Transplant Surgery in Sub-Saharan Africa

I have made no secret of my bad relationship with surgery. So why would I attend a meeting of a student surgical society, having just escaped the claws of my SI surgical rotation (passed the OSCEs, by the way!)? Three reasons: The hope that it will inspire me for exam preparation (fewer than five weeks

[Guest] Elective Extravaganza: Rural Psychiatry in Kimberley and Lobatse

Kopano N. Mokale has just completed his fourth year of medical school at a South African university. He did his fourth year elective in Rural Psychiatry, something I thought was very brave and super interesting. I trust you will enjoy his story. As always, let me know if you’d like to share your Elective story.

Books I Wish for this Christmas

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is about our most anticipated 2014 releases, but I decided to jump a few weeks ahead and do the 24 December topic: Top Ten Books I Wouldn’t Mind Santa Bringing Me. Reasons being a) I’m not too phased about anticipating new releases because it takes a while to reach South Africa, usually

Africa Needs More Books

I was walking through my home suburb (read:village) with my brother the other day. We went to the local library, sampled some books (slim pickings) and as we walked home, I asked about such-and-such a bookshop, and such-and-such a used bookshop. They were all closed down. Anyone wanting to purchase books needs to go to

TTT: Books for South African Teens

This week on Top Ten Tuesday with The Broke and The Bookish, the topic is Top Ten Books I’d Recommend to X Person. For my “person” I choose the average South African teen – young boys and girls of our country who grow up in difficult socio-economic circumstances. These are the books I’d recommend to

Book Review: Philida by André P. Brink

In 1832 at the southernmost tip of Africa, slavery continues to toil a seemingly impossible battle. Slaves at the Cape work the vineyards, build their masters’ coffins, knit their winter-wear, raise children – and sometimes, when their owner’s wives can’t or won’t, they bear them children. Slaves are barefooted. Shoes are for free men. Slaves

Bookish (and not so bookish) Thoughts #3

Linking up with Christine from Bookishly Boisterous for this post. In her words, It allows book bloggers (or any blogger, for that matter) to write about pretty much anything, bookish or otherwise.

TTT: Books for the Traveler

I am changing things just a little for today’s Top Ten Tuesday. The topic is Top Ten Books that feature TRAVELLING in some way. I’m choosing books that I think travelers would like. Whether you are traveling, have actively traveled, or dream about traveling, these books are all set in foreign countries and are great to

Ten Things about Ghana

Five days in Ghana have come and gone. Now we are off to Morocco, and this voyage is drawing quickly to a close. Here are some memorable things about Ghana. 1. Warm people: It is incredible to see such big smiles. When hearing that I am from South Africa, I was invariably greeted with a