You know you are in Africa when....

*you no longer bother to chase bugs out of the shower.

*the power goes out in the grocery store, your home, or even in the middle of the high school play and no one even flinches or interrupts their conversations.

*the few cars in the "doctor's parking lot" are not from this decade, this century, or even this millenium!

*there are iron bars on all windows and doors.

 



















 *it is not surprising to find patients' parents doing their laundry when you enter the room.

*you have to enclose your shamba (garden) not to protect from deer, squirrels, or birds but from the monkeys.  (ours is the right side of this photo, behind the under-construction chicken coop)

 









 


*"doing laundry" may mean hanging it to dry, taking it down to avoid the rain, then putting it back out again, bringing it back in...  (two times up and down is my personal limit!)

*spa/manicure appointments are out of the question, but "free body massage" is the norm while driving

*"Mom, can we ride on top of the car?" is not an unusual question, and the answer is frequently "Yes!" (in Kijabe, not on the highway!)

*On any given day, I - a general pediatrician - am likely to be mananging Tb, malaria, pneumonia, HIV, rickets, liver disease, congestive heart failure, asthma, meningitis, congenital heart disease, UTI, severe acute malnutrition, or a variety of syndromes

 *a friend's video makes me laugh until I cry, because I have seen wildebeests in acton (The Dumbest Animals Alive!)  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151273861093646    

*your neighbor yells "it's big and it's hairy and IT'S IN MY HOUSE!!" and it isn't her husband, it is this: 



*morning activities may include helping to "herd" your neighbors chickens

Anna made these - Reece's, eat your heart out! ;)

Love,
Sarah