A quick update

So yesterday was pretty chill. I slept in a bit, got up and had a leisurely breakfast with Priti, and Dr. Mamlin was back from his weekend away, so we talked to him for awhile. He was telling us a bit about what he did over the weekend -- took a long ride into Uganda, then out on a boat to an island in Lake Victoria, where they did an HIV/AIDS educational program, then to an orphanage, and another long ride back to Eldoret. I wish that I had half of his energy.

We were feeling brave, so we made our own lunch in the kitchen -- pasta with a sauce that we kind of invented on the spot. Venus, Priti, and I ate with Sonak (an PharmD/MPH who will be living here for 5 or more years getting a pharmacy exchange program off the ground), and we met 2 of the Kenyans who live in IU house -- Benson and Simon.

After lunch the 6 of us walked into town and met up with Dayna and Erin. We went to the market, where I found a fleece almost exactly like the one that got left in the Subaru, for 300kSH -- not bad! I also bought some more phone cards. I can see spending a significant amount of money on those things. We went to a cafe and had some chai & coffee, then Sonak took Priti and I to Nakkumat -- basically Eldoret's version of Wal-Mart. There's actually quite a lot of stuff there, and a fairly wide selection of electronics and home goods as well.

After Nakkumat, we met back up with Benson, Simon, Erin, Dayna, Venus, and Laurien, and we all wen to a bar called The Klique to watch Man U vs. Chelsea. Futbol! It was quite fun, as everyone in the bar was very into the game. I even learned more about soccer (which wasn't difficult, as I knew next to nothing to begin with). As someone in the group said, it was a lot like America's Monday Night Football experience, and it was a lot of fun. I could definitely get into soccer more if America cared more about it, but as I told Mike, we'll have to see if there's a Beckham effect.

After the game we walked back to IU house (not my favorite thing -- as it had just gotten dark, but still too early to call a taxi, and we were a large group and had 2 Kenyans with us), where we met Robert and Hao, our medical directors, who had just gotten back from a weekend away as well. We talked a little about the next 2 months -- I'll be starting on Peds wards for 4 weeks, then moving to medicine wards for 3 to 3 1/2 weeks. We also met our 2 American residens -- Hank and Linda, who had also been away for the weekend. So there are now quite a few people at IU house.

We're meeting Hao this morning at the hospital for more orientation and tour, and we'll do a more thorough orientation after rounds. Then this afternoon, we re-pack and move to the hostel. It will be nice to get a little settled and stop living out of a suitcase.

Lala Salama!