Day 9

Another bright an early wake up in Lalibella and one more day of waking up to the beautiful views of the mountainside.  My roommate went to dry her hair last night with the hairdryer provided by the hotel andon plugging it in the wall to use and turning it on we started noticing smoke coming from the outlet and the wire completely melting. So to say we got out before burning the hotel down was a success. Not sure why it did that but hey it’s Africa. You can’t expect hot showers AND working outlets for hairdryers. One of the things that I found was interesting in Ethiopia, especially on the streets of Mekelle is that some people had scales that they required people to pay to weigh themselves. Merchants had high tech digital scales on the street corners, and requested money to be able to use them. Yes you heard me. They pay to weigh themselves. You couldn't pay me enough to weigh myself right now, especially after the holidays and my all carb diet I have adopted on this trip. 

We grabbed a quick breakfast before taking our bus with our guide Girmo to the airport, 45 minutes away. The pleasantly bumpy dirt roads overlooking the beauty of Africa is still a novel sight for my eyes and has yet to lose its excitement. The children, even at the ages of 2 can be seen running in the roads unaccompanied but aware to move to the side when a car comes. The animals roam the fields and roads also scurrying to the side when they see our van coming through. We get waves and smiles everywhere we go of excitement. The homes that they live in are very small, made from ether stone, bamboo or what appears to be hardened mud. But everyone has a job whether it’s plowing the fields with the oxen, picking up grass, maintaining the animals, or weaving baskets. Even the Donkeys with packs of goods on their backs are keeping a pace going down these roads with their purposeful jobs. One of our group members tried to pet one as it passed us hiking up to the church yesterday and he was one mean donkey, almost kicked her. We call him the “after Christmas” donkey.

When we got to the airport it was packed. Scott Pelley was there boarding a plane so it’s official either he is stalking us or vice versa. Or probably it’s because there are very select flights out of the local airports, and you got to make it on time or else you may be waiting a few days for the next. The flight was quick and easy to Addis Ababa, and the hotel wasn’t too far down the road we were staying at since our flights home aren’t until tomorrow. It’s not an easy trek to these parts of Africa in case you haven’t noticed. The traffic was crazy getting to our hotel. The 7 minute drive took about 30 minutes. Addis is the NYC of Ethiopia. There are all sorts of restaurants, shops, and even some American fast food joints. The hotel when we got there was AMAZING. Well, let’s just say your appreciation becomes exponential toward the end of the trip as little things like western toilets, Toilet paper,  and warm showers become 5 star hotels in your mind. The room was great with 2 nice beds and a normal bathroom. We dropped everything off quickly including all of our medical supply suitcases and went back in the bus to head to lunch. We as a group are pretty comparable to the pack mules at this point carting all our supplies around the country. 

Lunch was at the oldest hotel in Ethiopia. They made it buffet style (please stomach you have lasted this long, don’t fail me now) which was very good. I wasn’t extremely hungry from all the traveling so I kept it light. Our first adventure was over to the Museum in Addis where Lucy is! I got it all wrong in my other post. The arc of the covenant is in Aksum, Lucy is in Addis. Lucy was indeed found

In Hafar 3.2 million years ago. Her predecessor, Ardi who is 4.4 million years old was also found in that region after her discovery. Lucy was believed to be a young adult when she died whereas Ardi was about 5. The recent discovery of a child Selam was in 2000. She is the most recent and complete skeleton of a human child. It was incredible how preserved these fossils were and how much of the history of hominids lies in not only Africa but Ethiopia. Most every skeletal remain they had found was identified as a female in the museum. So it goes to show women as we know it came first and rule the world. Or we have yet to excavate the prehistoric bar on an archeological

dig where likely the earliest men will be found. It’s not called a man cave for nothing. The museum in addition had lots of African art and cultural pieces that we were able to look through including the Crown Jewels of some of their past emperors and empresses.

After the museum we went to some of the markets in Addis. The first local market was insanely packed we could barely every drive through. It was very overwhelming and pick pockets are everywhere. We decided to go somewhere more tourist friendly as the items at the local market were targeted for household needs rather than souvenirs. We found a less chaotic local area to peruse through. They have beautiful hand made scarves, baskets, woven plates, and jewelry. I picked up a hand carved elephant and giraffe (in case you don’t know I love elephants and maybe my next mission will be to save them haha!), and some beautiful paintings on a wooden canvas. It was dirt cheap. I didn’t really even bother haggling since the prices were absurdly low they gave me. Plus they could use it all I figured more than myself. 

