I've finally figured out how to get my photos onto my computer at work! I'm very happy about that and really proud since usually I just get my husband or son to do it for me (or at least to hold my hand while I try). They download really slowly so I'm probably not going to be able to put up much but at least here are some. The black dots are the bats to which I refered in my previous post. In the top post you can get a sense of the multitudes and in the bottom more clearly see that they are bats. The middle photo is of the back yard of my house showing the concrete patio where I sometimes sit out in the early evening to watch the bats and drink a soda, the dirt back yard which has since been planted with plugs of grass (at the expense of the Peace Corps since their previous occupant apparently let the yard go to seed such that it all had to be dug up) and a building in the back of the yard which is sort of changing room/bathroom for the guards. Now that the yard has been planted it has to be watered twice a day for an hour each time. Needless to say, I don't have time to do it so now I've had to hire a gardener. Fortunately the wages for gardeners are not prohibitive and he has told me he will keep the whole yard looking nice. I'm only commited to 2 months at this point so we'll see how it goes. The rainy season won't start for 3-4 months and it's so hot and dry now it seemed like not a great time to plant but then the dustiness wasn't too appealing either. So that's the yard...
Work is manageable at this point - only a few volunteers to see each day. Soon we'll begin making site visits to their villages starting with day trips to the closer ones. But eventually we'll be going only trips of up to a week at a time visiting in the rest of the country. Only one of us medical officers will go at a time with Aurelia going first, I believe. She was going to do all the trips this spring but I really want to see the country so I think I'm going to get to go too. We'll have a driver and car from the Peace Corps and stay in hotels so it won't be roughing it.
I've seen a bit more Lome since we've been visiting local doctors and clinics so I become familiar with the resources in Togo. This is a very interesting place. Considering the obvious lack of infrastructure there is quite sophisticated medical care available. I met a physician yesterday who trained in France and does hip and knee replacements (in addition to regular othropedic care). Considering there is no such thing as health insurance here it surprised me that there would be elective surgery done like that here.
I've also bought a small SUV so that I can get out of Lome - I'll drive in Lome as little as possible as the motos and roads make the driving too exciting.
Today is a holiday here and I have a 3 day weekend coming up - so I'm not working too hard yet.
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