Im Vaterland mit Fahrrad

September 2nd, 2010

It was time to go to Germany, and discover the world of bicycle riding in Europe. Dr. Peter Tate was to meet me in Berlin with his bicycle, and I was bringing my Novara Element with the intention of leaving the bicycle with Onkel Herbert. Daughter Diane was able to get away from work and go with us, and she seemed content to take care of herself when Peter and I were out riding. Our plan was for a Blitzreise, spending three days in Berlin, three days in Leipzig with Herr Doktor Kretschmar, and three days in Krefeld with der berühmte Herr Doktor Feucht. Diane left us after Berlin to go see a friend in Frankfurt, and we met again in Krefeld. The trip included much learning about how to survive with a bicycle. It was especially the case with learning how to travel on public transportation with a bicycle, like riding the Bahn. Once arriving in Berlin, the first order of attention was to assembling the bicycle, and then to going out to get some Döner. We were able to take Peter on a walk around Berlin in order to show him the main sites, like the Bandenburger Tor.

21 AUG 20 km ride around Berlin– riding a bicycle around Berlin was easier than expected. Bicycles need to observe the same rules as cars, though they usually have special bicycle paths for bicycles. The rest of the day was spent taking a long walk with all three of us together and Diane as Stadtführerin.

22 AUG 108 km ride to Potsdam from Berlin, with bypass to see Sans Soucci and to loop around several lakes in the Potsdam area. This was a long ride, and the weather was perfect. On this trip, we learned how confusing it could be to try to find your way around, and we often went in circles. Streets are not often clearly marked, and they frequently change name for no good reason. To make matters worse, I was depending on a gps card for my Garmin Edge that would give me streets in Europe. The gps unit refused to accept the card, and so was left without a reasonable means of orientation and poor maps. I couldn’t have been more upset. Needless to say, the ride was awesome, and the palaces around Sans Soucci were overwhelming in their size and grandeur.

24 AUG Dresden. 4:30, 81 km3500 cal, 120 m– Peter and I arrived in Leipzig on 23AUG, and was picked up at the Hauptbahnhof by Dr. Kretschmar, whom I met last year while in Cameroon. He arranged for us to stay at a Ferienwohnhausrun by one of his friends. We were able to meet his parents and to have supper with them. The home-made sauerkraut was awesome. They also took us on a quick tour of Leipzig. On 24 AUG, Karsten, Peter and I were able to take off on our bicycles to the Elberadweg. We drove about 1 hour to our planned start, and off we went. The route was unbelieveably well cared for, and many people were on the road. It was fascinating to see a very large number of quite elderly people out riding their bicycles. We passed through the towns of Meißen, where the famous porcelain comes from, Dresden, and on. As we rode up stream, the canyon walls got steeper, and more impressive. There were multiple castles and elegant palaces along the way…. Nothing like one would ever see in the US. We then stayed in a very large Herberge, which looked like an old castle with a Turm, and nestled on the side of the canyon wall.

Peter and Carsten

Meißen

Peter in Dresden

Frauenkirche

Semper Oper

Our hostel was the upper right white “castle”

25 AUG. Konigstein to Neuhirschstein 90.6 km 5:17  3593 cal, 215 m ascent– the next day, we first rode 10 km up the Elbe to Konigstein, making a fairly steep climb up to the largest fortress (Festungen) in all of Europe. It was overwhelming. The trip back along the Elbe attempted further variations in order to see different things. At the end of the trip, it was very sad for me to have to say goodbye to Carsten, as I really appreciated seeing him and family again. I’ll definitely want to see him again in Cameroon, as well as spend time with him again in Deutschland.

Königstein

Königstein

Summer palace in Dresden

End of the ride in Hirschstein

26-27 AUG — we took the Bahn from Leipzig to Krefeld, and then rode our bicycles from the Krefeld Hauptbahnhof to Herbert’s Haus. The next day, Diane, Peter and I rode the regional transport to Düsseldof. We also spent much time looking for a bicycle box in order to sent Peter’s bibcyle back to the US on the airplane with him. We finally found a box for him at the Rückenwind bicycle shop.

28 AUG Krefeld to Ossenberg and back.   5:42,  100.7 km     3673 cal, 127 m ascent. Today, Peter and I took off on our bicycles to ride up the Rhein. The bicycle path was reasonably well marked, but the road was not in nearly as good of shape as the route along the Elbe. Also, since we were in the  Ruhrgebiet, we saw a huge number of very large factories. At the end, the weather got us, and we were caught in a squall. Peter wanted to stop for a beer, but I just wanted a warm shower and dry clothes.

It’s been hard saying goodbye again to so many friends. Carsten, Herbert, Katja and Hannes and Peter. Having left a bicycle with panniers at Herberts Haus, I now have no excuse not to return to Deutschland for another ride. I’ll either do the upper Rhein, the Schwarzwald, or perhaps something over in the Franken/Spessart area, heading to Prague. Hopefully, the next trip might be a little longer, and focused on just one region, to prevent spending a lot of time just getting from one place to another.

