Another Week of Adventure

Friday morning hike to the waterfall

This week definitely opened my eyes even brighter to the tremendous amount of need that surrounds this country as we got more out in the clinical setting. This week I was working at a different clinic called Ethembeni (Eh- tem-be-knee). Ethembeni is a hospice center in the town of Mpophomeni (Mmm-po-po-me-knee) that visits HIV/AIDs patients to provide them food, prayer, and Bible readings. Tuesday morning I arrived at the Ethembeni clinic and was introduced to Thembeleke, the volunteer who I was going to accompany on her morning home visits in the town of Mpophomeni. She was so welcoming and patient with my questions about Zulu tradition and translation. Oh…I dunno if I’ve made this clear. So…there are 4 major races here in South Africa and there is not a stigma to say them. In SA race is talked about candidly here and people are called by what they are with no hatred. So…please nobody take offense.

So there’s the blacks who originated from the original tribal people and have had no mixing with other races. A majority of the black people come from the Zulu tribe, so these people are known as the Zulu people and speak Zulu. This is the language that we are learning. Sawubona. Unjani? (Hello. How are you? in Zulu) They make up about 80% of the population.

There are the whites who originated from primarily the British and the Dutch, but also other European countries as well during the days of exploration. Of the white people, the white people from Holland are known as the Afrikaners and speak Afrikaans.

There are the coloured people. (Note: this word is not considered derogatory in South Africa—this is why I choose spell it with the u as they do in South Africa to distinguish. The word is used freely.) These are the people who are mixed between black and white. (It can also be black mixed with Indian or other combinations, but it typically is black and white.) This goes back to the days when the Europeans came to South Africa and took black slaves whom they used for their own pleasures.

And there are the Indians (as in India). In the early 1900s, many Indians were enticed to come to South Africa to work on the sugar plantations. They were offered to stay after a period of indentured servitude, or to return to India. My history professor told me that he has not found the records of one person who returned to India.

A majority of the patients that we are working with in the clinics are black, though we have seen a few Indians as well. Therefore, much of the dialogue is in Zulu leaving me relying on volunteers and sisters (what they call nurses) for my translations. The way that the government has been in the past years, in the rural areas a lot of black patients my age or older have limited knowledge of English unless they studied advanced educaiton (I want to write more on the apartheid government later…there is just so much information and it is so complex). I never realized how much I take for granted being able to talk to my patient. In the states, I am spoiled to understand Spanish and be able to communicate with a majority of my patients.

Mpophomeni

The Ethembeni clinic is surrounded by houses. A lot of these homes are made in the traditional Zulu fashion with a wooden frame filled in with mud. In some houses, some of the mud walls are covered by cement. Thembeleke visits certain families two days a week walking up and down the hills to provide care.

Tuesday, we started out walking in venture of our first house where we were greeted by a toddler wearing nothing but a t-shirt and a chain of beads around his waist. This goes back to the Zulu tribal beliefs I later learned.

Another house I visited, there was a woman lying on a thin mat outside next to the house wall. The lady was huddled under a blanket in minimal shade, while I was trying not to sweat in my nursing scrubs. I knew that she was not well and probably very sick. I was overwhelmed her mother’s compassion and the joy that seems inherent in South Africans, when she told me, that she was worried about me for having to walk so much to come visit her daughter and others like her.  Here her daughter was lying possibly dying, and she was concerned for my health and well-being! What a blessed lady.

Another house we visited, Thembeleke told me that she had never seen a family like this! There was a family of 11 (8 children and 3 adults) living under one roof with an income of  R1000 per month. This was the amount of money that I withdrew a week prior for spending money. Boy, did I feel selfish. At AE, I am treated like a princess with three plentiful meals a day, and they had nothing! It brought up some emotions of helplessness and pain. I have definitely had a lot of thinking to do over all I have seen and my place in all of it.

