this morning I head out to Mochudi to live with another family for a week in a different environment. its suppose to give us the "rural" village experience, however we have heard that is not too much different from Gabs. I guess we will see! we'll all be working in clinics again for the entire week, but were told to expect less people to be fluent in English or know any at all. Might be a challenge. I am not bringing my computer because its highly unlikely that my new family will have internet let alone electricity. So you wont hear from me until at least next sunday, possibly not until Wed or Thurs because we are headed to a rhino sanctuary in Serowe (Eastern Botswana about 3 or so hours from Gaborone).
All I know about my family is that they are farmers, they have 2 older children who don't live at home, then a 24 year old and a 3 year old. I also will probably be sharing a room with someone because the houses in the village are smaller. Might have an outhouse, doubtful I'll have hot water, probably will have to get water from an outside pump. Also had to pack for 9 days in my school backpack so this will be a fun week!
Thursday was another day at Broadhurst 3. I spent the morning moving between the family planning/reproductive health and pharmacy. I talked to the pharmacist about traditional healing and how that coexists with modern medicine. I then spent the afternoon sitting in with the doctor, saw a few interesting cases like tape worm and potential meningitis, but other than that it was a lot of "flus" (common colds), and genital exams.
Yesterday we visited a traditional healer in the morning. He was from Zimbabwe and told us about how he became a healer, how he came to botswana, and what types of things he treats. It was really interesting although kinda scary when he was talking about this air pump and doing witchcraft. He sees his ancestors in his dreams and they tell him where to go to look for medicines. After the healer we went to Gaborone Game Reserve to make lunch. We were so excited because there were a few monkeys in the trees, but as we started cooking they came from all over and started jumping on tables and running under people's feet to get food. One stole a bag of chips and ran up a tree, opening it and making it rain chips. Another one jumped on the table stealing food from a girls plate and tipping over drinks. Another one pooped on someones arm. And I tried to chase one away but when I turned around it tried to grab my ankle. Those cute monkeys turned into being a nuisance. Last night be went to Bull and Bush to have dinner and a few drinks for Randi's birthday. The music started up and we ended up dancing until after 12, lots of fun!
Time for some adventures, back in a week!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
O una kae?
While im waiting for the water to heat up on the stove, I'll catch you up. Sunday I went shopping with my sister and she showed me around the station. Many people in the program live far enough away from UB (school) that they are unable to take 1 combi. They have to take a combi to the station, then another combi to school. The station is this big area where there are hundreds of combis, taxis and buses. Certain combis are on one side with the taxis, but then you have to cross the bridge to get to where other combi routes are and where the buses are. It gets very crowded during the day and can be a bit overwhelming when you are by yourself trying to figure out where to go. Luckily I only take 1 combi to school or walk. By now most people in the program are use to the station and the combi routes so we're all beginning to feel a little more at home.
I also made a veggie stir fry for my family on Sunday. My mum here decided that they wanted to try one of my vegetarian meals. Although I couldn't find all the ingredients i needed, i made some substations here and there and it ended up okay. Although it tasted a little different then when we make it back home in the States, my family here seemed to like it. They want me to do some more vegetarian cooking but i just wish I had a little more time, im usually exhausted when i come home at 5.
Monday was an uneventful day, just my environmental health class and setswana class. We didnt have classes in the afternoon, so a few of us went to the Main Mall to look around/shop. It has a lot of vendors out on the street selling tradtional stuff then also cellphones, odd mixture. Tuesday we had class with our public health internship teacher and discussed our clinical experience in the first week. That afternoon we worked out some details about our Delta trip, got plane tickets booked etc...
Today I was in the HIV testing portion of the clinic in the morning. Its a little trailor off to the side of the main clinic which is very cold in the morning! Fortunately everyone we tested was negative! She walked me through the process of counselling and why certain people come in. I also kept records for her which they turn into the government. Since I had to record things like name, place or residence, age, etc...She taught me how to say them in setswana since some people cannot speak English...
Ke go thuse jang? - How can I help you
O una kae? - Where do you stay?
O badile mang ko Sekolong? - You did up to which level in school?
Ke wena mang? - What is your name?
Dingwaga tsa gago di kae? - How old are you?
When I said o una kae the first few times the lady i was working with and the patients got a good laugh at it, my pronunciation sucks. even when I speak Setswana the Motswana have no idea what I am saying. I also had a lot of trouble pronouncing Dingwaga...you dont pronounce it the way it looks!
Random thoughts about clinic:
- lack of sanitation: no soap, toliet paper, or paper towel in the bathrooms at the clinic, I have to bring my own. (there is soap in the consult rooms though)
- also use same red biohazard sheet to cover the beds for the entire day
- got to see a hemrrhoid today
- doctor rotations make no sense here
- lots of pescription filling where prevention/other routes could be taken
- babies come in to record their weight every month, but not their height. how can you tell if they are healthy then?
- lack of privacy...folders on desktops, 2 patients in a room. although in the HIV testing portion she makes sure to cover previous patients results.
