hello all- sorry this is basically a one line entry but I'm exhausted. I'll probably write more later this week but in summary Botswana was absolutely incredible. Here are some pics to entertain you until I'm done losing the war against jet lag.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
A shout out from Sara
I'm officially finished with the hospital and now off to go get eaten by a lion in Botswana. The best news of the week is that my friend Sara Kamins is here with me! So she's guest starring in this blog writing it with me this morning.
We got a taste of a classic African bus experience after I picked her up at the airport. I've taken several 4 hour bus rides since arriving in Zambia but everyone has always advised me to take a specific company called Mazhandu. Until Wednesday I stuck with the advise but that afternoon they told us their last bus for the day had already departed when we got there. Fortunately, wink wink, they had a sister bus company with a bus leaving "in 15 minutes". We should have know an imminent departure was less than likely when we got on the large bus to find only 3 other Americans and about 67 empty seats. Sara's first 4 hours in Zambia were spent being told we were leaving in "15 minutes" while guys from the street boarded and tried to sell us boxer shorts, watches and bananas. We eventually left 4 hours after boarding and got to Choma at about 11 pm. So much for showing her the sunset.
Yesterday I showed her around Choma and said goodbye to everyone I've come to know in the past few months. She saw the hospital (Don't worry Sue it was from a distance), a few schools, the market (including smelly dried fish) and the guesthouse. We enjoyed our morning walking around and then hopped on a much less chaotic bus for livingstone. Last night we stayed at Jolly Boys, the hostel I've been at before and now we're waiting to be picked up for our big Botswana adventure.
No internet for the next 8 days so we'll keep you posted when we're back. Take Care!
Melissa AND Sara
We got a taste of a classic African bus experience after I picked her up at the airport. I've taken several 4 hour bus rides since arriving in Zambia but everyone has always advised me to take a specific company called Mazhandu. Until Wednesday I stuck with the advise but that afternoon they told us their last bus for the day had already departed when we got there. Fortunately, wink wink, they had a sister bus company with a bus leaving "in 15 minutes". We should have know an imminent departure was less than likely when we got on the large bus to find only 3 other Americans and about 67 empty seats. Sara's first 4 hours in Zambia were spent being told we were leaving in "15 minutes" while guys from the street boarded and tried to sell us boxer shorts, watches and bananas. We eventually left 4 hours after boarding and got to Choma at about 11 pm. So much for showing her the sunset.
Yesterday I showed her around Choma and said goodbye to everyone I've come to know in the past few months. She saw the hospital (Don't worry Sue it was from a distance), a few schools, the market (including smelly dried fish) and the guesthouse. We enjoyed our morning walking around and then hopped on a much less chaotic bus for livingstone. Last night we stayed at Jolly Boys, the hostel I've been at before and now we're waiting to be picked up for our big Botswana adventure.
No internet for the next 8 days so we'll keep you posted when we're back. Take Care!
Melissa AND Sara
Friday, April 3, 2009
Last Week
Hola,
As is typically the case at the end of an adventure, I'm not quite ready to leave. This week has been really fun as I've been exploring other parts of the hospital in addition to working with Dr Johnson in the theatre. My favorite part of the week was delivering babies! A late night C-section last week reminded me how great is is watching these tiny little guys pop into the world. Since then I've been hanging out with the midwives during breaks this week and delivered 4 babies so far. Labor and delivery is quite a bit different here than at home as there are no fetal heart monitors and NO PAIN MEDS!!! Watching these ladies made me think us Americans are such wimps, but when I eventually get around to having kids you bet I want that epidural.
What the labor room here did have which most at home don't is a resident cobra. Yes, a cobra as in long scary poisonous snake. Here in Zambia there is a old wives tale that a snake won't come near a pregnant lady. Hmmmm...consider that myth dispelled by a bunch of midwives and pregnant ladies running around the ward yelling "snake!". Fortunately nobody was bitten and the snake was beheaded. We're still waiting to see if he has friends who will be gracing us with their presence.
