Today

This is one of the babies of a mamma on the ward.

I love his Obama diaper!

What a great Saturday! It started with me walking to the roundabout to get a taxi to Bliss to meet Sandra for lunch. I somehow got a free ride from someone I didn't know. Olga, but there is the Sierra Leone hospitality for you.

I was on a mission today to find fabric. I need to get a skirt made for my trip to Niger in November. It's never a bad idea to plan ahead. In my six months here I have not been to the big market yet or to fabric row. I always heard crazy stories of this place and how crazy it is. It was fine. There weren't many people there today so that made it nice. This market is multiple stories. From what I saw of it, the main floor is crafts and upstairs is mostly fabric. I'll have to go back sometime when I have more time. The fabric row was great too. Found some fabric now I just need a tailor!

After shopping I took a bus back to Aberdeen. A bus. Another random mode of transportation in my day. It worked though. Cheap too.

The patients watching me get my hair done.

Everyday my patients say they want to braid my hair. Today I let them. I let Mariama. She did a fabulous job. Last year in Togo I was in tears when I let a patient braid my hair. When Mariama did it, I felt nothing. Loved it. It actually feels good having my hair braided. I was the source of amusement for the day. All the

other patients came out to watch and laugh. It was great. It was great talking with Mariama too. She spoke very good english. She is 32 and has only been pregnant once. Her baby was born alive but died two days after she was born. It was really interesting talking with her about relationships and boys and how she can't find a solid guy. She was saying that whenever a problem comes, the guys up and leave and find someone new on the streets. She was so frustrated with it. I was asking her where her worth comes from. I always hear how for women, their worth here is found in how many children they have so I found it intersting that she is 32 and has only been pregnant once. In her family they stressed education. She works for a mobile company and supports herself and her mother. She told me that if she lived in the villages, she would have many babies. Here, her family was able to give her an education and she only wants two children. She couldn't take care of more than that. It was really encouraging for me to hear. It's not like the stories I usually hear from the women here.

After she was done it was time for dinner. I don't usually eat dinner on the ward. Tonight I didn't recognize what it was. Yele I was told. Cassava, mango, fish, potato and palm oil. I was nervous to try it but it was good. Really spicy. Not all the women liked it so I bought them boiled groundnuts from outside the gate and we all ate those too.

Great end to a great day.