check out the new subscription link

I figured out how to put a subscription link on the blog (thanks for the suggestion, Heather) so you can put this on your email or home page pretty easy. Cool, huh? Just click on the antenna like thing to the right.

Okay, perhaps studying isn't that boring

Well, it is, but I got distracted today. Check this out.

http://www.kakophone.com/

You geeky myspacers have probably already found this, but it's fun.

What to say....

There's really not that much exciting to talk about when you're studying for the boards. However, I can share that if you're planning on poisoning your guests at your Halloween party, you should use phosphorous, because it causes your BM's to smoke and you to barf luminescent vomit, which might almost be worth the lawsuit you'd get.

from sea to shining Lake Michigan

Just got back from my taste of America tour, which included such quintessential American treats as sausage on a stick, steak on a stick, fried Coke, etoufee, and singing country songs about Mexican liquor in a Korean karaoke bar with my Puerto Rican friend. It really doesn't get any better than that, maybe it will take care of my homesickness for awhile....

On the downer front, the Gates foundation turned us down the weekend, so we're back to square one on projects for Zambia. Still brainstorming on that one. It's back to studying for the boards and trying to figure out the best way to ship a bunch of dishes overseas.

too much talking

The Glittering Eye » Blog Archive » Sub-Saharan Medical Braindrain

The Glittering Eye » Blog Archive » Sub-Saharan Medical Braindrain

A similar topic was published in the NEJM over the past year. Part of the reason to go over there, but also raises questions of how we can be more sensitive to our brothers in Africa by the policies we have in the US.

Africa later....and earlier

I have found out that my departure date will be pushed back a week to Nov 21st, so it looks like Africa is looming a bit later than originally anticipated. On the flip side, though, on my drive into Fort Worth, the temperature outside was 98 degrees, so I'm getting used to it a bit earlier....

gas prices in Zambia

As I was driving home today from Colorado, I passed a gas station in Childress, TX that was selling gas for $1.94/gallon. I tried to remember the last time I had seen gas under 2 bucks. One of the missionaries in Zambia was talking about gas being over 7/gallon over there, and I was reminded about how we're all in the same boat, and what's an inconvience here has completely shut down things like transportation or generators over there. And then I was struck about a comment I'd made (and have heard others make, too) about how it might be good to have gas prices stay high for a while to pressure the economy into building more fuel-efficient cars, etc. I was chagrined at my lack of perspective on the problem. For better or worse, what we do here has far-reaching impacts overseas as well, even in things that we might not think about.

So I'm not hoping for high gas prices for a while. And if you want some cheap gas, go to Childress.

What I'm reading now, part deux

You may not have realized it, but the road to Zambia leads through Boone, NC, or at least it does for me. I spent the past three days in North Carolina visiting with some of the members of Samaritan's Purse who are helping me get overseas, but unfortunately the Holiday Inn's evil empire prevented me from telling you about it while there. So now that I'm back in the freedom of the west (this is Clayton, NM) I can get you up to speed, on the many things I've learned, like what OCC stands for at SP (a good 15 minutes spent on deciphering acronyms) and how best to butcher an elephant for the meat if you have to (use an axe, although you're still not allowed to hunt them anymore in Zambia, so I doubt this will come up). I did have the opportunity to meet with Dr. Jim Foulkes, who was out at Mukinge for more years than I can possibly count, and had a great dinner with him and his wife.

For the way home, I got a copy of Sword and the Scalpel, a biography of Bob Foster, the missionary that started the hospital. The book takes an overwhelmingly rosy view of the missionary life, but I was struck by a line that his sister says early in the book: 'It seems like my life has been full of goodbyes.' Almost exactly the same thing was said by one of the missionaries in Rwanda when we were leaving as well, and I was struck by how transient so many of the relationships that you make are overseas, as people get transferred in and out, you move on to other things, or circumstances change. Another book recommended to me by one of my old residency classmates, The Dressing Station, ends with the author basically isolated and alone and moving back to England to have a more normal life after he'd travelled the world with all of these great adventures.

This is all to say, not that I'm dreading going overseas, quite the contrary, but that I'm grateful for all the friends and support that I have already. If you're reading this blog, you're probably already near and dear to my heart, and I thank God for all of you. And I can't wait for all the people that I'm going to meet along the way in Africa, too!