- no appointments
- lots of breaks for the staff...way different work effort. the doctor even snuck out at 10:30 today and didnt come back until 2pm
- packed in the morning, usually empty in afternoon (except for today)
- they pray and sing in the morning...dont understand what they say but it's beautiful
- strike has deeply effected many clinics and the work ethic
- lots of 'flu' symptoms come in where they could just wait a few days
I also made a veggie stir fry for my family on Sunday. My mum here decided that they wanted to try one of my vegetarian meals. Although I couldn't find all the ingredients i needed, i made some substations here and there and it ended up okay. Although it tasted a little different then when we make it back home in the States, my family here seemed to like it. They want me to do some more vegetarian cooking but i just wish I had a little more time, im usually exhausted when i come home at 5.
Monday was an uneventful day, just my environmental health class and setswana class. We didnt have classes in the afternoon, so a few of us went to the Main Mall to look around/shop. It has a lot of vendors out on the street selling tradtional stuff then also cellphones, odd mixture. Tuesday we had class with our public health internship teacher and discussed our clinical experience in the first week. That afternoon we worked out some details about our Delta trip, got plane tickets booked etc...
Today I was in the HIV testing portion of the clinic in the morning. Its a little trailor off to the side of the main clinic which is very cold in the morning! Fortunately everyone we tested was negative! She walked me through the process of counselling and why certain people come in. I also kept records for her which they turn into the government. Since I had to record things like name, place or residence, age, etc...She taught me how to say them in setswana since some people cannot speak English...
Ke go thuse jang? - How can I help you
O una kae? - Where do you stay?
O badile mang ko Sekolong? - You did up to which level in school?
Ke wena mang? - What is your name?
Dingwaga tsa gago di kae? - How old are you?
When I said o una kae the first few times the lady i was working with and the patients got a good laugh at it, my pronunciation sucks. even when I speak Setswana the Motswana have no idea what I am saying. I also had a lot of trouble pronouncing Dingwaga...you dont pronounce it the way it looks!
Random thoughts about clinic:
- lack of sanitation: no soap, toliet paper, or paper towel in the bathrooms at the clinic, I have to bring my own. (there is soap in the consult rooms though)
- also use same red biohazard sheet to cover the beds for the entire day
- got to see a hemrrhoid today
- doctor rotations make no sense here
- lots of pescription filling where prevention/other routes could be taken
- babies come in to record their weight every month, but not their height. how can you tell if they are healthy then?
- lack of privacy...folders on desktops, 2 patients in a room. although in the HIV testing portion she makes sure to cover previous patients results.
- no appointments
- lots of breaks for the staff...way different work effort. the doctor even snuck out at 10:30 today and didnt come back until 2pm
- packed in the morning, usually empty in afternoon (except for today)
- they pray and sing in the morning...dont understand what they say but it's beautiful
- strike has deeply effected many clinics and the work ethic
- lots of 'flu' symptoms come in where they could just wait a few days
Monday, June 20, 2011
Photos!!!
I think this will work. I added a few pictures to Shutterfly. let me know if you cant see them!
http://mackenziemagnus.shutterfly.com/
http://mackenziemagnus.shutterfly.com/
Saturday, June 18, 2011
ARVs, long walks, and cheetahs
I don't even know where to begin! Thursday was my 2nd day at the clinic and was ARV day also. On thursday every week, patients come in to consult the doctor, look at blood work results and refill ARV medications for HIV. Rachel (another student) and I were able to spend the morning working with the doctor while he saw patients. Each patient would come into the room, then we would look at their lab results, figure out if they needed blood work at the next 3 month check up, fill out some paper work, then the doc would write prescriptions. It might sound a little boring, but once I figured out the appropriate ranges for viral load and blood cell counts, it was really interesting to see how different courses of medication effected different people. It was also great to see how well some people were doing. For those of you that don't know, ARVs are free to any Botswana citizens. With their ARV program, they have incorporated many prevention education campaigns and counseling sessions. When each patient starts their treatment, they sit through a counseling session to learn about protection, medication, adherence, etc...I sat in on part of one of the sessions, but unfortunately people speak mainly in Setswana so I only caught what was going on every few sentences. The country also has a great PMTCT (prevention of mother to child transmission) program. Mothers are counseled about how to have a child and not infect him/her and are also given free milk formula so they don't have to breast feed.
Although there have been great strides against HIV/AIDS, there are still many issues as well. We saw a few sad stories of people not adhering to treatment, or mothers who had just tested HIV+. We also came across a girl with a viral load 10X greater than it should have been and their was also confusion with her medication regiment. Although the clinics have really adjusted to treating people who need it, the way doctors rotate creates problems in terms of who wrote what prescription and why. The physicians rotate so they do not always see the same patients, so when they come to a chart like the girls above, they wonder why the previous doctor switched medicine so early in the treatment.
After I got home, I noticed the puppies weren't looking so good. The night before my sister said that they might have eaten rat poison. So luckily my dad was on Skype so I could have a 1-800-dial a vet. THANKS DAD! After lots of searching we couldn't find the medicine we needed so we had an emergency run to the vet. They're looking better now but we're still crossing our fingers!
Friday morning started out early with a visit to the landfill. sounds fun right? Surprisingly it wasn't too smelly and kinda interesting. For my environmental health class, we've been discussing waste and the issues in Botswana. With such a rapid growing population and increasing consumption, Gaborone is having trouble keeping up with the demand. The landfill was opened in 2009 30km away and is very well run, but still has a lot of progress to make in terms of recycling and keeping up with the flow of garbage. There was also an issue for a while because there has been a strike going on for many governmental workers so trash trucks weren't running. The day we got here they thought the strike was over, but then negotiations failed. After many weeks of strikes we think they have finally resolved the issue this week, Although many workers on strike were fired, they are encouraged to re-apply for their jobs. But no worries, it was a very peaceful few weeks of strikes in Gaborone, mainly just a bunch of people gathering in one place, people in Botswana are very peaceful (don't want to worry anyone!)
