Mother's Day

I was at the bedside yesterday and I asked Davy, the charge nurse, if I could go with a child for a CT scan today at UTH (University Teaching Hospital). He said, "You didn't notice the schedule? You're MD tomorrow." He writes the letters 'MD' on a sheet of paper in the chart and waits for my response.

"Medical doctor?" I ask, terrified.

"No, Mother's Day," he says.

"Tomorrow is Mother's Day?" I ask.

"Yes."

"For everyone?" 

"No," he says, "just for you."

"But I'm not even a mother!" I laugh.

"It's okay," he says, laughing, "you can just call it Ladies Day."

"Seriously? But I want to work tomorrow!" 

"No," he says, "you should rest." He laughs at me some more because I'm not understanding.

We walk to the nurses station. "Davy says it's my Mother's Day tomorrow," I say to the others. "Is he joking?" They all laugh. "I'm literally not even a mother."

"No, it's not just for mothers," one explains. "Any woman can take MD each month."

"Every month?!" 

"Yes, Jasmine," says the matron. "Even me, I am in menopause already, but I can still take a day each month to rest." (???)

"Anyone who is with the moon can take their MD," says Davy. (?!?!?!)

Well there you go. That explains it. No confusion remaining. I had every intention yesterday after work to just go in today anyway. But after a frustrating evening of malfunctioning office supplies, lack of Internet, toads everywhere outside the guesthouse preventing me from walking to where there is Internet, and emotional exhaustion...I have now decided to enjoy this unexpected day off. 

***

I have ventured into the city by myself, feeling very proud until the conductor on the minibus had the whole bus laughing at the "mzungu who tried to pay only two kwachas (local price)"...he then charged me double the fare...

Funny things like Mother's Day happen here all the time. Like Monday when we had to get our visas extended...

So we have volunteer visas good for 90 days in the country. They have an expiration date of 6 months after we bought them in Canada at the embassy. We have been told by some customs officers here to check in at the Dept of Immigration at 30 days to get it re-stamped and valid for the next 30 days. Other customs officers here have told us it's okay, "no problem", your visa is good for 6 months. So we thought it best to visit and double check...

So after precisely looking up on Google maps where the Dept of Immigration is, we take a bus all the way across town and find the building that is not even on the same city block of the location we found on Google Maps. The security guard with a rifle told us to wait at reception, so we did. They have a whiteboard with a grid of many different possible visa-related fees written on it (single entry, double entry, extensions, late fees, etc.). After awhile the customs officer returns, looks at our passports and calmly says we're one day late, we are in the country illegally, and we need to remedy this today. We're like, "Yes, sir, sorry sir, thank you sir." So he tells us to go back across town to the "Regional Immigration Office" to get our visas stamped. We confirm with him that we cannot get our visas stamped here, in this beautifully maintained big office with a security guard and a whiteboard with many fees listed on it...No, we cannot...We take a taxi back across town. The taxi driver directs us down an alley. People come running at us: "Taxi, madame?" "Visa extension, boss?" We get directions from three different people before we arrive at the back door of the building that we have been most assured is the correct one. There is a guard at the front desk and he tells us to sign the book. So we do. Then he tells us to go to the second floor. There are no signs on any walls. We get to the second floor and an Indian man asks us, "Immigration?" and points us through an unmarked door. We go to the receptionist and explain what we need on our passports. She says, "Let me see," we give her the passports, and she immediately stamps them, no questions asked. Then she's back on her phone and we assume we can leave. So that was lucky...

The other night we went out for dinner and I ordered a Smirnoff 'Cider', as the menu read. It was only 9 kwachas, cheaper than water! Great, I thought. This is what I got: 

Two regular sized glasses, one containing ice cubes, and one containing maybe half a shot of pure Smirnoff vodka.

 

My date. We went to "Ocean Basket". Please consider the irony of such a place in Zambia.

This was me last week:

 I had a wicked stomach bug so the nurses insisted I come to the adult ward and get some IV fluids. The medical student said, "I think we need to rule out Ebola," but I think he was joking. So far no cases in Zambia.

This is what makes the headlines here in Lusaka...

This was the view from an overpass on our walk to church last week:

Idling cars at intersections attract people trying to sell just about anything...inflatable pool toys, newspapers, sunglasses... Note the guy trying to sell puppies through the window of the silver car. 

I think I'll sign off for now...happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers back home. Too bad y'all have to work today... :)