Breaking all the rules!! :-)

So since the last time I wrote, I’ve broken 2-3 major program rules…

Well let’s see last weekend I went white water rafting on the Nile and during the week I went to Gulu and Lira with the outreach team from the hospital here. Then this past weekend I was in the bush again. Lol. So where to begin…

Last Saturday I went to a town called Jinja which is about 2 hours from Mbale. Because it’s Africa, of course things didn’t go as planned but in the end I made it there in one piece. Well my program had forbidden us from doing any “extreme” sports like bungee jumping, white water rafting, etc because of the liabilities but I figured that it was worth me taking my chances of getting in trouble considering that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. So about 15-16 of us took our chances on getting in trouble and went. It was definitely worth it and a blast! And guess what…I never even fell out the boat, which is quite an accomplishment! Out of the 8 in my boat, there were just 2 of us that managed to hold on for dear life and stay in the boat. At one point the boat was straight vertical and I was holding on like the water would kill me! haha. Long story short, thankfully we all finished the day in one piece! Two people were injured but thankfully it was no one from our group, because then we would’ve had some real explaining to do. That next day I left to come back to Mbale and that evening I moved in with my new home stay family. It’s a house full of boys, about 5 and 1 girl. They are pretty fun and cool. Sucky part is that they don’t have power!! Argghh!! At first I was cool with it, but by today I was so looking forward to coming to work just because there’s power! They had their power cut off earlier this year because pretty much, they’re broke. So don’t think that they are extra primitive or something! lol. They are nice but once again the stupid poverty and corruption of this country is getting to me! Once again, I was asked to help them…well at least this time they didn’t ask me for money. They make jewelry and want to take some to the states and sell it. But goodness gracious, I’m so tired of people asking me to sponsor them, help them do all sorts of things, take their children to the states, etc. that’s the one thing that I liked about living with the drs. They are educated and know what it is to have. They even took me out to eat! That was the first time that someone paid for my food in this country where most people expect me to pay for them if I ask them for company. So to say the least, I may have to go back to my oasis at the dr’s quarters to maintain my sanity. Oh shoot, well now that I’ve totally vented, I must say that other than that, the family is cool. There is always someone around and they are fun. So it’s been fun to have people around that are around my age and know my music and stuff. So that part of it is totally cool.

Then this week I went to Gulu and Lira which are towns in the north that were part of the 20 year war that sent most people into the IDP camps. If you have seen the documentary “Invisible Children” or heard about the night commuters, this is where all that was happening. The war pretty much just ended last year so with all that being said, once again, my program doesn’t want us going up there. But of course, if you know anything about me, you know that I love challenging rules. I mean it would be ridiculous to be in Uganda for 3.5 months and not see the areas that I’ve heard so much about at home. So we were up there for about 3 days for an outreach clinic. I did see some of the camps but for the most part, many of the people have begun to break down the camps and are telling people to go back to their homes. Sucky part is that many children were orphaned and grew up in the camps so they don’t even know where home is, so a lot of remaining people in the camps are children. Good news the war has ended for the most part in the north, bad news the same thing is happening in the west now and the Congo with the rebels. Arggh, how does this keep happening?!.... all in all though, it was a good trip though and it was great to go with people from the area that spoke the language rather than going as a tourist.

Then this past weekend I went back to the bush. Haha. Most people would think that one trip to the village is enough, but once again, I’m always a special case and go against the norm. Shoot, coming to Uganda was a sign that I’m def abnormal.

So I got on a mini bus and started my journey. Of course, here in Africa even the simplest things and distances become a task. Long story short, a trip that should’ve taken at most 2 hours took about 5 hours. But one thing I’ve learned is patience since I’ve been here. So finally that afternoon I got there and it was well worth it. They didn’t know I was coming, so there reactions were priceless! Just like last time, they pulled out all the stops when it came to meals. They slaughtered a chicken for me and I even helped to pluck it!! Go me!! it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had imagined!! They fed me so much it was out of control! The one thing that I’ve learned is that there’s a huge misconception about people in the village being poor. They don’t need money considering that everything they need is from the earth. Other than the salt, kerosene oil for lamps and soap we used, everything else was natural. All the food I ate was straight from the garden, the building materials were from the land, etc. to say the least, once again im fearing the first meal that I eat at home. I haven’t even had any food problems eating here but I know ill spend my first few days back home in the bathroom. Haha. Well in a nutshell, that’s what ive been up to the last two weeks. Down to 3.5 weeks left too!...cant believe that its gone by so fast! Well love you guys and check in again in about 2 weeks for another update.

new town, new ppl, new experiences!