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North Cascades Bicycling 26-29JUL2010

July 30th, 2010

26JUL2010   Total travel time 2:49, 68 km, 120 m ascent, 2958 cal.
I finally have been able to break away for a week to do some cycle touring. Russ A and I were dropped off in Darrington by Lucas, who rode about 40 miles with us. We spent the first night in the park lawn of Newhalem, having grabbed dinner at the country store, which closes about 5 pm. We were able to order some cold sandwiches, and even a beer. I was then able to finish Pat Buchanan’s book, and finish writing a review for this book on Betsy’s iPad, which she so graciously let me borrow. I’m beginning to love these little devices, as they are perfect for travel, since all I need is some word processing, and occasional Internet connection on WiFi. It is awesome at holding a charge. I thought that I’d never like the bugger, but I now prefer this over my laptop for travel, which is heavy, an energy monster, and not as versatile in many ways. I especially liked the iBooks option, which is a color improvement over the Kindle. The General (Pat C) had a Kindle on our ACA trip last year, and I was quite interested in it’s ability to provide availability to multiple books.

27JUL2010   Time 8:40 distance 120.3 km 1594 m total ascent, 6680 cal
Today was a most challenging day. We started from Newhalem, WA and rode to Winthrop. In the process, we needed to cross the North Cascades, and the pass is not an easy one. Actually, there are two passes, Rainy and then Washington Pass. After completing Rainy Pass on fully loaded touring bicycles, we were getting pretty beat. By the time we arrived in Winthrop, we were exhausted. It didn’t help that the last ten miles was greeted with a very strong head wind. Russ and I survived, especially owing to the spectacular scenery on the Passes. We might be invalids tomorrow!


28JUL2010   Time 3:11, distance 67 km, ascent 166 m, cal 2259
As one could see, today was an easy day. We needed it after yesterday, and today was also quite hot, especially in the afternoon. So, we rode from Winthrop tp Pateros. I am now looking out on the Columbia River. We went swimming in the hotel pool to cool off, and am able to relax. We’ve encountered a number of foreign cyclists on the route who are hitting the North Cascades, and it is interesting how much this part of the world attracts everybody else, yet this is only the second time I’ve ever been across the North Cascades highway. The cycle ride itself was reasonably flat, but the heat was still oppressive, as we followed the course of the Methow River before it flows into the Columbia River at Pateros.

29JUL2010  Riding time 4:40 distance 93 km, ascent 381 m, 3250 cal.
Travel today was between Pateros and Wenatchee, WA. The route followed the Columbia River all the way, though it was rolling hills, some as much as a persistent (2-3km) 5% grade. We started at 6 am in the morning, but by 10 am the heat was already quite sweltering. I couldn’t have ridden too much longer today because of the heat. The morning was absolutely gorgeous with sun glowing on the sides of the cliffs beside the Columbia River. We passed multiple fruit stands, affording us an opportunity to purchase fruit for the road. Peaches never tasted so good! Finally, in Wenatchee, we were able to catch the Trailway bus back to Tacoma. We wanted to take the train, but they would not allow us to check on our bicycles in Wenatchee, so, we took the bus. At first, Mr. Sourpuss at the checkout counter told us that we could not take our bicycles, but a very nice bus driver let us stick the bicycles In the luggage compartment anyway. So, it was a fantastic cycle trip with a fantastic friend.

I again did not take nearly enough photos. There isn’t much diffent that I’ll need to do for further road trips except to get in better shape. I hope that the issue is simply that of being a novice in cycle touring, and the more I do cycle touring with friends, I’ll be able to plan better, and utilize the time to not force mileage, but to enjoy each mile ridden. This will take time and experience. Further mid-summer trips should be planned for the coast, and not in eastern/central Washington. Maybe we could do part of the Pacific Coast route next summer.

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Fahrrad fahren in Ost Washington

July 21st, 2010

Bicycle riding in Eastern Washington, the Palouse-Dayton, Walla Walla Region 15-18JULY2010

Russ, Luke, and I as well as Peter decided to head off to eastern Washington to do some cycle riding.

The above photo includes Pete, Howie, Jake, Lucas, and Russ standing in the Blue Mountains after visiting an old family hunting site.

We stayed with a relative of Russ, Howie, who has a cabin in the Blue Mountains of eastern Washington, next to his charming bruder Jake.

Howie is on the left, Jake on the right. We did short and long rides each day. The weather was gorgeous, though a bit hot for my liking, being up to 33℃. The Palouse contains not only the Blue Mountains, but wheat fields as far as the eye could see. You can see our motley crew resting by a wheat field.

Each evening, we cooked up a meal, and Lucas would retreat to study. Study? My goodness, he has forgotten that he graduated from college!

