Gabz

Welcome to Gabarone! That's pronounced "Hab-ah-rhone-ee", or "Gabz" to the ex-pats, of which there are many. Botswana was formerly Bechuanaland, a British protectorate, so there are still lots of hold-overs from that time. One of the most immediately obvious hold-overs is that the cars drive on the wrong side of the road.

They also apparently hang their toilet-paper the wrong way, as I discovered when I moved into my new apartment.

 The toilet-bowls still seem to swirl the correct, American way, though.

My apartment is within a complex that is rented by the Botswana-UPenn partnership called "Pilane Court". It is a walled complex with an unnecessarily complex gate-locking mechanism that takes me about 5 minutes each morning and evening to open and close successfully. Based on the prolonged rattling (and occasional cursing) that I can hear from my window, I'm not the only one. 

My room is a pretty no-frills affair, with two single beds and some particle-board night-stands. There is a nice balcony though, and there is a maid that cleans and does laundry every single day. I am definitely going to miss that. 

 I'll have to see if I can get a picture of our maid, Doris. She's incredibly nice.

This is the hospital where I am working, Princess Marina Hospital. Well, the sign anyway. The hospital itself is a sprawling complex of single floored straight hall-way "wards" that are connected by covered or uncovered walkways. It reminds me of a Southern California high school.

In the parking lot are reserved spots for the Head of each department. Please note that the Head of Orthopaedics drives a VW in Botswana.

It's difficult to tell by the angle of this phot but if you look closely you can see that, unsurprisingly, the Head of surgery drives a BMW. As it was and ever shall be. There are just some immutable laws of nature. 

 There is another sign at the entrance to the hospital which proudly proclaims all of the services that Princess Marina Hospital provides to their beloved patients. Please note how prominently Dermatology is displayed.

On my last day I might have to go write it in at the bottom with a sharpie. As I've always said, if you want to be envied but not respected, go into Dermatology. 

Well, that's all for now. I will be starting my clinics soon so I'm sure will have lots more to talk about. 

Signing off from Gabarone.