After the landfill I visited the Baylor's COE clinic with Zoe. It's an amazing pediatric HIV clinic which has gone to great lengths helping HIV+ children. They treat people very holistically making sure they are not only sticking to their meds but also doing their homework and getting involved in sports/activities. They have a great teen club that in a few years has gone from 4 to over 600 teens by just word of mouth and doctor referrals. It is a very positive atmosphere enriched with education. Adolescents born with HIV are taught how to live positively instead of thinking that the disease is a death sentence. The teen club has also started 7 satellite sites all over Botswana!
Zoe and I then took off for Fresh Cafe again then headed to Main Mall. We wanted to explore a little bit so we took the round about way to get to the mall and walked passed a bunch of embassies and my favorite...a telephone pole disguised as a tree. Eventually we reached the mall and walked around, lots of local vendors and great music. We ran into a few of our classmates and grabbed a few beers, then headed home at dark. gets so dark here so early which is really unfortunate.
Today I was up and out the door at 6:30. Zoe, Sierra, Alyson and I headed to Mokolodi Nature Reserve for a great day, starting with giraffe tracking at 8. We drove around with our guides for a little over an hour and saw some kudos, impalas, and warthogs, then we headed out on foot into the bush when we saw some fresh giraffe tracks. Being in the Bush with only the 4 of us and a guide was a great feeling. So peaceful. We followed fresh tracks and droppings around for a while until we sighted one. So tall, so pretty! We stalked a group of giraffes for about 45 mins or so, getting closer until they'd walk away then we'd follow them. There were probably about 7 or 8 of them including a few babies (calfs?). There was also the dominant male who was really dark in color who we saw a lot (cant wait to show you pictures!). Apparently the darker they are the older they are. No wonder the ones in zoos are so light.
After we found our way back to the jeep, we rode down to see the cheetahs. In the early 90s, 2 cheetahs were orphanged when their mother was shot, so the reserve took them in and bottle fed them. Releasing them into the wild didn't work because they hadn't learned any of the necessary life skills to hunt/kill prey. We were lucky enough to get to go in and pet them...yes i said pet them. I was the first one of us the pet one of them and instantly he began purring. We spent the next 30 minutes in awe, petting and walking around with the brothers.
After cheetah visiting, we headed to a picnic site, what I thought would be a basket of cold sandwhiches and soda.But instead We pulled up to a gorgeous site on a lake with tables covered in table clothes, a plate of chicken, fish, fresh fruit, and tea. We sat and talked to our guides learning about the reserve and the animals, best lunch ever. When we got back to the main gate, we had a few hours to kill until the rest of our group got there for a night drive. We sat down for a few drinks at the restaurant, met the main chef and restaurant director, and had a great time. They told us that the night before a rhino had come right up to the restaurant and was just grazing. The rest of our group showed up, we went on a dusk/night drive, ate an amazing dinner at that same site, this time in awe of all the stars in the sky.
Great day and i know plenty more to come.
sorry for all the spelling mistakes but its time for bed. Go siame!
Although there have been great strides against HIV/AIDS, there are still many issues as well. We saw a few sad stories of people not adhering to treatment, or mothers who had just tested HIV+. We also came across a girl with a viral load 10X greater than it should have been and their was also confusion with her medication regiment. Although the clinics have really adjusted to treating people who need it, the way doctors rotate creates problems in terms of who wrote what prescription and why. The physicians rotate so they do not always see the same patients, so when they come to a chart like the girls above, they wonder why the previous doctor switched medicine so early in the treatment.
After I got home, I noticed the puppies weren't looking so good. The night before my sister said that they might have eaten rat poison. So luckily my dad was on Skype so I could have a 1-800-dial a vet. THANKS DAD! After lots of searching we couldn't find the medicine we needed so we had an emergency run to the vet. They're looking better now but we're still crossing our fingers!
Friday morning started out early with a visit to the landfill. sounds fun right? Surprisingly it wasn't too smelly and kinda interesting. For my environmental health class, we've been discussing waste and the issues in Botswana. With such a rapid growing population and increasing consumption, Gaborone is having trouble keeping up with the demand. The landfill was opened in 2009 30km away and is very well run, but still has a lot of progress to make in terms of recycling and keeping up with the flow of garbage. There was also an issue for a while because there has been a strike going on for many governmental workers so trash trucks weren't running. The day we got here they thought the strike was over, but then negotiations failed. After many weeks of strikes we think they have finally resolved the issue this week, Although many workers on strike were fired, they are encouraged to re-apply for their jobs. But no worries, it was a very peaceful few weeks of strikes in Gaborone, mainly just a bunch of people gathering in one place, people in Botswana are very peaceful (don't want to worry anyone!)
After the landfill I visited the Baylor's COE clinic with Zoe. It's an amazing pediatric HIV clinic which has gone to great lengths helping HIV+ children. They treat people very holistically making sure they are not only sticking to their meds but also doing their homework and getting involved in sports/activities. They have a great teen club that in a few years has gone from 4 to over 600 teens by just word of mouth and doctor referrals. It is a very positive atmosphere enriched with education. Adolescents born with HIV are taught how to live positively instead of thinking that the disease is a death sentence. The teen club has also started 7 satellite sites all over Botswana!
