Killer fans, killer conferences,

Wednesday 1st August

Today hasn't started well. I got up at 6:45 for a 7:15 pickup, the shower doesn't drain (though is not too cold and involves no buckets), and while wriggling into my shirt I failed to remember there was a ceiling fan. This meant that I spent the 45 mins I had spare while I waited for my lift (which was late) delving into the small pharmacy I'd brought with me for TCP and bandages. And feeling like a real muppet given the number of times Ben and I joked about exactly this in Ananda Bhavan in India.

Then, having lovingly packed gloves and scrubs for the hospital, Dr. Marianne took me to the conference pictured above instead of the hospital, so I'm currently sat here waiting for the president's wife (pic to follow if I can find a scanner) to show up and open proceedings. Which do look interesting enough, but last three days. There is one slightly alarming abstract, but more on that if I stay awake during it. At least the official photographer loves me even in my red gingham shirt.

Yesterday I met the rain for the first time (note to Mum: you were right about something about this country! It is the rainy season! But please don't take this as encouragement to leave me more comments telling me to wash my hands / not talk to strangers / etc.) - it was impressive largely because of what it does to the ground. The streets turn a much darker red, but the water collects only at the edges of the roads, while the centre remains pretty solid. This makes being a pedestrian a little hazardous, and if the bastard in the NGO 4WD that coated me from the waist down in a spray of red mud is at the conference, I'm letting his tyres down.

On the culinary front, neither of yesterday's meals involved tubes and neither featuredf what I take to be the Nigérien specialty of sandy rice. Much as it sounds, this is rice with some sand in.

Anyway, the official photographer has stopped taking pictures of the only other white man here and it looks like Mrs. President is clearing her throat, so I'd better look attentive...