Hello, February (and Punxsutawney Phil!)

I am now officially on to month number two! A part of me wants to say that January went by really quickly, but honestly I feel like I've been here for a year. My dad and Jess will be commencing their own Cape Town excursion a week from today and I am beyond excited to see them. It will be fun to play tour guide in a foreign city and I can't wait to show them my "digs" of the past month.

Happy Groundhog Day to all you American folk! Needless to say, this is not a South African tradition, as it is fairly obvious that the sun will be in the sky for many, many more weeks. Another American custom that is ironically very relevant to my life is that of black history month. Though this is a celebration recognized in countries outside of Africa, I still find it appropriate that I'm spending my February days embedded in black culture. I love learning about Africa's history and discovering new ways in which social, economic, and medical issues overlap in African societies. I recently picked up a book at the shop on the corner called "28 Stories of AIDS in Africa," in which a Canadian researcher delves into 28 individual narratives about the myriad ways that the AIDS epidemic affects the people of sub-Saharan Africa. I find it hard to put down!

There isn't much to report on my social life this past week; after hitting the gym after work, the evenings during the week tend to be low-key for everyone. I did go out to grab a bite to eat with the roomies at this pub/restaurant we discovered up the street from our apartment, which was excellent. It was a great, casual atmosphere with half the tables located outdoors. We noticed a lot of black and white photos adorning the walls and a local informed us that this is the oldest pub in Cape Town. It's aptly named the Perseverance Tavern, enduring the test of time and maintaining a charming sense of history.

Work has been great this week! Monday was spent observing an MRI on a conjoined twin. At first glance, the tiny baby looked like any other healthy little boy, but he had what appeared to be a large fist-sized deformity on his back. This "parasite" was actually his twin sibling. Though without a heart and obviously lacking body parts, it had a tiny brain and a spinal cord (please, anyone who has seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," I really hope you're laughing right now). But seriously, it was amazing to see it on the MRI scan! The doctors are planning on waiting until the baby is a bit older to perform surgery to reduce the risk.

Among all my theatre stories thus far, today was by far my favorite - I got to observe a brain surgery! I can't really put into words how incredible it was, and to protect the minds of my more squeamish readers, I'll spare the gorier details. The surgery was on an epileptic young boy with recurring seizures. He had had a previous operation where half of his brain was removed (a hemispherectomy), which proved to be successful at controlling his seizures. The surgery done today was basically a revision of the past procedure and to overall check up on his cranial connections. A second year neurosurgery resident from Canada was scrubbed in for the surgery (he's in Cape Town for one month completing an elective training for his residency) and took the time to explain each step of the procedure to me. The anesthetist, Carmen, was also teaching me all the components that one has to be careful to stay aware of when administering anesthetics to a neurosurgery patient - quite a complicated list! After trying to follow the mechanics of how the pressure in the brain is related to arterial blood flow, carbon dioxide and metabolism, I finally realized that physics is not a meaningless prerequisite for med school. It was a truly invaluable experience and I hope to see more!

It came to me a couple days ago that I'll be having my wisdom teeth out the day after I get back from my trip; after spending months working with the anesthesiology team, it will be very strange to be on the other side of the needle!

For all of you who read this entire post, congratulations.
xo Em