Goose bumps

There are those special moments here in Botswana, I can never predict when its coming, when I all of a sudden get that goose bump sensation. It hits me and all of a sudden I feel how real my life is at the moment. Its a TIA (This is Africa) moment, only to the extreme. I absolutely love when it happens, but now that I have been here for 4 months..it is quite the rare occasion. However two special instances brought about the goose bumps this past week:

- Walking back from 5:15 am spinning through the dusty field, listening to Wavin' Flag as the sun rose. It was such a simple moment, but it felt so "Africa" to me.

- I went with Alicia to get her fourth rabies vaccine at Princess Marina Hospital today (Her puppy Russell bit her and oh, never got a rabies shot!) So we head into the emergency and accident department (basically Botswana's version of the ER) to get the vaccine. Its chaotic, as expected, and they hardly have the time to get a white girl her vaccine. As Alicia argues with the nurse about getting the vaccine here, I peak in the resuscitation room to see a white doctor bagging (for my non-emt friends, using a bag-valve mask to assist breathing) for a little child. It became all the more "Africa" with the tattered shower curtains dividing rooms, the cries of babies left and right, and the desk covered with records strewn all about. It made me think about how crazy it would be doing emergency medicine in a developing country like Botswana. Such limited supplies, manpower...yet the most dire medical problems. This moment most definitely gave me the goose bumps.