UgandAshis 51 Coming and going

UgandAshis 51

August 22, 2009

Coming and going

Over the last weeks and months a steady flow of visitors is coming and going. Dr Nard was one of the first to come and after 5 weeks his girlfriend Lonneke joined us for another three weeks. To shake Nard out of the Western cocoon on his first night I took him to some of the more rough bars in town. It was a memorable night where a culture shock could clearly be felt. After some days we travelled to Fort Portal to see the different institutions I worked at. With his every friendliness and remarkable easy going colleague students and patients warmed up to him rapidly. Even if looking back perhaps the so yearned for clinical hands on experience was not as much as hoped for working in such a different environment with lack of resources (simple dentistry tools and basic medication), a different level of theoretical knowledge and practice made a huge impact.

As I hoped for the Ugandan experience led to promises of future visits –with or without the Smile Train an NGO that send teams out to operate and educate how to operate on children with a cleft palate. This is one of the big motivators for him to start training in surgery of everything between the eyebrows and the clavicles to quote him. Besides the medical side of the story we had a blast. From ‘War craft’ to ‘Marabou Squatting Team’ to ‘Spotted Francolin’ to ‘Gorillas’ to ‘BBQ and wine’ to ‘LINK buses’ I am blessed to have had him here for 8 weeks.

The last three weeks of the journey Lonneke joined us and they had an amazing trip around the country with safaris in ‘Queen Elizabeth’, ‘Bwindi’, Murchison’s Fall and a rafting adventure on the Nile near Jinja. Beginner’s luck or not they saw: chameleons, lions, leopards, giraffe, elephants, long crested eagles, spotted francolins, the crown crane, alligators, hippos, rhinos, kobs, water buffalo, green mamba, green velvet monkey, baboons yet Nard missed out on the yellow warbler. Lakes, savannah, mountains, volcano, rivers Uganda has it all.

Yet beyond all the countries beauty what really matters here are the great people. The flaming chicken of the Persian Boyz had become their second home in Kampala. When they left a host of people queued up and one after the other they had beautiful gifts for the new friends. A sheesha was an amazing gift and given the pleasure with which they both smoke sheesha it must get a central place in their new home in Utrecht.

Luckily we will meet again in one month when I visit the Netherlands. Some things Nard and Lonneke have in Uganda; new friends, a medical library, the chicken/sheesha joint of the planet, opportunity to do well, to learn and enjoy.

At one moment when everything that was arranged seemed to be a hoax – some friends stepped up and I am sure the trip was one not to forget.

Namaskar,

Ashis Brahma