I also attended a general meeting of all of the hospital staff. It was really interesting to see what issues they found most challenging or concerning. In contrast to my last post, saying people weren't so concerned with other staff members dying, much of the meeting was dedicated to the very subject. Sadly they are faced with so many funerals of community members that they have whole policies and committees determining how funerals are handled. Employers here are much more responsible for providing for employees in all aspects of living. Many people are fed and housed by their employers. To an extent this also includes planning/financing funerals and weddings. There were interesting concerns of funerals for employees at different pay levels getting more priority or people in different jobs having more freedom to attend all of the funerals they would like. This is also compounded by a cultural concern that if you don't attend someone's funeral you will be blamed for their death.
They also discussed extensively plans to fix the broken generator versus the broken minibus. These are issues I can't really imagine making it to the board meeting at a hospital at home but truly matter day to day here.
Not much else is new-just lots of social plans this weekend with people in town who know I'm leaving soon. Last weekend one of the cooks from the guesthouse invited me to her home to meet her family which I just loved. While I was there we were watching TV, as they typically do on a Sunday afternoon. There aren't many channels but what was on was WWF wrestling. WWF is ENORMOUSLY popular here. I can't say I'm proud that's what Zambians think America is like, but for whatever reason they absolutely love it here. Perhaps the funniest moment of my time here was when the 3 year old niece introduced me to her teddy bear and told me it's name was John Cena, after a WWF star. Scary!
That's it for now- have a great week!
As is typically the case at the end of an adventure, I'm not quite ready to leave. This week has been really fun as I've been exploring other parts of the hospital in addition to working with Dr Johnson in the theatre. My favorite part of the week was delivering babies! A late night C-section last week reminded me how great is is watching these tiny little guys pop into the world. Since then I've been hanging out with the midwives during breaks this week and delivered 4 babies so far. Labor and delivery is quite a bit different here than at home as there are no fetal heart monitors and NO PAIN MEDS!!! Watching these ladies made me think us Americans are such wimps, but when I eventually get around to having kids you bet I want that epidural.
What the labor room here did have which most at home don't is a resident cobra. Yes, a cobra as in long scary poisonous snake. Here in Zambia there is a old wives tale that a snake won't come near a pregnant lady. Hmmmm...consider that myth dispelled by a bunch of midwives and pregnant ladies running around the ward yelling "snake!". Fortunately nobody was bitten and the snake was beheaded. We're still waiting to see if he has friends who will be gracing us with their presence.
I also attended a general meeting of all of the hospital staff. It was really interesting to see what issues they found most challenging or concerning. In contrast to my last post, saying people weren't so concerned with other staff members dying, much of the meeting was dedicated to the very subject. Sadly they are faced with so many funerals of community members that they have whole policies and committees determining how funerals are handled. Employers here are much more responsible for providing for employees in all aspects of living. Many people are fed and housed by their employers. To an extent this also includes planning/financing funerals and weddings. There were interesting concerns of funerals for employees at different pay levels getting more priority or people in different jobs having more freedom to attend all of the funerals they would like. This is also compounded by a cultural concern that if you don't attend someone's funeral you will be blamed for their death.
They also discussed extensively plans to fix the broken generator versus the broken minibus. These are issues I can't really imagine making it to the board meeting at a hospital at home but truly matter day to day here.
Not much else is new-just lots of social plans this weekend with people in town who know I'm leaving soon. Last weekend one of the cooks from the guesthouse invited me to her home to meet her family which I just loved. While I was there we were watching TV, as they typically do on a Sunday afternoon. There aren't many channels but what was on was WWF wrestling. WWF is ENORMOUSLY popular here. I can't say I'm proud that's what Zambians think America is like, but for whatever reason they absolutely love it here. Perhaps the funniest moment of my time here was when the 3 year old niece introduced me to her teddy bear and told me it's name was John Cena, after a WWF star. Scary!
That's it for now- have a great week!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Yes, I do actually work also...
