Pretoria

So many of you know that I have been medically evacuated to South Africa. Now don't worry. Medical evacuation is necessary when the host country cannot fix your medical problem. It does NOT mean that someone is in critical care and in need of constant medical attention. For example my problem is that I cracked my tooth and the problem just went beyond a Beninese dentist. My dentist back in Benin suggested a root canal which is oral surgery. Oral surgery can't be medically cleared in Benin. I'm very thankful for this. Benin used to be medically evacuated to Dakar, Senegal. But due to changes within the Peace Corps Medical Office (PCMO) most (if not all) of Peace Corps Africa is now medically evacuated to Pretoria, South Africa. My jaw still drops when I realize that I can have a hot bath, go eat thai food and then have a wine and cheese picnic with my friends in the park. I have actually done all these things. It's a mix of Europe and Africa down here. I love it.
So the whole reason why I'm down here, a solution to the tooth issue! I went to the dentist here in Pretoria (whose last name is Beer, no joke) and I got a couple of cavities filled. But with the cracked tooth, Dr. de Beer said that my dentist in Benin put the crown on way too high. So he filed it down and I have another appointment. His diagnosis was that because the crown was so high it was causing excess pressure and therefore pain. Since it's been filed down teh pain has decreased but it's still there and it's now painful way down into my gum. Which when I told him this he made a face and basically said "Oh that's not good". But I have pain medication so I should be fine for a couple of days. That's the new information to add to the story of my tooth saga.