Happy 2010

Happy New Year all - It's about time to give my blogster companion a rest and update you all from the non-physician side of this expedition. Departure from Maine is a mere 11 days away. Peter and I are making our way through the voluminous lists of things to do, mark down, take, don't forget, etc. A big snow storm this weekend, the kind that make the weather folks salivate, is churning up - another reminder of what we are leaving behind as we head for the 90 degree summer in the southern hemisphere. I have been immersed in a lot of African reading, memoirs of life in Botswana, prior to independence, tales of the Kalahari, just trying to pick up the groove of the country. While I know most folks travel to Africa primarily to see the animal life, I am more interested right now in learning about culture and the people. I suspect in Gabarone we will initially be hanging out mostly with the Penn and ex-pat crowd, but I hope eventually to meet and get to know Batswana. Unlike Peter, my schedule in Botswana is somewhat fluid. I will continue to work on a few Muskie projects on telemedicine (very appropriate for distance management) and mental health advance directives, but I am hoping to make some contacts at the law school and with the NGOs to find some overlapping areas of interest in public health, family planning, health delivery systems. We will see what develops. I think much of the success of this trip for me is about embracing the opportunities that present themselves once we get there.
A delightful "small world" connection - we recently got back in touch with Maedot Semo, a wonderful Ethiopian young woman, who lived with us while she attended Waynflete. Maedot is all grown up - a dentist, married with 2 kids, who let us know about her older sister, a physician working on HIV/AIDs policy in Gabarone! Can't wait to meet her.
Peter and I are very excited about this adventure and can't wait to take you along with us!
Best wishes for peace, health and happiness in the new year.