Last Day at the Offfice

Jane in Cameroon:

Yesterday morning we both gave our final presentations. Both went pretty smoothly. I think mine may have been a little long and had more discussion. I would have liked to hear some of the opinions before yesterday so that I could have included it in the Powerpoint. Dr. Achu talked about finding a third party or neutral meeting ground where doctors and healers could meet, take courses, discuss patients, etc. Steve took us out for lunch at Francis' place across the street. Kind of a let down after the awesome Stevewich last night at Steveland.

In the afternoon we attended a brief Therapeutic meeting where the issue of HIV+ couples trying to conceive was discussed. It's pretty sad to think that divorce is the easiest answer for a couple trying to conceive where only one partner is HIV+. It makes me so thankful that I come from a country with so much advanced technology that can at least soften the blow if not find a solution.

There was a big fancy ceremony at the end of the day for the Employee of the Year and to give us a sendoff. Adam and I felt underdressed at first because all the nurses and staff were so dressed up for the occasion. But the Mezam Polyclinique and COPAAP stuff gave us these beautiful traditional African outfits to wear! Okay I have to admit I felt a little ridiculous marching around in full blown African wear. Don't you ever want to laugh when you see someone who is culturally confused fashion wise? Wednesday night we talked about how ridiculous old white missionary ladies look when they walk around in traditional African garb. Don't get me wrong. I think the clothes are absolutely gorgeous. Last year in India I wore a beautiful sari while giving a final presentation at the end of an internship (the sari was also a gift from my Indian coworkers). I guess Adam and I were a little embarrassed because we were sitting up at the front of the room with Dr. Achu and Dr. Njinjoh with everyong staring at us in clothes we don't normally wear (plus we just saw Steve laughing at us in the back of the room). I was just happy to have everyone all in the same room, celebrating and eating. The njama njama was great, not too oily, and Gladys' banana cake really took the cake! haha.

Tried packing this morning. Don't think all my stuff is going to fit. Uhoh. We're waiting to find out from Kharsum if we're leaving this afternoon or tomorrow morning for Limbe. We're both hoping for Saturday morning. It'll be cheaper to skip the hotel in Douala and we'd really like to go back to International and have dinner with all the ex-pats again before leaving.