Sam the camera man

After our visits to the families, I went to the family center, which is another part of the Ethembeni clinic. My two friends who had gone on home visits with different Ethembeni volunteers soon joined me. This is a day care, if you will, for young children. However, for the most part in order to qualify, these children have to have lost a parent, or have a parent who is really sick. The family center provides the kids with a meal to eat and activities for the day. These children, some just 2 or 3 have probably had to go through more than I  have had to in their short lives, but they are some of the happiest children I have ever seen. They quickly made my friends and myself their human jungle gyms, climbing all over us and wanting us to hold them. The kids know just a few English phrases: shoot me (aka take a picture of me), and camera. hahaha They take your camera and take pictures of everything complete with poses. I have never had so many pictures of myself in one day. So sweet! The kids are amazing singers and have an innate rhythm that makes them dance so well!! I took some videos that I will post when I get some more time.

So today on our weekend ‘off’ from school, we went on a hike through the Drakensburg Mountains, which are about 2 hours away from Pietermaritzburg. We had lunch literally in the center of the river on some rocks and then hiked further up the mountain to some sweet art. Some thousands of years ago, the bushmen (the  African tribal people who used to roam and live out in the bush) painted on the caves some tribal art. They used blood and fat for ink! I will post some pics of this as well on fb :)

Indian Ocean!!

Oh, and I almost forgot…last week we went to the Indian Ocean! The beach is about 45 min-1 hour away and so great! First we went to an Indian village where we went through some shops and then went to the beach!! The water is way saltier and the waves are really strong! I got knocked over at least 2x and was tossed and turned under water a bit. But all is well. We had a braai (barbecue in South African) for dinner and then returned ready to go to bed!

So tomorrow is our free day after church to finish up everything before another week of adventure, homework, and chaos. I am so happy to be here and am still figuring out what to do when to get everything accomplished. Love you all!

Calls to heaven are local here

On African Enterprise campus :) It was freezing this day and then next it was 90!

     So you remember everything I said about not wanting to miss out on a nap, a hike, or something or other to post a blog...well, most definitely sticking to it. We have been in Pietermaritzburg for a week now and I hardly ever have a spare second of free time. My hours are constantly filled with class, homework, and activities which is so great but it leaves little time to blogging/posting pictures. They say study abroad semesters are supposed to be an easy workload, but unfortunately, this is not my case. The way the program is set up, we fit our entire semester of courses into a period of 10 weeks in order to finish classes in November before we go to Capetown at the end of the semester. So...I have class Monday 9a-8p, Tuesday and Thursday clinicals from 7:30-3:30, and class Fridays from 9a-4p. Luckily we have Wednesdays off to do work for our online class and finish up homework. And South Africans have the most wonderful invention called tea time every day at 10:30 and 4 which is the most amazing break/end of class celebration in the world. Rooibos tea is very popular here and served along with the best fresh (& warm out of the oven) pastries. Personally, I like the Ceylon which I’ve been told not to tell to a South African, but ya…

     We are staying at a conference center about 10-15 minutes outside of the Pietermaritzburg city center (depending on who’s driving ha!) The campus is absolutely beautiful with a jungle full of trees and complete with a waterfall. There is a full kitchen staff who cook 3 wonderful meals for us every day in addition to tea time. (umm…hello South African 15?)

Megan and I in our room

Hiking in the reserve

    We live in a suite-style “chalets” with 8 girls (2 per room) around 1 central room. I am rooming with Megan, one of the other nursing students, who is perfect! I may be slightly biased, but I definitely think I have the coolest chalet!! :D Yesterday was Tahitian dance classes courtesy of Cherokee (one of my chalet mates who puts my dancing to shame) and today we went on a group hike through the reserve. I have been told that 4 zebra (pronounced zeh-bra, like debra with a z, if you are a true South African) and a rhino roam freely there, but have yet to see them. Megan saw all 4 of the zebra…jealous!! I did see a buck (deer in South African) on my run on Monday. We rounded the curve in the road, and there, about 10 feet away, was a buck! Also, monkeys roam freely on our campus. Yes, they are absolutely so cute, until you find out they are mean and break into your chalet to steal Crystal Lite packets. so funny!Such a beautiful place. They say that calls to heaven are local here.

