Sunrise Earth: Gilé

2-4-2009
Ok, so after arriving back in Muskegon last summer, prior to leaving for Africa, my mom and dad introduced me to the wonder that is “Sunrise Earth.” It’s this show on some obscure channel that basically amounts to watching the sunrise in a remote area of the planet. And there are a bunch of cameras at different angles that capture what is going on, and there’s no music or talking. So we’d sit there for hours and watch the sunrise in the Everglades, or in Denali, or Siberia. I realize that this sounds kind of nerdy and lame…but I am nerdy and lame. Today, I experienced the wonder of sunrise Gilé. Adi and I got up at 5am to go for a run down the hill, over the rickety wooden planks that constitute the bridge over the Molocue River, and arrived on the other side just in time to see the sun creep up over Mount Gilé. Mom and dad, I wish I could have recorded it for you.

A certain aforementioned “crapweasel” was not at the clinic today (see previous district journal entry), so Adi decided to liberate me from the government regulations that prohibit me from seeing patients in Mozambique. What ensued was the result of Adi missing having med students to teach, and me missing patient care. The two of us rounded on all the in-patients and it pretty much rocked.

Sergio and I were able to do both community focus groups for Gilé today, and it was awesome. We got some interesting responses although I didn’t understand most of what was said because everyone was speaking Llomwe, the local language. I had one of those surreal moments where I realized I was sitting in a circle of people in rural Mozambique listening to them talk in a bizarre language about how they are convinced that the Mozambican government is making money by infecting and killing Mozambicans with HIV and that they're collaborating with foreign aid organizations to facilitate this. Just one of the many interesting things that was said.

I also learned today that my surge-protector doesn’t work. I made the mistake of transferring photos from my camera to my computer during a thunderstorm. Not one of my most brilliant moves. The computer was on the table, connected to the camera that was on my lap. Apparently I completed the circuit. On a positive note, my computer and camera are peachy-keen! And I probably glow in the dark.

2/5/09
Woke up at 5am to head to the bomba to get water. Adi and I loaded the car up with his big yellow plastic jugs and drove to the well on the outside of town. I pumped water for the first time in my life, which of course drew a crowd of spectators. It’s not every day that the good people of Gilé see a white girl pumping water at sunrise. After we got home, Adi’s empregado showed me how he makes piri-piri. I’m talking piri-piri that’ll put hair on your chest! After a nice long run and a bucket bath, I capped off my morning by climbing Adi’s guava tree to pick the last remaining guavas of the season. Not a bad way to spend a morning.

Later in the afternoon…I’m fairly certain God is trying to kill me, Old Testament style. First, I was electrocuted last night during a thunderstorm. Now we have another storm rolling in and being the amateur storm chaser that I am, I decided to take my computer out on the back porch and enjoy the show (computer NOT plugged in. I learned my lesson yesterday). I popped into the bathroom to wash my hands and was blinded by what looked like a fireball inches away from me, and a split second later there was the loudest pop I’ve ever heard. I think the tin roof of Adi’s house was struck by lightning. Fortunately, my ears have stopped ringing. Now I’m sitting here reflecting on my life and trying to figure out what I’ve done to bring this karma upon myself. I think it would behoove me to purge my soul in an attempt to avoid death by the wrath of God. Um, mom and dad, I’m sorry for throwing a party at our house while you were at the Fort Wayne dinner dance, and then lying about it. I’m sorry for bribing the Mozambican border patrol to post-date stamp my VISA, and therefore adding to the corruption of this country. Hannah and Elliott, I’m sorry for being really mean to you when we were little. (love you guys!) And I’m sorry for that time I beat the crap out of Steven, our neighbor…well, not really that sorry. He had it coming.

2/6/09
There’s something about watching and listening to bed sheets and curtains drying in the breeze that is indescribably calming. It’s like having someone massage your brain until you’re lulled to sleep. It’s great for my soul, but not so great for my productivity, as I’m attempting to translate the dialogue from the focus groups, and keep getting pleasantly distracted. And Adi’s empredago is listening to really good mellow Zimbabwean music, which is refreshing and restores my faith in African music. After being on the road with FGH drivers, I was beginning to think that the only music that exists here is Angolan techno.

Dr. Crapweasel still hasn’t returned to Gilé, so once again I got to round on the in-patients with Adi. The usual Big Three as I’m now calling them (HIV, TB, and malaria), plus marasmus, kwashiorkor, mysterious combo of exophthalmos and intermittent nystagmus in a 6 month old, and a 12 year old in heart failure who we think has a congenital VSD.

Friday night in Gilé and what is there to do? The Gilé bar crawl of course! Adi and I went to the two bars in town, the first being a motel/restaurant/convenience store/disco. After enjoying a beer there, we made our way to the second and last bar which amounts to a couple plastic chairs set up under a mango tree in front of someone’s hut.

2/7/09
Woke up early to pump water again. But first, Adi and I went trekking through the fields in an attempt to blaze a trail up Mount Gilé. Not a bad way to spend a morning; romping through the hills in Africa, looking for precious stones and monkeys. No joke. Every so often people find emeralds and aqua marine in Gilé, which is why there are currently 5 cars in town owned by people who have struck it rich. And there’s a group of monkeys that live on top of the mountain that we were trying to find. Needless to say, we didn’t find either of the two.

Headed to Molocue, where I’m staying with Pola and Amy. We decided to have Alto-palooza. This consisted of us drinking beer at their house and shamelessly singing Milli Vanilli, New Kids on the Block, and Ace of Base. Don’t act like you don’t love that music.

2/8/09
Lazy Sunday in Alto Molocue. Woke up early and went for a long run, then worked with Sergio on finalizing the translation from Gilé. Amy and I enjoyed the cool weather and late afternoon sun by reading in her backyard. Nothing beats a good book, a pleasant breeze blowing through the rows of corn, and the sound of the neighbor’s turkeys.