Reality hit, and he had to pack off back home…

Total mileage was

15JUL 24.5 km, 414 m elevation gain

16JUL 120 km, 1173 m elevation gain

17JUL 95 km, 576 m elevation gain

18JUL 38 km, 325 m elevation gain

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Bangladesh 2010

July 4th, 2010

07JUN2010 I’m currently sitting in the airport at Muscat, Oman. It is a very nice airport, and thankfully, all have been very helpful to me. I discovered only a few days before leaving that CheapOAir changed my reservations such that I was left with a 28 hour layover in Muscat, the thing that I dreaded most, being stuck in an airport for lengthy periods of time. There was no way that I could correct matters, though there was a glimmer of hope yesterday with Lufthansa suggested that I could be bumped for a day, which would have left me a 4 hour rather than 28 hour layover. Oh well. The trip started in Seattle. The checkout person was German, so we did the entire exchange auf Deutsch. I was pleased to discover that I was also able to fare quite well in the Frankfurt Flughafen, my German ever so slowly improving, though mostly in interpretation, and not in ability to communicate. I’ve been able to read two large books so far in my travel, well as study some German and Bengali. I sadly discovered that I left my light yellow rain jacket on the last airplane, but won’t discover until this evening whether it showed up in lost and found. The airport is quite fascinating, and am surprised at the amount of liquor that could be found here, even though it is a strict Muslim country. I’ll probably pick up some frankincense on my way back from Bangladesh. I wish that Betsy was with me. I miss her, even though she seems to be constantly anxious about any sort of imaginable trivia. I’ve seen only a few spooks so far, and most people seem to be dressed in Indian western dress. I am quite surprised at the prevalence of Western culture, and especially English, in remote parts of the world, such as here in Oman.  Watching Muslim and Hindu families come by, seeing people interact and converse, it amazes me that cultural differences are over-emphasized, and how similar the characteristics of all humankind tend to be.

08JUN2010 Finally in BD. Babil got me at the airport, and we went for lunch at a local Bangladeshi restaurant. I’m eating with my hands again! You don’t use a spoon and fork in BD but pick up your food with your hands. It was wonderful to see old friends here in Chabagong, including Steve K, Steve W., Jason & Anna, John Tripura, Poromil, Uttam, Sujan, and the Collins. They make the trip worth it! Please forgive me if I left your name out…

20JUN2010 A 12 day interlude is now noted. I have been quite busy at the hospital, and enjoying my interactions. Like before, I have spent much of my free time in either talking with friends (of whom are both Americans and Bangladeshis), and reading. A number of books have already been devoured. Several books will not be reported in my website for the sake of Christian charity. Dr. Lattin has also loaned my some old copies of First Things.  I find First Things quite fascinating with a mixture of feelings. About a 1/3 of the articles are delightful and of interest to me. They utilize English at its best, a subject which leaves me rather jealous, because, try as I may, I find it impossible to write well. Every time I re-read what I write, I find grammatical errors, confusing statements, inappropriate use of words, self-manufactured words, and other stupidities. Brother Dennis only points out the most glaring examples. Yet, while reading First Things, I am able to obtain a vicarious joy in the best use of the English language, and the thoughtfulness of the articles. I am less inclined to delight in First Things because of its replete Romish Catholicism, as well as its slightly too liberal stretch of “co-belligerency” to Rome, Eastern Orthodoxy, Judaism, etc. Yet, Neuhaus is a first class writer, and often strikes a cord of agreement with me that I am able to appreciate.  My time is also spent in reflection on life in general. I miss Betsy tremendously. I do not feel complete without her. I’ve reflected much on the nature of missions, especially missions in a Muslim realm. Modern Western sympathies for Muslim culture and religion seem to lack an appreciation of the working of Muslims when found as the predominant cultural or religious group in a community. This has been seen by me both in BD as well as in Cameroon. It is a religion of slavery, joylessness, oppression. It offers minimal respect for women, disguising the depersonalization and subjugation of the female population all in the name of modesty. Yet, devout Muslim men seem to be the most lustful of all of God’s creatures, and the presence of a Burqua doesn’t quench their lusts. Generalizations tend to betray the large amount of quite decent living and courteous Muslim people that I’ve encountered, who have been most helpful in my travels. Like last time in BD, probably the hardest thing to endure is the persistent beggarliness of all Bangladeshis. It’s hard not to respond to that, though agreements with the mission to not give more than meager gifts to the natives must be observed. A typical BD native seems to view the missionary Christian as the equivalent of “wealth”, and I remain perplexed as to how to personally respond. I sometimes feel that my presence in BD is perhaps more a problem than good for the gospel.

27JUN2010 I have just finished my last day of call, and will be wrapping things up this week. Call kept me up both nights, the first to do a D&C, and then next night to answer questions about a patient who decided to go into the dying mode. It is monsoon season, and rain occurs unlike anything in the Northwest. It will rain torrentially for about twenty minutes, and then it will be sunny. Rains occur about 2-3 times a day. I tried going out once in a downpour, with an umbrella, and found that I was soaked from head to toe, as the rain falls horizontally with a small wind. You’re always given a minute or so premonition of coming rain, as the wind begins to blow. You don’t see dark storm clouds, just a wind. I’ve now met with all my friends on the hospital compound, and feel like I’ve been able to spend quality time with them. I haven’t taken enough photographs, and will need to spend one last day running around with my camera. Nurul (his name sounds more like Noodle as the Bengalis do a different sort of “r”) will be taking me up to Chittagong. Meanwhile, only one thing is on the mind of most Bangladeshis—the World Cup in soccer. Oddly, the nation cheers for only two teams, Argentina and Brazil. It will be tragic when both of those teams loose.

02JULY2010 I’m now sitting in the airport in Chittagong. It’s the first time in ages that I’ve been able to access fast internet (and free, also!!!!). A few Taka and the airport assistant was able to shuttle me through to the head of the line, and get me through without a problem. The airport scanner was broken, and so they quickly let me through when I told them that I was a daktar (doctor). The ride to the airport was with Nurul, who drove quite decently, and we arrived in generous time to catch the plane. Although Cameroon roads were the worst I’ve ever encountered, Bangladeshi roads are not exactly super-highways, and more than once, we almost hit a dog, rickshaw, and oncoming bus. I can’t believe that more accidents don’t happen in this country. Later… I’m now in the airport in Muscat, Oman, waiting for my Papa John’s pizza to cook. I happened to be the only white person on the plane from Chittagong to here, and it’s nice to see a few English speaking people around. Bangladeshi behavior is close to hilarious. They are very pushy in line, always trying to get ahead of anybody else. Once the plane hit ground, almost immediately, about half the passengers popped their seatbelts and were standing to fetch their overhead items. Strange. Papa Johns was quite good, not greasy, close to what one would eat at home. I ordered the super Papas, since they didn’t have the Arabian Always special. I presume it was halal. The checkout lady was in black dress, not a full burqua, but had absolutely no personality; no smile, no regard for people, nothing.