     We have 4 clinical sites that we will attend over the course of the semester. For our first week at clinical, I went to Mason’s clinic, which is in the middle of one of the poorest towns in Pietermaritzburg. People would walk from far distances to attend this clinic to receive treatment. The clinic has many different treatment areas—the ARV portion (Antiretrovirals), the TB (tuberculosis) clinic, the chronic portion, the antepartum portion, and the general clinic. Each of these ‘portions’ as I’ve called them, are simply a room with a nursing bed and medicines.

First day of clinical in Africa!!

     So mini nursing lesson… HIV is the virus that gets transmitted between people and affects your body’s T-cells. A normal T-cell count is between 700-1500. When the T-cells reach a level below 500, it is classified as stage 1 AIDs. ARVs are the meds used to prolong life and prevent the further decrement of the  T-cells. In Africa, ARVs are started when counts fall below 250, unless a person has TB, then they are started at 300. The clinic provides these meds to people infected with AIDs for free at the ARV section of the clinic. TB is very common in people who have HIV/AIDs. My nursing professors told us that 80% of the people who have AIDs, also have TB and 80% of the people who have TB have AIDs. When people contract TB, they have to take medication every day for 6 months!! In the TB section, we distributed Bactrim and Vitamin B Complex to the patients. The chronic portion deals with more disparities. At the antepartum clinic we examined pregnant women for their routine appointments and three girls (ages 16, 19, and 20) come in a row for pregnancy tests. I watched as all three of them took pregnancy tests that all determined they were positive. It is so crazy to watch the seconds that somebody’s life takes such a drastic change.

     On Thursday, an 18-month old baby came into the clinic to be tested after having HIV exposure. The little boy was so happy and bright smiling and here we were testing him for HIV. HIV: this stigmatized, live-changing and awful disease. The nurse was testing him and the whole time I was praying that he would test negative. One little line appeared across the test box and I felt myself breathe again as he was determined negative. We were so thankful and the little boy was copying us clapping. I then realized, this is just the beginning. This little boy is 18-months old and is growing up in a country where HIV/AIDs is so prominent, and he is not the only one.

   So one of the coolest things I got to do so far was Thursday (and stop reading now if you have a weak stomach) when I got to do a pap-smear. Ok, I know some of you are grossed out right now, but in the states you have to be a nurse practitioner or doctor to do these things, so it was pretty awesome! Exams are done on HIV-positive women to check for ulcers and make sure opportunistic STIs have not developed. Next week I will be in a mobile hospice care for HIV/AIDs patients.

   So that never does justice to my week of being here, but that is a little of what I have been doing over the past week. LOVE YOU ALL!

Hugs and Kisses from Jo-burg

After a day and a half of shuttles, buses, and planes, we are finally in Africa!! We met at 1:45am to drive to LAX, and once there discovered that all the counters were closed! Bummer. We made the most of it by talking while our eyes weren’t fluttering from lack of sleep. We flew to DC, where we had a 3-hour layover, and then set off for the big one: a 14 hour flight from DC to Johannesburg (with a one hour stop to refuel and change pilots/crew in Senegal). I finally got to watch The Wedding Singer, as it was one of my movie options J I know I know…you can’t believe I’ve never seen it. We were certainly happy when we arrive in Johannesburg for our first leg of the journey. Once in Johannesburg, we went to our hotel where we freshened up (We’re talking French showers here since we only had 30 minutes before we had to leave for din…ya, we were one stinky group of folk after 24 hours!) We went to din at a little place caller The Harvard Room.  Janet and Reagan (our South African R.A.-type people) had given us $150 Rand each (about  $22 bucks each) to use for dinner for tonight and tomorrow. Unfortunately most of the more traditional dishes seemed more expensive, and I wanted to make sure I’d have enough for tomorrow, so I ended up ordering Fettuccini Alfredo. It satisfied my hunger and tasted good enough, but the flavors are definitely different than in the U.S. After dinner we came back to the hotel, where I could not wait to take a shower. So here I am, all clean writing to all of you. We were provided 30 minutes of internet access/room, so I got 15 minutes to say all I gotta say (I’m writing in word so I can have optimum time and check the good ol’ fb and messenger, as well as checking the weather for tomorrow) and then it’s off to bed for our day 1/2 touring Johannesburg before we fly to Pietermaritzburg where we will stay for a majority of the time.  Love you all! Hugs and Kisses from Jo-burg!

