A Day at the Market

Have you ever wondered what a Wal Mart in Africa would look like? Well, here is your glimpse. Every Friday, 44 villages come together in Oulessebougou to sell their goods. Surprisingly, you can find almost anything you need. (I actually found some Betamethasone cream for the rash on my face.)

This is what the Market looks like Saturday through Thursday. Very empty.

This was the hardware stand.

Anyone care for some dried fish? Honestly this stuff stinks!!!! There are flies all around this stand. The people would put the whole fish, (or parts) in their porridge. It was really gross to watch them eat it. I'm not a fish lover anyway. But this, was gross!

When I say that you can sell anything at the market, I mean Anything! This was from part of the stand selling things for medicinal healing. A dead rat still in the trap? Disgusting!

This is from that same stand. Turtle shells, snake skins, dead parrots. Seriously, the market was CRAZY!

This was just a stand selling produce. Notice the flies all over the cut up pumpkin (I think).

Here is another display of the dried fish. Since there are a couple of piles missing, I am assuming that someone was having a yummy dinner that night! (Eeeewwwww)

While in the market, the children would follow you everywhere trying to sell you their items. I felt bad that I didn't want what they were selling. Don't you love the Mt. Rushmore sweatshirt in the 95 degree weather?

In the tied up leaf balls, you will find Shea butter. It comes from Shea nuts that they roast and then prepare to get the oils out of. The oils harden and they put them in these leaf bundles to keep it from re-melting in the heat.

There are still more posts to come. Stay tuned.

---Allison

Africa Post #3

This is Tanini on fly duty/control in the OR during surgery. There were also lots of spiders in the OR on the ceiling which would sometimes beat us to the punch. They looked like very big Daddy Long Legs. It was actually pretty cool to watch.

OK. This one is for the ladies. For all of you who may feel that you had a bad labor and delivery experience. Next time, just be grateful that it didn't take place in this labor and delivery room. Honestly, can you imagine?

This is Brandie, Carie, and myself outside the hospital wall. We were the 3 post op nurses that came on this mission to Ouelessebougou.

This was taken just inside the hall in our surgical building. (Just past those double doors in the background is the actual OR and the stretcher in the hall is the one use for our lovely transports.) This woman was selling fresh papayas. We bought some and had them with our lunch that day. Not only was she very beautiful, she was amazingly poised carrying these melons on her head with a baby strapped to her back.

This is just a couple of our patients before they were discharged home.

Don't forget that this is 95 degree weather. I just can't get enough of the babies.

The children when not playing were often seen doing chores.

I asked if there were any wild animals in Mali. Lions, Zebra, Giraffes maybe? No. I was told that there were donkeys and goats. (Although they did say that there were hippos in the Niger river a couple of hours away). Honestly, there were donkeys, goats, and chickens roaming everywhere. They didn't seem to belong to anyone.

---Allison

Africa Post #2

After looking through all of my pictures, I've decided that this is going to take a while if I only do 5 pictures a post. So, thanks to Melanie, I will do 10 in a post. Some posts will be structured and some will be very random, like this one. Enjoy.

Unlike here, there are no clothing stores in this village. You have to buy material at the market or the material shop and then have the tailor make whatever you desire. I had a couple of outfits made and a bunch of fun purses. (Hint, Hint, for the 3 of you that I am sending "pay it forward" gifts to,{I still need your contact information Emily}).

For New Year's Eve we were invited to a dance club called the "El Dorado". I am not sure who came up with that name, but anyway, we had fun. We were unable to stay very long due to having to be up bright and early for more surgeries the next morning. The work never ends.

This picture just illustrates why you always felt dirty (even the cold showers were from well water and so were deceivingly clean). The orange dirt was so fine that it was easily stirred up into the air. I developed a fine itchy rash along with big welts on my face and neck after a few days in Africa (add a sunburn from the day at the market and you'll understand why some of my pictures are not very flattering). I really think the rash had to do with the dirt (and whatever it contained) that was in the air. I also had multiple itchy welts on my feet and ankles .

Proof that this trip was not just a vacation. We really worked hard and I am proud to say that we helped improve many lives.

I couldn't get enough of the babies. They were SO cute! The women carried them on their backs with cloth. In this case, it was a beach towel.

I was shocked when I saw this for the first time. I don't know who came up with the design of the hospital, but the OR is about 5 buildings down from the Post Op Recovery Room. We would have to take these poor ladies across a busy courtyard filled with people along a very rocky and bumpy path. True to form, they never complained.

Some of the women had very interesting tattoos (the men were never tattooed, just the women). Some of them had the soles of their feet and hands tattooed and many of them had their lips/mouths tattooed. Also, most of the women and teenage girls had two cut mark scars next to their eyes like this lady. I am not sure exactly why, but I would guess that it is considered a sign of beauty.