Papa Johns in Muscat, Oman

Flowers of Bangladesh

Selling Jackfruit in Chabagong

John and Nimmi with hospital schematic

In the market with Sujan

I now think about the trip summary. I feel that it was a valuable trip, especially being able to meet old friends, and acquire new friends in Malumghat. I was able to give Steve K. free time to work on the design of the new hospital with the architect. I especially enjoyed meeting John M. and his wife Nimmi, who live in North Carolina, though they come from Chennai (formerly Madras) India. What did I forget? 1. Insect repellent. The last four days, the bedbugs came out, and I was covered head to toe. Interestingly, at the same time, I read recently that an Abercrombie and Finch was closed in New York City because of bedbugs. Go figure. 2. Flashlight (headlamp) – the lights go out way too frequently, and I have to ride a very bumpy road on my bike at night to get to the hospital when on call. 3. Voltage converter/adapters- the only thing that wouldn’t work was my beard trimmer, but sticking a three prong plug into the outlets provided tended to put a terrible strain on the plug. It would have been better to have an adapter.

I am considering a return in late January/early February 2011 with Betsy. If we go, I think I will try the oriental route, and maybe stay several days in Bangkok. Jason noted that the town was quite interesting, and fairly modern, worth a visit. We’ll see how the Lord leads.

So, as soon as we arrived home, Betsy and I went out to purchase a new vehicle. Diane needed our RAV4, and we sold it to her since we were considering a pickup. We ended up with a Toyota Tacoma.

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Life Update 19APR10

April 19th, 2010

Cannon Beach
It’s been over three months since I’ve posted about events in Betsy’s and my life. A lot has gone by, like, Easter! I had out the Österlamm that Herbert gave me about 6 years ago.

So, here is a quick catchup, mostly with photos…

1. Deutsch Unterricht– I restarted Saturday AM German class. Between reading the Magazine Deutsch Perfekt and going to German class at the Tacoma German Language School, I’ve been able to keep from totally loosing my language skills. Here are some photos of the class, as well as the teacher, Yvonne. She is from Dresden, Germany, and is unbelievably patient with us old farts.

2. Oregon Coast– in early February, Betsy and I took a trip to the Oregon Coast. The lead photo was from Cannon Beach. The Oregon Coast is one of the most beautiful coasts in the world.

3. Cycling & trainer– Betsky now has a new bicycle, named Meggie II, after her first bicycle. We took a brief 10 mile ride recently…

Betsy also let me get a Tacx Virtual Reality Trainer. These are quite nice at being able to cycle train in bad weather or when you only have an hour to spend on a bicycle and need a hard workout. It works by connecting a computer to a gizmo that your back bicycle wheel sets in. When you are going “uphill”, the wheel offers resistance in proportion to the steepness of the hill, and when going downhill, it may actually spin your tire for you. It is close to reality.

You can see that it really chews up your training tire. Meanwhile, you watch a video screen, which you set to a number of rides that you may wish to experience, throughout Europe. As you pedal faster, the scene moves faster, quite comparable to reality.

The screen will also show your power output (in watts), cadence (how fast you’re pedaling), heartrate, bicycle speed, time, and distance. This allows you to monitor closely how well you are improving on your endurance. Here is Jonathan on the bicycle trainer…

4. Bicycle Tour 15-18APRIL2010. This trip was to celebrate tax day, April 15. Russ A. and I drove to Chelan, WA, and took off from there. Our first stop was 52 miles later in Twisp, WA. The road either followed the Columbia River, or tributaries, leaving us at a resort town just east of the North Cascades pass.

The next day went from Twisp to Coulee Dam, a 85+ mile ride, with fully loaded touring bikes, and about 7000 feet elevation gain. Here was our first challenge, that of crossing Loup Loup Pass. We were concerned about the weather since it had snowed on the pass just a week before. It was quite cold, but we were working so hard to cross the pass that we were over-heated anyway.

We then ended up in Omak. We met a kindly elderly gentleman on the street to enquire about our options, and he suggested that we NOT go the way we had planned, but instead take an alternative route that was marked on the map as gravel road, yet in reality was fully paved. He also suggested that there were minimal hills. The route indeed was far less hilly than our planned route, but was persistent in multiple sections of 6-7% grade uphill, and a lengthy 8-9% grade section at the beginning and end of the new route. We were quite pleased to have done this alternative route, since it took us by some absolutely spectacular scenery, like Omak Lake.

We eventually ended up at nightfall quite exhausted but looking at the Grand Coulee Dam. We stayed in a motel that faced the dam.

The next day was 61 miles and another 5000 feet of climbing. From the photo below, the intuition would remark at how flat the terrain was, yet, on a bicycle, it was quite rolling hills, with lots of 6% grade climbing. We were still moderately tired from the previous day, which made it harder to do even simple hills.

