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