life in Mukinge

Still haven't given you a great picture of what things are like here, so
I thought I'd try to remedy that. In attempt to feel like less of a fat
American compared with the 2% body fat of most African people you meet
(and that's the healthy ones) I've taken up running every other day,
unless it's pouring rain, which it rarely is in the mornings. So I and
my Canadian counterpart Curtis hit the red mud trails around the big
hill that lies to the left of the hospital, waving at the people hoeing
in the fields and occasionally stopping to say hi to someone we know. I
haven't had to fight off the packs of dogs which occasionally roam the
trails, although other fellow runners have. Then it's back home to my
bathtub (no shower for the Brits that built these places) and breakfast,
usually followed by a bit of guitar practice. I have to roll into work
around 9am (I know, you feel sorry for me) because the nurses aren't
done rounding until then, and they get peevish if you interrupt. We
have so many doctors right now that I only have to be responsible for
the men's ward, which is pretty light duty, so I usually wander around
looking for people to practice scanning, helping out in the OR
(theater), or working in the outpatient department. Then it's off for
lunch for two hours, and back to the grind from 3-5. On call on the
weekends has been quite busy, but during the week usually is fairly
slow. We usually get a bolus of admissions around 4 pm, so you may end
up staying a bit late to tie a few things up, but mostly it's easy work.

My free time is consumed with a variety of things -- good cooking is a
bit of work, but fortunately I have trusty Mark Bittman to ease the
transition. I've been experimenting in the kitchen, trying to read up
on some medical info, swimming in our pool, and playing roulette with
the laundry dryness versus the chance of an afternoon rainstorm. So far
I have gambled for that bit of extra dryness and lost several times, but
it was satisfying when it paid off. The rain is quite fun, much more
like Texas rain with its sudden downpours and thunder and lightning.
The mud is quite manageable, too. I will try to get some of my seeds in
the ground this weekend -- nothing like planting tomatoes for Christmas,
eh? I have a fantastic shovel that I bought in town that I am quite
proud of and am looking forward to getting some use out of.

Our new Zambian doctor arrived yesterday, and I had he and his wife over
for dinner tonight. I served fried okra, pork chops, and rice in a
vague attempt to approximate something that Zambian doctors might like
that I like as well. I think they were perhaps more shell-shocked by
the experience than I was, but were game to try new things and gracious
about my clumsy attempts at hospitality. Entertaining consists of
trying to get together enough flat surfaces and fork-like utensils to
feed four people -- few things match, but I haven't exactly been pining
over the lack of wedding china. If I have to have the president over
for dinner, then we'll see about getting some nicer stuff.