Jan 10th
When I got up this morning I went for a walk on the beach.
I was up a little too late to see the sunrise but it was quite
beautiful this morning anyway. After having breakfast
Lareena, Kate and I played soccer for a little bit with one kid
on the beach. We didn’t play long as it was pretty hot.
Lareena and I went out to the beach and swam for a little as
no one else wanted to go swimming. But we couldn’t stay long
and then had to get out and leave for the next hotel, back to
Lakka and the hard rock. A little while after we got there Tom,
Kate and I went for a swim. I like the beach at Sussex better
because it doesn’t get deep quickly. Here the beach drops
quickly and gets deep fast. After our swim we came back up
to the hotel to have lunch. Lunch was red snapper, the whole
entire fish. It was really creepy that it was staring at me so I
covered it’s face with a tissue. It was really good, which
surprised me since I don’t generally like fish. After lunch we
went back out to swim and this time everyone came along. It
was a lot of fun. After our swim we walked down to see a
new hotel place called the Villa Blanc. Tom and Karen are
always looking for new places to take people because most
of the hotels at the beach are pretty small and easily fill up.
After we returned from the Villa Blanca I stayed on the
beach and played with some kids, even spending a little
time teaching an African to swim (Rueben). It wasn’t so
much that he couldn’t do it but that he panics and sinks. I got
a beautiful sunset shot, and for dinner I had barracuda, had a
little lobster and even tried some shrimp. All of which was
good. I’m sad to be leaving in the morning because I’ve quite
enjoyed becoming friends with George and I’ll not likely see
him again for a while if at all. George had to stay up till 4am
watching the generator and since I wasn’t feeling very tired I
stayed up and talked to him till then. But I need to get some
sleep so good night.

Blessings from Lakka
Ryan Brooks

January 9th
I got up this morning at around 8 or so. It hadn’t been a very
good night’s sleep, it was pretty hot and very humid. We had
breakfast at around 8:30-9. Right before breakfast a guy
came with stuff to buy. African sculptures, paintings, baskets
and some other trinkets. I had to buy an African Hammock,
they had one at the hotel and it was really nice. I’ve always
thought it would be nice to have a hammock but I’ve never
had one. And it didn’t cost very much considering it was made
from hand woven cloth and it had obviously taken some work.
The nursing students went crazy over the stuff he had, they
bought quite a bit of it. We had to leave at about 10:30 to
take the nurses to the dock. We met up with the other group
at the dock. They had brought the nursing students luggage
with them. We only wanted to come in with the one car so all
they brought was the stuff for the one night. We were really
glad when they showed up with the luggage because we were
worried they weren’t going to make it. They had set out from
Kamakwie that morning and that’s a long trip. After we saw
the nurses off we headed back to Sussex beach. I spent
somewhere between an hour or two playing with Moses,
Charles and some other kids in the ocean. We started out
playing a game with a ball. We were throwing it from the
water to the beach where some kids were trying to be the
first to it, then whoever got it would throw it back at us and
we would try and get it. (I know, not much of a game but it
was really fun) After we got done swimming at the beach we
headed up to the hotel (we are staying here for the night) to
get ready for dinner. People who own places like the hotel at
Sussex hire off duty Sierra Leonean soldiers for security; they
have their military issue weapon and everything. It would have
been more intimidating if I hadn’t seen a smile on the guards
face every time I looked at him. I got a picture with a Sierra
Leonean soldier, I got his name but I can’t remember it now.
Dinner was Italian style (Franco, the guy who owns it is Italian)
I had Carbonara for dinner; It was wonderful (if a little heavy
on the oil). They had pasta or fish (considering I had Barracuda
and I expect Barracuda tomorrow night I decided to skip the
fish). I got to talk to my mom for almost an hour tonight,
which was really nice. After I got off the phone with her I the
internet for a little bit (Karen brought the modem) to update
things a bit since I was behind (again). When I went to return
the modem I heard some singing coming from the pavilion
where they have their meals. I went to check it out and here
it was Lareena and Kate hanging out with four older Italian
gentlemen (one of which was Franco). The Italians were singing
(in Italian since they didn’t know much English). Lareena was
communicating to them via Spanish since one of them (at least)
spoke Spanish. It was fun listening to them singing and
occasionally they would dance and Lareena would dance with
them. The things you experience in Africa can be quite
surprising. Anyway, have a good night.

