Saturday 21 June 2014

Ross says...

Mora has learned now that our room door is open at night. So now she quietly opens the door, has a look about and then leaves. I witnessed her do that the entire night. She even stared at me blankly for a minute or so and then descended back into the darkness. Sleeping at night always has it's little moments. We have Bush babies screaming and running across the roof, tropical rain every so often and just Mora, watching us sleep. It certainly beats drunk students at 3am, staggering down Morningside Road. I feel accustomed to these little moments at night and will feel weird being back home. Even just the sound of cars driving by, will blow my mind.

To start our Friday morning, me and Lisa took a trip to the hospital (don't worry mum and dad, nothing serious). The queue just to see a nurse, was big and after waiting about half an hour, Lisa decided to go hunting for a free doctor. Once we found one, we were taken to his office, where he had a look at my ear and prescribed me some anti biotics. It got me thinking how I sat in a very similar office in Scotland and was told about all the horrible, scary things that may happen to me, when I am in Africa. But so far, I have felt safer here than anywhere else. Everyone here is so nice and cheerful (Thats a rarity in Edinburgh). Some people here have nothing, yet they will still say good morning and give you a big smile, as they go on their way. In Edinburgh, just making eye contact with someone, makes you jump to conclusions or feel offended (or think they fancy you). I always feel that my perception of Africa was so naïve and misled. I get the feeling that even a lot of doctors back home, over dramatised Africa, to the point it scares anyone to even visit the place. A night out in Glasgow is more dangerous than going to Mozambique, yet people are more willing to do that. The initial reaction people gave me, when I told them about Mozambique was, 'Ooh I couldnt do that, it sounds too dangerous'...
Coming here has definitely made me want to travel more and actually see the world, especially Africa. It's such a cliché to say that 'travel broadens the mind' but it's so true. It just makes you realise how blissfully ignorant your life can be.

So after I pondered this realisation, we picked up my pills from the pharmacy (which only came to 5 meticais, which is pennys) and headed back to Sunsetti.  

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