Dont make me leave this place!! I have totally fallen in love with this country and the people. I’m already warning you to expect a nice email from me requesting donations next year so that I can come back. Haha.
Well I began my practicum this week and have moved to a town in western Uganda called Mbale. It is right next to a mountain and waterfalls so it’s just a beautiful area. Its def much smaller than Kampala but nice. At first I was missing Kampala and all the things they have to do, but shoot it’s nice to be able to get to work in 5 minutes now rather than the hour commute I used to have, and now after only being here for just one week everywhere I go, someone that I’ve met always sees me when I’m out.
Work has been good. Can’t believe that I’ve only been there a week, well not even and its so comfortable. The hospital specializes in pediatric neurosurgery and mostly cases of hydrocephalus and fewer cases of spinal bifida and brain tumors. I can’t believe how many cases of hydrocephalus there are in this region. These little babies have these ridiculously large heads that are often bigger than the heads of their moms. It’s quite sad but the hospital is extraordinary. Its so nice because its donor funded so the treatment there is better than most hospitals here and then the families get spiritual counseling and support also which is awesome. Last week I was able to go into the OR to see a few surgeries where they drain the fluid from the heads, and that was cool. I worked with the phys ther and then spent time in the outpatient clinic too. Then most of the time I was in the ward just chatting with the mothers and helping them with their kids. These moms are so amazing because they are up against so much. Their babies require so much attn and help then on top of that they face so many challenges from their communities because of course when you have a baby with such an obvious disability you are ostracized and rejected so not only are most poor peasants but now shunned because they have these children. I cant imagine such a life. Then on top of that, most are younger girls who married and started having children young. Even today I went by the hospital after church and I was speaking to one of the moms. She’s 24 with 5 kids and was married with her first child by 15. Most of the mothers that ive met are younger and married with children and of course poor. Like I said, most of the day I just spend hanging with the moms. Of course most don’t speak English but its amazing how we’ve overcome that barrier. I’ve learned greetings in at least 6 languages this week just from speaking to them. Uganda is just ridiculous with how many tribes they have for such a small country and each tribe has a language so in the ward alone of maybe 50 beds there are at least 10 languages. This sucks for doctors and stuff to treat them because they don’t always speak their language but somehow they always manage and there’s always someone who speaks somewhat of the language. Some are even refugees from N. Uganda and Sudan and thankfully one knew English so I was able to speak to her for a while too. Their stories are always so crazy, you wouldn’t believe what they’ve been through. So all in all, I’ve been enjoying working at the hospital. The staff and doctors are so nice and welcoming I feel like I’ve know them for such a longer time. Right now I’m staying with one of the doctors and will be moving in with a family this week for another homestay. I’ve gotten comfy where I am now but I’m sure my new home will be good too so ill let ya know how that is.
Anyways, today I went to the local hospital after church with another doctor who lives next door. Of course this hospital was a world away from the hospital that ive been working at. Most hospitals here are government hospitals while CURE (the neurosurgery place) is private and donor funded. Good news is that medical care is free, bad news is that you have to pay for EVERYTHING other than medical services. This means that you have to provide your own gloves for the drs to use, bring your own medications, gauze, bandages, syringes, etc. so if you don’t have money to buy the things that they need 2 treat u, you aren’t treated. Its sad that so many die from treatable problems just because they may not have money to buy the surgical gloves so then the drs cannot operate on them. So is it truly free health care....
Anyhow, so today I saw 2 C-sections in like 1.5 hours. It was so cool because I had never seen much ob/ gyn and then of course there was no extra red tape crap like in the US. The drs did what they had to use using the very basics. The patient was gassed with ether 2 be put under, there weren’t enough gowns so not everyone could wear one and then everything was washable rather than disposable. But hey, you use what you have to get the job done and this was exactly what was done. Too ice the cake I was splashed with blood when the baby was pulled out and then when I went to CURE afterwards to visit and hang out, a baby peed on me. So all in all, it was a good day! Haha. to survive and enjoy being In a 3rd world country you must not mind “inconveniences”, getting dirty and doing things that ppl in the states would freak out about, like being splashed by blood from some woman’s uterus. Haha. I mean I figure she wasn’t HIV positive b/c the other drs weren’t freaking out about it and then he was splashed too and wasn’t buggin out so I followed suit.
I do things here that id never do in the states. Let’s see to just give you a brief picture…. so there’s the OR today, going home and staying with some guys (the dr) that I never met but have been totally amazing and welcoming that I feel like I’ve known them forever (and no worries they aren’t going to gang rape me!), and then there was the time that I went to the children’s home with the other random guys that I met at the slum outreach. I mean these are things that would lead me to a grave in the states but here its just a whole new world. Of course, I can’t be stupid about it and just go anywhere with anyone, yall raised me well enough to have common sense, but here having a rec about people from the right person usually means it’s pretty safe. So all in all, life is still great, im sad to think that ill be leaving to go next month but excited to see what else comes in the next 6 weeks and begin planning my trip to come back! :-)