After a busy (but fun) week of vaccinating dogs, we were rewarded with a bit of free time. Originally we were going to do some horseback riding on Saturday and then drive into Kumasi to see the huge market, but we were told that Sunday was probably not the best day to see the market, as this is a very…
Today marked the end of the first week. I woke up this morning with my bite wound looking great. There was no oozing overnight, no swelling, no pain, nothing. I shaved and showered, and put on a band-aid, and that was that. Tomorrow I don’t think I’ll even need a bandage on it. This morning at our base, we stocked…
One of the things I had to get used to when I retired was not having a regular routine. My workday used to be pretty structured. When I retired, it took me a while to formulate a new routine. The fact that Mark had to still wake up every morning at 5:20 a.m. dictated the start of my day. I…
Like everybody else, I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around our crazy new world. Every day brings more dire news, increased fears, and new adjustments into our lives. I’m trying to avoid the television except for an hour in the morning (Today on NBC), and a half hour in the evening (NBC news with Lester Holt). The rest…
After meeting at the base camp, we packed our bags and headed out fully stocked. Again we detoured at the little market, and I got to see Avocado Lady again. It’s my morning ritual. Today was a strange day. I was initially told that our group would be heading back to the static point clinic that we operated on Tuesday,…
Today we went out to a very remote area today, a village called Adagya, and set up a static point clinic at another community maternity center. Our team was me and Adusei, Charlotte, and a new Community Health Officer (CHO) named Naomi. And our driver, Moses, of course. We all met up at the base, loaded our bags, and headed…
Day 2 started out well; excellent breakfast, then, off we went to the Mission Rabies Ghana Health Center, to load up our bags, meet with our teams, and hit the road. I saw Jo there testing out one of the megaphones, and I asked her if she could do her very realistic impression of how a dog with rabies barks.…
Today was our last day in Africa, and it was a long one. It started out with a very interesting tour. This tour was called Nai Nami: Nairobi Storytelling Tour with Street Children. It’s a tour conducted by five residents of Nairobi who have had very difficult lives as street kids. They share their story of their former lives, and…
Today’s safari was, for me, the highlight of the trip. Our driver met us early at our hotel (6:00 a.m.) Much to my surprise (and delight), Mark and I were the only participants on the safari. No one else had signed up. It can be fun meeting people on tours, but I was really glad that it was just the…
After a restless night trying to sleep (jet lag plus excitement), the alarm went off at 5:10 a.m. I shaved, showered, put on my Mission Rabies t-shirt, scarfed down breakfast with the rest of the gang, were given our special phones with the Mission Rabies app, and then off we went, to the Health Center (our base camp) where all…
We landed in Kenya and were taken to Acacia Tree Lodge. This was a lovely hotel. We settled in and then tried to figure out what to do on Christmas day in Nairobi, January 2020. In Ethiopia, Christmas and New Years are ordinary days, because they use a different calendar. Their New Year is in September and their Christmas is…
Back in the late ‘70s, when punk music was all the rage, I became fanatically obsessed with it. I especially loved British punk and was very into The Sex Pistols, Clash, Stranglers, Buzzcocks, Jam, and countless other punk bands. One major favorite, though, was the band X-Ray Spex, led by the brilliant, talented singer Poly Styrene (born Marion Elliott). Poly’s…
Today we set our sights for Lake Bosomtwe! According to my Google maps, it’s about 5 hours by car, although I heard that this depends on what route you take and what shape the roads are in. Either way, it should be an adventurous trip. Driving is often a good way to get to see and know a country. After…
In March of last year, I visited the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam. I had purchased a MuseumCard which gave me access to a slew of museums in Amsterdam and elsewhere in the Netherlands, and I had been methodically going down the list and visiting each one. The Allard Pierson is an archaeological museum with a permanent collection that contains…