Zoe and I then took off for Fresh Cafe again then headed to Main Mall. We wanted to explore a little bit so we took the round about way to get to the mall and walked passed a bunch of embassies and my favorite...a telephone pole disguised as a tree. Eventually we reached the mall and walked around, lots of local vendors and great music. We ran into a few of our classmates and grabbed a few beers, then headed home at dark. gets so dark here so early which is really unfortunate.
Today I was up and out the door at 6:30. Zoe, Sierra, Alyson and I headed to Mokolodi Nature Reserve for a great day, starting with giraffe tracking at 8. We drove around with our guides for a little over an hour and saw some kudos, impalas, and warthogs, then we headed out on foot into the bush when we saw some fresh giraffe tracks. Being in the Bush with only the 4 of us and a guide was a great feeling. So peaceful. We followed fresh tracks and droppings around for a while until we sighted one. So tall, so pretty! We stalked a group of giraffes for about 45 mins or so, getting closer until they'd walk away then we'd follow them. There were probably about 7 or 8 of them including a few babies (calfs?). There was also the dominant male who was really dark in color who we saw a lot (cant wait to show you pictures!). Apparently the darker they are the older they are. No wonder the ones in zoos are so light.
After we found our way back to the jeep, we rode down to see the cheetahs. In the early 90s, 2 cheetahs were orphanged when their mother was shot, so the reserve took them in and bottle fed them. Releasing them into the wild didn't work because they hadn't learned any of the necessary life skills to hunt/kill prey. We were lucky enough to get to go in and pet them...yes i said pet them. I was the first one of us the pet one of them and instantly he began purring. We spent the next 30 minutes in awe, petting and walking around with the brothers.
After cheetah visiting, we headed to a picnic site, what I thought would be a basket of cold sandwhiches and soda.But instead We pulled up to a gorgeous site on a lake with tables covered in table clothes, a plate of chicken, fish, fresh fruit, and tea. We sat and talked to our guides learning about the reserve and the animals, best lunch ever. When we got back to the main gate, we had a few hours to kill until the rest of our group got there for a night drive. We sat down for a few drinks at the restaurant, met the main chef and restaurant director, and had a great time. They told us that the night before a rhino had come right up to the restaurant and was just grazing. The rest of our group showed up, we went on a dusk/night drive, ate an amazing dinner at that same site, this time in awe of all the stars in the sky.
Great day and i know plenty more to come.
sorry for all the spelling mistakes but its time for bed. Go siame!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Broadhurst 3
Today was my first clinical day. I started my internship at the Broadhurst 3 clinic. At first it was a little weird being there but after getting a tour of the clinic and doing a little work the three of us placed there all felt at home. I spent the day in the Reproductive Health part of the clinic where we saw pregnant women, mothers and children, and women who were there for birth control. Right when I walked into the room one of the midwives told me to step behind the current where the patient was. Within 2 minutes of being there I was able to feel a baby's head of a woman who was just shy of 9 months pregnant. I also got to listen to the fetal heart beat...pretty cool start of the day. The rest of the morning I was shown the ropes on how to record information in their logs, what to look for on prenatal charts, and how to measure certain things. I also counted out some ascorbic acid and iron pills for the mothers to take home.
We took lunch at 12:45 which seemed like so long when we started at 7:30am. We had a long lunch break then we assisted the pharmacist with counting pills and distributing allergy medicine. Although the morning was busy, the afternoon was fairly slow, most people were in line to consult with the doctor so there wasn't much we could assist with. But we also talked to the woman who worked with preventing HIV transmission from mother to child. Hopefully tomorrow I will get to work with her and ask her a few more questions.
A few interesting tidbits...a lot of people come into the clinic on Mondays with a hangover saying that they are sick so they can get out of work for the day. Or people come in "sick" on Fridays so they can have a long holiday. Most of the jobs are government jobs and if a doctor says a person needs a month of leave, they get it. The clinic is also run by the government so people only pay a 5 pula consultation fee (less than $1), but the drugs and medical care they receive are free otherwise. So far they system they have seems to be working well and from what I have seen they are making great strides to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Also a random fact...after a mother gives birth the husband does not sleep in bed with her for a few months or may even sleep in a different room. Some husbands aren't even allowed to see their children at birth. I asked the nurse why and she said that's just the culture. When her husband picked her up after her 2nd child was born her mother was very mad. From what I understood the father could bring bad luck or sickness. I'll have to ask my host family about this tonight.
Yesterday was very interesting as well. Although the morning started out a bit boring with 2 lectures, we walked to fresh cafe for lunch. so good! Had a salad wrap and salad. Doesn't sound that amazing but when all you've been eating is meat and starches with some fried food here and there, you crave something fresh! At 3 we visited the SOS orphanage in Tlokweng. The SOS orphanage is a bunch of small houses (around 14 or so) and in each house is 6-8 children with 2 house mothers. Each house is sponsored by a local business so some of the houses were a little nicer than others. But all were well equipped with places to sleep, eat and do homework. After a tour of the village we got to play with the kids! ages 5-14 and they all loved to jump on us and use our cameras. I got to play soccer/futbol with a few boys, I also played piggy back tag and got in a work out. Some of the kids stole my friends cameras and started taking picture, mainly of us, but there are some good ones.
