Last stop

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I have made it to Battambang, Cambodia as of a couple weeks ago and am already fully entrenched in my new job. The previous experiences I have had were fun and exciting. They allowed me an opportunity to see much of the world and essentially take an extended vacation under the guise of doing something productive. But in my mind I also wanted to use this year to gain some medical experience and become better at my job. I was a little worried that this was not going to happen. I am no longer worried.

The organization I am now working with is called Emergency (South Africa, Malawi, and Bhutan were with Orthopaedics Overseas). Emergency is an Italian-based organization very similar to Doctors Without Borders (or MSF, Medecins Sans Frontieres, to the rest of the non-American world). The doctors and nurses here work very hard, and in return we are treated very well. Outside the hospital all of us live together in a big house. All our meals are cooked, my laundry is placed in a hamper and magically appears in my closet, and I don't have to shop for groceries. Essentially it's like being 8 years old again, only with full cookie jar privileges. Of the people here, one is Finnish, one is Irish, I am American, and everyone else is Italian. Kind of like an international Real World without the self-righteousness or token stereotypes. Although they do eat a lot of pizza. For real.

The city of Battambang I like more than I thought I would. It is the second biggest city in Cambodia, not often visited out of relative obscurity and lack of an Angkor Wat-ish attraction. However, the architecture, French colonial on the bank of a river, is pleasing and the city feels like real life Cambodia. Or real life urban Cambodia, as most of the country still lives by subsistence farming in the country.

The biggest adaptation here has been driving. As a positive, we are back on the right (and correct) side of the road. Without having to constantly remind myself to stay left, I have more energy to dedicate to avoiding all of the motorbikes and bicycles streaming around in no predictable direction. It's like trying to drive through a swarm of bees. The other day I had to brake and swerve suddenly to avoid a motorbike (carrying four people) and almost hit a donkey. That's never happened to me on the Kennedy.

The other consequence of this is the inevitable mishaps. The mission statement of Emergency is to help civilian victims of war, but here it is more civilian victims of motorbike accidents. It certainly keeps the orthopaedic surgeon busy. I will be here for about four months, putting me back home sometime in April. As I will not have much to discuss without the constant travel from the past months, I will save hospital descriptions and other stories for a future time. I hope everyone's holidays were pleasant. Go Hawks.

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Photos

a park close to the house
presumably a place to discuss motorbike maintenance, colors, and how they kick ass.

Comments

[Ryan]

Of Course
Motorbikes kick ass. So did Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Coincidence?