week two in msambweni

hello everyone!

i have concluded the second out of six weeks at the hospital. time is flying by-- i've already completed 1/3 of my time at my internship, and i'm already 2/3 of the way done with the semester. it's crazy to think that in just over a month, i'll be on a plane flying home, looking back on an amazing few months.

last sunday (oct 30) i headed to ukunda, a small town about 25 minutes north of msambweni. it is very close to diani beach, a large tourist area, with many expensive hotels lining the coast. my host dad has a motorbike instead of a car, and he was going to take me there, but he decided not to at the last minute, so i boarded a matatu instead. i made it to ukunda, then got on a different matatu to head towards the beach. destination: nakumatt (kenyan walmart). my host family does not feel the need to provide me with toilet paper, so i was on a mission to buy some. in addition to that, i wanted to buy some "real"food-- ice cream, peanut butter, cookies-- to eat for the day, as at home, my diet consists of six foods: ugali, fish, chapati, coconut rice, potato soup, and black tea. after buying a few items, i headed to the beach to check it out.

as a single white woman, i knew i was going to be hassled by "beach boys"-- kenyan guys that try to sell you things, or just converse with you. throughout my 3 hours i was at the beach, there was not one time i was there sitting alone by myself, as someone was always talking to me. at about 3:00, i decided to head home, after realizing i probably just got the worse sunburn of my entire life. not only is the sun much stronger since i'm practically on the equator, but one of the side effects of my anti-malarial medication is sun sensitivity. needless to say, i learned my lesson: if i think i've applied enough sunscreen, apply more.

on the way home, the matatu driver decided it would be okay to pack 22 people into the 14 passenger matatu. most of the extra people were hanging outside the vehicle, holding on for their life. oh kenya.

this week at the hospital, i was in MCH-- maternal and child health. it is an outpatient clinic where children under five come for regular checkups and see a doctor if they're sick, as well as where antenatal mothers come for checkups throughout their pregnancy. on monday, tuesday, and thursday, i did a lot of weighing kids, measuring their height, taking their temperature, and giving vitamin a supplements. kids are supposed to come once every month for the first five years of their life, but many stop coming after they've received most of their immunizations. i don't blame them-- i think coming that often is excessive, even by american standards. on wednesday, i worked with the antenatal mothers. the nurses estimate how old the fetus is, check for a heartbeat, are given counseling in delivering the baby (doing it in a health facility, not a home delivery), and are tested for hiv. they do not use an ultrasound, and the way they estimate how old the fetus is seems very unreliable.

friday was theatre (surgery) day. i had been looking forward to this day all week. although working in mch was nice, theatre is really my opportunity to see stuff i'm unable to in the united states. at the hospital, major surgeries are done on wednesdays, and gynecological surgeries are done on fridays, so now i'll go every wednesday and friday to theatre. i had to wear the scrubs, along with the hair net and face mask. although i only observed today, as i go there more often, i'm sure the nurses will gain confidence in me in doing some of their work. there were two small cervical surgeries, removal of warts, and a woman getting her tubes tied. The tube tying procedure was the coolest to watch-- cutting down to the fallopian tubes, watching the surgeon tie them, and suturing the cut back up. seriously, it's like real life grey's anatomy.

life here has became much more comfortable. not having a toilet doesn't even phase me anymore, and my house doesn't having running water about half the time, so i'm getting good at the whole "bucket bath". my host mom realized how much i love chapati (fried flat bread) and i have it all the time-- usually for two meals of the day. i'm not getting used the heat/humidity, but i usually go swimming every afternoon after work.

the beach boys that hassle me here are probably my biggest pet peeve about this place. i go swimming around the same time every day, so many of them know my name and feel the need to wait for me to talk to me every day. one day, a guy was sitting by my towel, and he told me he was watching it so no one stole it, even though i know my stuff is very safe here. he proceeds to ask me if i can help him with his "problems"-- when have i became a psychologist?! when i told him no, he asked when we could meet. gahhhhhi'm not angry, i just wish there was one day i could go swimming and not be harassed by anyone." maybe he'll leave me alone now...

one of my other pet peeves that's been growing on me is the work ethic i see a lot at the hospital. from an american perspective, i see people as very lazy. they don't do a very good job on their work, show up late, take extremely long lunch breaks, and are rude to patients. i understand that this is part of their culture (more relaxed, not concerned about the time), but i definitely feel that it is one of the reasons kenya is in the situation it is in-- if they want any progress to be made with reducing the amount of poverty in their country, they need to start working a lot harder than they are.

well, that's all for this week! i'm heading to tiwi beach for the weekend to meet up with the other msid students, and next week i'm headed to the maternity ward (delivering babies, anyone?!).

stay warm wisconsin!
emma
:)