The autoclave (steamer for sterilizing surgical instruments) is broken at Msazi Mmoja, so I spent the morning with 3 cuban doctors and the good Dr. Muhammed the medical officer (something like a physicians associate) who is in charge of the women's medical floor.

The floor is really just one large...

We spent last weekend out at Pongwe, one of the dopest beaches in the world, white sand, endless in both directions, crabs running around and waves crashing on the outer sandbars. Our friend Mosses, we are staying with his father, the incredible Dr. Duchi in Stonetown, has a small collection of beach...

The hospital in Stone Town is set just south-east from the old part of town, Shangani. As we (sara, mellisa and i), live right in Shangani its an easy walk every morning through the narrow alley ways and past the old sultan's palace. The eight hospital buildings are set right on the ocean, with...

We arrived on Sunday, after taking a ferry over from Dar (Molly, for the recored it took 3 hours). The ferry was interesting on its own, full way beyond capacity, and everyone slept for almost the whole trip, just passed out cold anyway they could find room, on floors, on ralings, underneath benches...

A young girl was rushed from emergency to the ICU yesterday after being attacked by african killer bees two days ago. She was at a picnic with her family when their soccer ball disturbed the hive, two adults died on the spot from anaphylactic shock and two more adults are in the hospital now with...

Why does the leopard have spots? Why does the elephant have such a long nose? Why are the Dutch such assholes?

Zebras cornered the stripe market, shortage of straws in east africa, and you would be too if your national cuisine peaked with pea soup, boiled everything and the worst licorice on...

Yesterday, following the slow accumulation of death in our ICU and general realization that even with the best care we can offer many of our patients were not going to make, we (L from Claremont, Neil from Sloan Kettering) headed out for some of best Indian food I've had since Punjabi Dabi RIC in Inman...

I spent the first two days in Orthopedic Surgery here at Bugando hospital, but my contact/minder has left for Dar es Salaam, and I was bored by bones pretty quickly, additionaly, everything and everyone here develops infections, so it was revision after revision, of nasty pus dripping bones, and I'll...

Today was awesome. Two pedi-ortho cases this am, then off to the market to buy a cellphone -cheap, really easy to do, and I can call the US with it, double sweet.

Then some food shopping, I'm too picky of an eater to really do this so I end up just buying whine and fruit juice, which they have an...

Saturday's entertaiment, besides watching Borat, involved packing into the the Mwanza football stadium to watch the Tanzania National team take down the much higher ranked Senegal National team. The place was packed, even the president was there.

Entertainment during half time included two guys on...

Went out to dinner last night with Nzuki, his amazing wife Makurdi. Went to Tilapia, where all the ex-patriots in town congregate. Tin and gold miners from Australia and New Zeeland, a young woman from Denmark who runs two nightclubs in town, a bunch of bright red germans on the safari circuit and...

In Tanzania you are never alone, because everyone is your friend. I've fallen into it as well, actually really like the habit.

So, this morning, getting on the plane to Mwanza from Dar es Salaam the Air Tanzania folks printed my name on the ticket as Olfante Mitake, pretty close. No one, including...

The surprise of the last 24 hours was how easy it was. International travel has become a formulated and highly standardized process. The only screw-up in the whole adventure (if something this easy and smooth, and wrapped in commerce, can still be called an adventure) was the Yale minibus, which was...

Damien,
Great to see you this past weekend. I just thought I would send you some invaluable info about things to do and see while you are in East Africa. I know that you mentioned that you aren't necessarily planning to do a safari, and I can appreciate that, but I would consider doing it to see...

Heading to Tanzania on May 30, first to

Weill Bugando University College of Health Sciences, P.O. Box 1464, Mwanza, TANZANIA

I'll be there two weeks, which is on the the southern border of lake victoria.

Then to Mnazi Mmoja Hospital Zanzibar for four weeks, to do some surgery, swim in the...