Enjoying Lambaréné

Recruitment season is down despite our team effort while the rain is still full on and trapping us in Lambaréné. Even though it’s physically exhausting, I’m finding this season beautiful nature-, people- and workwise. There’s electricity, gas, water and wi-fi all at the same time at campus right now. This festive atmosphere motivated me to give You guys another update.

Wednesday, 27 November: It was Isaac’s birthday, so I surprised him with pancakes in the morning. Getting up early and being in the kitchen before having suffered unbearable hunger – the things we do for love (aka friendship).

Saturday, 30 November: Again, there were pancakes for breakfast, this time at Jacob and Lisa’s place with all of campus. When we got back around noon, water came on, so we frantically started doing our cleaning and afterwards the monthly shopping. Would You have told me a year ago it would make my day to be able to clean my bathroom, I would have laughed in Your face. In the evening, Jacob came over on a secret mission to prepare an advent’s calendar for Lisa for which I had brought sweets during my last trip to Libreville. Later on, we had a short outing to Summit with Nathanael, Laura and Anton, which was the first one for the latter two.

Sunday, 01 December: Apparently our home this weekend, after church, Jana, Christina and I went to Jacob and Lisa’s to bake Christmas cookies, as You ought to be doing on first Sunday in Advent, isn’t it?

Monday, 02 December: In the afternoon I suddenly started feeling tired and sneezing a lot…

Tuesday, 03 December: … and here’s to a day home with the flu. Sadly, this made me miss an intensive field screening, the first of its kind since February or March.

Wednesday, 04 December: While normally still being sick, I made the 200m to attend Dearie’s Journal Club session. And after an hour of attending this went back home to my sick back feeling as though I had just run a marathon.

Thursday, 05 December: Anybody who knows me knows I like to work, so this is what I went to do. Just to be sent back home at noon by my colleagues to fully recover. Winter is flu season, but there’s no winter here… It feels weird to be sweating without knowing if it’s the muggy heat or the illness. Luckily, we had water and wi-fi the whole week, what else would I need.

Friday, 06 December: No St. Nick’s boot, but rather a St. Nick’s Flipflop awaited me in front of my doorstep. Thank You, secret Santa, this warmed my heart! As I was feeling stronger but was told not to come to CHU and contaminate everybody, I did a massive laundry day. Yip, all this is mine and all this has been washed by hand. In the evening, we celebrated Lisa’s birthday with campus people and colleagues of hers from Schweitzer Hospital.

Saturday, 07 December: I joined an invitation by Roméo from Parasitology Lab to cook crocodile on wood fire. The invite was for 11am, we arrived at noon, and ended up spending the whole day. Doing shopping, helping to prepare the food, watching Ruben harvest end open coconuts, spontaneously helping Christina to examine neighbors’ children for her ultrasound point of care study… And just enjoying each other’s company with a couple of colleagues.

Sunday, 08 December: I went to pay a visit to Fanny’s to hang out, play with her son, and help braiding her sister’s hair. In the evening, following Laura’s initiative, we had a Sinter Klaas evening including a secret Santa game. Everybody had brought two gifts and the game allowed to win more than that. And what can I say, guess who won five gifts and was even blessed with some chocolate? And other good news: We had running water for the whole week; it only went off again this evening.

Monday, 09 December: New week, new energy. Even though the Monday meeting is as long as it can be draining. Today was Christina’s last day, so we headed out to Isaac for lunch at a Senegalese restaurant. In the evening, she invited friends and colleagues over for cookies and we had a relaxed sit-in.

Tuesday, 10 December: We said goodbye to Christina with blackberry-Korn liquor that Anton got out of his treasure chest. At noon I went to town with a colleague to sort out a struggle with my phone provider Airtel. They debited me money without giving the internet flat that I had bought. A week ago. And apparently blocked me now from calling the service hotline. Love that service. At least dinner was nice – Cecado had cream so we could prepare cream cabbage with sweet potatoes and have a mini campus dinner.

While I’m really looking forward to my trip home over Christmas, at the same time these past few days I’ve felt more at home in Lambaréné then I have for the longest time. Especially after coming back from “flu leave”, I got a few compliments for apparently having gained weight (which is an actual compliment here). I’ll just say it’s regaining what I had lost over some difficult times. Funny intercultural anecdote: Tuesday evening we’re sitting outside with Anthony, Prince and some others. Anthony gives the above-mentioned compliment. Prince, Gabonese and PhD-student in Tübingen, replies (roughly): “You cannot tell a European woman she gained weight! That’s not a compliment for her “ – “But she smiled and said thank You…” – “Still, even if she pretends. Afterwards she will go to her room and cry for days!” (I didn’t, luckily). I appreciate both of You 😉

See You, take care,

Doro

307 days in Gabon