Our last memorable scene was from the Columbia plateau, getting ready to descend down to the Columbia River. In the distance, you could see Lake Chelan and the town of Chelan. It was a 8-12% grade descent for about 5 miles. Awesome! I’d sure hate to come up that hill on a loaded touring bike!

5. Future– so much has gone by. A niece, Laura, won a beauty pageant.

Laura, we are so proud of you. It takes not only beauty but true talent and skill to get to Teen Colleyville.  Thankfully, you didn’t have to have uncles dying in the car and brothers spazzing out on you to get into your contest, like in Little Miss Sunshine. We had old friends from many moons ago, Aaron and Anita visit us. They remain quite special. I especially appreciate being able to do outdoor things with Aaron. We plan on seeing Jonny off to Belize for the summer, and perhaps longer, to visit and study with Uncle Dennis. Dennis has been doing well, as is attested by this recent photograph…

Once he gets out of jail and quits playing with poisonwood, he’ll be back to his old self, I’m sure. Dennis is not really in jail; he is just showing us the miracles of Photoshop. I’d really like to visit Dennis some day. Belize is looking increasingly appealing, especially with our Destroyer-in-Chief Obaminator as el Presidente ruining all that we count as precious in our country. He will go down with Woodrow Wilson and FDR as the worst presidents ever of the USA.

I hope to do a few more cycle tours this summer. I also plan on spending the month of June in Bangladesh, and will be in Germany for the last 2 weeks of August, if all works well. More blogs will follow. I haven’t had many book or movie reviews since I’m listening to 2 lengthy Brahms compendiums, which I wish to review together, watching a lengthy tv series with Betsky, and reading a very large and ponderous book. So, more blogs will be in the works in the future. Meanwhile, please stay in touch.

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Final Days in Cameroon

November 23rd, 2009

08NOV2009 The photo below shows  the Lutheran church in town, one week ago. It is a much smaller church that the one in Meskine that we usually attend. We did appreciate the service quite a bit, though it was a touch more formal than the other church.

Yesterday I took a bicycle ride from the hospital up to the mountains. This was done with Carsten and Scott. We took off at 6 am, rode for two hours, and went nearly 20 miles. It was over dirt road, and so mountain bikes were imperative.

I think the natives were more puzzled about us than we were about them. You can see their standard home structure, with a cluster of Boukarous and mud walls enclosing the village.

The Meskine missionaries invited a priest from the Anglican church to come give meetings for four days.  He was heavily influenced by the teaching of the Toronto Blessing, which is an form of Pentecostalism. There were many “words from the Lord” and talk about healings. Some basic doctrines of the faith, such as the doctrines of Christology, were brought into question. My feeling was that though the missionaries wished for “revival”, a revival of emotions without revival of the primacy of God’s word is doomed to failure, frustration, and a worse end than if nothing at all occurred. You are left momentarily with the haunting notion that maybe there is a form of Christian faith, a technique or belief structure, that will magically transform you into somebody that can heal on command, read minds, and hear God directly. Unfortunately, there is no magic, but there are the Scriptures, with God speaking about as plainly as imaginable. So, our doubts about missing a “higher blessing” are relieved by knowing that attendance to God’s word alone gives the highest blessing.

That evening everybody went out to dinner, and we had sauerkraut. It wasn’t the best sauerkraut that I’ve ever had.

Today, we attended the main church in Meskine, partially skipping out of the healings and words from the Lord. It is quite a dramatic event, and so I include a short portion of video. The natives here are excellent musicians, and Betsy and I both enjoyed native African beats with Christian songs.

MVI_2014

There is general singing, mostly in Fulfulde, but also in French. Then, various sub-groups will get up to sing in their particular dialect. When it came to the time for us Western folk to sing, it was just Carsten’s family and Betsy and I, so we had Betsy sing “Amazing Grace” as a solo. It was well received. Sermons and more singing occurred. The entire service lasts 2.5-3 hours. As you can see, the worship is quite animated, and there is more body movement than in Western churches (except for the Pentecostals, of course!).

13NOV09 Time is quickly coming to an end. Having felt light-headed soon after arrival in Cameroon, I solved matters by cutting my blood pressure medicine in half. I am already on the lowest dose possible, so now I am just about taking naturopathic doses the last 4 weeks. I measured my blood pressure during the stress of a busy surgical day, and it was 100/60. I am beginning to draw further conclusions as to the probable cause and treatment of my hypertension. I just wonder what my weight and cholesterol levels are doing. We are preparing for a trip to Roumsiki with the Kretzschmar family this weekend. It is a small resort town located on the Cameroun/Nigerian border. There are supposed to be some interesting volcanic formations, and it is known as one of the more beautiful parts of the country. Though it is only 80 miles at most away, it will take us about 4-5 hours to get there, since the road is anything but ideal. More on that later.

I showed up at the operating room this morning, and the techs invited me into their own room for brunch. They were sitting around a bowl of what they called “soup”, and sticks of French bread, which they would break off, dunk in the soup, and then eat. It was quite spicy, and tasted great. I suddenly realized what had occurred at the Lord’s supper, as I joined into the common pot.

The brunch was served with Cameroon tea, which was quite sweet, and tasted just like lal cha from Bangladesh. That will be one of my more memorable experiences, and it really touched me that the techs would honor me like what they did, inviting me to join with them.

