I hope this hasn’t been tangible through my blogs thus far, but I have been quite homesick so far. I don’t like feeling like I don’t even have the option to talk to anyone back home. I’ve learned so much about the world and myself on this trip, and one thing that has become very obvious about myself is that one thing that really makes me happy, and I think will make me much happier on this trip (although I am already fairly happy) is a way to contact my family and friends fairly easily. So when I heard late last night that Marcel was traveling to Freetown today, I asked if I could go along and take care of this modem business once and for all. I appreciate that I’m supposed to be on an “African” time schedule, but I decided enough was enough.
I got up nice and early and jumped in a car with Marcel, with Clem’s debit card in hand. Clearly she feels I’m trustworthy, and I very much appreciate that, because she wanted me to withdraw quite a large amount of money for her, and felt secure that I would bring her all her money and her card back safely. We almost left without a driver, which is technically against policy, because the driver was late. Marcel ended up calling a different driver, and soon we were on our way.
On the way down to Freetown, I fell asleep almost immediately, but about halfway through the ride was up and ready to see the sights. There is such a stark contrast here between things; it is truly a place where opposites live together. There are shops with no sides, just a roof of palm branches held up by sticks, next to great big offices with AC and all the works. There are beautiful countrysides, and horribly dirty streets. I was told a while back that because the market fluctuates so much, people invest in land or building their house when they have money rather than putting money in the back. So you end up seeing large, beautiful plots of land with a shack on it. Then you see a beautiful plot of land and a GIANT half-built house, with a shack next to it.
Once in Freetown, we stopped at a clinic so Janet, one of the lab employees here, could pick up more supplies for the lab. After that we took a trip to the ATM and the bakery for something to nibble on. And finally, the moment of truth: we went to Sierratel for the modem. It took a bit longer than we wanted, but I walked out with a modem that works on PCs and Macs, that is charged with two months of unlimited internet access! It was a tad more expensive than I planned, but if I need to give up a souvenir or two so that I can talk to my family and friends, so be it!
The rest of the day was spent driving back and forth all over Freetown finding different people Marcel needed to meet with. We almost got in an accident twice and the driver actually ended up letting the car roll back too much and hitting another car. And we got pulled over, and the police wanted to take the driver to the station, or cash to let us go. We ended up convincing them that we needed to get medical supplies back to the hospital, so we were allowed to go, but Marcel got very upset and told our driver that he would have to take a driving course.
Once I got back to the compound, I found out that a man who arrived yesterday and told us that he was from France and hoping to work in our lab for two weeks had some issues with his story. First of all, he said he studied in the Ukraine for seven years, but couldn’t speak a word of Ukrainian with Clem who is fluent in it. He also didn’t know how to do anything in the lab, even though he had said he was a lab technician. And this morning he told all sorts of people that he wanted to stay for two months, not two weeks, and stay in the guest house and be provided food and so on. He kept asking Clem where he was going to be put up for the night.
Normally that sort of thing is Marcel’s business. He interviews them, reviews their paperwork, and decides which room they get, where they work, what they have to pay for and what is part of their salary, and so on. Because Marcel was in Freetown all day, Dr. ABD and Dr. Erdi didn’t quite know what to do with him, and didn’t want him to move in his things to the guest house without knowing if he was trustworthy. So they asked him for an interview, and because he only speaks French Clem was going to help translate. When Clem informed him of the interview, and told him that he would need to show Dr. Erdi and Dr. ABD his passport and some sort of documentation of his degree and so on, he told them her that he didn’t have his paper that said he’s a cardiologist (when he said he was a lab technician) and that he was staving and couldn’t wait another five minutes before running out for a bite. We haven’t seen him since.
When Marcel and I got back, Marcel called Hasan, who our mystery man said he knew, to see what Hasan had to say about all this. Apparently he sort of screwed Hasan’s hospital out of some money, and Hasan doesn’t think he’s very trust worthy, so our assessment of him was correct.
Today was the first of weekly meetings for the CHOs (like registered nurses) for MCH, and Tanis, Elizabeth, Callum, and I all attended. It was very informative, and I think I’ll go to all of them because it was very helpful. But for now, it’s time for bed.
Today Marcel told me a story about how he noticed that when you walk past the children’s ward early in the morning, it smells like urine. He asked around, and found that the women who are there with their children relieve themselves right outside the building at nighttime. Marcel insisted that the bathrooms be kept open at night so that they could be used and the place would not smell. However, after one night the bathroom was a total and complete mess. Feces and urine and toilet paper all over the floor. Marcel asked around again, and was told that most of the people who visit don’t know how to even use a toilet. That day he taught twenty-eight women how to use a toilet, then went home and wept at how sad it was.
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