These 2 pictures are of Yatt's house. He was kind enough to let us inside his compound to meet his family and see how they lived. You will meet him in a future post. He spoke some English and interned last year for the Utah Alliance which is how some of the group already knew him.

This is just a picture of the first surgery performed. In our time there, we were able to perform 24 surgeries and 2 C-sections. The first C-section was an emergency and the baby was saved. With the 2nd C-section, the baby had already passed away and was stuck making the surgery necessary.

Let's Give This a Try

So, I've been trying to figure out a way to cram in 2 weeks of stories and photos into 1 post. I finally came up with a solution, which is, to not even try. So, I am going to do it over several posts and break it up into the countries that we were in (Mali, Munich, and Paris). There will be several Africa posts since we were there the majority of our time. Again, if any of you have any questions about the pictuers or Africa in general, please ask. Anyway, here we go.


This picture was taken inside one of the compounds (multiple families will live together). People will live with their parents/brothers/sisters in family groups. Also, each man can have up to 4 wives and they will all live together.

Everywhere you turned, there were children. They were usually caring for a child smaller than themselves and appeared very happy. I once saw a child no more than 3 years old with a newborn infant strapped to her back. I wish I had gotten a picture of it. It was actually very nerve wracking. I also could not get used to seeing small children (I mean small as in 2-3 years old) wandering unsupervised (except for mayby a slightly older sibling) and they were wandering even until dark.

This little girl was being treated by one of the local doctors and had Yellow Fever (one of the immunizations I was required to get). Sadly, she died only a few hour after this picture was taken.

This is Camisa. Oh my goodness. What do I say about Camisa. Camisa worked in the hospital washing the surgical instruments (just in the sink, I might add. Gross, I know.) Luckily, we performed AIDS tests on all of our patients and would not do surgery if they were positive. This is good because everyone (specifically, Camisa) would dig through our trash and take everything from used cleaning canisters to bloody surgical drapes. Every job has it's perks, right? She was seen carrying large boxes of trash home with her on her head. We also saw her grandchildren with a black sack of said bloody rags. Whatever she didn't want, she would then burn in a hole next to the hospital. It truly is a different world there.

This is post op where I performed my job duties. The sticks on the beds were for mosquito netting. I promise you that not only was this area very dirty, it was also very hot, stinky, and fully equipped with flies. The average daily temperature during our stay was around 95 degrees. Although this room had 2 small windows, they didn't open and so there was not much fresh air coming in. Needless to say, I didn't spend any more time than I had to in here.

I have plenty more pictures and for some reason I can only have 5 in each post. So, I will post at least daily if not more. Until then.

---Allison

Home Sweet Home

I am home, I am safe, and what an adventure it was!!! I have a lot to do to get settled in, but I will plan on finding some time to post pictures and share some of my experiences soon. I assure you that it was an experience of a lifetime and I hope to be able to do it again someday. If any of you have any specific questions, just ask in the comments and I will try to address them in my next post.

It's good to be home.

---Allison

Let the Adventures Begin!!!!

WOW!! It's that time! In just a couple of hours I will be on my way to France and then on to Africa.

I have to admit, I am having a hard time keeping my emotions at bay. I am completely excited for this experience and yet I am having a VERY hard time saying goodbye to my family.

Thank you so much for all of those who have helped make this trip possible. I will try and post while in Europe but if I can't, I will for sure post more in 2 weeks upon my return.

Wish me luck!!

---Allison

Christmas Followup

Christmas, as always, turned out great this year. The kids loved all of their gifts and we enjoyed the time that was spent together as a family.

Tim's sister, Liz, and her family spent a few days with us as well as his cousin Chloe. It is always nice having them stay with us. Whether Tim admits it or not, he gets lonely being the only one in his family still here in Utah. His loneliness tends to show more around the holidays. However, just spending some time with his family really seems to fill up his bucket.

My pictures will be non existent in this post, not because I didn't take any pictures, but because I took them on the SD card that is now in Emily's camera and I can't find it at the moment. So, when it is found I will have to post some of our Christmas pictures.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas. We love you all.

---Allison

Christmas Village

One of our family traditions is to go up to Ogden and visit Santa at the Christmas Village. The kids look forward to it every year. We always get hot chocolate to keep us warm and there is usually a Christmas performance to entertain while we wait. This year Ethan was actually able to get out of the car and "sit" on Santa's lap. However, as you can see in his picture, that didn't go over very well.

Off the subject, it's less than 2 weeks before I will be in Africa. I've decided that I will get my "pay it forward" gifts while I am there. I am excited as to what I will find. I hope you are all enjoying your holiday season.

Merry Christmas!

---Allison

The Winners Are...

Yeah! So the winners of this game are Emily, Brynn, and Rachel! What I need you to do next is to email me with your mailing information so that I can send you a gift in the mail.

