All The Comforts Of Home

Easter, comparable to birthdays, has been confirmed a holiday that must been enjoyed in another country. This Easter weekend, I had the opportunity to venture to Togo (a neighboring country to Benin) and enjoy Easter dinner with Dr. James, a Maxillo-Facial surgeon in the capital city, Lome.
The events start off at 8pm, with an assembly of two doctors, a lawyer, a United Nations Chief, their significant others, and the three nurses I arrived with. At first, this thought made me nervous, I mean, wow – a summit of the minds…. and me. Just as promptly as the nervousness came, it went. The night was filled with haphazard miscommunication due to a majority of our first languages not being English, and a variety of good, deep, non-superficial conversation…. all over wine, naturally.
Easter dinner was an exquisite array of delectable African foods. The first course was a shrimp salad with boiled eggs and avocado in a white sauce along with incredible French bread. The second course was your selection of either chicken or fish, fried plantains, rice, and a beef/tomato/pepper mix to add to the rice. The final course was a mixture of fresh cut fruits…… with a shot of Cognac.
About midnight, we determined it was probably time to go home…. We load into a Nissan Path Finder! Yes indeed, an American Car, an AUTOMATIC American Car! For those of you who haven’t been outside of the country, you have no idea what a special thrill this contains in itself. When you punch the gas, you actually GO…. was absolutely delightful to go 80 MPH down an open road!
On Monday, Dr. James gave us a tour of his hospital in Lome. The hospital contains 1,200 beds for 8 Operating Rooms. He and three other Ear/Nose/Throat doctors share one of the ORs. He had a meeting later on in the morning, so we had to entertain ourselves at the hospital. We did so by aimlessly wondering around, looking at signs we could not properly understand due to them having been in French, and sitting in one of Dr. James’ lecture rooms.









Once he was done with his meeting, we went out for lunch to a Lebanese restaurant. There we enjoyed hummus, schawarmas, and coke. Easter 2009, along with my 2007 Liberian Birthday are two holidays that I will on no account forget. God has put some amazing people into my life; people who help me make a home away from home. For them, I am truly blessed.

All The Comforts Of Home
1-Wine With Dinner
2-A Home Cooked Meal
3-Cognac With Dessert
4-Sitting Around, Talking
5-Nissan Path Finder, Automatic, 80 MPH
6-Tour Of A Hospital
7-Sitting In A Lecture Room
8-Lebanese Food! :)