Life Outside the Hospital

Life on the hospital compound is much like my time teaching at boarding school.   There are 70 folks who live here give or take depending on volunteers like Liz and me. They range from a German OB who's been here 30+ years to several tropical medicine residents from Kansas and an Family NP from Missouri who are here for 4-6 months and short termers like Liz and me who come for a few weeks.   It's an international crowd with quite a few Aussies, several older couples and a number of young families with as many as 5 children.  There's a strong sense of community and time built into every day to foster that.   Aside from a couple of national nurses and/or nurses aides everyone leaves the hospital from 10-10:30 for morning tea and again from 1-3 for lunch and rest.  On Wednesdays during tea time we all gather at the CC (community center) for cinnamon rolls.  There a guy on a motorbike that brings beef and chicken for purchase there as well.  There's a school on the compound with a single teacher for grades 1-6.  From 6-8 they are home schooled or sent to boarding school in Niamey.   Twice a week a compound coop opens for the purchase of a VERY limited supply of basics and twice a week vegetable traders come to sell what VERY limited produce is available.   Earlier in the week Liz and I made our way to the fabric shop, 6 yards for 6000cfa or $12.  Then we made our way to the tailor where for $3-5 he will make us each an outfit, complete with headscarf (turns out anything that covers your head is ok so my hijabs have been cut to bandanas which are much more comfortable).   Given the language barrier there's no telling what the outfits will come out like.
Our accommodations are a bit like camping with walls but I'm grateful for a flush toilet and ceiling fans since it's typically in the mid 90s by 9am.  We are however deluged with earwigs and despite the mosquito netting over the bed the earwigs still manage to drop onto you during the night.....gross.   With the Rainey season over I have yet to see a mosquito tho Liz says she saw ONE.
The long termers have been wonderful providing us with eggs and bread and a few other staples until we can get to the coop or traders (since we arrived the week of Festival of the Sacrifice the traders, etc didn't come with produce early in the week and it's unclear whether they wull show up today).  It's amazing what great meals folks can prepare out of nest to nothing or veggies we wouldn't think of putting in the cart but when it's what you have you make-do.  I had really thought this would be a serious chance for some wt loss but my clothes aren't feeling any looser.  Darn.
Well back to business.  Hope you are all well, love Laurie