Flies, earthquakes, no power

This week has been a fun one – we have been without power since Monday. This means we have been wearing headlamps while we cook over the propane stove, kerosene lanterns while we eat, and flashlights while we brush our teeth – the stuff that bonds people... I love it! The least fun aspect of this week has been the flu that half of us came down with. We have had a sparse representation at the hospital as a result, but have been able to have several planning conversations which has helped us re-group for our final days here.

The earthquakes? Well I have counted 9 of them, one of them registering at a 6.0, but no structural damage.
The flies? A huge swarm came by the window one day, thousands of them, they waved hello and moved on and we still don’t know what it was all about.

We have all been shadowing the physicians at the hospital alongside an American physician who has been here volunteering as well. We are learning about the importance of seeing the same disease over and over again – the Tanzanian Doctors are pretty good at diagnosing malaria and TB even without the diagnostic technology we rely on back home. They are also under a tremendous patient load that prevents them from performing surgeries as quickly as they would like. There is a huge potential for collaboration in the near future which we hope to detail before we leave next week.

I had the pleasure of sitting with a 16 year old girl, pregnant, in labor, unable to deliver, and a baby that was in distress. I only knew a few appropriate Swahili words but sometimes words just aren’t necessary and I felt honored to be with her in that moment. She ended up having a c-section and a healthy baby, so that was very cool.

Well, my internet time is winding down.
We are all well and gathering many stories to tell.
Be prepared :)

rach