Next week I’ll be heading back to  Malawi and in preparation I have been trying to locate an otoscope to bring with me. A lovely colleague donated his model which although it is a bit of a dinosaur, has several appealing aspects: it has a charger which means that it doesn’t necessitate a constant search for batteries and the charger is quite enormous which makes it difficult to steal which might add to its longevity. Furthermore its stood the test of time so far and is still working perfectly.

Not having much of a background in electricity, I set off today with some advise from Marc who is in Kenya already, to seek out a “step down voltage converter” for the otoscope. After a brief search, I found a place, right in the heart of Toronto, that said they could help me. A man with a thick Chinese accent, the store owner, helped me find the correct step-down charger for my otoscope. I emphasized several times that I was a medical doctor but knew little about electricity. His (not so comforting) answer to this was a perpetual “your charger, your responsibility.” I took the approach of simply confiding in him that as much as I hoped the otoscope would work, I would rather not be electrocuted. His laugh was comforting until he in turn confided, pointing at himself “electrocuted many times, ok for a healthy girl like you. Only bad for kids under 9 and people with old hearts.”

He seemed to know what he was doing so I purchased the converted for a bargain $25. As I paid he pointed out that the box said “This model’s for Export Only, Not used in Canada.” “Don’t use in Canada ok?” he said, “no problem in Malawi.” It was a pretty hilarious interaction but somehow by the end of it I actually did feel quite confident that I wasn’t taking any major risk in using his converter and that it would most likely work.

After leaving the store, I was struck by the fact that I could imagine this interaction taking place in many places in the world. There was something somewhat “global” to the whole experience. I don’t say this because of the fact that the store was run by a Chinese-Canadian, but because of the flavour of the experience. It somehow reminded me more of experiences I’ve had in Malawi then most of my outings to Best Buy or other commonly frequented electronic stores in Canada. There was something refreshing about discussing how to make an old piece of equipment useful and coming up with a not-so-standard solution.

Having gathered most of my stuff into a heap, including lots of maple syrup, some boxes of wine, and doxycycline, I hope that come Monday I’ll be fit for export too!

In North American society leisure time is often difficult to find. Even activities that are supposed to represent a break in the day, such as eating lunch or having a coffee, will often take place on the run and be rushed. Ethiopian culture seems to have several built-in mechanisms to ensure that every day involves at least some leisure time. For instance at lunchtime there is a long break of usually close to 2 hrs and people seem to exclusively eat communally, taking pleasure in sharing food and the social aspect of dining together. Furthermore when people take a coffee break, they do so as a group, and take the time to sit down and drink their coffee. They do not have take-away or absentmindedly drink their coffee while seeing to another task.

Leisure time does not have to be communal, however having uninterrupted periods of relaxation, when one is freed of the day’s responsibilities, is extremely important. Without time to relax, we are caught in a pattern of trying to accomplish things without necessarily reaping the benefits of these accomplishments or having time to reflect on what we are doing.

Today I woke up with nothing to do and I felt wonderfully free. I walked down to “Kaldi’s” with a wide smile on my face, enjoying the hot sun, and feeling wonderfully alive. Kaldi’s is an amazing Ethiopian coffee shop, that has delicious hot drinks and mouth watering juices. I sat in Kaldi’s drinking a chai latte alone,  doing nothing but watching people walk by. I enjoyed every minute of it. Then I walked home, with the equivalent of 6 fresh juices in a container I’d brought with me (2 avocado juices, 2 mango juices, 2 strawberry juices) and Marc and I thoroughly enjoyed these together.

The last few days have been extremely busy and I felt a sense of relief and happiness at having a day to rest and recover. It reminded me of the importance of leisure time, and has motivated me to ensure that I continue to build leisure time into my life back in North America.