In Macha!!

I finally am done traveling!! Five hours in the back of a car to finish off the journey... Started off in Lusaka with big busy roads full of cars and people. Then the roads were smaller but still paved. Lots of police check points. People walking along the road everywhere....balancing things on their heads and babies strapped to their backs. There were guys selling scratch off cards for cell phone air time and newspapers in the middle of the road. Then the roads were no longer paved...only slightly bumpy and still 2 lanes. Then the pot holes got bigger. Then the road only became one lane. And then the road looked like it had been completely washed out. The last half of the ride was spent gripping onto the handle on the ceiling so not to bounce around. All along the road there were people and kids everywhere, waving. There were tiny little circle huts with grass roofs in circles all along the roads. It was gorgeous though. Beautiful sky...big like in eastern washington or montana. Red red dirt. Got to the hospital right before dinner. Emptied some stuff before heading over for a dinner of mac and cheese. So disappointing. :-/ There are 3 dutch girls doing research here. Not very friendly and would only speak dutch during dinner, despite speaking perfect english. boo. Hopefully that will get better. But I am so happy to be here. And I start work tomorrow at 730 am. Will load photos soon!

Arrived in Zambia!!!

I'm here!!! Sitting in a coffee shop with a latte! Flight went really well. I was in the back and right before take-off one of the stewardesses says " Dr. McGarry, Dr. McGarry. There is a problem with your ticket. Please gather your things and come with me." I then got moved to row 1 seat c back in business class!!! Haha! One of the stewardesses came and asked if I was the doctor coming to work in a HIV hospital. He told me about how he is negative but a lot of his friends are positive and how he gives money to an aids orphanage in nairobi. He asked me all sorts of questions about what I was doing. Everyone up in business class heard of course. Once again the seat turned into a bed. I didnt get very good sleep...there was a lot of turbulence. I think it was when we were going over the Sahara desert. Since I was in row one, I was the first one off the plane. I had to walk out onto the tarmac to get to the terminal. There were government officials to greet us and since I was the first one, a lady walked with me chatting the whole way!. She was very friendly. The sun was just rising when we landed. I was second in line for the visa. It went just fine. I told them I was here to visit a friend and to visit the hospital to see the differences....stamped tourist visa. I had to wait almost an hour for my luggage. But most people hadn't even made it through the visa line by that point. While I was waiting, I was standing next to someone apparently very important. Everyone came over to say hello. He was in business class with me and then went through the VIP line. I was earsdropping and he called someone in customs to tell them that there was a doctor from America that would be coming through. I don't know what that got me, but I had no difficulties. I then went and exchanged two hundred dollars. I am now a millionaire!!! ha!! :-) From there you walk right out to the parking lot. I asked security where to get a taxi and immediately got taken to one. It took about 45 minutes to get to the shopping area because traffic was so bad. Rushhour. It smells so good here. Nice and earthy. Everything is very green and the trees look like what you see in the photos. There are people walking along side the road everywhere. Some are carrying things on top of their heads. Some are wearing traditional clothes. The schoolkids have unifroms on. There are also people in very very nice business clothes. there are soldiers driving by in backs of beat-up trucks. The shopping center is huge and modern, complete with a shop-rite and subway. I got here before it was open. But the coffee shop had just opened! So I bought a latte, sausage roll, and internet and am sitting outside, surely getting sunburnt, wasting a few hours. I have my luggage with me so it will be difficult to walk around. I need to go to the bank and find a phone store to by asim card. I also need to find a restroom...but am not thinking about that right now. I am so happy here...I can already tell I'm not going to want to leave....and when I do leave I will want to be back here. :)

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle

Today Phil and I went to Windsor castle to watch the changing of the guard. It was a beautiful warm day out. The guard going out wore the blue uniforms and the new guard wore red uniforms: the irish guard. The queen was not at windsor sadly today....no chance of her spotting me and handing me of to Will or Harry. haha. We walked around the village inbetween the guard change. It was very pretty with lots of great looking shops. Some of the shops are in the old royal train station...you can see a photo of me in front of one of the old trains. We then walked over to Eaton. Also gorgeous. I could really live here. For lunch, Sue, Phil, Charlotte and I went to a pub. The pub used to be King Henry the VIII's hunting house. Inside you can eat in the old stable and barn. It was delicious. Right now I'm sitting in the airport, waiting to board my plane down to Zambia. I had a really amazing time here in England!!

London trip

London!

Yesterday Phil and I decided to take the train into London! It took about an hour and then we took the underground tube to Hyde Park. From there we bought tickets for a double decker bus tour of london. while waiting, I ate some carrot and orange cake...delicious! The tour took about two and half hours. When we first got on it was sunny and warm so we went straight up to the top in the front. The sun soon went away and we froze! When we got off we could barely move. I got to see just about everything you could want to see. It was all gorgeous. i really need to come back for a few weeks to see everything in detail. We went past Big Ben right at 4 so we got to hear it bonging. I'll be posting pictures slowly....there are a lot!!

Flying high to England...

Tea Time

So finally in England. Yesterday I was picked up by my mom's cousin Phil and his wife Sue. We drove past Windsor Castle, the horse races, Thames river, and where the Magna Carta was signed to Phil and Sue's house. Already had lunch at a pub: fish, chips, and mushy peas of course. Charlie, Sue's daughter, came to spend the weekend. It has been great hanging out with her. Today we went to Joan and Arthur's house....my Grandma's sister. Lots of family came and we all had a great time. At first David, Sue, Rheya, and Rhys were there. Rheya and Rhys look so much older than when I last saw pictures...both are so sweet. Then Sophie, Steve, Pierre, and Henry came...both boys are cute. It was so great to meet everyone. Lots of tea and chocolate biscuits. I'll post pictures later of of everyone! :) Alright...we're off to go out to the pub! Cheers love!

Flying high

So I was pleasantly surprised when I checked in that my flight was upgraded! Many thanks to my mom's cousin Phil who works at british airways. It was upgraded not once but twice! What does that mean? Oh it means free champagne. It means having a seat that extends completely flat to a bed. It means having 4 windows on the plane. It means having a 3 course meal of duck confit, braised beef ribs, and a fig tart. And of course the personal screen with unlimited movies, music and tv. I think everyone in this section was wondering what the heck I was doing here. I left Seattle on the most beautiful of nights. The sun had just set, reflecting off the water, and the sky was clear enough to see mountains on all sides. It is very surreal that I am really off to England and then to Zambia. I’m feeling much less nervous since I’ve been on the plane…but maybe that’s just all the champagne. :)

Match....

I am officially a pediatrician at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland Ohio. This is Case Western's children's hospital. This is an amazing program and hospital. And it should be interesting moving to the midwest..... :-)

You can check out the hospital here: http://www.uhhospitals.org/Default.aspx?alias=www.uhhospitals.org/rainbowchildren

The Countdown!

1 week until finished with medical school rotations
2 weeks until match day
3 weeks until leaving for Zambia

:-D

Here's the Plan....

So I leave in less than 4 weeks...creeping up quickly! I leave Seattle on March 26th to fly in England to spend time with my Mom's family. I leave England on March 30th and land in Lusaka, Zambia on March 31st. From there I will be renting a plane to fly to Macha Mission Hospital is located. I will be there working until May 14th. I fly back to London and then to Seattle.
Or here's the brief version:

March 26th: Seattle to London
March 30th: London to Lusaka
April 1st: Lusaka to Macha

May 12th: Macha to Lusaka
May 14th: Lusaka to London
May 15th: London to Seattle