On Thursday, Benita and I said goodbye to our host family and packed up all our stuff to move to Marangu, where we will be living and working for the next month.
We are living in one of Marangu Hospital's guest houses and it is very nice; we have 3 bedrooms, one bathroom (with a western shower and water heater... YAY!), a living room, and a kitchen with appliances. It's really nice to have some space to ourselves after sharing one small room last month. Also, the area in which we live is very beautiful; we basically take a nature hike to and from the hospital every day. It's about 15 minutes of walking through forests and by crop fields and over a river and by a waterfall. Pretty nice.
Yesterday was our first day of working at the hospital, and it started with a 7:45 am church service (which we must attend every day). During the service, Benita and I were asked to stand and introduce ourselves (it was much easier for me than the first time I had to introduce myself to a congregation now that I have just a bit of familiarity with Swahili).
After church, we were given a tour of the hospital. Overall, it looks very small and very well-kept. Everything except the wards and offices is outdoors (it reminds me of an outdoor school that has only the classrooms inside while all of the hallways are open). Benita and I have been given the ultrasound room as our office (because the hospital has a working ultrasound machine but no technician who knows how to use it... so this room is currently unused) and we spent some of yesterday getting moved in and arranging our tools. We also spent some time talking with the hospital's senior and junior doctors to gain some names and familiarity. So far, I feel like a very welcomed addition to the hospital, and I'm looking forward to my stay here. Also, it sounds as though our work hours and days are somewhat flexible, so Benita and I may be able to take a long weekend or two if we would like.
Internet access here seems to be pretty hard to find; Benita and I have come to Moshi for the day and found an internet cafe close to the main daladala stand. The ride here took about and hour and 1500 Tsh, so I'm hoping that I can find a place to gain access somewhere closer to home. But hey, I've only been here for a couple days so I think I'm doing pretty well so far.
Thanks for sharing! How nice for you and Benita. That is too bad about the ultrasound, it's a great diagnostic tool. Hopefully they'll have a technician soon. Moshi for internet, yes, too far. There go my Skypes! Hopefully something will turn up closer or we'll see you on a weekend trip. Love you so much and praying every day for you, Benita, the patients, and your new staff! Hugs and kisses, Momma.
ReplyDeleteHi Lucy! Your updates are awesome! I finally signed up for a Blogger id so I could post a comment. I so enjoy your updates and love your great descriptions of everything! Your account of the climb to Meru was terrific. I'm sitting here in the Denver airport catching up on all your adventures. We spent the past weekend in Salt Lake City visiting Russ' brother to help celebrate his son's 1st birthday. Now Katie and I are heading home so we can both go to work tomorrow (she just started a job at Baskin Robbins a few weeks ago). Russ and Emily continued on from Salt Lake on a "roadtrip." I think their plan is to spend a couple of days in Yellowstone and are hoping to find somewhere to camp. They should be back home early next week. We are missing our trips to MacKerricher and hope we'll get to do that again before you graduate! Hugs to you and your friend, Benita and we're keeping you in our prayers. Love, Mary and Katie Chagnon
ReplyDelete