Hello everyone! Although Ethiopians do not celebrate (American) Thanksgiving, this was definitely one of the best Thanksgiving weekends I’ve ever had. After working on the orthopedic ward in the morning, I then spent the rest of the day traveling from Wolisso to one of the Missionary of Charities homes on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. The following day I went to Mass with the Sisters and spent the morning & afternoon helping a volunteer from Barcelona (Rosa) feed malnourished children. We helped feed 20 babies up to 1 ½ years old that live in the clinic. Sadly some are unable to eat without vomiting, so I helped feed those children via nasogastric tubes. The majority of the time was spent feeding the 3 infants Rosa is responsible for. I fed one of the 1 ½ month old premature twins who weighs just under 3.5 pounds. My first time feeding a baby and this little guy was mine!
Later that afternoon I took 2 buses and a taxi to get to Marion’s house for a Thanksgiving dinner. One of the many great things that are great about Ethiopia is the large amount of organic vegetables. Marion, some of her coworkers, and I made a not so traditional (but amazing!) dinner of carrots, green beans, zucchini, okra, tomatoes, salad, garlic bread, mashed potatoes, and a delicious roast (no turkeys here) for dinner. Chef Marion did most of the cooking and I am amazed at her skills. She even brought canned pumpkin from America, so we got to have pumpkin pie and strawberries with cream (that we whipped for an hour) for dessert! Mmmm. Marion makes beautiful necklaces out of stones from Ethiopia that she sells at local bazaars, so the next day some of her friends and I helped complete necklaces she designed. This girl is severely talented! On Sunday at the main cathedral in Addis, they strangely had a 2 ½ hour long Thanksgiving Mass outside. What a glorious weekend!
Life at St. Luke’s has been very good. I am still working on the orthopedic ward. Slowly I am learning Amharic and the nurses now feel comfortable enough with me do dressing changes on my own (our main duty). Although I can’t say much to the patients, wound care has allowed me to be in close contact with them, which I love. My favorite is doing wound care on the children (ranging from age 4-15). They are so nice and I think they enjoy the attention I give them. One of my favorites is a so cute 5 year old boy who literally has his tibia sticking out of his lower leg. He still climbs around everywhere though! The only orthopedic surgeons we have are the ones that volunteer short term from Italy, and unfortunately we have not had one for the last week and a ½. I’m really looking forward to his poor little leg being fixed.
Sadly, a couple weeks ago when we were running, my dear running partner, Kiera fell and broke her wrist. She is in a cast for 40 days, so now I am running with Abba Bugali (St. Luke’s priest & chaplain) and a 27 year old Fantahun, whose name means “you may become a portion”. He is a friend of mine that works in the Ortho OR and he is a really good athlete. You will literally see him win Boston one day. I impressed him the first day we went running (for a foreigner, I’m sure), so eventually he wants to work me up to running up mountains…we’ll see.
Life here is certainly a learning experience, but one that I am learning to truly enjoy. Thank you for your support and love. It is essential and I’m grateful for it.
What I’m listening to now: Seven Stories Up
(Andy Rocker, my dear friend, thank you for helping me get pumped up in the morning while I’m getting ready to start my day. Oh, by the way, CONGRATULATIONS!)
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