I also got a Setswana name today. Gottfried at the clinic was surprised that i did not have a name yet so he called me Bontle...the setswana name for beauty. My friend got the name Lorato, which means love...although later we also found out that it was a condom brand that was all over the clinic. My other friend at the clinic got a name from her mom Mpoh...which means gift, she had never had a daughter so she called Rachel her gift. Everyone is so nice here and accepts you into their family! My mum is working on naming me as well. They are from the Hererro tribe so she says I need a Hererro name. I will be leaving Botswana with 2 more names then I came with!
Boitumelo! (Happiness)
We took lunch at 12:45 which seemed like so long when we started at 7:30am. We had a long lunch break then we assisted the pharmacist with counting pills and distributing allergy medicine. Although the morning was busy, the afternoon was fairly slow, most people were in line to consult with the doctor so there wasn't much we could assist with. But we also talked to the woman who worked with preventing HIV transmission from mother to child. Hopefully tomorrow I will get to work with her and ask her a few more questions.
A few interesting tidbits...a lot of people come into the clinic on Mondays with a hangover saying that they are sick so they can get out of work for the day. Or people come in "sick" on Fridays so they can have a long holiday. Most of the jobs are government jobs and if a doctor says a person needs a month of leave, they get it. The clinic is also run by the government so people only pay a 5 pula consultation fee (less than $1), but the drugs and medical care they receive are free otherwise. So far they system they have seems to be working well and from what I have seen they are making great strides to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Also a random fact...after a mother gives birth the husband does not sleep in bed with her for a few months or may even sleep in a different room. Some husbands aren't even allowed to see their children at birth. I asked the nurse why and she said that's just the culture. When her husband picked her up after her 2nd child was born her mother was very mad. From what I understood the father could bring bad luck or sickness. I'll have to ask my host family about this tonight.
Yesterday was very interesting as well. Although the morning started out a bit boring with 2 lectures, we walked to fresh cafe for lunch. so good! Had a salad wrap and salad. Doesn't sound that amazing but when all you've been eating is meat and starches with some fried food here and there, you crave something fresh! At 3 we visited the SOS orphanage in Tlokweng. The SOS orphanage is a bunch of small houses (around 14 or so) and in each house is 6-8 children with 2 house mothers. Each house is sponsored by a local business so some of the houses were a little nicer than others. But all were well equipped with places to sleep, eat and do homework. After a tour of the village we got to play with the kids! ages 5-14 and they all loved to jump on us and use our cameras. I got to play soccer/futbol with a few boys, I also played piggy back tag and got in a work out. Some of the kids stole my friends cameras and started taking picture, mainly of us, but there are some good ones.
I also got a Setswana name today. Gottfried at the clinic was surprised that i did not have a name yet so he called me Bontle...the setswana name for beauty. My friend got the name Lorato, which means love...although later we also found out that it was a condom brand that was all over the clinic. My other friend at the clinic got a name from her mom Mpoh...which means gift, she had never had a daughter so she called Rachel her gift. Everyone is so nice here and accepts you into their family! My mum is working on naming me as well. They are from the Hererro tribe so she says I need a Hererro name. I will be leaving Botswana with 2 more names then I came with!
Boitumelo! (Happiness)
Monday, June 13, 2011
Mix of cultures
Just a quick update. Saturaday night we went out for Indian at a restaurant called The Moghul, it was sooooo good! Love nan and love eating with my hands. Then I was home alone for a bit which was a little scary. Sunday morning we made breakfast which was chicken livers, peppers, eggs, and toast. Not so sure how I feel about the chicken livers. They tasted fine but it was kind of hard to eat them knowing what they do. Plus they look like mini human livers.
My sister Twaps and I then went to the African Mall. Very interesting. It was a bunch of shops owned by Chinese people who had African people helping them and they sold cheap goods you could find in the US. And it smelled funny. Interesting place.
We had a lazy afternoon. Wadipi (my other sister) and I walked to Choppies the local grocery store and got some ingredients for dinner. Nice walk through some different neighborhoods. That night we celebrated my nephew's birthday with chocolate cake...yum! He turned 7 months old and is getting heavy.
Today was a normal day at school. Learned more about environmental health, and some Setswana phrases. O mang? means what is your name. We also learned some "slang" or phrases people my age will say like hola, hows it? Eitha! and Go jwang?
Had a meat pie for lunch, surprisingly pretty good. By the time I leave here I will probably have tried every one!
We started to plan our trips to Victoria Falls and to the Okavango Delta. Lots to look forward to! Wednesday we start clinical work and saturday we go on a safari so soon I will have lots to tell you!
Go siame! Sala Sentle!
My sister Twaps and I then went to the African Mall. Very interesting. It was a bunch of shops owned by Chinese people who had African people helping them and they sold cheap goods you could find in the US. And it smelled funny. Interesting place.
We had a lazy afternoon. Wadipi (my other sister) and I walked to Choppies the local grocery store and got some ingredients for dinner. Nice walk through some different neighborhoods. That night we celebrated my nephew's birthday with chocolate cake...yum! He turned 7 months old and is getting heavy.
