All this neurosurgery is hurting my brain

So today I did relatively little. The VVF's were few because most of the women who would be presenting to the VVF center are working on their farms to support themselves, or have deferred their treatment until after Ramadan. Instead, I passed my morning taking care of a man with a head injury. Without a CT scanner, we are forced to rely on physical exam alone for decisions. Our decision, then, ended in me getting to do a "burr hole" in the man's skull and evacuate a hematoma. At home, I have a CT scanner, and I have a quick call to neurosurgery, not a drill in my hand. My roommate Klaudia, who is actually capable of cutting people's heads open, will be horrified.

In the afternoon I got over to the market and bought some typical Nigerian fabric so that I can have a Nigerian outfit made. The market is CRAZY, with some vague organization of areas by food/fabric/various other things, but generally a lot of chaos and a lot of people. We had a hard time getting a taxi back because half of the taxis were stopped without drivers because we were right at afternoon prayer time for the Muslims. The thing that struck me the most was that we walked past a group of men washing before prayer where they had all met--which was the Mobil station. If any of you have read "Three Cups of Tea," which I just read on the plane, you'll remember that the author learns to pray at a gas station. Funny.

I'm still enjoying my time here though I have more "down-time," and thus time to think about what I'm going to do with my life which is not good. It stresses me out. One of the Nigerian residents was talking about the same with me and he summed it up as such: "Well, you know where you're going to be for a few years while you finish your residency. And then it's up to God." So simple and yet.... not.

I also feel like I should acknowledge that it's 9/11 today. It has absolutely no significance in this country, but every time I write the date today I'm thinking about it. My prayers and thoughts to the families that I'm sure are still missing people today from that tragedy.