We went back to our hotel to get ready before dinner. My anesthesiologist friend and roommate went out and walked down the street a little to a bakery and the mall. We picked up a few cupcakes from the bakery. Ethiopia is not known for its sweets. Everyone is all about the coffee and people brought back some bags of their beans. They don’t seem to eat many sweets and I asked our guide who confirmed. Well now I know how they stay so fit. Damn my American cravings for something sweet. The mall was small and built vertically much like Manhattan malls and buildings. They had a little local grocery store where some people brought back items. I ended up haggling for a Chanel bag I have heard my best friend back home talking about constantly. Apparently it’s listed at around 7000$. Well the mark up in Ethiopia is like 500% off. Is it real? You’ll never know.

Dinner was incredible. We had a patient of Healing the Children's join us who lives in Addis. He had a surgery back when he was 6 years old (he is 32 now) and has gone on to live a prosperous and successful life without any further medical problems. He has attained higher level education and is pursuing a career in hotel management. These are the moments, seeing the impact we can have on people's lives that really makes a difference. What a story and incredible dinner we had with him as our guest. 

I did some work at breakfast on my computer before packing our things to go to the airport and continue on our journey back home. I really can’t believe this trip has come to an end. I couldn’t have asked for a better group to work and travel with. The stories we have and the moments that include laughing so hard we can’t breathe were endless. I had the time of my life and I can’t wait to join them again for another mission. 

We got to the airport 3 hours before our flight to Dubai. The bag checking went seamless, they didn’t get fussy about the weight of the bags and they are checked through to Newark. Our layover in Dubai is 7 hours so any suggestions to pass the time will be taken. I did a lot of administrative documenting and chart organizing on the flight to make sure our database on what we accomplished is complete. But whatever happens in Dubai stays in Dubai. I’ll see you soon New York City. 

Thanks for everyone following along on my journey I hoped you enjoyed my little medical mission adventures. The before and after a I included a few below. These medical missions really always take me back to why I love medicine and surgery so much. It puts a lot into perspective, and they end up being some of the best trips I’ve taken in my life. It’s not about the resorts, the materialistic items or having everything go according to plan. It’s the journey and the story you leave with.  So Remember to strive to be kind to others. Especially in the world we live in today, and even medical field. Days can be long, and things can be frustrating but it’s important to be above that.  Be kind, have patience and appreciate everything you have. Until next time we try and save the world, this chapter is finished.

Healing the Children Northeast is a nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to providing medical and surgical care to those less fortunate.  We send surgical teams to various underserved areas of the world all based on donations which all go toward medical and surgical supplies and continuing education for health centers in their areas. All medical personal volunteer for Healing the Children with their own time and expenses so all goes toward the needs of the patients. Please consider giving to this amazing organization to continue to help fund these incredible trips that truly have an everlasting impact on these patient's lives. 

https://htcne.org/campaigns/donate-to-htcne/

Lucy

Day 8

So if yesterday was Christmas is today Boxing Day?it was nice sleeping in. My poor roommate planned to take a shower this AM and we had no water. Couldn’t even flush the toilet. So much for getting excited about that. If anyone knows me you’ll know I’m an obsessive clean freak that needs to take a shower every night before going to sleep. It payed off since I had some water. 

I started my day with a nice bowl of porridge and the strongest thickest coffee you can imagine. I think I’ve started growing hair on my chest after drinking that. Starbucks has nothing on this stuff. We got in the bus again and took a short trip to stop at our tour of some of the other historical churches and sites in the area. 

The first church was St George, a very famous church in Lalibella where the roof and church itself is shaped like a cross. Overlooking the mountains this high up and seeing this cross in the ground is just a beautiful site of history. The inside of many of these churches are similar. It takes quite a hike down into them, through narrow passageways over uneven rock ground till you reach the entrance. There again you take off your shoes to enter inside. I’m  amazed by the Ethiopians to be able to get to these churches given the complex uneven terrain and hiking it takes to get to them. Even the elderly make their way into the churches. But then again, most of the common toilets require them to squat to the ground so their balance and leg strength surpasses that the common American any day. They are acclimated to this lifestyle and climate, wearing their shawls to keep covered and the sun off of them. You’ll see many of them not even swatting away the flies and other unidentified bugs of Africa away when they land on their faces and body. Where here I am doing an interpretive dance trying to kill any speck of dust that resembles a bug off my body. 

