Routine

Tuesdays are often routine days. Over the rush of Monday, not yet hump day, too far away to look towards the weekend. So our Tuesday was just "normal", as normal as can be in the bush in Southern Sudan. Continue with sick kids, dehydration primarily.

Life on the compound is routine. Each morning I wake to the sounds of chickens and a rooster crowing. The last rooster that kept waking us was eaten. I am not sure how long this one is going to last. But there seems to be other roosters that are growing, so I am afraid we are stuck with the alarm clock.

Mary & Mary  start the day

Daruka arriving to work

Mary arrives and I hear the clinking of her putting the charcoal into a tin pan. I know water will be heated for coffee in about 20 minutes. Time to think of moving. Up, dressed, meet with Ajak and Dr. Mike while we drink our coffee and talk about the day. Slowly the compound comes to life. The staff wanders in for their coffee, tea, breakfast. I see patients walking over to the hospital to get registered and get their names on the list.

Then hours of hospital stuff. I have gone over this nearly each posting.

Later afternoon brings us to a lull. We are usually done with patient care and are now focused on settling the inpatients, doing vitals, giving meds. The guys wander to the big tree in front of the hospital next to the road. A big chess tournament starts. There is yelling, dancing, chiding moves and lots of laughing. Many matatu's come by, all honking and waving and some even stopping. Hardly different from any small town.

Ajak contemplates a chess move

John & friend dancing after work

Watching John dance while waiting for a matatu

                         The mama's on the compound are winding down their day. The two Mary's (both cooks) are usually the last to leave. Roda and Daruka, the wash ladies, bundle up their things. Rebecca and Naomi take one last sweep of our tukels, making sure the floor dust has been cleaned up. Often they are humming a Dinka song, and often the others will join in from around the compound. It is soothing and a sign of friendship amongst these hard working women. It is a sign that our day is winding down. I say wo be yook miak to each - see you tomorrow. They love my attempts at Dinka and giggle as I try to say phrases to them. They are beautiful people.  

Mary leaving for the day

Checking the patients before calling it a night

Our nights consist of gathering for dinner, and visiting. Then we often get on line, I write on my blog, others do their email. We often end our nights with some songs, Aaron plays guitar. I am trying to talk him into some Led Zepplin, Jimmie Hendrix so far no go, but he is entertaining the idea. Few chords of Layla this evening. He's learnin'. Great kid. So is Matt.

The night ends with reading in my mosquito net cot on my kindle - thanks Dave. It is a great thing. And I wind down listening to the sounds of the night, the compound settling down. People wandering to their cots and tukels, saying good night as they pass. It is peaceful, an oxymoron for Southern Sudan.
God's peace,
C