Long Live The Sar

5 Things My Mother Told Me Never to Do : 1) Go fishing 20 yards away from an angry hippo 2) Eat raw fish in Africa 3) Drink "fresh" milk (basically straight from the teat) 4) Hitchhike 5) Hitchhike at night in Africa To call Awassa an adventure would be the understatement of the year.   Stu, Ray, Tesh and I left for Awassa on Wednesday.   We got very lucky and were able to hitch in some NGO's Land Rover that was headed south.   Compared to everything else that was to come, this was like riding in a limousine.   The 4-hr car ride cost us $4/person and we got to our hotel on the shores of Lake Awassa in time to watch the monkeys play in a gorgeous sunset over the lake.   We went for a walk along the lake, ending up at a lakefront bar and then finding a restaurant with fish goulash (on injera) and fried fish for dinner.   The experience was enhanced by the lack of power throughout the town and the awesome cloud-to-cloud lightning that lit up the night sky.      Thursday

I am too lazy to consolidate all of my thoughts on the day into a lucid post, so I will instead just list my impressions on the day: Just because something sold at the Sheraton looks like delicious mint fudge, it may still taste like crap. Hermaphrodite – Rick has 3 new patients.   All brothers, all hermaphrodites.   Born with both male and female genitalia, they have elevated testosterone levels but also elevated LH (LH surge in females causes ovulation) and Estradiol.   Very interesting that all 3 brothers have the same congenital defect. Everything in Ethiopia takes a while – Internet is slow, public transportation is spotty at best and the hills make for long, difficult, but fun walks Awassa is gonna be fun (we are leaving tomorrow, returning Thursday night) – I am bringing my fly-fishing gear and hope to catch a tilapia for dinner…we'll see how that goes. Tonight is abebe's birthday and I am taking him to Blue Tops – they have some of the best Italian fo

Have had a nice Sunday - slept in, waffles for breakfast, and then chilling Bole (Stuart and Ray are getting $12.50 massages!).  Really looking forward to the upcoming week: Monday - Regular work @ the mission Tuesday - Work in mission in AM, pediatric oncology clinic with Dr. Khalid in the afternoon, Abebe's birthday at night (Dinner @ Blue Tops - best lasagna. ever.) Wednesday - Morning oncology clinic with Dr. Amaha then going to Awassa with Tesh, Ray, and Stuart.  Hopefully get to use my fly-fishing equipment and planning to meet Tesh's family - they live 6 km from Awassa + an hour walk to the farm.   Rick and Tom are leaving for 10 days in India! Thursday - Hang out in Awassa and return to Addis late in the evening Friday-Saturday - Work @ the mission Sunday - Debre Zeit maybe? - Beautiful crater lakes an hour south of Addis.  Should be a great week and of course, will keep everyone updated.