Today was a normal day at school. Learned more about environmental health, and some Setswana phrases. O mang? means what is your name. We also learned some "slang" or phrases people my age will say like hola, hows it? Eitha! and Go jwang?
Had a meat pie for lunch, surprisingly pretty good. By the time I leave here I will probably have tried every one!
We started to plan our trips to Victoria Falls and to the Okavango Delta. Lots to look forward to! Wednesday we start clinical work and saturday we go on a safari so soon I will have lots to tell you!
Go siame! Sala Sentle!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
hiking adventures
Just to catch you up quick...Friday was our second day of classes. We learned a little bit about environmental health. Then we had a Setswana class. I'll give you guys a few of my favorites...unkoko means grandmother, rata means love/like (hear that a lot from ppl on the streets), o tsogile jang? asks if you woke well, modi is money, mathata = problems (probably remember that from lion king, hakuna matata), ke lapile = I am tired, and Wareng? is Whats up?
After lunch a few of us ate lunch on campus. It took us a while to get it though because apparently they don't have lines. I would be about to order then someone would step in front of me an place their order. apparently you have to be vocal. Same with the combis, no lines, no "I was first" you just have to go for it and jump in. Once I did get lunch I had french fries and a fat cake. A fat cake is basically a big piece of fried dough, kinda like a doughnut. I am looking forward to American fries when I get back, the ones here are barely cooked and smushy!
After lunch we went around in the Combis to find the clinics we will be working at. However there are 5 of them and they are all over the city so I definitely will be getting lost on Wednesday when I venture to my clinic, Broadhurst 3. It was really quiet when we went there yesterday so hopefully there will be a little more life come Wednesday! After clinic visits we talked with a Motswana Feminist and Folklorists. She told us about some Batswana cultural practices. By the way the country is Botswana, one person is a Motswana, and many people are Batswana. We talked about language and how it can have hidden gender. We also talked about the family dynamic and how most people use to have a field, a cattle post, and a village. In each of these places someone different was in charge, the women, the men, and the children, so the balance stayed intact. But now the town home has been introduced and things are changing.
Saturday we were up early and off for a quick tour of the city. Then we started our hike. The hill looked pretty small from far away and on our itinerary it seemed pretty leisurely. However when we got there Batsi (our director) told us that we would be making our own path up. That means lots of prickers, lots of rocks, and very steep. The combination of the prickers and our shorts were not a good combination. However the hike was an adventure and lots of fun. The view was beautiful and there were lots of rocks to jump on! But with a group of 22 we had a few people who weren't much of hikers, this meant lots of stopping and waiting. We asked Batsi how long the hike normally takes, he said 30mins...it took our group 2 hours. the hike down was suppose to be 20, it took as an hour, so you get the picture. We then went to Game City (a mall) and had lunch. Wonderful Greek Salad! At most of our home stays greens and veggies are cooked so it was refreshing to have salad. Also had a great beer called Castle brewed here in Botswana.
I hopped on a Combi home, took a bath and am shortly headed out for Indian Food with the rest of the group. Have to take my first taxi ride at night here home. will be kind of scary, people here are really forward and want you to go in their taxi. It also has been very interesting being a minority, especially in a big group. We all get stared at, whistled at, and proposed to. The last few days it has been nice to break up into smaller groups when we are in town, less stares but still a lot of comments. Half of the time they are in Setwana though so we have no idea what they are saying! My sister and I walked to get bread when it was dark last night and she just laughs at some of the comments we get. She gave a guy a dirty stare for me once which was nice! definitely not doing any walking at night by myself, I stick out like a sore thumb in my neighborhood.
After lunch a few of us ate lunch on campus. It took us a while to get it though because apparently they don't have lines. I would be about to order then someone would step in front of me an place their order. apparently you have to be vocal. Same with the combis, no lines, no "I was first" you just have to go for it and jump in. Once I did get lunch I had french fries and a fat cake. A fat cake is basically a big piece of fried dough, kinda like a doughnut. I am looking forward to American fries when I get back, the ones here are barely cooked and smushy!
After lunch we went around in the Combis to find the clinics we will be working at. However there are 5 of them and they are all over the city so I definitely will be getting lost on Wednesday when I venture to my clinic, Broadhurst 3. It was really quiet when we went there yesterday so hopefully there will be a little more life come Wednesday! After clinic visits we talked with a Motswana Feminist and Folklorists. She told us about some Batswana cultural practices. By the way the country is Botswana, one person is a Motswana, and many people are Batswana. We talked about language and how it can have hidden gender. We also talked about the family dynamic and how most people use to have a field, a cattle post, and a village. In each of these places someone different was in charge, the women, the men, and the children, so the balance stayed intact. But now the town home has been introduced and things are changing.
Saturday we were up early and off for a quick tour of the city. Then we started our hike. The hill looked pretty small from far away and on our itinerary it seemed pretty leisurely. However when we got there Batsi (our director) told us that we would be making our own path up. That means lots of prickers, lots of rocks, and very steep. The combination of the prickers and our shorts were not a good combination. However the hike was an adventure and lots of fun. The view was beautiful and there were lots of rocks to jump on! But with a group of 22 we had a few people who weren't much of hikers, this meant lots of stopping and waiting. We asked Batsi how long the hike normally takes, he said 30mins...it took our group 2 hours. the hike down was suppose to be 20, it took as an hour, so you get the picture. We then went to Game City (a mall) and had lunch. Wonderful Greek Salad! At most of our home stays greens and veggies are cooked so it was refreshing to have salad. Also had a great beer called Castle brewed here in Botswana.
