tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53885410522007424542011-10-03T16:52:22.695+02:00I have a two year contract as Education Director at Bokamoso Private Hospital in Gaborone, Botswana. It's going to be a wild ride!Julie In Gabshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108198770475172613noreply@blogger.comBlogger151100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388541052200742454.post-75863564690605433212011-04-27T11:31:00.049+02:002011-04-28T16:53:34.277+02:00

At the end of March my Mom traveled from Florida to Gaborone to visit Africa for the first time.  It took a little convincing.  You know the barriers we all have: money, time, etc.  The thing that convinced her was when I told her that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that she couldn't let pass - and added that Abigail's parents came and brought her 80 year old grandmother!  Well, if

Julie In Gabshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108198770475172613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388541052200742454.post-39466471382152956072011-04-20T13:51:00.085+02:002011-04-22T10:25:02.930+02:00

At the end of February (ok, I'm a little behind in my blog posting), I went to Namibia with friends Rene, Nita and Dumi.  It was an awesome road trip.  It took us about 12 hours to drive from Gaborone to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia.  Windhoek (Wikimedia pic)   We went in part to job hunt in Windhoek.  Nita and I were "retrenched" from the Hospital at the end of

Julie In Gabshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108198770475172613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388541052200742454.post-73893226751567400872010-12-20T15:18:00.229+02:002010-12-28T21:47:36.937+02:00

Jane Arnold and I went on a 4-day excursion to Lilongwe, Malawi to visit Jo Anne Earp, my former HBHE Professor and long time mentor who came to Malawi with her husband Shelley Earp, Director of UNC Lineberger Cancer Center.  They and Jane and I wanted to see the UNC Project which is working on a malaria vaccine trial, AIDS treatment and prevention research, clinical care and has a fabulous 

Julie In Gabshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108198770475172613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388541052200742454.post-50757286549995557512010-07-20T18:21:00.000+02:002010-07-20T18:21:11.767+02:00

It is Presidents Day weekend, so 5 of us took a trip to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary in Serowe, Botswana.  It was a 3 hour drive and we stayed at a nice and simple lodge, Masama Lodge, outside of the City. To get to the Rhino Sanctuary, you drive through the town of Serowe, which is home to the founding President, Sir Seretse Khama.  There are many roadside shops along the way. This one is my

Julie In Gabshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108198770475172613noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388541052200742454.post-50501127973157937902010-06-26T09:32:00.003+02:002010-06-26T09:38:18.691+02:00

Last weekend we went to the World Cup for the USA vs Slovenia game.  It was my first time in Jo'burg and I must admit that it was my first time to a professional soccer game.  You could feel the World Cup fever the moment you entered the city.  Shirts, hats, vuvuzelas and flags of every nation were being sold on the street (and in the road!). I was very surprised at how cold it was.  It is winter

Julie In Gabshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108198770475172613noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388541052200742454.post-75536542440287034462010-05-16T22:16:00.203+02:002010-05-30T14:07:57.941+02:00

On May 1st Nancy Chescheir and I headed out for a safari to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. Here we are at the KIA Nairobi Airport, very happy! I must say from the start that aside from being my boss here in Gaborone, Chief of Staff at the Hospital, doctor at UNC Hospitals and friend, Nancy is an extraordinary photographer. So if I neglect to credit her for the pictures on this

Julie In Gabshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108198770475172613noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388541052200742454.post-50380231751134581892010-02-06T11:13:00.033+02:002010-02-08T08:30:17.696+02:00

Last weekend I went on a 4-day road trip to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. I went with Dr. Edmand Munatsi, friend and colleague who is a Medical Officer at the Hospital and is from Zimbabwe. He has lived in Vic Falls and invited Abigail and I to travel with him so he could show us his beautiful country. Beautiful it was. And everything about the trip was a blast! Driving there took us through the

Julie In Gabshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108198770475172613noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388541052200742454.post-12439220476930900672009-12-28T09:45:00.000+02:002009-12-28T07:47:32.273+02:00

It has been a very low-keyed Christmas season for me here, partly because Christmas isn't as visible and commercialized here - so there have been very few decorations or signs of the holiday in town - and partly because it is summer here - it was 95 degrees on Christmas day. Most people in Gaborone leave the city for the holidays. Shops close until the week (or two) after New Years and people

Julie In Gabshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108198770475172613noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388541052200742454.post-16313793698171649502009-12-20T06:28:00.005+02:002009-12-20T21:56:01.929+02:00

We are in high gear at the hospital, preparing for our opening on January 11th. There are 13 working days left before we open and in the midst of that are the holidays with lots of key people gone.This past week we had our first hospital-wide "drill" with mock patients - to see how everything from registration to triage, clinic visits, transport of gurneys, the IT system, etc. are going to work.

Julie In Gabshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108198770475172613noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388541052200742454.post-62520222774853584202009-12-19T18:44:00.045+02:002009-12-20T10:22:11.334+02:00

Last weekend 6 of us went to Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa. It was less than two hours drive from Gaborone. The game park was amazing. It really surpassed what I was expecting. We stayed at Buffalo Ridge Lodge, a beautiful, small resort in the bush. They have a spectacular pool right at the edge of the mountain, overlooking the valley below.The best part were the two game drives we went on

Julie In Gabshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108198770475172613noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388541052200742454.post-68426707416412803892009-11-29T11:47:00.045+02:002009-11-29T13:12:45.246+02:00

Most of the Americans from the Hospital (about 20 of us) went to the Phakalane Golf Course for a gourmet catered Thanksgiving dinner. It was really nice - turkey, ham, lots of sides and desserts. It was quite fun and made it a bit easier to be so far from family and friends.(Tom, Julie, Craig)(Julie, Patty, Richard)Unfortunately no days off for Thanksgiving, which is OK because we are all in very

Julie In Gabshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108198770475172613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388541052200742454.post-45764080516107506442009-11-04T21:23:00.011+02:002009-11-04T21:50:37.588+02:00

Last Friday a group of us went to the Grand Palm hotel for drinks.Sitting outside gives you a little extra attraction - Vervet Monkeys running around the grounds!Pretty wild!

Julie In Gabshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108198770475172613noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388541052200742454.post-45377397840884690672009-10-18T16:49:00.004+02:002009-10-18T17:16:49.393+02:00

Ok, as promised, a quick tour of my staff housing apartment. It's quick because video takes forever to upload if it is too long.

Julie In Gabshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108198770475172613noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388541052200742454.post-39849410848649562852009-10-17T08:53:00.014+02:002009-10-17T09:32:24.896+02:00

Yesterday Botswana had its 10th election since Independence in 1966. The ruling party, the BDP (Botswana Democratic Party) has always won the elections and that will likely be the case this time too (results are not out yet). But the opposition parties were out in force prior to the elections trying to drum up support for their candidates.The day before the election I was on my way into town and

Julie In Gabshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108198770475172613noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5388541052200742454.post-78124808873077487072009-10-14T16:22:00.009+02:002009-10-15T08:07:58.791+02:00

I’ve hit the ground running here in Gaborone since landing. Jane, my midwife colleague, and I arrived Saturday afternoon, October 3rd -- and at 8:00am on Monday morning we started work for Bokamoso Private Hospital! Just for the record, I don’t recommend landing in a new country and starting work a day and ½ later – but that’s what we did. Here is a video, after 3 days of travel, of our arrival

Julie In Gabshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108198770475172613noreply@blogger.com10