Now, I am also bending the rules a little bit and I am going to ask the 3 of you if you have a preference. I have not bought anything yet because I wanted to see who my winners would be first. So, with that being said, you have a choice to make. I can send something off in the next couple of days and have it to you by Christmas, OR, if you are willing to wait a little bit, I will get something for you while I am in Africa, but you won't get it until mid January.

So, send me your contact information and gift preference at allisoncurtis19@hotmail.com. I will let you know what the decision is when I hear back from everyone. Thanks for playing!!!

---Allison

Do You Want to Play Along?

A few weeks ago I was checking in on one of our heart friends and "Gavin's Mommy" had a fun post that I wanted to participate in. Basically, the first 3 people to make a comment on that post would receive a small gift with the promise that they would continue to pay it forward. This cute ornament is what I received in the mail a couple of days ago.

So, now it is my turn to "pay it forward." Would you like to receive a fun gift and then give a gift in return? If you would like to participate, here are the rules.

THE RULES: The focus of this is to do an act of kindness without expecting anything in return other than the recipient will, in their turn, pass the kindness along and "pay it forward."I will send a small gift to the first 3 bloggers who post a comment on this entry. In turn, those three will post this information and the game will continue!! The little something you send can be something you made, bought, were given or found, anything you want!! Just a gift that will make the person's day!!

If you are interested in participating, simply be one of the first 3 bloggers to leave a comment!! You have to promise that you will then post about this on your blog, link back to me, and then send something to the first three people who sign up to play along through your blog. Doesn't this sound like fun!!??

Don't be shy. In fact, here is a special invitation to all of you lurkers who never comment. Now is your chance to make yourself known and say hello! :)

Anyway, let the games begin!

---Allison

Home for the Holidays

My oldest brother Bryan has spent the last 6 months in Saudi Arabia (which he volunteered to do). This is not the first time that he has served our country and I am very proud him and his service. (Also in the the top picture on the left side is my brother Adam who served 6 months in Iraq about a year ago). I am very proud of them both and I am happy that we can all be together this year for the holidays.

---Allison

I'm Feeling Guilty

I can't believe what a slacker I've been lately. I just hope you have all been as busy as I have been and haven't noticed my extreme absence. These next couple of posts will simply serve as quick updates. Hopefully with the weather getting colder I will have more time to leave comments on all of your blogs and to keep mine up to date.

---Allison

Costumes

Gavin wanted to be Yoda this year but we were unable to find a costume quick enough. We did find this Ninja Turtle and Gavin LOVED it.

Spencer is quickly changing from a child into a teenager. He's had the idea of being "Slash" for a few months now. We couldn't find a long curly wig, but I think that this one worked out just fine. A few sentimental metal heads commented on how his costume was the best of the night.

Ethan looked really cute in his Darth Vader costume. However, when he was sitting in his stroller, you really couldn't tell what he was supposed to be. He refused to wear the "helmet" hat that the costume came with so there were times he just looked like he was wearing black pajamas.

Miss Emily really wanted to be Princess Leah. We added to her buns to give her that distinct look. She thought she looked pretty fabulous!

Fall Fun

These pictures were taken on one of the last warm days this fall. We had fun spending time as a family eating lunch at the park, playing on the playground, and rolling in the leaves.

First Duck Opener

So last week Spencer went on the duck opener. He had a fantastic time and came away with his first bird. All he could talk about was how fast this small duck was and how everyone was taking a shot at it (but he got it!). He did say that he felt bad for just a moment but was ultimately very proud of himself. He put the meat in the freezer and wants to make some duck jerky out of it when the hunting season is over.

---Allison

Random Updates

So I have to say that I am getting SO excited for this trip to Africa. I received my passport in the mail a couple of days ago and when I checked my e-mail this morning there was finally some information for the trip (like immunizations and my VISA application). There was also some information about our travel plans with dates and flight numbers and times. I was kind of dragging my feet, but yesterday I finally sent off some letters requesting donations. I will have to wait and see what kind of response I get from those. Hopefully I will have some interest generated because as I was reading through all of the necessary costs, it sure added up quick. It definitely seems like a lot to do to get ready, but the closer it gets, the more excited I am.

As far as the family goes, we are all doing great. Spencer got his hunting permit and went on the youth duck hunt last week. He is also going to out with my dad tomorrow morning for the opening duck hunt. He seems to really enjoy getting out and being one of the "guys". Tim can't go on this one because I have to work this weekend, but he went last week and there will be plenty more opportunities for him to go.

Baby Addison is continuing to do really well. She is simply just the cutest little thing and her family is so proud of her. We are simply waiting for her to eat a little better before she can come home. Hopefully she can get this down and will be home soon.

Austin and his family just came home from his Disney World trip granted by the Make a Wish program. It sounds like they had an amazing time and were spoiled rotten. I am sure that the memories will go a long way and won't be forgotten any time soon.

I just wanted to say thank you all for all of your comments, love, prayers, and kind words of support. They really do make a difference and are very appreciated. I hope you all find yourself a great weekend!

---Allison