anyway, last saturday (november 5), i headed to tiwi beach, a beautiful beach about 45 minutes north of msambweni. i was meeting most of the other students on the program that are also interning along the coast. it was so wonderful to see them, as it can get lonely not seeing familiar faces. many talked about being homesick and lonely, so i wasn't the only one feeling that way the first week i was here, which made me feel better. we stayed at twiga lodge, a hotel with cheap rooms and a nice restaurant, and a picturesque beach.
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| tiwi beach |
everyone else came together from the north, so i met them at the beach around 10:00 saturday morning. we swam for a while (the waves were huge!), ate lunch, and headed out snorkeling. i wasn't expecting much from the snorkeling, as it only cost around five dollars, but it was very cool. the first reef was in the shape of africa, and the second one, named "australia", was actually a cave, with an opening in the roof with long vines hanging down, and the sun shining through. after we snorkeled for a few hours, we headed back to the beach to soak up a few more rays. we all took showers and then headed to supper. after supper, we had a bonfire on the beach, which was a lot of fun.
the next morning a few of us woke up early for the sunrise. i live close enough to the beach that i could watch the sunrise any morning, but 5:30 just isn't an ideal wake-up time...
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| tiwi beach sunrise |
we stayed by the beach for a few more hours, then everyone headed their seperate ways to head home. i stopped at nakumatt for some food, then headed the rest of the way home to msambweni. it was a wonderful weekend.
this week at the hospital i was in the maternity ward. this was the first week i was in an inpatient service, so it was interesting to see the daily ward schedule. at 8:30, the ward round begins. the doctors go around to each patient, asking how they're feeling, if their condition is improving, take vitals, and write a plan for additional treatment. there were about 25 women in the maternity ward while i was there, and many of those were mothers waiting to be discharged after having a c-section. others were antenatal mothers having preganacy problems. the ward round took about three hours. the rest of the day was spent waiting for new admissions or deliveries.
i saw quite a few deliveries throughout the week. one day, a woman gave birth to premature (28 weeks) triplets, each not weighing much over two pounds.
my time in maternity was very good. i became much more competent in my blood pressure skills, and i also was able to administer drugs both through IV and intramuscular. i did not actually help in the delivery of any babies, but the last week of my internship i might go back to the maternity ward.
on friday, i headed to theatre. there were four orthopedic operations. the orthopedic surgeon is a european man, so it was very interesting to see the dynamic between him and the other theatre staff (the surgeon pretty much acted like they were completely incompetent in everything, which is sadly partially true.) there were two broken legs where the surgeon had to insert screws, a surgical toilet (flushing the wound with water-- "dilution is the solution for pollution" is what i was told), and a little girl with a swollen knee, which the surgeon just thought was fluid, but there is something else wrong with it.
the surgeon told me that the theatre fee for any operation is 3000 Ksh (30 dollars), and the screws are provided by an NGO in the united states that replaces the used screws for free, otherwise the patients would not be able to afford them. throughout my time in the ward, i learned that most of the doctors that work at the hospital are just interns, finishing up their medical school requirements. in kenya, to become a doctor, it is only a 4 1/2 year program total. there are also many student nurses, as there is a medical teaching facility in msambweni. so, fees at the hospital are very minimal, which is all many can afford, but the services are provided by medical students or student nurses, so nobody is well trained. after seeing much of the stuff that goes on at the hospital, i would NOT want to get sick and have to go there.
sunday to tuesday was a large muslim holiday. my host family is muslim, so there were many people in and out of the house all those days. many of my host cousins did not go to school, and instead stayed home to dance and sing to islamic prayer videos. many people here seem very ignorant about how important getting an education is. although i understand that for many muslims, their religion is their life, i don't know how it can be more important than school.
another aspect of education ignorance is my house help. she is 12 or 13 years old, and does not go to school. she is one of my host mom's daughters, from a different father other than my host dad. she knows only a limited amount of english, so i'm assuming she stopped going to school after my host brother (age 2 1/2) was born, so she could stay home to care for him. i don't know how anyone could tell their child that they could no longer go to school, and instead had to stay home to cook, clean, and babysit. she will have such a hard life, probably just being a housewife for the rest of her life, an occupation that many women here seem to have.
the following are some pictures of my homestay...
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| the shower. |
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| living room |
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| the bathroom, complete with a porclain squatter. ;) |
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| my room. thank god for that fan. |
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living room with baby tv that blasts islamic prayer videos almost nonstop. |
well, that's all for now. in exactly four weeks, i'll be boarding a plane back home. time is flying by.
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