Blessings from Sussex beach,
Ryan Brooks

January 8th
We set out for Freetown with the nursing students and
Tom this morning at about 7:30. It was quite an
adventure, we had crammed 9 people into the back of
the car we were riding in. so it wasn’t too crowded but
we were still very close together. The Kamakwie to
Makeni road was as awful as usual, it’s not something
you can really get used to. We got to Makeni around
10:30 and met with Reverend Osman, superintendant of
the Wesleyan Church of Sierra Leone. After that we
stopped for some snacks and set out for Freetown. We
made it to our destination at about 2:30. What was our
destination you might ask? Why none other than Sussex
beach (not that you know it but you really should) the
most beautiful place I have ever been. Words can’t even
describe it. It’s a super clean beach, almost no shells to
possibly cut your feet on along the shore, it’s almost
completely surrounded by mountains covered with
tropical foliage. There is little to no development, there
is only on hotel on the whole beach and it only has one
room (we didn’t stay here tonight). While we were
swimming I met some kids, first Moses then Charles,
and then a bunch of other kids who I can’t remember
all their names. Moses and Charles live in a village near
the beach, which I’m jealous of, what I’m not jealous of
is that they have to walk 8 miles to school every day. I
think if I had to do that I’d find something else to do
and forget school. That shows some dedication to me.
On top of that for being only middle school students (JSS 1
and 3 respectively) they spoke English pretty well and
they don’t even have a teacher for English at their school.
I spent a while hanging out with the nursing students
and some time hanging out with the Sierra Leoneans. It
made for a great time. After we finished up swimming we
went up to the hotel and had ice cream. It was so amazing
but then I haven’t had it in three months so I think that it
would have had to be pretty awful ice cream for it to not
be amazing. Since the hotel here was full we set out for
the one we would be staying at. It’s at another beach,
Lakka beach, and it’s called the Hard Rock. It’s not
related to the Hard Rock café, it’s called the hard rock
because it’s literally built on a hard rock. It sits out into
the ocean and when the tide is high its actually
completely surrounded by water. It’s really cool. I also
loved that the entire hotel interior was all sand. Needless
to say I took advantage of that and went around barefoot.
It was quite wonderful. It was pretty late when we got
there so we didn’t swim there even though the beach
was very nice there too. For dinner I had barracuda, it was
quite amazing. I was even adventurous, I tried lobster and
it was also quite good. This trip is kind of a treat, a way to
relax and de-stress. My last trip to Freetown was quite
stressful so I’m glad to get this opportunity It’s only about
10 now but we are all whipped and going to bed. Night all.

Blessings from Freetown,
Ryan Brooks

January 5th – 7TH

I haven’t been good about writing my blog and I haven’t
taken any notes so I don’t really remember the specifics
of the last few days, but I’ll do my best. I did rounds both
Wednesday and Thursday with Solomon on the men’s
ward. It’s been a lot of the same patients who are just
waiting until they get better enough to move on. There
were a few more fatalities. It’s sadly just a fact of life here.
Friday I didn’t do rounds because the administration
decided to change the way rounds are done on Monday,
Wednesday and Friday. Now Tom, Solomon and LA have
to do rounds all together one ward at a time. With Ryan
the medical student rounding with them as well I just
decided I wouldn’t bother because I was just going to be
in the way. Classes are going pretty well, attendance hasn’t
been real great but I don’t care, it’s easier to teach a
smaller group and most of the kids who I think have a
chance anyway are the ones coming. Maybe that’s why
the ones who aren’t coming now aren’t doing so well,
because they don’t attend class like they should. I
haven’t had any more chances to practice driving the
Honda, it’s just been too busy. I didn’t even get a chance
to go visit the Orphan school at all this week. One night
we went to a village for a clinic. I had to teach until after
they left so I rode with Solomon on the Honda to the village.
Lareena (one of the people from the church group) had been
teaching some kids and was still around as well and so she
rode on a Honda with Abdul to the village as well. We got
there as they were wrapping up the clinic and just in time for
dinner (chili since it’s pretty portable in a bowl that holds
heat. After that they showed the Jesus film and while that
was going on I got to talk with one of the medical students.
It was an interesting experience getting back, I rode in the
car with bench seats parallel to the length of the car, and
no seatbelts. It was a jolting experience in every literal
sense of the word. Other than that I can’t think of anything
really remarkable that occurred, so that’s where I’ll wrap
up this entry. You might want to skip reading the next couple
of days if you are bitter about the cold, because it might
make you more so.

