Cooling down

Last night was the first night I did not wake up to put water on myself, it was a cool 89 degrees in my bedroom! Even when I woke up this morning it was still very cool. Mirabelle and I went to Saint Camille to start our interviews, but when we arrived the woman said she had too many patients, so we waited for an hour. The waiting room is a series of chairs out in a courtyard outside. We sat next to screaming, giggling and sleeping babies. Some babies were so amazed by us they just stared at us for a while. One little boy had to pee and just pulled his pants down and peed off the edge. African babies, they adapt. I also watched one woman take her breast out from the top of her dress and bend her knees a bit and the two year old grabbed it and sucked on it and then went right on playing. Breasts in Africa are only a source of food once a woman is a mother; they have no sexual meaning as they do in the States.

We finally started out interview and hour late but then only a third of the way through we were swept out for more patients, and waiting another hour. The interview was done in two parts and ended up being more of a group effort as well. Since her office was kind of the passageway through for patients to seek doctors, she was constantly asking other doctors opinions. We were supposed to do two interviews today one with a doctor and one with a midwife, but the other woman who is a midwife asked us to come back tomorrow. Which is fine because I was done hanging around the hospital after those hours waiting.

The patients of this doctor do not have appointments they just come and wait and sit until someone can see them, Mirablle says you can wait all day if someone is busy. Imagine women doing this with tiny babies, and there is not play room!

On the way out I asked Mirabelle to find some powder for me to put on my heat rash, we bought some at the pharmacy that is hypo-allergenic and since I have felt much better. I also was able to send some postcards home today…hopefully they reach people. I had some trouble last time in Kenya, but start counting the days, I’ll probably be home before anyone sees one.