Bot Doc: Pictures

Some random pictures from the last 2 weeks.....

The Soweto Gospel Choir

The group came to Gabs to perform. They were proceeded by two other smaller groups who were very preachy and I was beginning to feel like I had been transplanted to a bible revival in the Midwest of the US at the turn of the century. But then the Soweto Choir took the stage, and it was incredible.
They sang, they danced, there was even some acrobatics. I was mesmerized.

The Ministry of Health building in Gabs

I had to go there for my "interview" to get my official Botswana medical license. It was a formality that really consisted of my paying 30 pula (less than $5), but nevertheless managed to take all day and keep me from going to Serowe for the week (since it could only be done on Wednesdays). All of my paperwork was submitted last March and yet the interview was in November! Partly because my medical school diploma was in Latin and had to be translated in the US and resubmitted, despite the fact that all it really says is that I graduated medical school on a beautiful day in Providence....

Seems to me that the Ministry should spend less money on their gorgeous building and more money on lumbar puncture kits, viral load machines, medications, ventilators, etc, etc....

One of the patient's grandmothers whipped these out of her bag and presented them to us at the end of clinic on Tuesday. We had no idea what they were. Turns out they are Mogorwagorwana, which is a wild fruit. One of the nurses explained that you crack them open and eat the fruit inside, but not the seeds. They are quite hard and would probably make good baseballs (other than the getting hit by the bat part ;)

So we decided to try them outside. A couple of hard smacks on the brick wall and.....

It was certainly like nothing I have ever tasted before. Very mushy fruit surrounded large seeds.

It was sort of sour and sweet at the same time.

Let's just say that one piece was enough for me, the texture was very disconcerting.

The craziest sunset during a storm I have ever seen. We went to the Gabs Dam to watch the sunset and suddenly the winds picked up and we watched as a storm approached. It was really neat to stand outside and see rain, thunder, and lightening in the distance, but be completely dry. Though eventually the storm headed our way and we ended up soaked by the torrential downpour.