Fun at the French Beach...

Sunday I went to the beach we call the 'French Beach' for some reason, though I see more Americans and Germans there for some reason. It is a nice secluded getaway from the droll and din of the EMF and deployment life nonetheless. It takes a 4x4 get there--the roads are quite rough. I have not been there in about three months, since before I had my cast on. I did not have much desire to go to a beach for 8 hours with a cast on when I could not get in the water, but...now that it is off, I still can't play many sports.

Dinner with the Chinese

We went to dinner with the Fong's, who recently started a business in Djibouti with MRI capability (0.4 Tesla)...something that is desparately needed here on the Horn of Africa. The chinese food here is AMAZING...the best I have EVER had. I cannot wait to go back to this restaurant.

You thought your day was bad...

Recently I had a patient present like this. She works construction and was holding a box for her friend while he was using a nailgun, and, well...it slipped. Ouch! She was a tough patient though, she came in smiling and making jokes. She was taken to the local hosptial to see an orthopedist and drain was put in. Fortunately for her this 3.5 inch driving nail miss her bones, ligaments, and major arteries and nerves...wow! She had a great disposition through it all, and gave me permission to post these photos.

Oktoberfest at 11 Degrees North

We had a bingo night at our 'club', the only real place to hangout on base, complete with billiards, foosball, ping pong, free WiFi (slow), and adult beverages. We had bingo prizes and a raffle. We also had a belching competition, pickle and spam eating contest (gross), and adult tricyle races with mini weiners in our mouths (yes, it is a joke that is a blatant inuendo..but funny). I won about $62, which is not bad!

Photos of Djibouti City

Djibouti can get very, very hot during the day, especially during July-September.

Djibouti lies in Northeast Africa on the Gulf of Aden near the Red Sea. It has 195 miles of coastline. From Wikipedia: Djiboutian attire reflects the region's hot and arid climate. When not dressed in Westernized clothing such as jeans and t-shirts, men typically wear the macawiis, which is a sarong-like garment worn around the waist. Among nomads, many wear a loosely wrapped white cotton robe called a tobe that goes down to about the knee, with the end thrown over the shoulder (much like a Roman toga).

Women typically wear the dirac, which is a long, light, diaphanous voile dress made of cotton or polyester that is worn over a full-length half-slip and a brassiere. Married women tend to sport head-scarves referred to as shash, and also often cover their upper body with a shawl known as garbasaar. Unmarried or young women, however, do not always cover their heads. Traditional Arabian garb such as the male jellabiya (jellabiyaad in Somali) and the female niqab is also commonly worn. For some occasions such as festivals, women may adorn themselves with specialized jewelry and head-dresses similar to those worn by the Berber tribes of the Maghreb.

A lot of Djibouti's original art is passed on and preserved orally, mainly through song. Many examples of Islamic, Ottoman, and French influences can also be noted in the local buildings, which contain plasterwork, carefully constructed motifs and calligraphy.