Adjusting

so we've been here a few days now. Still in a bit of culture shock but adjusting every day. People here are used to foreigners (mzungu) but they still are very interested in us and constantly want to talk..esp the kids who are the most adorable kids ever, but walking to the bus stop even can be draining. They love to sing "how are you how are you?". We take the daladala to work which is a gutted out vw bus painted on the outside and no joke stuffs 25 people in it. When you think you are packed to capacity they jam more in. Matt thinks the suspension is going to fall off as it goes full speed on dirt roads in these big potholes...I get whiplash. It's only like 20 cents a ride. To take it back from town there is a huge daladala park that has 100 of them trying to vy to get out very chaotic. After work yesterday we walked through a local market and there was so much cool stuff but then meat just sitting out and vegetables rotting. I am looking forward to exploring more markets. The last few days we've been spending some time in town in the area where all the expats and foreigners eat and shop bc it is close to work and it is very peaceful like an oasis when making this transition. after the chaos of walking around then the chaos at the hospital  I need to breathe. Soon if we have more time after work we will venture out to more local restaurants and areas of the city- I really want to go to some museums, etc. There are also very nice restaurants w good views farther out (at hotels where the trekkers stay) that i want to go to- we plan to go to one tomorrow night. Apparently club life is rampant so we will have to try it at least once even though we are old and I don't know if we can stay up that late haha. Already made some friends from other countries- the Columbian couple just left to climb mt kili yesterday- can't wait to hear how it went. It is fun talking to my Austrian and Danish friends at the hospital- their experience of healthcare is so different- they find it very odd that even when provided w meds, Americans still dont take them sometimes. It is cool I have met a few foreign women that have married Tanzanian men and they now either live here or are planning on it- then I get the inside scoop on the culture. The weather here has been abnormal due to el nino- not sure whether to hate or love it bc instead of being dry and hot it is cooler but very wet. I am worried it will affect our animal viewing as they migrate in weather like this. It is annoying to walk in the rain and I am constantly covered in mud, but imagine if it was as hot as it could get... so I am appreciative. There is no relief from the heat here...no one has fans really or air conditioning. At the clinic, one doctor dragged me into the only room w a fan and was almost worshipping the "american ventilator machine". Our living conditions are nice for Tanzanian standards but our room is very cramped, with no closets, somewhat dirty bathroom and I feel like I never have room to spread out and it is hard to find our stuff - and I also  feel constantly dirty (so much dust and mud here) despite many showers- I don't know how some people do it in the peace corps- living in a small village for years..I know I am lucky compared to many standards. Our cook makes us traditional food for dinner- it is very tasty and takes skill. only con is it is lacking in vegetables so it makes me miss salads. 

Now on to our work...man that was a frustrating first day. The hospital I am at St. Elizabeths, is privately run and catholic so it has no money. thus the doctors (which seem to be mostly female which was unexpected yet  cool) are not as enthusiastic. It is also small compared to some other hospitals in the area. To say that they are lacking in technology/facilities is an understatement. Their "ICU" are the two beds that have antiquated oxygen tanks (in our hospitals in the US it seems like everyone gets thrown on oxygen). The beds are falling apart, crammed all in "ward" rooms. Patients families have to go buy the meds, bathe them, bring them food. They can only do xray and ultasound- but downstairs so if the patient is crictically ill when they would need these services the most, they cannot be moved to get them. I have to look at the xrays by holding the physical copy into the window (not even a lit up board to view them). The sheets are washed by hand and hung out to dry, not sterilized. Nothing seems sterile, I observed a nurse washing a burned baby in dirty water and then wrapping the burn with gauze that came from the floor. No one washes their hands. The nurses here are very passive and don't seem to want to help with patients- the first day I did a bunch of blood pressures for them haha.  Blood has to be donated from the family, the "blood bank" is a fridge with a couple units that the family of the patient has donated- one time no one would donate for a kid with a more rare blood type bc they didnt want to be checked for HIV- so a volunteer had to do it. that was lucky. The first day I was taken around and introduced to everyone but there were so many people I forgot most of them- then it seemed like no one wanted to really work with us. I read some charts. then I went home and was really disappointed. The next day, after rounds, the MD disappeared, and i was stuck again. Luckily I wandered over to a Romanian doc (well now tanzanian as she has worked here for 40 yrs) who took me under her wing. She mostly does peds, but it was very interesting to here all about the culture and also see these kids and how certain things relate to adults.  There are a lot of Masaai patients ( a nomadic tribe) here - wearing traditional dress and lots of earrings, huge holes in earlobes etc. They live very differently so it is hard for doctors to reason with them- they often stop taking their meds and do things like cutting kids gums and stuffing them with elephant dung if they sprout teeth too young or chopping off the uvula with a porcupine quill to |cure cough. Very interesting culture, some things though like above are harmful to kids so the docs spend a lot of time trying to educate- it will be a learning experience to participate in this . So now it is a lot better (did some adult medicine in the AM and kids in the PM) and I am still learning the system so hopefully soon I can be of more help. Word on the street is that 30 american med students are coming - it will be cool to have them but hopefully there is room for them (this hospital is very small). I will tell more stories later.

As far as Matt, he seems to like what he is doing.  His commute is very long, at least 2 daladalas. he usually then ends up meeting me over an hour after I finish. He helps around the orphanage w the kids in the AM and then the younger kids come back from school at noon- he said they all strip down and they have to be scrubbed down- one lady seemed annoyed bc matt wasn't scrubbing hard enough haha. then they eat and Matt helps prepare the food- traditional ugali (maize ball) and beans that you eat with your hands. Then they play and crawl all over him and try to break his good sunglasses :). He met some of the older kids that come home at 4. He wont be doing this every day, however, today and other days he went to a remote village w some people and did some community outreach and found out what they need in terms of healthcare- like vitamins, etc. He also will help bring the kids to medical appointments. We plan to bring them the donations next week and I hope to come along

Anyways, long post so now will start making the journey home!