Conference snaps...

Brackenhurst conference center.....the dorm...


gorgeous tea fields....Ellen (MD), Connie (RN), Emily (RN) from Uganda

Back...and going again...

The Safari in the Masai Mara was incredible. We saw almost every animal imaginable in the game reserve except for a leopard. It was great. I hope to post some pictures soon! We stayed in a tented camp and we were lucky enough to hear a hippo grazing outside our tent at night! It was quite an experience. The trip back to Freetown via London was long but fine. It was fun to come back to the clinic and see my colleagues again. However, my stay here is short. Early tomorrow morning I’m leaving with my parents to go to Lungi airport. We’ll have to wait there some time since our flight to Liberia with the World Food Program isn’t till later in the afternoon. I’m sure we’ll manage to keep busy. I am really looking forward to going to the Anastasis! It’s been awhile since I’ve been onboard. I think it will be a very special, although difficult time, since it is the ship’s last outreach. I’m sure a lot of memories will re-surface!

Alright, more another time!

Conference ended...

Kenya has been great! I can summarize and say I learned a lot- spiritually and medically. I was also able to take a Basic Life Support Course and a Pediatric Advanced Life Support Course. That meant that most of my free time (which there wasn't much of anyway) was spent studying and attending the courses. It was worth it though. When I return to Freetown, I will give you some more details on how I spent my time here.

The conference ended today so the place is emptying out as people are catching flights back to various places. Apparently there were 300 people here, working in 35 different countries! I think I was the youngest physician actually. There were people here with lots of tropical experience and also a very good faculty from all over the USA. Needless to say, I have met some amazing people!

Okay, I'm off to bed. I am heading for a safari - the Massai Marra - at 730am tomorrow!

Arrival in Kenya...

I arrived at the conference center with Jerry and Josette today after two overnight flights and a day of site seeing in cold London. We had a 15 hour lay over and decided to make the most of it. We saw the Big Ben, tower of london, london bridge, tower bridge, westminster abbey, buckingham palace etc. and had lunch in an English pub. A long but fun trip.

The conference center is amazing and I feel blessed to be able to be here. The people are great, the food is amazing (ice cream for dessert tonight!), the landscape is beautiful, there's a mini gym, a tennis and basketball court, a great chapel, a big auditorium, a cafe, internet lounge, gift shop, electricity etc. It's quite a place. There is a lot of green grass and flowers to enjoy outside. Josette and I are staying in the ladies dorm- so far it's just the two of us, but 19 ladies are supposed to join us tomorrow!

I know we will be very busy as of Tuesday, but so far it feels like a retreat. I am especially looking forward to the spiritual input - as I have heard from others that it has been so refreshing in the past. We saw a sneak preview of the program- lectures start on Tuesday with great topics divided into surgery, general medicine, community health and dental. I'll probably follow the general med and community health topics. Some topics are: using algorithms in treating children, typhoid, rashes in children, dermatological cases, nutrition, immunization programs, staffing issues, etc. It's going to be good!

Greetings from Limuru, Kenya.