bags are packed...no kidding this time

     So today we had orientation for South Africa and I have been going, going, going since I woke up. I have had mixed feelings of excitement, nervousness, and wanting to know a little more of what the heck we are gonna be doing for the next 3 1/2 months. After the (helpful, but long) orientation and 2 commissionings (one organized by study abroad, and one organized by nursing), I am ready to say goodbye California and fly across the Atlantic. :D 

    I also got fitted for a TB (tuberculosis mask), which was an experience in itself and too funny not to tell about! TB is very prevalent in SA so it is important that the mask fits properly over your face in order to provide a shield to your mouth since the disease is spread through the air. Well...my teacher sprayed a bitter spray at our face while we wore the masks in an enclosed shield to see if we could taste any of the spray. She then proceeded to have us read, turn our head from side to side, jog, you name it while spraying the spray at us, while we manage to look ridiculous throughout the entire process. Lucky for you all I got some pics which are for your amusement (note: my teacher's smiling, but these are not posed at all! ugh! I hate masks!) But don't worry, the mask fits well and so hopefully I will be TB free when I return :) 

  

    So my bags are packed (it's about the third time I've thought they were totally packed and ready)...but seriously, no kidding this time. I gotta meet the group in 2 hours and 45 minutes, so it's a quick siesta for me and I'm off!! Send me some virtual love! :D

The countdown is quickly nearing 0...

     Common Day of Learning: An annual event in which all classes are canceled by the university and us students are encouraged to attend scholarly presentations throughout the day Let's just say to some or most, time is occupied doing other 'important' tasks. (Umm, Common Day of Beaching anyone?) However, this past March, I was eager to attend one of the scheduled seminars. The South Africa presentation. A group of nursing students who had studied abroad the past Fall in South Africa were presenting the experiences and lessons they encountered across the world. 

     I have dreamt about studying abroad since I was young and love to hear about the ventures of foreign travles. APU's program that offered nursing students the opportunity to study abroad to practice nursing and not have to take a semester off, was one of the main reasons I had decided to transfer to APU. 

     Two months before, I had turned in my application to study abroad for Fall 2010, so during the presentation my desire to taste the waters of Africa grew even more. These culminated at the point where the director of nursing told myself and the nine other girls that we would be going to South Africa! The girls and I were ecstatic but six months still sounded like so far away! Little did I know how quickly the time would fly. I woke up this morning and counted five days in between today and the day we leave on a plane for Africa! Yes, Africa! Just saying it still seems surreal, but yet, here I am packing bags for 3 1/2 months and deciding between things considered necessities and things considered luxuries (note: heels are a necessity, 3 or 4 pairs, probably not).

     As the countdown nears 0, I cannot help but be even more thankful for the opportunity I have. God has blessed my life with this opportunity to live a new culture, help the African people with my nursing care, and learn so much more than I could ever learn by staying in the US. I am traveling with some of the best nine girls I could ever ask for and cannot wait to experience everything with them! So as I set off, here are my goals, or a sort of eat pray love of Africa if you will...

1) Don't miss anything. 3 1/2 months may seem like a long time now, but I know it will fly by! Soooo...that means nap vs absolutely amazing cultural experience. Internet vs hike. I opt for Option B. Hold me to it. 

2) Stay organized. A group of wise women ;) once nicknamed my (somewhat exploding) suitcase the wall of China due to it's overwhelming mass. I've gotten better with age, but still something to be conscious of. So keep the homework organized, room cleaned, and purse neat.

3) Try everything. I've eaten menudo. After that I think I can handle anything, (Me gusto probarlo mi xuxu, pero no es mi taza de te.), so I'm trying all food, all activities, and all everything. I'm going bungey jumping and swimming with those sharks...

4) Remember Who made it all possible.