My sister has spent the last month living in Malawi helping in a clinic to see whether she’d like to live there following her residency. Here’s her latest and last email. The last paragraph is why I love her:

as the good months always do, this month has flown by. i have only tomorrow left here in clinic then am off to zambia for safari before heading back. i am really excited for the safari. everyone says this is the best time since it is the dry season and all the animals congregate at the waterholes. i had a wonderful time this past weekend. i joined a few people working at unc for the year on a trip to the northern part of lake malawi. it was a long drive, but worth it in the end. we stayed in little huts that were built into a cliff and looked over the lake. the restaurant/bar was always full of people both travelers and natives, which was great. sunday captain billy took us on a boat trip. the trip started with feeding the fish eagles. captain billy’s brother would load a dead fish onto a stick then toss it right outside the boat. the eagle would then dive from the trees to retrieve the fish….i was quite convinced a couple times that he was flying directly for my head. we then stopped to jump off a cliff before finally landing in a secluded bay where captain billy’s home village is. once landed in the bay, we were quickly met by a lot of local children a couple of fishermen just in for the day. captain billy arranged for us to take a couple of the fishing canoes or “dug-outs” on the water for a spin. the dug-outs are literally a tree that has been carved out. you put your feet into carved out area, but balance yourself on top. luckily it was a calm day on the lake so we all managed to stay upright, but it was not easily done. all of that was a great experience, but what made the day really special was meeting and spending the afternoon with the villagers. we could barely communicate with most of them, but everyone is just amazingly friendly and welcoming. we had a blast playing volleyball then a pick up soccer game with the children. finally, captain billy’s mom sent down nsima from the village and captain billy cooked a freshly caught butterfish for us on a fire. we then headed back to the hotel for a wonderful traditional malawian meal with the chief of the village.

on the work front, things have continued to be challenging and rewarding. there have a been a lot of deaths without great explanations, which is difficult. one child died this morning of dehydration, which is frustrating. beyond the clinical experience, what has really drawn me to the baylor program is hearing the national influence the baylor physicians are having. the physicians here are very involved in developing national policy for infant diagnosis, prevention of mother to child transmission and nutritional programs for malnourishment. the steps they have made in a short year are very impressive. obviously, there still needs to be some serious thought and discussion before i officially decide, but right now this is at the top of my list of things to do for the next year or two. the program is opening up seven new sites in kenya next year which would provide similar opportunities for national influence that are available here in malawi. we shall see.

i will end with a little shout out to my football playing jayhawks. granted they haven’t played a real team yet, but they are 3-0 for the first time in a while. maybe this is the year. :)

erin.