Is this real life?
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Clara
28 December 2014 | Tanzania, Shirati
We were in need of a break again. We just had had Christmas holiday, where the hospital was almost empty and the only medical stuff I did was administer chemo to four Burkitts Lymphoma patients. Still my house mates and I went to Mwanza for the weekend to run errands, download medical articles and sort out some finances. I needed to get my camera fixed as well, for it decided to throw a temper tantrum and now it won’t open the lens anymore. The bus ride was uneventful and after a nice Indian food dinner, our first Mwanza day already came to a close. We had big plans to go out to the clubs, but Shirati life turned us all into grandparents who cannot stay up passed midnight if they haven’t had their afternoon nap.
The nights were short because the Mosque called for prayer at 5am already, and repeated the same procedure every hour after that. Our errands were dealt with quite quickly and we had some time to spare to visit one of the private clinics in Mwanza, that just happened to be owned by one of Fred Chachas family members. This small clinic even has more equipment than Shirati Hospital with its 180 beds. In this clinic you could intubate a patient, run electrolyte tests, and even make electronic recordings of their microscope findings. They were building a new lab in the courtyard, with beautiful solid granite counters. Obviously the electrician, lab technician and plumber had not been working together during the realisation of the building plan, because the sockets were placed exactly underneath the drains, there was a sink where there should have been a flat counter for the blood centrifuge and all the cable outlets had been cut into the granite as big rectangular holes. Dr. Chacha was so annoyed by this cosmetic flaw in the building that he is switching out all of the granite to get it fixed. And in Shirati we don’t even have funds for running water in the hand-washing sink.
Dr. Chacha took us to Lake Victoria in one of the ambulances. Fred, our host in Shirati and guide in Mwanza had told us we would go for lunch at Jembe ni Jembe restaurant, but I did not realise that would entail a trip on a private boat. While one of the group members was mixing the drinks, I was supplying all the Mzungus with sunblock. The boat was gliding through the waveless waters, and in that moment everything was perfect. We had music, drinks, nice weather and even better company, so I could forget my broken sandals, camera and annoyances of shitty logistics in Shirati Hospital.
Jembe ni Jembe restaurant is located directly at the shore with straw roofs and a fully stocked bar. Manchester united was playing Tottenham, and we watched the game on one of the six plasma screens until the food arrived. In the mean while Dr. Chacha had picked up some more people to join us at the table. These girls were already quite buzzed from the drinks, so it did not surprise me that half of the red wine landed on their clothes instead of in their mouths.
I still feel like I’m dreaming with the soft breeze, the luxurious surroundings, and the absolutely gorgeous nature in front of me. Sometimes I feel like everything around here is just too good to be true, and that this internship is less work then expected. To compensate for getting Monday of to travel back to Shirati, and to ease my conscience, I’m going to be on call again for the entire week. With Jan and Etienne gone, that makes me the only intern for a little while, so I might finally get really busy.
The nights were short because the Mosque called for prayer at 5am already, and repeated the same procedure every hour after that. Our errands were dealt with quite quickly and we had some time to spare to visit one of the private clinics in Mwanza, that just happened to be owned by one of Fred Chachas family members. This small clinic even has more equipment than Shirati Hospital with its 180 beds. In this clinic you could intubate a patient, run electrolyte tests, and even make electronic recordings of their microscope findings. They were building a new lab in the courtyard, with beautiful solid granite counters. Obviously the electrician, lab technician and plumber had not been working together during the realisation of the building plan, because the sockets were placed exactly underneath the drains, there was a sink where there should have been a flat counter for the blood centrifuge and all the cable outlets had been cut into the granite as big rectangular holes. Dr. Chacha was so annoyed by this cosmetic flaw in the building that he is switching out all of the granite to get it fixed. And in Shirati we don’t even have funds for running water in the hand-washing sink.
Dr. Chacha took us to Lake Victoria in one of the ambulances. Fred, our host in Shirati and guide in Mwanza had told us we would go for lunch at Jembe ni Jembe restaurant, but I did not realise that would entail a trip on a private boat. While one of the group members was mixing the drinks, I was supplying all the Mzungus with sunblock. The boat was gliding through the waveless waters, and in that moment everything was perfect. We had music, drinks, nice weather and even better company, so I could forget my broken sandals, camera and annoyances of shitty logistics in Shirati Hospital.
Jembe ni Jembe restaurant is located directly at the shore with straw roofs and a fully stocked bar. Manchester united was playing Tottenham, and we watched the game on one of the six plasma screens until the food arrived. In the mean while Dr. Chacha had picked up some more people to join us at the table. These girls were already quite buzzed from the drinks, so it did not surprise me that half of the red wine landed on their clothes instead of in their mouths.
I still feel like I’m dreaming with the soft breeze, the luxurious surroundings, and the absolutely gorgeous nature in front of me. Sometimes I feel like everything around here is just too good to be true, and that this internship is less work then expected. To compensate for getting Monday of to travel back to Shirati, and to ease my conscience, I’m going to be on call again for the entire week. With Jan and Etienne gone, that makes me the only intern for a little while, so I might finally get really busy.
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
