July 21

This will probably be my last travel blog entry, as tomorrow I start traveling back and won't have internet access. Thanks, you guys, for being such good company for me! It's been nice to have this linkage with family, friends and close colleagues!

Here's a photo of our dinner tonight - yum! Brandon, the South African, is cooking up these fish (tilapia) for us which came from the huge lake just below the mission and hospital. They cost about $1.00 per fish but were not fileted or gutted - Brandon had to do that. I am not sure if that is a good deal or not. People say the lake is overfished, so I think these larger fish are few and far between. It's probably a good deal.

Took my last 3 mile walk with Lisa today. She's a bit sad because her grandmother just had a stroke back in Great Britain (Isle of Man) and Lisa is thousands of miles away here. She's trying to decide whether to go back. It's a tough call.

Final thoughts from the trip:

- Getting out of your comfort zone is a good way to make new friends (especially if you're alone, because then you are more likely to strike up a conversation with someone new), create some wonderful memories, and learn new things about yourself in the process.

- We have little concept of what real poverty is, living in the U.S. Many U.S. citizens at least have access to public housing and food stamps, so we are unlikely to starve or live without shelter, safe water, and plumbing.

- When resources are few, people figure out how to adapt. This is a lesson that we may have to learn in the U.S. healthcare industry in the next decade or two, as we try to figure out how to reduce our expenditures per capita.

- There are more similarities between Americans and Rwandans than I would have expected.

- English really is becoming the universal global language - that's the good news - but with increasing globalization, we Americans had better try to learn additional languages.

- A place can begin to feel "homey" in as little as 5-6 weeks.

That's it for now! Signing off ......