The climate is very dry and hot during the day. Once the sun is gone it becomes pretty cool at night requiring us to bundle up. Although Lalibella isn’t as high altitude as Mekelle you really do get tired fast. My lips and oral mucosa gets very dry so I’m constantly drinking water. Somehow I have miraculously avoided the squatting toilets and scopes out the few western ones in the area. I’ll work on squats when I get home. 

Well I went off on a tangent again about the toilets. Back to the churches. We saw 60 minutes and Scott Pelley doing a story on one of the churches and some of our group members got a picture with him. I look forward to his excerpt and maybe a guest appearance by me in the episode haha. I’m kidding. If there’s one thing I couldn’t be it’s a celebrity. Everywhere I have gone so far I’m asked to take a picture or I see Ethiopians trying to take my picture. They were very fascinated with our group. No more paparazzi though please. I barely did my hair! 

My favorite church was Bethlehem and Emmanuel. Once in Bethlehem have to go through the tunnel from hell to heaven to get to heaven and then the church of Emmanuel. It’s a very narrow, low set ceiling tunnel that is pitch black to walk through. And let me tell you it was a little bit scary. It felt like forever before we reached the light at the end and climbed up these ladder like steps to the top. The sun beaming down on my claustrophobic body was for sure looking like heaven to me. We explored the last few churches of Emmanuel and Abalibinos before heading back to grab lunch at the Lion King restaurant. Masses start at 12 and last 2-3 hours from which you cannot leave once you enter the church. Before heading to lunch we went to a few market stores to haggle for some goods we can bring for ourselves and friends back home. Got to prove we actually went to Africa you know. We met a group of kids who loved talking with us and asking questions about America. One was a 13 year old boy naked Yulios (again probably spelling that wrong) who wants to be a dentist and one day see Washington DC. He gave me a necklace with the cross of St George as a late Christmas gift and exchanged emails. I now have a pen-pal from Ethiopia. 

We went back to our Lion King bar for lunch. I have been craving fruit since being here and was excited about their fruit and yogurt option. I eat fruit every day so I’m really missing a good apple. After lunch overlooking those amazing views of the mountains we hopped in the bus again to venture to the town of yemrhane kirstos where the church of yemrhane kirstos lies. It’s a long hike up the mountain when you get there which I must say felt very difficult and I was definitely winded. Do I even workout? Man I was beat by the time we got to the top. At the top there is a natural cave made from volcanic rock with a wooden barrier opening into the area that hides the church. It was quite an incredible site with bamboo floors. This was the only church made from wood and stone that we had seen. In each church an area hidden by a curtain which only the priests can enter. It holds the replica of the arc of the covenant. The original made from solid gold was stolen in the 90s and returned a few years later but resides now in Aksum.

Inside the church are also the remains of hundreds of pilgrims who made the trek to yemrhane kirstos church so they could die there. The remains of these human bodies are over 600 years old. Pretty spooky if you ask me. 

The trek down the Mountain wasn’t as bad and the sun started getting low in the sky so it wasn’t as hot. We booked it back down the dirt roads to get to our favorite Lion King restaurant (ok it’s called Ben Ababa) to watch the sunset and we made it just in time. Even Scott Pelley was there, so I’m sure he thinks we are stalking him now. The views again were beautiful as we watched the sunset over the horizon through dinner. We even had the chance to watch the moon set over the hours we were there. The sky here at night has no words. I’ve seen my fair share of starry sky’s but here in Africa it’s amazing. I even saw a shooting star across the wide open sky. 

After dinner we went to an Ethiopian bar with our guide Girma. I don’t know how much of this I should post or leave for the imagination but it was one hell of a time. Again our group was quite the noticeable crowd and we gathered at our own table in a very crowded bar. They have a gentleman playing a string like instrument (African guitar?) and a woman singing throughout the night. They only seem to play and sing one song over and over again. It was like hearing Despacito on repeat....oh wait that’s amazing! I got pulled up to make a fool of myself and try to dance with one of their guys to this Afrikan dance. I’m sure I looked like I was doing the funky chicken. The facebooks pages in Ethiopia are going to be blowing up tomorrow....I felt a lot of cell phones pointed in my direction. Honey wine is the local drink which came in these erlenmeyer flasks. The novelty was better than the actual taste. Much like the smells and some of the other things in Ethiopia I can’t quite describe its taste or compare it to anything else I have ever had. One of our group members befriended a group of young college kids who were very interested in our group. They had ordered a plate of tibs and injera and attempted to handfeed it to her and I.....very forward move. We danced and had a great time before heading back, taking some wonderful hot showers and heading off to bed.