Things here are good. I can't believe I have only about one more week of work! Last weekend I had a nice visit to Lusaka. It was fun to visit with Ben and Jen and I also got to spend two days working at Beit Cure Hospital, a hospital started to treat children with orthopedic and neurosurgical problems. It was a bit astounding how a privately funded hospital could have so many more resources. It was much more like operating at home. We also did some rounds at the University Teaching Hospital which was huge. There were hundreds of patients with seemingly very few physicians and resources. Reportedly many pts get admitted then have to wait several days before seeing a physician. Obviously this is another huge contrast compared with Beit or home. After returning to Choma I went with the District Health Office to rural area to do outreach- primarily prenatal care and vaccinations for kids. I really liked doing that and it was interesting to set up a clinic in the little schoolhouse without electricity.
On a more sobering note, two of the town's nurses died this week and we also did an autopsy on a 6 year old girl who it seems was likely abused (she had a lot of blood in her brain). People here just have so much more death to deal with than we do. Its such a contrast to at home where if someone from the hospital dies it would be a big deal rather than just an ordinary week. Its so different here in that regard Today I opened about 15 emails regarding the death of the Oakland Police, who were treated at Highland and much a part of the Oakland community. Amongst them were people gathering funds for their families, shuttles to the services at the Oakland Coliseum and encouragements for people to get counseling in the aftermath of the traumas. At Choma today a few people said the death of the nurse who died yesterday was a pity and were trying to make arrangements to attend her funeral Monday but nobody was particularly shocked or surprised. She had been in her young thirties, working in the theatre without problems when I arrived and now is dead of unclear causes but it doesn't cause much of a stir. Obviously the cop killings were a very different situation but I guess the timing just made me think even more about the difference. I always find myself wondering in environments with so much death and tragedy if the communities just get numb to it on some level. At every stage of life- from in utero, to childhood, maternal death during childbirth, young adults up to the elderly if they make it that far- there is just so much more death here.
I'm not sure where I'm going with all of this death talk but it just makes me realize that for all of the flaws in the health care system at home, even the poorest in the US have generally more access to care than an average citizen here.
That's it- not many posts left. Hope you all are well!
On a more sobering note, two of the town's nurses died this week and we also did an autopsy on a 6 year old girl who it seems was likely abused (she had a lot of blood in her brain). People here just have so much more death to deal with than we do. Its such a contrast to at home where if someone from the hospital dies it would be a big deal rather than just an ordinary week. Its so different here in that regard Today I opened about 15 emails regarding the death of the Oakland Police, who were treated at Highland and much a part of the Oakland community. Amongst them were people gathering funds for their families, shuttles to the services at the Oakland Coliseum and encouragements for people to get counseling in the aftermath of the traumas. At Choma today a few people said the death of the nurse who died yesterday was a pity and were trying to make arrangements to attend her funeral Monday but nobody was particularly shocked or surprised. She had been in her young thirties, working in the theatre without problems when I arrived and now is dead of unclear causes but it doesn't cause much of a stir. Obviously the cop killings were a very different situation but I guess the timing just made me think even more about the difference. I always find myself wondering in environments with so much death and tragedy if the communities just get numb to it on some level. At every stage of life- from in utero, to childhood, maternal death during childbirth, young adults up to the elderly if they make it that far- there is just so much more death here.
I'm not sure where I'm going with all of this death talk but it just makes me realize that for all of the flaws in the health care system at home, even the poorest in the US have generally more access to care than an average citizen here.
That's it- not many posts left. Hope you all are well!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
I'm legal!...and there definitely was a silver lining
Thank you Zambian Immigration office for one of the best vacations yet. I'm back safely and again working at the hospital, allegedly with the correct visa. In the interim, while banned from the country, I got to have some fun cruising around Namibia with my friend Jen and her husband Ben.
