Discovery Habesha Style

Yesterday Dr. Hezkiel and I planned to meet at 8:30am to pick up some items we need for the VIA/cryotherapy clinic and training. I had finally managed to take out 20,000Birr I needed from various ATMs around the city (not without the bank putting a teensy hold on my debit card first) so we were all set to go. Everything here is paid for in cash so if you are buying something expensive, say $700 worth of compressed gas, you have to carry around quite a bit of money with you. Luckily I have learned since my gum thieves experience and have found nifty ways of hiding money in my bag so I was feeling ok, but definitely a little nervous with all of that cash on me. 

When I got to Black Lion, I had my morning macchiato with Sandy, and then headed to Dr. Dawit’s office to grab a cryotherapy machine. These machines are similar to those used in the states for little skin lesions but we are using them to kill precancerous cells on the cervix to prevent the development of cancer. I wanted to take one of the machines with me to ensure that it hooked up correctly with the tanks before purchasing them. This particular piece of machinery is worth about $1500 USD and is conveniently packed away in a black briefcase that looks like it could possible carry $1million USD, a bomb, or a semi automatic. Nice.

So here I am sitting in the lobby of Black Lion waiting for Dr. Hezkiel to show up. It’s 9am. I call and he tells me he will arrive at the hospital in 10 minutes. Ok great except that time goes by and now it’s 10am. He finally casually strolls into the hospital and talks with some colleagues before heading up to his office, walking right past me. I chase after him with my black briefcase and at this point he informs me that we really should go run our errands at 2pm and with that, he is off. Trying to calm my boiling blood I walk away and decide to head home to take a little breather. At this point it has started to rain (sigh) and I am carrying roughly $1200 USD in cash plus $1500 USD worth of medical machinery, so I decide that it’s worth the $6 USD to take a cab home. In the cab, sailing towards home, I begin to feel a little bit better and start to re-plan my day with the change in schedule. That is until the cab breaks down in the middle of the road. What was even better is that the cab driver got out and started to just pump random pedals, refusing to let me leave the car, insisting that everything was fine. Ultimately, I had him drop me off 15min from home to avoid another break down and then prayed that I didn’t get robbed on the way. Luckily, the gum thieves weren’t out in drones so I was safe as I sped walked home.

When I got there, Freye, our housekeeper was busy sweeping and mopping. She had been sick over the weekend so I tried to ask her how she was feeling. We weren’t really communicating well so I just smiled and headed to the living room to do work on the couch. Next thing I know, she sets a cup of tea down in front of me! I guess she had thought I had said I was sick and had been sweet enough to try to take care of me. Despite our dumping multiple pounds of laundry on her, I guess she really does care about us. Also during my little hiatus from the day, I tried to remove my nail polish from my manicure we had gotten for Karen’s birthday (more on that lovely experience later). I decided that neon purple wasn’t exactly professional and busied myself with removing it. Funny thing about Ethiopian nail polish remover is that it turns your nails blue. So while the purple was gone, my nails now looked like a strange combination of cyanosis and a bad dye attempt. Vigorous hand washing was in effect from that point on until my nails started to look semi normal again.

By 2pm I was back at Black Lion and much to my amazement, Dr. Hezkiel was there on time! It was wonderful and off we went in his Toyota to purchase the items for the clinic. We went to the CO2 cylinder-filling center and tested our cryotherapy machine on the tanks and were delighted when it worked. It was really fun to see all of the employees of the company crowded around the machine watching in awe as a little ice ball formed on the tip. Dr. Hezkiel excitedly explained to them how this machine could help prevent cervical cancer and everyone was smiling and cheering. It was really inspiring and fun to be a part of. Satisfied, we headed to the office to work out the details of payment and delivery. Well, of course the filling machine was broken and we would have to wait until later that week to grab the tanks, but still, all around good times.

Again off we went to pay the medical supplies distributor for a trolley we had purchased a few weeks back and my worries began to drift away with our productivity and as each 100Birr bill left my bag and made me feel less like a walking ATM. Then Dr. Hezkiel got a phone call. He had a patient to see! A lot of the physicians here work in the hospitals in the morning and then work in private clinics in the afternoon to boost their salaries, which are disgustingly low ($200 USD per month). So after some coffee, I waited in the car, and he saw the patient. Luckily for me, but not so much for the patient, the visit only took 10minutes so soon we were on our way again to the printers to pick up the training manuals we had ordered when Dr. Goedken was here. Well, of course the printer was broken, so we would have to pick up the manuals later this week, but we paid the remaining money owed and got everything squared away. The print shop owner even invited me to see his workshop and offered to make me an Emory Med t-shirt!

As I walked home at the end of the day in the pouring rain, of course, I realized that no matter how frustrated I get with dealing with the healthcare system or any sort of business here, meeting the people, seeing their love of life and love of connecting with others is so uplifting. Yes there are mentally ill people who spit on you in the streets, little children who may rob you blind, and mini buses that may try to scam you, but overall the people here are so remarkably friendly. I have been invited to graduation ceremonies, coffee ceremonies, and family homes just because. I have had a little girl, no more than 6, run up to me and hug me because she saw me tear up on a bad day. I have had women offer to help me carry my bags and lighten my load, even if just for a block. This is definitely a country of smiles and despite the challenges I face on a regular basis here, I usually have one on my face at the end of the day too.