For those of you without big red circles on your calendars, underlined frantically with the inscription "Matt's back today!", it should come as a shock to you to learn that I'll be back, ableit briefly, in England from Wednesday.
It's fair to say that I'm pretty excited about coming back, but also that I know I'm going to miss this place for a long time. How couldn't I? It's been home for a third of a year almost, and I've had the best experiences of my life here. I think it's safe to say I'll be back to Africa in the near(ish) future, I've spoken to enough travellers to get some idea of the size and beauty of the continent. I'd like to imagine that I'll be able to come back once I've got some medical training under my belt, so I can be a bit more useful.
And speaking of medicine, I've now taken blood twice! Oh yes, your veins are safe no more - as Terry Pratchett put it, Carpe Jugulum. I've also put a cannula in, first time successful - as long as you don't ask about the next three then I'll be happy, my beginner's luck didn't last long.
I was happy on Friday when I managed to finally finish the newsletter for the hospice, I would have felt bad if I just left them with a half-finished document they couldn't use. It just needs printing now, which should hopefully be soon enough for everything in there not to have gone hugely out of date. I might put it up as a pdf. for anyone to read if they want to know more about the place.
But, I'm running out of things to say. Which is alright, as my time here is running out too. I'll do a conclusion post once I get back and have had time to let the whole experience sink in. See you all soon!
PS. I'm looking forward to the clouds
Sunday, 15 July 2007
Sunday, 1 July 2007
Gotta catch 'em all!
Ha! It only took me three months, but I can now return home proud and say that I saw the 'Big 5' in Africa - lion, elephant, water buffalo, cheetah and rhino. The only one I was missing up until now was the horn head, and to be honest I'd given up on it, as they're not the sort of thing you see just wandering about, right?
Wrong!
On the way back from Cape Town, behind a chicken wire fence in a reserve what did Julie, ever vigilant Julie spot? No, not a rhino... TWO rhinocerouses (sp...), an adult and a wee baby, which was really great, and was the icing on an already diabetic-threatening cake. So, apart from one 'incident', which I will casually ignore now, the trip was fantastic, and the only problem is getting back to real life here in Gabs for a fortnight. First, I'm no longer driven around, so it's back on the combis, where incidentally, I'm still waiting thankfully for the previous record of 20 to be beaten. And secondly, of course whatever inklings of Setswana I managed to summon up had abandoned me, which led to much chiding at the Hospice until it was all forced back into me.
On the subject of which, I was really encouraged by the reception I got at HCH after nearly two weeks of absence, as some of the staff had thought I left for good like a rhino in the mist, and now that the Canadians are going, there's more work to be done.
As some of you may remember, when I first got here, I was given the project of newsletter, but that seems to have slipped by the wayide for some time now, due to a lack of computer availability, journalistic skills on my part, and the fact that if I leave it for more than a couple of weeks, whatever is written becomes out of date and nearly useless. But, I was asked to do it, and seeing as I don't have a cure for HIV/AIDS yet, I figure I should at least try and finish it before I leave. Hopefully, Talia, the last of the Canadians shoud inject some much-needed life into it.
And before I wrap this one up, let me just warn you guys - I struck it big down here recently, so no-one had better mess with me when I get back. That's right, I recently came into 100,000 Zimbabwean dollars, courtesy of Uncle Bob. Grand prize to the first person to convert that to real money!
Wrong!
On the way back from Cape Town, behind a chicken wire fence in a reserve what did Julie, ever vigilant Julie spot? No, not a rhino... TWO rhinocerouses (sp...), an adult and a wee baby, which was really great, and was the icing on an already diabetic-threatening cake. So, apart from one 'incident', which I will casually ignore now, the trip was fantastic, and the only problem is getting back to real life here in Gabs for a fortnight. First, I'm no longer driven around, so it's back on the combis, where incidentally, I'm still waiting thankfully for the previous record of 20 to be beaten. And secondly, of course whatever inklings of Setswana I managed to summon up had abandoned me, which led to much chiding at the Hospice until it was all forced back into me.
On the subject of which, I was really encouraged by the reception I got at HCH after nearly two weeks of absence, as some of the staff had thought I left for good like a rhino in the mist, and now that the Canadians are going, there's more work to be done.
As some of you may remember, when I first got here, I was given the project of newsletter, but that seems to have slipped by the wayide for some time now, due to a lack of computer availability, journalistic skills on my part, and the fact that if I leave it for more than a couple of weeks, whatever is written becomes out of date and nearly useless. But, I was asked to do it, and seeing as I don't have a cure for HIV/AIDS yet, I figure I should at least try and finish it before I leave. Hopefully, Talia, the last of the Canadians shoud inject some much-needed life into it.
And before I wrap this one up, let me just warn you guys - I struck it big down here recently, so no-one had better mess with me when I get back. That's right, I recently came into 100,000 Zimbabwean dollars, courtesy of Uncle Bob. Grand prize to the first person to convert that to real money!
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