After seeing Victoria Falls and having "Sundowners" at dusk on the Zambezi, my friend Jen, Ben and I set out the next day for Windhoek, Namibia. The 18 hour bus ride there was indeed as long as it sounds (actually ended up being 20 hours because of an overturned fuel truck blocking the road)but the bus was definitely the nicest I've ever been on. It felt more like flying with pit stops every few hours. From the minute we crossed the border it was very apparent that Namibia is a completely different world than Zambia despite sharing a border. The immigration office we had to stop in on the Zambian side was a run down house run in a completely chaotic manner. In contrast, the Namibian office looked brand new, was air conditioned and very orderly. All week the three of us were astounded by how good the infrastructure and development in Namibia was- by any standards, but especially in contrast to Zambia.
We arrived in Windhoek which felt much like a German town in the middle of the Kalahari desert. Much to my delight after a month of Zambian food, we stocked up on groceries at a Whole Foods type store then picked up our rental truck and camping gear. Our 4x4 made us feel like we were cheater camping as the tents unfolded on top of the truck. We then drove about 4 more hours out to Swakopmund where we had a seafood dinner looking out at the Atlantic Ocean. Yes, ocean as in beach- very strange after living smack in the center of Africa. Notable events in Swakopmund were Apple Strudel (phenomenal!), riding ATVs in the sand dunes and sea kayaking with literally thousands of seals playing around us.
After Swakopmund we packed up and headed south to Sesrium, our campground at the base of Soussevlei where the largest sand dunes in the world are. The drive out to Sesrium was incredible because we started at the ocean, drove through the desert followed by mountains which turned into canyons with rivers in them, then green rolling hills, more plains, then eventually desert again. This was made all the better by coming over a mountain pass to see an enormous full moon (which my super novice photographic attempts couldn't quite capture).
At Sesrium we pretty much just relaxed, hiked in the enormous dunes and lamented how fast the week had flown by. The dunes were incredible- as always, way more impressive in person than on film but there are pics below.
On 18 hour bus ride round two I managed to wake up enough to plead my case to the immigration officers and was very relieved when they agreed to not deport me. I did get a 30 second lecture that I could have settled all of this on my initial arrival(an even different way than suggested by the previous two immigration offices) but ultimately they smiled and said "We will work with you and want you to enjoy Zambia". So I now have 30 more days to work and then up to 60 days to be a tourist before leaving. This week I'm doing more surgery and also trying to get more involved in seeing other health projects going on locally- I'm going to visit some rural hospitals with the district health office on Friday then hopefully spending some time at the ER in Lusaka next week.
Thats it- sorry this got longer than planned. Again.
Have a great week!
Melissa
http://picasaweb.google.com/melclark217/Webalbum3?feat=directlink
After seeing Victoria Falls and having "Sundowners" at dusk on the Zambezi, my friend Jen, Ben and I set out the next day for Windhoek, Namibia. The 18 hour bus ride there was indeed as long as it sounds (actually ended up being 20 hours because of an overturned fuel truck blocking the road)but the bus was definitely the nicest I've ever been on. It felt more like flying with pit stops every few hours. From the minute we crossed the border it was very apparent that Namibia is a completely different world than Zambia despite sharing a border. The immigration office we had to stop in on the Zambian side was a run down house run in a completely chaotic manner. In contrast, the Namibian office looked brand new, was air conditioned and very orderly. All week the three of us were astounded by how good the infrastructure and development in Namibia was- by any standards, but especially in contrast to Zambia.
We arrived in Windhoek which felt much like a German town in the middle of the Kalahari desert. Much to my delight after a month of Zambian food, we stocked up on groceries at a Whole Foods type store then picked up our rental truck and camping gear. Our 4x4 made us feel like we were cheater camping as the tents unfolded on top of the truck. We then drove about 4 more hours out to Swakopmund where we had a seafood dinner looking out at the Atlantic Ocean. Yes, ocean as in beach- very strange after living smack in the center of Africa. Notable events in Swakopmund were Apple Strudel (phenomenal!), riding ATVs in the sand dunes and sea kayaking with literally thousands of seals playing around us.
After Swakopmund we packed up and headed south to Sesrium, our campground at the base of Soussevlei where the largest sand dunes in the world are. The drive out to Sesrium was incredible because we started at the ocean, drove through the desert followed by mountains which turned into canyons with rivers in them, then green rolling hills, more plains, then eventually desert again. This was made all the better by coming over a mountain pass to see an enormous full moon (which my super novice photographic attempts couldn't quite capture).