It’s our last day tomorrow before heading back on the trip home. It’s difficult to get to these small areas because of their plane schedules. During Christmas the planes have more flight options, but quickly simmer down after. Sometimes they’ll have one flight to the main city of Addis Ababa every 3 days, so scheduling wise we have limited options and definitely can’t be on Ethiopian time that would cause us to miss the flights. Here’s to the long trip with long layovers home.

Day 7

Merry Christmas! It’s Christmas Day and all through Africa not a creature was stirring not a hyena. Well, that’s probably not true. But today we woke up bright and early to travel to Aksum to catch a flight. The bus trip was 4 hours and extremely scenic the entire way through the mountains, on dirt roads and past lots of little towns where people would see us and wave. Aksum is the city where the arc of the covenant is kept, although private from the public. We caught our fligjt which was really short to Lalibella. We all planned to try and sleep either on the bus ride or the plane ride but there is just too much to see we didn’t want to close our eyes. The terrain seen from the plane going over the mountains looked like a different planet. It was spectacular.

Once we arrived in Lalibella our escort and tour guide met us to take us to our hotel and the main center of town. BecUse the terrain is so mountainous the only flat area for planes to land is about 40 minute away. When we got to the hotel and the main town of Lalibella the views were incredible. This was nothing what I expected.... it was better. And pictures don’t even begin to do it justice. The best part was our hotel was noted to have hot water. A HOT SHOWER! The beds were like a wooden board but hey, beggars can’t be choosers. We only dropped off our belongings before hitting the road and beginning the day. We started at a beautiful outdoor restaurant for lunch over looking the market. We try to stick to the traditional Ethiopian food but some of us are starting to fade so we mix it up. We received our beautiful white Ethiopian scarfs to wrap around ourselves for the churches. Some of the girls taught us how to lay them over ourselves properly which was nice since we looked a little incompetent like we were wrapping toilet paper around us.

The churches we went to, on Christmas even more was called Medehanealem, St Mary and Betemeskal. We walked through their extremely busy market down the mountainside to start at our first church They are orthodox Christian in this country and built all their churches hidden into the ground so they are not visible to the lay person from the main roads. This was because the Muslims would destroy many of their churches back in their history so this way they could continue to practice discreetly. When you walk into the churches it is required to take off your shoes. It is incredible how they were able to excavate these outstanding structures from their bare hands and simple tools. The detail is incredible. My socks FYI I will be throwing away after the trip. The views from the churches are absolutely incredible as they all are situated on the mountain tops. The ground is level with the churches roofs, so as you stand above them you look out into the entire area which spans miles. And in the African sun with their brilliant blue sky it just is breathtaking.

Inside the churches is carpeted and man was it PACKED. I’m talking shoulder to shoulder walking next to people going up to their alter to kneal to the ground, kiss the ground and pray. They’ll touch the portraits and then touch their faces either asking for blessings or forgiveness. It was like Times Square in New Year’s Eve. Outside the churches they have a pool for baptizing used historically (they now baptize inside the church) and another pool for fertility. In the mornings women will come nude and climb into the fertility pool to bless them with a child. Mom don’t get any ideas.....the water was brown green and there have to be different ways. Haha

After all the sightseeing we went back to the market where thankfully the bus came to the bottom to pick us all up. Damn Americans, we can’t handle all this walking in the African sun. Well we have been up all day and were pretty tired. Our guide dropped us off at the hotel and told us to rest before dinner at the hotel, which would be in an hour and a half. So naturally some of us went to rest down the street at this AMAZING restaurant overlooking the mountainside to have happy hour and watch the sunset. We call it the Lion King bar. And let me tell you, it was UNBELIEVABLE. The best sunset I have ever seen and it lasted so long. The sky morphed continuously into different colors as the sun set and we stood in awe taking it all in. At this point we were pretty beat, went back to the hotel and ate dinner before heading up to bed. I was so tired I could barely chew so I got a simple chicken and rice, ate a few bites and went to the room.

I spoke too soon about the hot water. Although it’s hot, it trickles out and takes a very long time to take an effective shower. But I’ll take it. The water just runs on to the floor where there’s a drain but the drain doesn’t work well so let’s just say if you go to the bathroom In the middle of the night hold on! I roomed with our anesthesiologist on the trip who is just awesome. We stayed up and talked a bit before drifting  off to sleep. We don’t have to be out till 9 tomorrow so WHAT A TREAT! I get to sleep in!