17NOV09 We have just returned with the Kretzschmars from Roumsiki, one of the few resort towns of Cameroon.

It actually was very nice. We stayed at a resort that is maintained by a Swiss man and a native Cameroonian lady. The resort has the comforts of a typical Western hotel, including a swimming pool.

The area is known for its volcanic granite rock formations, that are seen throughout the horizon.

We took a hike one day down into the valley enclosed by these formations, and actually entered Nigeria. The path, though steep, is heavily traveled by donkeys bearing large loads of goods from Nigeria, as well as ladies carrying massive volumes on their heads.

The donkeys are essentially the Cameroonian equivalent of large transport trucks. We were also able to step foot into Nigeria. Here is Betsy and I in Nigeria.

The next day, Carsten and I tried to climb Roum, which is the mountain around which the town is made. He did okay, but I was slipping too much from poor shoes, and decided to opt out of the very last few hundred feet. This the mountain to which the Kapsiki speaking people escaped to from the Muslim terrorists-I mean, invaders. You can see caves where they hid out.

We later went to visit a house of an animist. Each of his many wives has their own home, while he has the biggest, close to where the goats are kept.

Afterwards, we realized that Betsy was having a high temperature, and quickly realized that she was having a bout of malaria, so got her going on Co-Artem.

The ride home was a little difficult with sick Betsy and sick children, since, if you look at a map, it looks like a major thoroughfare, but in actuality, it is dirt road of the worst possible condition.

Diane, if you are reading right now, look closely, as it’s not a cow nor a horse, but a donkey.

19NOV09

Over the last few days in Meskine, the morning temperature has dropped as low as 73ºF, and many people, nationals and ex-pats alike, are wearing heavy jackets and wool hats. Babies are bundled in extra sets of thick clothing. It has become very cold for people accustomed to living in 110ºF weather.

Last night, I did prayer rounds with Martin, one of the evangelists at the hospital. 6/8 people we prayed for were Christian. It is amazing how many Christians are in this mostly Muslim area. The missionaries and many of the native Christians will make rounds on every hospital patient each Tuesday evening, and that has been an interesting way for me to see the patients in a totally different light from that as a physician. It is especially delightful to be able to spend time with the Natives. My pre-conceived conception of them as being a tad bit primitive, living in mud huts, etc., is entirely wrong, and I am amazed at their wit, intelligence, and awareness of world events. Most people have cell phones. Most Natives speak at least two languages, many as much as 4-5 languages fluently. It is not loin-cloth jungle savages barely commanding what lays a few yards beyond their existence.

23NOV09 We are finally home, with a moderate case of jet-lag. Yet, we are thankful to see family, and to touch base with our home and surroundings, while sustaining good health. I now have a laundry list of chores to do before I go back to work on 07DEC. Before then, I’ll probably publish some reflections on the past year, which will go unannounced by e-mail. So, stay in touch.

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Crazy Days in Cameroon

November 4th, 2009

21OCT2009 – Please also read “First Days in Cameroon”. I tried publishing blog updates from Cameroon, and it would not go through, so, the trip to Cameroon will be a series of several blogs. The above photo shows Sadjo and Carsten in the OR. Sadjo is Muslim, though a most friendly person, and most intelligent. He was one of the first employees at the hospital, brought in when he was a young man, and trying to earn a living as a tailor. He now spends most of his time sewing people.

Today, I did a oophorectomy/hysterectomy on the Pyles cat. This was performed in the quiet of their back porch, using Ketamine as the anesthesia, and Kalabasoo helping with the surgery. It was a bit floundering, but the cat seemed to survive our ordeal. At 1700, Carsten dropped by for our first bicycle ride. He rode out into the fields surrounding Meskine, noting that cotton and Millet were the main crops. Both seemed to be doing well. There are mountains surrounding Meskine, and several have large monkey populations. Our hope is to have a little more time to ride further. Since it gets dark at 1800, we were limited to about 20 km ride today. You must use mountain bikes, since the roads are dirt, and are not in terribly good shape.

I am still doing a lot of operating, and fortunately, able to give Carsten a break more often. This has been good for him. We have also been discussing ways to help Meskine get back into general orthopedics, like bringing the SIGN-nail to Meskine. This is an intramedullary nail that you run down the middle of a long bone in order to stabilize a fracture. They are then able to return to function much quicker. Carsten has been absolutely delightful to be around, and we have been able to work well together. I think that I need to learn better German in order to communicate with him and my other German relatives and friends.

On 23OCT, I did a D&C, today a cystolithotomy (removing a stone from the urinary bladder), as well as herniae repair and abscess drainage. The types of surgery seem to be rapidly expanding. It has been an enjoyable experience in the OR. I am still frustrated by the inability to perfectly communicate with Carsten, but fortunately, he is moderately patient. Simple things are easy, but when trying to describe precise details of an operation or procedure, I don’t have the vocabulary in either French or German to adequately communicate.

27OCT, no changes. It rained yesterday, and the temperature fell to 80ºF. It was the first night here where we slept without the air conditioner running. I’m working feverishly on my French, so that I may communicate a little better.