At Sesrium we pretty much just relaxed, hiked in the enormous dunes and lamented how fast the week had flown by. The dunes were incredible- as always, way more impressive in person than on film but there are pics below.
On 18 hour bus ride round two I managed to wake up enough to plead my case to the immigration officers and was very relieved when they agreed to not deport me. I did get a 30 second lecture that I could have settled all of this on my initial arrival(an even different way than suggested by the previous two immigration offices) but ultimately they smiled and said "We will work with you and want you to enjoy Zambia". So I now have 30 more days to work and then up to 60 days to be a tourist before leaving. This week I'm doing more surgery and also trying to get more involved in seeing other health projects going on locally- I'm going to visit some rural hospitals with the district health office on Friday then hopefully spending some time at the ER in Lusaka next week.
Thats it- sorry this got longer than planned. Again.
Have a great week!
Melissa
http://picasaweb.google.com/melclark217/Webalbum3?feat=directlink
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Goodbye Zambia, Hello Namibia
Well the visa fiasco, for the pain its been, turns out to have a silver lining. Dr Johnson did some more research and deciphering of immigration policies. While he did get a few different answers, it seems as though if I leave the country for a few days and return with a letter from the hospital welcoming me I should be able to qualify for the required 30 day business visa. The other step, which Dr Johnson is working on, is getting a letter from the ministry of health agreeing to me being here. When I first heard that I had to leave Zambia I was a little unsure as to what I could economically and safely do on my own for a few days. Still unsure of the complete plan I headed to livingstone, zambia (site of Victoria Falls, right on the Zimbabwe border and close to Botswana). I wasn't dying to go to Zimbabwe given the Cholera situation and potentially unstable political environment so figured I would end up in Botswana.
I arrived in Livingstone last night and checked into a great Hostel called Jolly Boys with a pool, lots of young people and several good areas to relax. I woke this morning only to bump into one of my friends from Portland at breakfast! I had known Jen, a med student I worked with at OHSU, was in Africa somewhere but no further details. It turns out she and her husband are doing medical work in Lusaka for the year. They had planned a weeklong trip leaving tomorrow for the dunes of Namibia and kindly invited me along with them. Today we wnt to go see Victoria Falls which was amazing.
So...next stop Namibia! Keep your fingers crossed that immigration is feeling friendly on my return so I can get the business visa and resume working in Choma. There are 2 national holidays this week so we'll se how muchthe ministry of health gets done. Have a good week
Melissa
I arrived in Livingstone last night and checked into a great Hostel called Jolly Boys with a pool, lots of young people and several good areas to relax. I woke this morning only to bump into one of my friends from Portland at breakfast! I had known Jen, a med student I worked with at OHSU, was in Africa somewhere but no further details. It turns out she and her husband are doing medical work in Lusaka for the year. They had planned a weeklong trip leaving tomorrow for the dunes of Namibia and kindly invited me along with them. Today we wnt to go see Victoria Falls which was amazing.
So...next stop Namibia! Keep your fingers crossed that immigration is feeling friendly on my return so I can get the business visa and resume working in Choma. There are 2 national holidays this week so we'll se how muchthe ministry of health gets done. Have a good week
Melissa
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
On a lighter note...
Here's more pictures- not so different than the first set other than I included a few hospital pics at the end. There are a few pictures from a quick day trip I did to a nearby village called Chikuni (Dr Johnson had to do a house call). The Choma girls in the middle of the set were hilarious- they all had about a million modeling poses they wanted to do. In looking at these pics I realized I cut off probably 95% of people at their foreheads, so perhaps next time you'll see some full faces (if you are in the 2 people who aren't totally bored looking at pictures of the same stuff)
If above slideshow doesn't work use address
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/melclark217/ZambiaRound2
If above slideshow doesn't work use address
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/melclark217/ZambiaRound2
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