I hopped on a Combi home, took a bath and am shortly headed out for Indian Food with the rest of the group. Have to take my first taxi ride at night here home. will be kind of scary, people here are really forward and want you to go in their taxi. It also has been very interesting being a minority, especially in a big group. We all get stared at, whistled at, and proposed to. The last few days it has been nice to break up into smaller groups when we are in town, less stares but still a lot of comments. Half of the time they are in Setwana though so we have no idea what they are saying! My sister and I walked to get bread when it was dark last night and she just laughs at some of the comments we get. She gave a guy a dirty stare for me once which was nice! definitely not doing any walking at night by myself, I stick out like a sore thumb in my neighborhood.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
And the work begins
Hello again! The last few days have been pretty interesting. Tuesday we went to the mall and got cellphones, wednesday we met our home stay family and today we started classes. My home stay family is very nice and have brought me into their home as one of their own. My mum picked me up from the Oasis Motel Wednesday morning and we went to Gaborone Sun Hotel for tea/coffee, where her eldest daughter works. Vicki, or Twaps as we call her, is in her 30s and works as Gaborone Sun's banquet coordinator. She studied in Australia for five years and so far we have had a lot to talk about. Mum and I then went home where I met the youngest daughter but still my older sister, Wadipi. She is 23 and has been kind enough to show me around and teach me how to ride the combis to school, or what we just call UB. Our house is close enough though that I have been walking, it's about 25minutes or so each way so I have been getting my exercise and saving money. although combis are only 3 pula each ride which is less than 50 cents. I'm sure I will get sick of walking and start taking them home. My walk takes me past a hotel, a gulf course, a soccer field, and lots of garbage. Sad to see all the cans (no recycling) and my TOMS will be well worn by Autust.
After meeting mum and wadipi, I had to go back to UB for a few more hours of orientation. After I got home I met my other sister Lebo. She is in her mid 20s and works as an accountant. She also has a 7month old son. My first nephew! He is absolutely adorable. I was told he cries whenever someone new holds him, surprisingly he didn't cry when I held him. Mum says its because I am a good person, but I think he was too fascinated with my hair and color of my skin to cry. But I like what Mum said!
After meeiting another cousin, uncle, and Uncle Justice, we sat down for dinner. We had pasta casserole and salad with a glass of wine and we all sat in Mum's bedroom in front of the TV. They have a nicer TV than I do! I also have my own room and internet access, so I am far from roughing it. Although they moved in only about 6 months ago so we don't have hot water, something I am going to have to get used to for baths (no shower). We watched TV most of the rest of the night. My sisters are teaching me more about American popstars and movie stars than I ever knew. Everyone here loves watching soapies (soap operas). Big Brother is also a popular one.
There are also 2 dogs they keep outside. Sophie had puppies 2 weeks ago....7 of them and they are adorable, but loud at night. I don't think she is feeding them enough :(
We started class today so reality kind of set in. It was really overwhelming at first because we have so much to do in a short period of time. In about 4 weeks we have to write about five 10 page papers and keep clinical logs. Clinical logs will be pretty easy but the papers and research proposal we have to work in groups which is a little difficult with all the different personalities and writing styles we have. We also started our setswana class, hard, forgot what I learned today already, words do not sound like they are spelled, it will take a lot of getting use to. I also still have to find time to do my research and visit a few different clinics. Just through Facebook I have made a lot of connections and plans to do things. However a lot of Fridays we still have study trips so I'm finding it hard to do everything I want to.
My family also wants to take me to their farm, their village, and their cattle post. All three are in different places which I really want to see but hopefully I will find the time. We do have a four day weekend, but a group of us wanted to travel either up to Zambia or Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls. A 14 hour bus ride, but it would be amazing! Too much to do, too little time. Looks like I might have to come back.
Got to talk to both of my parents a little bit yesterday, made me miss them and miss everyone at home!
Time for dinner soon and I'm sure more TV/soapies.
After meeting mum and wadipi, I had to go back to UB for a few more hours of orientation. After I got home I met my other sister Lebo. She is in her mid 20s and works as an accountant. She also has a 7month old son. My first nephew! He is absolutely adorable. I was told he cries whenever someone new holds him, surprisingly he didn't cry when I held him. Mum says its because I am a good person, but I think he was too fascinated with my hair and color of my skin to cry. But I like what Mum said!
After meeiting another cousin, uncle, and Uncle Justice, we sat down for dinner. We had pasta casserole and salad with a glass of wine and we all sat in Mum's bedroom in front of the TV. They have a nicer TV than I do! I also have my own room and internet access, so I am far from roughing it. Although they moved in only about 6 months ago so we don't have hot water, something I am going to have to get used to for baths (no shower). We watched TV most of the rest of the night. My sisters are teaching me more about American popstars and movie stars than I ever knew. Everyone here loves watching soapies (soap operas). Big Brother is also a popular one.
