My African adventure at Liwonde National Park

This weekend I got the full African experience going to Liwonde National Park in Malawi - about 3.5 hours south of Lilongwe.
Taye, Dr. Shores, John and I left Friday mid-day after attending morning meeting and scrubbing in on 2 surgeries. The first case I saw was a 4 year old child with HPV. Children who contract the HPV virus during birth develop "warts" in their respiratory passageway throughout their childhood, making it difficult for them to breath. With mild, but regular surgery, the warts can be removed. Eventually, as the child grows their


immune system can fight the virus, and they stop producing the internal warts. This surgery was most fascinating because not a single incision was needed - the warts were removed from the child's airway through the mouth using a brochoscope tool. The second case I saw was a 6 day old baby with omphalocele - a developmental defect. Omphalocele is when the abdominal wall does not close during development, and thus, the intestines, liver, and other organs remain outside of the abdomen in a sac. I was absolutely amazed at the skill of the physicians while watching this case. The infant was so small that every movement had to be extremely precise and controlled. Could pediatric surgery become a new interest of mine?

Anyways, after going to the clinic in the morning, we packed our bags and got on the road! We headed south to a game reserve in Liwonde, Malawi. Our lodge was called Liwonde Safari Camp (http://www.liwondesafaricamp.com/). Given that I have been very fortunate with my housing accommodations here in Lilongwe (in terms of brick housing, electricity, etc.), I expected the camp to be very similar in luxuries; however, it was not. I was shocked to discover that we would be camping for 2 nights in a national park - literally, camping. There was no electricity, the roofs were thatched, and we were in the wilderness. While the others were excited for the weekend, I was thinking, "how do people live like this?"
Oh boy, I am such a city girl...

After Timothy (one of the workers) showed us around the camp and we got settled in, we joined the group for dinner (there were 2 other families at the camp that night); they served us fried eggplant, potato chips, green beans, carrots, and chicken. In the middle of our candle light dinner, the owner Fredrick came over with a flashlight to warn us that the elephants were grazing nearby, and that we should stay under the picnic tables until they passed. AN ELEPHANT?!! I started freaking out. Taye (who grew up in Ethiopia and lived in a refugee camp in Kenya for 7.5 years) was like, "oh it's no big deal". Meanwhile, the elephant had made his way even closer! He was just 4 meters away from us feeding on the bushes. Using the flashlight (which didn't bother him), we sat there for about 5 minutes watching him rip the leaves off the branches with his enormous trunk. It was absolutely incredible! I just sat in amazement at the beauty of such a large and powerful creature, and how it was so close! Then, we heard a thunk. The guards had thrown a stone at the elephant's butt to scare him away because he was getting too close to the septic tank. Not even frightened, the elephant slowly turned around and walked away. "Welcome to Africa!" I thought to myself. Never in a million years had I expected to experience something like that! It was then that I realized, this weekend would be good for me. I could survive without all the materialistic and luxurious things, and be just fine! All I had to do was keep an open mind and be willing to try new things!

That night was not a peaceful sleep. I woke up multiple times to the sounds of animals nearby (elephants trumpeting, warthogs snorting, monkeys fighting, and dogs barking). Poor Taye (we slept in the dormitory) was woken every time I got scared. "What was that?!" I asked. He would reassure me that we would be just fine, and tell me to go back to sleep. He was used to sleeping with wild animals in his backyard, so for him, it was of no concern. But for me, I was worried that the elephants would trample our hut! Fortunately, they did not (or I would not have lived to share these stories!). Eventually, under my mosquito net and mud hut, I made it through the first night!

We woke that morning at 5:30am so that we could go on a safari jeep tour by 6:30am. This story will come next!











Our view from the camp - Liwonde National Park













Beautiful evening sunset