End of Week 1

My first week here at the fondouk has been amazing! I have done so much I cant even begin to explain it. Every day is different and we say an array of cases. These animals are truly amazing and what they do for this city is so important. Without them the medina would not survive, they are literally the ONLY transportation in and out of the medina, which houses thousands of shops, cafes, and homes. The mules and donkeys carry in every single thing that is brought into the medina.  The people here do try to take care of their animals but some of them come to us in pretty rough shape. Part of the Fondouk's mission here is to educate the people on proper animal care and welfare. I wish I could play a bigger role in this but me not speaking arabic and all is a bit of a problem! This week I have been able to place catheters, perform nerve blocks, place sutures, perform a castration, float teeth, and many other things that I get so excited about!

  The people here are amazing! They are so friendly and giving. Several times this week I have been invited to breakfast by various workers here at the Fondouk. They love to eat and they love to eat together! They are doing their best to fatten me up. We all eat lunch together everyday and the housekeeper prepares various meals. I'm not going to lie...lunch is my favorite part. I love eating new foods and better yet I love eating new foods that I don't have to cook!  They sit around and laugh and speak loudly and make fun of each other and I just sit and smile a lot. Occasionally someone will translate a conversation and I can follow most by hand gestures and voice inflections but sometimes I don't even try... I just sit back and enjoy. Also, every night the interns invite me to eat dinner together and I feel bad because they feed me all the time but they wouldn't have it any other way... they love to feed you. I am planning on making dinner for them to pay them back. 

   I was able to head into the Medina again last night and shop in the marketplace and my friend took me to this amazing cafe that is in an old converted house in the heart of the medina. You climb up 4 stories to a rooftop seating area and you can see all around the other houses of the medina and the mountains in the distance. It was beautiful. The rest I will share in pictures because I can't put into words this amazing and bizarre culture. 

The doors are opened!

Waiting in the shade for their turn

My case...a septic joint. We flushed the joint and injected antibiotic via regional limb perfusion. I was able to scrub in and place injections sites.

A mule arriving that was unable to stand...they load them in the back of anything.

I went on a walkabout to find ice cream and found a modern city center.

and ice cream.

Baby donkey's mom didn't make it...we are bottle feeding her now, she is still adorable!

I said they will load the animals into the back of anything!

In she goes!

Putting on sterile gloves from any surface...ferriers anvail? Sure!

Two mule colts in for castration, I castrated the one on the left.

My first castration!

Breakfast!....lots and lots of bread!

Cous Cous! with every type of vegetable you can imagine.

The market in the medina

Fresh vegetables all from locals farms

The Cafe 44 

More of the market

The view from the cafe...those are all the tops of houses, most have living areas on the roof.

This is the view walking back to the fondouk, that is the start of the medina on the left