Sanibonani (Good Day)

Photo of Mbabane, taken from our neighborhood

Taos to Boulder
Denver to Burlington
3 days in Burlington
Burlington to NYC
NYC to Dakar, Senegal
Dakar to Johannesburg, South Africa
Jo'burg to Manzini, Swaziland
Manzini to Mbabane (the capital of Swaziland)

We made it! The 17 hour flight from NYC to Jo'burg was quite an experience! Everything went smoothly and we on time arrived with all our bags. We would recommend South African Airways to everyone, they give out FREE wine with dinner!

We were met at the airport by someone from clinic who took us grocery shopping and showed us around town. We are staying at a cottage for visiting students/residents next to the clinic where Leah is working. A resident from UCSF, his wife and daughter are living in the cottage with us. Unlike our place in Taos we have a dining room table and wireless internet (what, we are in Africa!?!?!). But our place in Taos had hot water, you win some and lose some. I think I would prefer hot water to wireless internet.

The clinic Leah is called the Children's Clinical Centre of Excellence and is through Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative (www.bayloraids.org). It is very modern with computers and medical equipment in every exam room. Despite the fact that the clinic is more like an office in an developed country the kids are extremely sick, all with HIV/AIDS and many with opportunistic infections including TB. Before this clinic opened one year ago these kids had very limited access to health care. But more on the clinic later.

We are getting over our jet lag and getting oriented to our surroundings. This holiday weekend we are going to Mlilwane Game Reserve with a classmate of Leah's who is working at another hospital in Swaziland. And we are starting to make plans for other trips in the area, we can't wait to travel and see this part of Southern Africa!


Sala Kahle,
Leah and Mike