A high level view

From my window, I could be in nearly any city. Except -- there are actually construction cranes in action here. Some of these rooftop gardens would be the envy of Lodo. Awakened by the sounds of traffic and roosters; made for a bit of disorientation when mixed with jet lag. That is one big pond to fly over.

Got in about 1:00 a.m.and there were two graduate students waiting on us to bring us to the hotel! They looked unwrinkled and fresh; one could not say the same for us. They were gracious and thoughtful, particularly given they had class this morning at 0730. I believe we would have students willing to do the same, but I must say I was impressed.

The drive was an adventure at 2:00 a.m. on narrow dark streets. The taxi and a scooter bumped, and we discovered road rage isn't limited to Denver. The scooter drove beside Sara's open window, and smacked the rear view mirror. I think we all held our breath, wondering where this little exchange was going, until the scooter driver gave an internationally understood hand gesture and moved on. Sara was cool and non-plussed; I had locked my door and was prepared to wet my pants if necessary. Thankfully it was a non-incident.

We passed the hotel, and I was extremely grateful that Sara knew where it was, as she gestured to the driver that we had passed it. We were on a one-way street, so she tried to get the driver to understand he needed to go around the block. He took the somewhat unconventional approach of simply driving in reverse back to the hotel. Apparently, if your car is facing forward, then you are officially one-way.

Started the day with a conversation about the nature of service and education in a foreign country. What kinds of service are unique and sustainable? If we just want to come and work in clinics, then frankly we're better off just sending the money. For what it takes to get here, we could support half a year of a nurse. On the other hand, the idea of education as service is intriguing to me. Could our doctoral students provide a unique service as part of their capstones, helping to develop health care practitioners here with innovative blends of intensives, online, and exchanges? I have to think that developing leaders and educators that stay in-country is better than short-term mission trips. And do we bring our programs here, or our standards and state of the art and adapt to them to this emerging country? And so begins the familiar process of generating more questions than answers.

I've not had a chance yet to visit with Maureen and Lora, as that will have to wait until dinner. I understand we will also be visiting with a feisty, innovative, and opinionated Dean of a school of nursing for tea. How cool. Stay tuned.