30OCT, our time seems to be winding down. This AM, I went to the hospital 15 minute prayer service, opening with the songs “How Great Thou Art”, and “To God be the Glory”, in French of course. It was interesting to see how joyful the Africans were, in that they could not even sit down to sing these songs. They tend to be far more animated than Western folk. I compare that to the woeful sound of the call to prayer heard 4-5 times/day over loudspeakers in the village mosque next to the hospital grounds. Islam is such a sad religion compared to Christianity. Later, Scott Pyles and I went to do a reading to a young Muslim man showing some interest in the faith. This is similar to a reading that Betsy went to a week ago, where a missionary will go to a Muslim house, and will have bible stories, that they will read. In this instance, it was a bible story of the tabernacle in the wilderness, written in Arabic script, but using the Fulani language. All in all, it was a very pleasant experience.

The bottom photo shows some of the students of the person we went to read to. They learn to read and write by writing the Koran out on a large wooden board, which they are displaying. Once they have one page memorized, they erase the board, and put on the next page. This person lived in a one room house, inside a large compound of about a city block, housing several hundred people, including 90 some children, many barnyard animals and goats. His wife had just had a child, and the tradition is for the wife to stay with her mother for forty days after the first child, in order to learn how to raise the child.

Diane, it’s not a cow! It’s a goat!

Though missionaries may be chided for trying to “sell” religion, I would remind the dear reader that coercion or force is never used by the Christians like the Muslims, as many Muslims would readily convert if the societal pressure and intimidation was not so great. Also, the missionaries are almost always the first to form languages for remote peoples, and to teach them how to read and write. Contrary to M. Mead who would love to “preserve” ancient cultures, those ancient cultures all desperately wish to move into the 20th century like the rest of mankind, and Islam, unlike Christianity, is doing absolutely nothing to assist in mankind trying to improve their lot. I show a child trying to learn the Koran. Though many children might recite the Koran in Arabic, they have no clue as to what it says or means, as they do not understand Arabic. It would be like Christians insisting that one recite the Scriptures in Latin in order to find favor with God. Fortunately, our God is multi-lingual.

03NOV09 Today, I turned into a Urologist. We had a patient whom was thought to have a vesico-vaginal fistula. We could not find the fistula by instilling blue dye in her bladder, but noted serious urinary incontinence. So, we happened to have some bladder suspension kits, and I had seen it done several times, and went ahead and did it. In spite of that, we still noted a small amount of urine persistently coming into the bladder. So, I suggested we wake her up, do an IVP, and assess the problem. That would be true in the US or Europe, but not here. We proceeded to open her bladder, searched hopelessly for a fistula, but noted that there was absolutely no urine coming out of the left ureter. Again, I suggested a work-up. Sadjo suggested otherwise. We opened her up,  and found a markedly dilated left ureter, and much scarring surrounding the most distal ureter. So, our decision was to simply re-implant the left ureter into the bladder. This we did in a standard fashion, Sadjo paying close attention, since he will not only repeat the surgery someday, but probably do it better next time. It’s quite incredible working with these guys. As mentioned above, Sadjo was nothing but an ambitious young tailor, hired on for the hospital 17 years ago, fluent in Fulfulde, French, English, Arabic, and some German, now in his mid-forties, owning a large cattle ranch, working evening in the tailor business, as well as pursuing his love for surgery. He and Barbar are a total joy to work with.

The weather is cooler now. It was only 85ºF last night, which now seems cool to us. This time of year, winds from the north commence, causing a red dust to fill the atmosphere. The surrounding mountains no longer appear crisp, but a blurry red. This causes the temperature to cool down, but also leaves dust everywhere. I now remain a touch more congested, and am constantly sneezing from the irritation of the dust.

Just a little mention of all those who have made our stay memorable.

Sadjo and Barbar are the two main techs. Sadjo is Muslim, Barbar Christian, and totally opposite personalities, Sadjo being quiet and thoughtful, Barbar expressive and impulsive, alway saying “Ah cha cha”.

Tijani and Walko, quiet workers, Tijani’s uncle is chief of the village, and Walko is a tech that does much of the minor things in the operating room, as well as much of the anesthesia.

Saido,Roger and Falkamo also do anesthesia. It is usually spinal (rachidienne) or ketamine. All are absolutely superb. They can also do general intubation, but the OR is not well set up for that.

Vadera and Wome also do a lot of the minor activities like wound debridements and rapproachments (wound closures).

So now I turn to the missionaries that we have met. We loved all of them. Each one has become special to us in their own way. So, let’s start with Scott and Lee. They, along with Danny and Frances, started this place. It was their vision and hard work that led to the founding of Hopital de Meskine, and it continually shows. Scott is responsible for the main leadership, and possesses an uncanny sense of wit and humor about him. He is always able to break a tense situation with a word or comment that leaves a smile on others. Lee is amazingly hard working, and keeps everything in the surgery end of things running well.

So now I turn to the missionaries that we have met. We loved all of them. Each one has become special to us in their own way. So, let’s start with Scott and Lee. They, along with Danny and Frances, started this place. It was their vision and hard work that led to the founding of Hopital de Meskine, and it continually shows. Scott is responsible for the main leadership, and possesses an uncanny sense of wit and humor about him. He is always able to break a tense situation with a word or comment that leaves a smile on others. Lee is amazingly hard working, and keeps everything in the surgery end of things running well.

David and Patsy have been most special. David runs the informatics side of things, and keeps communications going. They are more quiet workers, but always possess a gentle loving spirit. Their hospitality will always be remembered. One day, Betsy was commenting on her bad back, and the next day, David dropped by a special chair that was very comfortable on her back. That really touched us, just the caring for little things in another person’s life.

