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