Blessings from Kamakwie,
Ryan Brooks

January 4th

Rounds this morning mostly consisted of patient review,
nothing really exciting. There was one patient of interest
however, he a cut half an inch into his heel from a Honda
accident. It looked pretty painful. After having finished
rounds I was on the way to house when I decided to stop
by the operating theater and saw them just starting a
procedure. A woman had a serious cut into her heel, and
had bisected her Achilles tendon. I got to watch them sew
it back together and then sew the rest of the ankle back
together. It was a little gross to watch but very fascinating.
The resiliency of human skin and other tissues just amazes
me. We may be pretty fragile in many ways, but God knew
what he was doing when he made us. I find it a little
disconcerting to watch them working on a patient who is
still somewhat awake since they can’t put them to sleep.
They have no way to manage their breathing. She was
restless and kept trying to move around. I think those two
cases were God’s way of saying be very careful on the
Honda, and I plan on paying attention. It’s not hard to do,
but you have to be careful and pay attention, if you get
distracted it would be very easy to have an accident. I
went back to the house after that to run the generator
and grade some exams. I went to school at one for my
first day of classes since the break started. It wasn’t too
bad, I managed to get right back into it almost like we had
never had a break. I got done at and went 4 went home to
change into something cooler and more comfortable and
at 5 I had a second Honda lesson with Solomon. I think it
went well, I drove to the house and back to the school with
Solomon then back to the house. Then Solomon had me
drive from the house to the school and back to the house
by myself, I was a little nervous but I’m getting the hang of
it pretty quick. This place has changed me in quite a few
ways, one of which is being a little more open to adventure.
I used to swear I would never ride on a motorcycle, while
Solomon’s bike is more like a dirt bike it’s still a motor
bike and I think if someone told me three months ago I
would be doing it I would have said they were crazy. On
the way back up to the house the bike died on me, I had
managed to run out of fuel, haha. So Solomon took the
bike to get fuel and I went up to the house to have dinner.
On the way I met Tom and he told me to be very careful,
which I can understand, he sees all the people who come in
after having accidents. I intend to be very careful. For dinner
we had my favorite African dish, jolof (not sure on the
spelling) rice, it’s a lot like fried rice, only better. I love love
love it. After dinner I went over to the nursing students
residence and we played a game for a little while. Saidu and
Foday were there as well. I don’t know what the game is
called but there is a prompt like “Something harder than it
looks” and everyone write an answer and passes them to
one person. That person reads them and then everyone
takes turns around the circle trying to figure out who said
what. If you get the person right they are out and you get
a point. This goes until there is only one person left and
then the round ends and a new round with a new prompt
starts. It’s a game where it pays to know the people you
are playing it with. After that I paid Solomon a little visit
and now I’m home for bed.

Blessings from Kamakwie,
Ryan Brooks

January 3rd
I rounded in the hospital in the men’s ward again this
morning (I’ll probably stop saying that since that’s where
I usually round and just let you know when something
interesting occurs). Solomon was so cold he was shivering
this morning, literally. I could even see his teeth chattering.
Sadly one of the patients I had been seeing in the ward died
this morning as we were preparing to do rounds. I don’t
know why, he apparently deteriorated over the weekend. I
didn’t do rounds this weekend (I was in Freetown Friday and
Saturday and yesterday was Sunday so I was at church). It
was really hard I think because he was only 22, barely younger
than me. He had come in vomiting blood, but they got it under
control and he seemed to have been making some progress
through Thursday when I last saw him. I think that’s part of
what makes him dying harder; and of course the mourning of
the family, especially the mother. It’s always very heart
wrenching. We sort of just moved on after we declared him
dead, there wasn’t really anything to do at that point. Other
than the sad loss of two men (another one died but I hadn’t
seen him) rounds went pretty well. I didn’t have school today,
apparently it was a holiday. I don’t know if it was the actual
reason but Karen made a comment about it being a “holiday”
due to the fact that Christmas and the New Year fell on the
weekend so they didn’t have a day off from school. Another
afternoon where I’m not sure really what I did, I rested some
due to it being really hot this afternoon. I don’t think it was
really any hotter than normal but these cold mornings make
the hot afternoon seem really hot. I had my first Honda
lesson today. In less than half an hour I was driving the
Honda by myself (not very far of course). To finish up my
lesson Solomon had me drive up to the house from the school
(not even a mile). Alusine showed up as I was returning to the
house for dinner. The kid has the worst timing; I had him wait
for me while I had dinner. I felt bad but I told him not to come
before 7 and he came at 6. After dinner I went with him to visit
the orphan school to get some of his books to study (notebooks
with notes in them) and walked back to the house. It’s kind of
early, about 10:30, but I’m tired so it’s bed time. Night all.

Blessings from Kamakwie,
Ryan Brooks

January 2nd

I woke up this morning freezing (mind you it was probably
in the mid 60s, again not to rub it in your faces, just sharing
my experience). This morning we went to the mother
church (the group I brought as well as the nursing students
and Karen) Tom and the Sprouses (a married couple who
are both medical students) were at the hospital, they had a
C-section at 4 am and then a hernia repair after that. They
were so busy that when they came up to the house for lunch
at around 2 they still hadn’t even finished up rounds at the
hospital. The service was relatively brief, only lasting about
two hours. We had communion today, the first time I’ve had
communion since I arrived here. It’s not something they do
often I guess. Someone was telling me they only have
communion at the Katherie church the Sunday before Good
Friday. This afternoon some of the nursing students and two
of the girls from the church group I picked up were playing
with some kids (about 30). It was quite entertaining, they
are very good with kids. They were teaching them different
games and some songs. Other than that, I don’t even know
where this afternoon went, it seemed to just slide by without
my noticing it. Suddenly it was dinner time and after dinner
we spent quite a while talking at our house. I think one of my
favorite parts of having people come visit is just getting to
learn about the things they’ve done and experienced. After
that I went on a walk with Daniel Kamara, Sheka (both of
them are students Tom and Karen support at university),
Abdul and Lareena one of the girls from the church group. I
think I start classes tomorrow but I heard it might be a holiday,
not sure. Not really ready to start again but I had to eventually.
I would much rather help at the hospital and in fact I am going
to continue to as much as I can. I really like helping at the
hospital in the wards but I came to teach so that’s my main
focus and priority. Good night.

Blessings from Kamakwie
Ryan Brooks