View from King FaisalWe have had an interesting two days. Yesterday we spent the day in the OR at King Faisal hospital - the private hospital. It is quite modern and is much better equipped than CHUK. There also seems to be some organization to how the ORs function so it makes for a much better teaching and learning environment.
Last night we went to the airport to collect Anita's bag that had been delayed. It arrived as expected so all was well. Driving here at night is an interesting experience. There are hundreds of people walking with or without sidewalks and no streetlights. I am amazed that we haven't killed anyone yet. We are not sure when people sleep. No matter what time of morning or night, there always seems to be a lot of people hanging out outside.
When we returned from the airport we noticed that our safe was not functioning. All of our extra money, passports, and computers were in the safe. We tried all of the troubleshooting ideas that previous volunteers had suggested but with no luck. Needless to say, we were a little stressed at not being able to access our valuables. This morning we had the public relations person, Esperance, take us to the store where the safe was bought. We picked up our chinese technician and went back to the apartment. I'm sure we were an interesting sight - 2 white girls, one chinese guy and a local. After an hour of looking at the safe and several calls to China (incl the manufacturer) we were told the safe was not fixable. So this afternoon while Anita was teaching I travelled back to the apartment with a hospital driver and maintenance technician (neither of whom spoke english and very little french) with equipment to cut open the safe. Just as we were to start cutting the safe, I looked at the keypad and saw that it was working again. Obviously I was very excited about this but not sure what my guests thought since they had taken time to help us and we didn't need them.
Despite all the stresses over the safe, teaching went well today. The residents seemed keen to learn and participated actively in the discussions.
Tomorrow morning (really early at 6am), we are off to Butare. We will stay an extra night or two, to hike and see the monkeys/chimpanzees in Nyungwe park.
Janice and Anita
Hi Janice and Anita,
ReplyDeletePhilip and I check out your blog every morning and before we go to bed to see what is new in your lives for today. Your writings are so detailed and filled with such humour it is so much of a pleasure to read and it makes us feel like we are right there with you. Thank you so much and thank you for the pictures of Anita. She looks as beautiful as ever! Much love and looking forward to your next installment. Debbie xo