Update 10:

Three months ago I was sitting in this seat in Geneva composing a hurried update to inform you that I would be leaving right away for the DRC, that I was sorry for not getting the chance to say bye for now. Today I am writing this post with the knowledge or at least the intentions of seeing most of you soon.

I am heading back to Vancouver on Wednesday the 23rd, getting in at 16h25. Any takers to pick me up??? It's bad timing for rush hour, so I might just take the bus and skytrain out to Coquitlam.

But the update:

I left three months ago with my usual mentality when I travel. I try not to research too much before heading out. I try not to make expectations or to imagine what I will see, or what I would learn, I like the surprise. Three months later I have an idea about the Congo and the Congolese, about MSF, and more about me. Can I quantify it in one posting? Can I make it interesting or even readable? I haven't yet processed it all, and as my sister wrote me "Sometimes only 1/3rd of what you learn traveling actually occurs during the time spent abroad, it take returning home and and processing the data to learn the remaining 2/3rds" so this posting contains only the highlights of my time in the Heart of Darkness.

- Giving blood to help the Medics save an infants life, twice. I already put a post on this, so I won't elaborate, other than to say that the second time is just as special.

- Watching a cesarean. Those who know me well know that I am fairly squeamish. So why would I subject myself to watching such an intense surgery? I feel as though I have to confront my fears so that they no longer remain a fear. Did it work? Hells no. This was real fear, I starting sweating that awful cold sticky sweat, my mouth dryed up, I couldn't breath, all I wanted to do was rip off the facemask as it was seriously suffocating me, I was too hot, I got dizzy, there was a period of at least two minutes where my eyes were open and yet I saw nothing. I saught solice in the cool of the concrete wall. Cut, cut, stretch, stretch, pull, pull, snip, snip, sew back up and sew back up. 25 minutes later, she was already in the process of recovery, the baby crying and me whimpering. In all fairness it was by far one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I know now though that if someday I find me a wife, and she needs a cesarean, I know which end of the operating gurney I will stay at. Thank you Dr. Claudine and Dr. Claude, I will never ever forget that experience.

- Seeing a baby in an incubator, I think that two of my fingers and my thumb would have had the same mass. Without MSF this baby would never make it.

- The honour of holding hands with another man. Laugh. I did. When I first heard that it is common for African men to hold hands I thought it was so not hetero. It took some time, but when the staff started walking with me and holding my hand, wow, I felt respected, accepted, appreciated, encouraged, and touched. I knew then that I was part of the team, and that I had a friend.

- Learning about MSF, about living within a team, with people with different personalities, with language barriers, with personalities that clash with mine.

- Making friends, leaving an impression of me in the hearts of the people that I met, knowing that my overall effect was positive, being able to have fun, and also being able to work at the same time.

- Spending time on top of the water tower, watching sunsets, reminiscing about the past, listening to my buddy Andrew Hunter's songs about our teenage years, dreaming about the future, loving the present.

Thank You CONGO