One of the upsides to working on a voluntary basis is that
you can largely dictate when you are going to be away. Kate and I had provisionally
planned to take two weeks off over Christmas to enjoy what the wider country of
Tanzania has to offer. We had anticipated that by this point we would likely
need a break, which I must say was surprisingly insightful! As you will
appreciate from reading my posts, I have found myself rather immersed in the
work here. Perhaps epitomised by the fact that I negotiated with Kate to work
today so that I could follow up some of the hernia patients.
Glutton for punishment! Clinic turned into another bonkers affair
as we worked our way through 34 patients. Predictably, only one of the three
hernia patients that I expected to see today actually came, and so I am left
wondering whether my ‘commitment to the cause’ is slightly over zealous. That
said, I will probably enjoy my time off all the more for the peace of mind that
comes from being around today.
Tomorrow we are off early to catch a bus to Arusha. We are
going for a safari to go on Safari! Confused, welcome to my world. ‘Safari’ is a
Swahili word that means to travel, it is used widely by Tanzanians to describe
any sort of significant road trip! The British concept of Safari is not really
widely appreciated. My efforts to explain what we are up to for these next few
days has caused great bemusement with the local staff. I have settled on saying
that we are off to the National Parks to hopefully see some of ‘your big animals’!
This at least is met with strong nods of approval! Let’s hope we do! All very
exciting….
….although I am slightly less excited about the 6hr bus ride
with children…
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