Andrew and Kari have had two young adopted children to care for and so we have not had the opportunity to get to know them nearly as well as the other missionaries. They are also a bit newer, and so are working on learning the languages and becoming effective on the mission.

Carsten, Annette, and their children Rabea, Lucas, and Aaron (here, shown with Betsy and Marike in Roumsiki) have become quite well known to us. I have spoken more about Carsten in other places, since I have been working with him in surgery, but their entire family remains special. Carsten and Annette grew up in the former DDR in Leipzig. He and Annette are both very musically enclined, and he happens to like Bach, which makes them very much true friends. I truly hope to visit them in August in Leipzig, if the Lord wills.

Carsten and Annette have a young German girl named Marike (here shown with Rabea) from Baden-Württemberg helping out with teaching the children, and also working in the hospital, since she would like to eventually go into Medicine. She has been very special to us, since she has been able to help us better converse with Carsten and Annette, since she is fluent in German, French, and English. Her maturity and love for the Lord has been especially noticed by us.

Me with Josephine, Melissa with Aisha, Sarah, Kari and Ruth. Josephine is a general practitioner from the Netherlands, Melissa a short-termer from Louisiana, and Sarah a PA from Michigan. I’ve not had much of a chance to interact with Josephine, but have really appreciated getting to know her. She very sweet, is fluent in Dutch, German, English, French, as well as Fulfulde, and also a superb, caring doctor. I don’t know how she does it. Sarah has been wonderful to have. She is a real take-charge person, very industrious, and very capable in the tasks she has at the hospital. She rarely makes bad decisions, and has been a joy to work with. Kari is a physical therapist, whom I haven’t had the ability to get to know well. I appreciate her sweet temperament, as well as her loving demeanor around natives and patients. We had just gotten to know Ruth, who is working mostly in Chad, and quite fluent in Arabic.

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First Days in Cameroon

October 17th, 2009

Betsy and I left home on 26SEPT. Dr. King took us to the airport, and we flew out on Air France to Paris, with an eight hour stopover and then on to N’dJemena, Chad. Adama picked us up at the airport, and drove us to the guest house, that had not quite prepared for our arrival. We made do, and was able leave by road to Meskine the next day, driven by Adama. The roads had multiple large potholes, yet Adama still drove at roughly 60-80 mph, the exact speed not known since the speedometer constantly read “0”.  One of our four boxes had not arrived, though we were assured that it would be in in several days, and promptly delivered to us. On 30SEPT, I started working in the OR. It is much different than in Bangladesh, in that the surgeon does very little ward care, but spends most of his time in the OR suite, or seeing consults. It will take me a few days to get used to things. The workers all speak a little English, and I spent much of my time speaking German with the other Surgeon, Carsten, who is from Leipzig.

02OCT, our final box arrived, missing only a few items, such as clorox wipes, which we can survive without. Surgery has been busy, with a few very odd cases. One was a 12 yo boy, gored by a bull, coming in several days later (how many, we don’t know), and his only injury was a complete division of his common bile duct. We did a Roux-en-Y reconstruction, but he died later that night. There are too many other cases to talk about, and I’m sure you’re not interested, so, we’ll let it slide.

10OCT, we had a fairly busy week at the hospital, but able to relax on the weekend. All is going well. I haven’t taken too many photographs, and I am not getting out of the compound too often. The US State Dept. informed us of a cholera epidemic in town, though we will still to go in to eat tonight. It is a bit harder than Bangladesh to acclimatize to the heat, and I’m not sure exactly why. Otherwise, save for a bout of travelers’ diarrhea which resolved quickly in both Betsy and myself, all is going well.  A few days later, we spent with Carsten and Annette on the river flowing through Moroua. This river is now just a stream, but will fill its banks at some times of the year, and in a month, will be completely dry.

The main church in Meskine has about 100 adult members, and though church starts at 8 o’clock and lasts until 10:30 AM, most people arrive between 8 and 9 am, filtering in slowly, and sitting with their own people group. The various groups are then invited sequentially to sing a song for the remainder of the folk, including a time for us white people, who usually sing in French some hymn.

Notice, the Christmas decorations remain, like in Bangladesh. Our house is quite nice, and here are some photos.

Yes. The bed has mosquito netting. No mosquito bites at night. The main crop in this area is Millet, which looks a bit like corn.

Firewood also is in huge demand, as they prefer firewood over natural gas, even though firewood is more expensive than gas!  Getting photos in the community has been a serious problem, because, unlike Bangladesh where everybody fought to have you take their photo, the natives will turn and run if you get out your camera. Both situations below witnessed this happen…

Here is the whole missionary group at Annette’s birthday party, with real ice cream made from powdered milk!!!! …

We’re having a good time, and feeling like we are contributing a bit to the entire effort. More to follow…

P.S. Aren’t you glad I didn’t include any political discussion. Though we’ve stayed in touch with American and World news, and watched the Stalk Market (sic!) and price of gold fluctuate, it seems a touch removed from us, where our patients simply are wondering if they will have food for the next day. We have much to be thankful for, in spite of our national distresses. The next few years are going to be time to re-think the real battles that face us, and hopefully they are not simply battles for peace, security, and prosperity, as the end result will probably be the opposite of what we seek. Fortunately, Betsy and I have had time to read and think (see Bookblog) and talk, and it has helped in keeping us on track together about our goals for the coming few years, as I return to work.

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