Fuck I have been robbed !

Last week I saw some of the smelliest injuries I have seen to date. I had 6 leper patients in in the last 5 days. Yesterday a man came in who had leprosy and a huge gash in his foot. The smell was indescribable. I had to really concentrate on not vomiting. The skin was hanging off his leg from his knee downwards like a pair of loose stockings and it was suppurating and weeping like a broken tap. I cut away all the skin which was about 4 or 5 layers thick and put it into the container for later disposal. I then bandaged the whole thing up as quickly as I could to get outside and breath the fresh air which I needed like a drowning man. Some other patients who were in a terrible state got tended to by me and 3 died, being so far gone in their injuries. The mad Italian Marco has left to go up into the mountains to pray for a week so a certain amount of calm has descended on our little home, although I now have to clean. Not up to Marco's OCD standard but nevertheless not to bad for someone who has had a maid for 25 years. Lovely Loles our gorgeous Spanish volunteer has left on Monday morning. Galci and myself and Loles went out for a final dinner together on Saturday night. First we went to a local Ethiopian student bar where we were the only white people and drank beer in a wonderful atmosphere and student chatter and music. Then we went to a resturant called Jollys for Burgers and Burritos. Quite strange being served burgers by Ethiopians male and female dressed as Santa with white beards and a Christmas tree in the middle of the room with the live aid song Do they know its Christmas time, playing on a loop. A great evening full of laughter. Sunday Loles came from her hotel to have Mass with us at the center and then I said I would take her shopping on her last day. We walked from our place to Piazza and then down Churchill Avenue (a good tourist shopping street) and all the way down town. This took us about 3 hours. Then we went into a supermarket because I wanted to buy some sweets for the children at the center. I brought a huge tub of 100 balls of sugar on a stick which I stupidly brought out my whole wad of cash to pay for. So someone saw how much money I had. About a mile later, Loles and I were walking along Bole road without a care in the world when suddenly a man 'Accidently' sneezes into my hand and over my trousers. It was a full mouthful of spittle. He said sorry sorry and proceeded to get a tissue out of his pocket and wipe down my trousers. The oldest con in the book and I feel for it. Somehow he managed to get his hand into the front pocket of my jeans (he couldn't have got his hand in there six weeks ago, hell I couldn't have got my hand in there six weeks ago but 6 kilos lighter makes an opportunity for the cunning con man) and got my wad out without me noticing until 20 minutes later. Well they do say ones mans lose is another mans gain  I was spitting (pardon the pun) mad. That is only the second time in 35 years I have been robbed but it still made me crazy that I didn't notice it, nor did Loles who was watching the whole thing. Bugger. 1600 Birr was taken which equates to two months rent for one of the doctors I work with, £60.00, a huge sum down here. The really annoying thing is now I look at everyone suspiciously which I feel is unfair. Anyway so now its just me and Galci left. Alice Murphy from Narobi arrives today so that will be lovely. The 300 pound cook who has the hots for me has upped her foreplay technique. Her mating ritual with me, to show me how much she fancies me is to clip me round the head when I walk past her kitchen, which I have to do 6 to 8 times a day. That is then followed by a forearm punch to the stomach with a forearm like the ham of a black forest pig. After she has delivered these love tokens she stands back arms akimbo grinning manically waiting for me to capitulate to her charms. Actually she is very funny but still quite painful.