There are also 2 dogs they keep outside. Sophie had puppies 2 weeks ago....7 of them and they are adorable, but loud at night. I don't think she is feeding them enough :(
We started class today so reality kind of set in. It was really overwhelming at first because we have so much to do in a short period of time. In about 4 weeks we have to write about five 10 page papers and keep clinical logs. Clinical logs will be pretty easy but the papers and research proposal we have to work in groups which is a little difficult with all the different personalities and writing styles we have. We also started our setswana class, hard, forgot what I learned today already, words do not sound like they are spelled, it will take a lot of getting use to. I also still have to find time to do my research and visit a few different clinics. Just through Facebook I have made a lot of connections and plans to do things. However a lot of Fridays we still have study trips so I'm finding it hard to do everything I want to.
My family also wants to take me to their farm, their village, and their cattle post. All three are in different places which I really want to see but hopefully I will find the time. We do have a four day weekend, but a group of us wanted to travel either up to Zambia or Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls. A 14 hour bus ride, but it would be amazing! Too much to do, too little time. Looks like I might have to come back.
Got to talk to both of my parents a little bit yesterday, made me miss them and miss everyone at home!
Time for dinner soon and I'm sure more TV/soapies.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Motswana Time
I arrived! I flew into Gaborone around 3pm on Sunday (8am central time). We are staying at a motel for a few days, everyone is very nice and the food is great. Last night I tried what they call pop, a staple i believe is cornmeal. Something I will be eating a lot of the next few weeks. We had our first day of orientation today, learned so much in just a day. We also received our detailed itinerary for the trip. Some of the highlights...safari, camping trip, visit a traditional healer, go to the SOS orphanage and help out. overall I'll be in class about two days, have two days of full clinical work, then have discussions/trips/free times on fridays. On Wednesday I will be meeting my home stay family and getting settled in. Tomorrow I am learning how to ride the combis (big white vans that will take me to school) and I am also getting a cell phone so I can contact local people and set up meetings!
today we had great conversations about race, gender, color, colonial history, safety, ect. One really interesting thing I learned is that Botswana was not a colony but a British prececorate. Britain "dumped" Botswana because it was one of the poorest places in Africa and there was nothing the British wanted from them. However after independence Botswana discovered diamonds. Botswana was able to form a nation on their own and without abusing their natural resources have become a very stable country economically and politically. Like many other Southern African countries, Botswana is composed of many ethnic groups, which I am excited to learn more about.
It is important to understand that Africa is just the continent. It is made up of 54 different states with over a 1000 ethnic groups. I have already seen a contrast in culture between the little I saw in South Africa to here in Botswana. Every country is unique and has so much history to learn about!
On our program we are also covering so many different public health issues, I am excited to try to explain bits and pieces to you!
Sorry this post is a bit chaotic, many thoughts and not a lot of time, just headed out to dinner.
today we had great conversations about race, gender, color, colonial history, safety, ect. One really interesting thing I learned is that Botswana was not a colony but a British prececorate. Britain "dumped" Botswana because it was one of the poorest places in Africa and there was nothing the British wanted from them. However after independence Botswana discovered diamonds. Botswana was able to form a nation on their own and without abusing their natural resources have become a very stable country economically and politically. Like many other Southern African countries, Botswana is composed of many ethnic groups, which I am excited to learn more about.
It is important to understand that Africa is just the continent. It is made up of 54 different states with over a 1000 ethnic groups. I have already seen a contrast in culture between the little I saw in South Africa to here in Botswana. Every country is unique and has so much history to learn about!
On our program we are also covering so many different public health issues, I am excited to try to explain bits and pieces to you!
Sorry this post is a bit chaotic, many thoughts and not a lot of time, just headed out to dinner.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
JFK - the first leg
After months of planning and anticipation, I made it to New York with an unbelievably small suitcase ready for a summer of cultural immersion and adventure. I'm currently sitting in a tiny hotel watching NCIS right near the JFK Airport waiting for my 17 hour flight early tomorrow morning. Then I have a nice 5ish hour layover in Jo'bur South Africa, then it's on to Gabs (Gaborone). Then by 3pm on Sunday (or 8am central time), I will be in Botsana!
I have a lot of people to thank for helping me get to this point. Mainly I want to thank my family, for allowing me to travel to Africa and all the support they have given me. In the car ride to O'Hare, I realized how stressed my parents were. They bombarded me with tons of questions and advice to try to calm their nerves. I'm afraid I probably didn't do a very good job easing their worries, so everyone who sees them re-assure them that I will be okay and there is no need to worry! I also have to especially thank Judith Neal, who has given me so much information about the country and many contacts and places to visit while I am there. Thanks Judith! I also want to thank everyone who helped me set up my independent research project and everyone else who has supported me so far. Thanks everyone, I couldn't have done it without you! I will miss you all!
I probably will not be able to post any pictures until I return! But read along when you can and come on an adventure with me!
I have a lot of people to thank for helping me get to this point. Mainly I want to thank my family, for allowing me to travel to Africa and all the support they have given me. In the car ride to O'Hare, I realized how stressed my parents were. They bombarded me with tons of questions and advice to try to calm their nerves. I'm afraid I probably didn't do a very good job easing their worries, so everyone who sees them re-assure them that I will be okay and there is no need to worry! I also have to especially thank Judith Neal, who has given me so much information about the country and many contacts and places to visit while I am there. Thanks Judith! I also want to thank everyone who helped me set up my independent research project and everyone else who has supported me so far. Thanks everyone, I couldn't have done it without you! I will miss you all!
I probably will not be able to post any pictures until I return! But read along when you can and come on an adventure with me!
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