Wednesday (5/27):
I sucked it up and made it through Tuesday night's and Wednesday morning's good-byes without tears. Amanda took all the lovely pictures below, so all thanks go to her!
***Above: Forrest (looking rather dejected) & I
***Above: Zach Kelly & I...As a 14-year old, Zach does not do hugs, so I got a most interesting forehead touch/slap/good-bye.
***Above: Amanda & I
***Above: Emma & I
***Above: Joanna & IThe car ride to Mouila on Tuesday was largely uneventful until we encountered traffic. Yes, traffic. Rare, but it happens. Turns out that the build up of cars was due to a broken bridge. Basically, if the bridge could not be repaired then we had to go back to Lebamba/Bongolo since there is only one road. Well, within 30 min. of our arrival (they had already been working on it) the bridge was fixed, so we continued on our way. We arrived in Mouila around 1pm, I think...We checked in and dropped out luggage off.l
Felipe (no clue how to spell his name) took Eric & I to a bakery (I didn't know what to do with myself)...Although I have been sick, I decided to go for it and I bought a chocolate filled croissant and Djino (grapefruit soda). I kept both down, so I was quite happy.
Eric and I spent alot of time talking in the airport, so I got to hear all about him and Wendy and how they got where they are today which was cool. We had all sorts of random conversations and made speculations about other travellers.
We arrived in Libreville around 4:30ish and headed to the Straw's for dinner. There, we met the other 4 STMO interns (they are interns staying in Libreville for 3 months). Alace and Meredith made a delicious dinner and dessert and we all ate together.
We attempted to leave the Straw's around 10pm, but discovered a flat tire, so that didn't quite work out. We (Tim & Meredith Brokopp, Leanne (1 yr. intern), the 4 interns and I) left around 11pm instead, so I got to talk to Alace a bit...
Libreville was a shock to me. I have been living in the jungle for the past 4 weeks and it was a rough transition to city life. It shocks me what is available in Libreville and how many people there are. I was immediately thrust into a crowd of people at the Straw's house on Wednesday night and truth be known, it took me a few minutes to adjust to all the chatter and people my age...I don't know how I'll transition home. So, if you don't hear from me I'm just getting used to dealing with people, vegetables and all the things I haven't seen in a while. Trouble is, I've LOVED the isolation of the jungle.
Thursday (5/28):
We left the Brokopp's around 8:30ish for a mobile medical clinic trip in a village 2 hrs. away. The trip was pretty cool and we got back around 5pm. Two nurses did all the diagnosing and consultaions. Another person registered, some of the interns (Torey, Lindsay & Hannah) operated the pharmacy and another one (Zach) measured weight and bp. There weren't a ridiculous amount of patients, but there were some. It was really awesome to see the Gabonese church involved in ministry in the village. One of the Gabonese men that came with us shared with the "patients" before they registered and were seen by the nurse.
We came back and I immediately showered, my white shirt turned brown (this isn't a complaint but rather a point of reference for you all back home) from the dust on the ride home. After shower, I packed and spent some time chatting and on the computer.
Meredith, Leanne, Lindsay, Hannah, Torey & I ate dinner without the boys since they went off on some long adventure back to the village. You can find the details on Zach's blog (www.jewgabon.blogspot.com).
Friday (5/29):
So, here I sit forcing myself to say good-bye to Bongolo and now Libreville and all the wonderful people I have met in both places.
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