and fruits that don't need to be peeled!! (You know it's bad when you are craving food from home a week into the trip.) When I get home, I am eating fresh veggies, lobster and fish for a loooong time. NO meat (at least none on bones) and NO rice!! I think I'm going to have to get over my weirdness with meat, but it's so hard and I haven't done it yet!! All the meat is served on the bones and I don't know what they do with the chicken breasts because it is all legggggs! I mean, sure the chicken was probably clucking around this morning, but echhhh. At least I have gotten to the point where I am able to pull off the white(r) meat from the bone. But the second it gets dark or I can see veins or cartilage, I'm out. Luckily, the rest of the group (with the exception of Yue who is a vegetarian) is ok with this and will take the rest of my chicken – otherwise TONS of meat would go to waste. Yeah, bottom line, salads and seafood when I get home. And Mum's mac and cheese, mmmmmm....

Oh yea! We met a group of guys who are working with the Carter Club to eradicate guinea worm. I don't know if you all remember learning about this gnarly creature in bio class but the eggs are ingested when stagnent water is consumed. The eggs hatch in the stomach and the nearly-microscopic worm leaves the stomach and enters the muscle/flesh. The worm can grow up to a meter in your body!! They move around your body as they please until they leave through your skin to lay more eggs in water. Apparently, this process is wicked, wicked painful. Steve said that some of these women have virtually no pain through childbirth but will cry and scream while dealing with the exiting of the worm. Crazy!! The Carter Club have recruited Miss. Ghana to work as their PR person. They've been here for a few months and have a car so now we can see things without bothering our driver.

Alright, well until next time take care!! Love and miss everyone tons, but not too much because I'm really freaking loving it here! Talk to you soon!!

Faith and Linds – Sorry I haven't responded to the e-mails yet! I finally checked my e-mail yesterday but was about to run out of minutes. I'll respond very soon. Thank you so much for the messages, though, it meant a lot and they both made me laugh a lot! Oh, and Faith, I am still using that blue stretched out hair elastic you let me borrow a few days before I left :) Reminds me of you every time I put my hair up!
Mum and Dad – Good luck on both of your recoveries! Take is easy but do everything you are supposed to – hip precautions included! Remember, PT sucks, it hurts, is boring, and is monotonous, but it is the most important thing to do right now! (Really saying that for my benefit, too. I'm trying really hard to keep up with mine but ewww I hate it!)
Elizabeth and Tom – I'm happy to hear you are keeping up with the blog! There are tons of Dutchies here. I always see them in the internet cafe. I was kinda proud of myself because I recognized their speech as Dutch :) I'm the only one with a blog, but thanks for asking!
Gina – Gosh I miss you!! Thanks for the post, I can't wait to talk to you when I get back to the states! Love you so much and the good vibes are wonderful :)