Good Times with Good Kids

My two favorite kids of the day: the girl in front
and the boy in green in the back

     This Thursday, in a break from our usual routine, the boys and I went down the road to the orphanage school. Our cook, Helen, who is awesome, arranged everything so we could go down in the afternoon and just play with the kids. It was so much fun. The kids were so excited to see us. We visited all their classrooms and they sang for us and/or recited poems in each room. Afterward we went out into the yard to play. Someone had left a ton of toys at the house for the school so we got to be Santa Claus for a day. We had Frisbees, jump ropes, micro-kites, and a soccer ball. After distributing the new toys, we just got to play around and have fun.

We disturbed the 2-year-olds during naptime

     Somehow I ended up with the smallest kids and a Frisbee. While I’ll admit that there were times when I wanted to be running around and throwing the Frisbee hard like the boys were doing, the little tykes were so darn cute. I had to keep reminding myself to throw gently, especially after one girl got bonked in the face, but it was a lot of fun. One really interesting thing was just how much the kids wanted to touch me. It wasn’t necessarily that they waned physical touch, because they didn’t care too much if I was touching them back. They just wanted to rub my arms and hands, seemingly fascinated by how pale I was compared to them. During the assembly some kids even ran up to touch my legs when they thought I wasn't looking. For some reason the boys didn't experience this. I'm not sure if it was because I'm a girl or because I was with kids too small to realize that grabbing someone isn't entirely socially acceptable (though more so here than in the U.S.), but whatever it was, it was an experience. When it was time to go, we all wished that we could've had more time, and we're hoping to go back next week.

Some happy kids ready for new toys

Swahili Words of the Post

Toto -infant or child

dogo -small

More Firsts

Testing blood for typhoid in the lab

2. First time drawing blood: I finally worked up the courage to ask if I could try drawing blood at the end of my first week. With coaching from James and Zacchaeus, the lab technician in charge of reception that day, I took blood from a young woman and it went really well. I started shaking slightly once she left (I really am not a fan of needles), but somehow I managed to stay calm during the procedure. Now the lab techs just leave me in charge of reception. 
3. First time being paranoid about mosquitoes: At home mosquitoes are just a nuisance. Here they are a little more concerning. Thanks to them I take preventative malaria meds every morning, spray myself with bug spray everyday, and sleep under a mosquito net every night. So far, I haven’t really been bitten, and I’m trying to keep it that way. One girl who went home before I arrived did end up having malaria, so it happens.
4. First surgeries: In my first two and a half weeks here, I’ve already seen eight surgeries. I’ve assisted on five, most of which I've written about in previous posts. Not all of the surgeries are life-threatening dramas (though it got a bit tense when Dr. Agullo hit a small artery during the hysterectomy I assisted with), but I they're all interesting and different.  
5. First time eating Kenyan food: Since arriving in Nairobi, and especially now in Migori, I’ve been able to try quite a few new foods. I don’t always know what exactly is placed in front of me, but so far it’s been quite good. There are a lot of beans, rice, ugali (a maize flour…thing), chapati (sort of like pancakes, but not really), and sukuma wiki (a cabbage-y dish). We usually have some form of meat though we’re not always sure what it is. I think mainly beef, goat, chicken and fish. One night there were chicken feet with the rest of the chicken. I wasn’t quite bold enough to try those…yet. 
6. First cases of _____: Everyday at the hospital I get to see diseases that are not that common in the U.S. There are lots of people with tuberculosis, malaria, typhoid, and the other day I saw a girl with measles. We've also had a couple snake bites and even bee stings that required hospitalization (apparently the bees sometimes just appear in swarms and go crazy). This week I saw my first examples of Karposi's sarcoma.
7. First time being “pimped”: “Pimping” in the medical sense is when a senior medical officer questions a medical student on some medical subject, usually a very difficult one, until they can no longer answer. Dr. Migowe likes to do this with the medical students here, though in a pretty nice way. Last week I had my first experience with that when he started asking me what questions I would ask one of the patients, and what I thought his condition might be. Honestly I didn’t know much, but he kept giving hints and eventually one of the other students got what he was driving at. It was a little stressful, but I feel like all the questions help me learn better. 
8. First encounter with Migori men: The last week we had a going away party for some of the students who were leaving, and we ended the night by going to Bell’s, a club in town. Clubs are not exactly my “scene,” though I do really enjoy dancing with my friends. Here though, the Kenyans are particularly thrilled to dance with a Mzungu, male or female, and you can only keep them at bay for so long. They’re sort of pushy with both men and women, but the girls definitely have to put up with more. The guys in the program talk about how glad they are that they’re not women here in Kenya, which doesn’t exactly help the situation, but they also sort of have a pact to look out for us girls, which is quite nice. Anywho, Bell’s was alright. I became pretty adept at keeping a buffer zone between me and the men I didn’t know, so I enjoyed dancing with friends and watching everyone else dance. We joke that the only person a Kenyan man finds sexier than a Mzungu is themselves because whenever there’s a mirror in a club you will inevitably find Kenyan guys crowding in front of it, dancing and checking themselves out. It’s pretty hilarious. Less hilarious is how persistent they are. Despite my skills, I did still have to deal with some of the men. One just sort of grabbed me and started dancing. Initially it was awkward but ok, but then he started getting closer and I decided to stop him before he became a problem. However, he didn’t really want to take no for an answer, and when I showed him my ring and told him I had a fiancé, he didn’t seem to think that was a problem. I think I would’ve gotten rid of him eventually, but two of my friends saw what was happening and came to the rescue. Later another guy wanted to dance, but I was a bit wary so I basically instituted a no-contact rule. He seemed fine with it though, so we sort of salsa-ed around for a bit before I left. Since then, I've been back to Bell's when it was less crowded and the guys left us girls alone, and it was quite fun. 
9. First Laundry by Hand: Ok, this one isn’t entirely true since I’ve done handwashing before, but not a whole load of laundry, and not for a whole month. Of course, if you’re Andrew, you can always just have the kids who are always hanging out just do your laundry for you and then pay them in sweets. ;)   
10. First Attempt at Haggling: I don't like confrontation and haggling sometimes feels like arguing or manipulating the other person, but we have to do it here, especially us foreigners. There is definitely a "Mzungu price" and it is always much higher (sometimes double or triple) the price for the locals. If you don't haggle, you get hustled. I've only tried twice, and I've probably given up way too early both times, but I'm still pretty proud that I at least attempted it.



All the girls ready to go out



Blood infected with malaria parasites (the red dots)



Drying laundry in the backyard

11. First Mass: During my last semester at Gordon, my roommate and I talked about visiting a Catholic church one time since we’d both never to one despite having Catholic friends. We never made it thanks to the craziness of senior year. I certainly wouldn't have guessed that my first Mass would be in Kenya, but that's what happened. My first Sunday in Migori, my friend Elise and I decided to visit the church that runs St. Joseph's Mission Hospital. There were three services to choose from due to all the languages spoken here. The English one was unfortunately at 7am, but we made it. I really enjoyed the service. The sermon was quite good, and I enjoyed the music, even if it was in Swahili and I couldn't sing along. My friends had told us what to expect, and it was pretty cool to see that, no matter where you went in the world, the readings and the general format were the same. It certainly made you feel like a part of the church catholic. Of course, there was a bit of a cultural difference. For one thing, the men and women were on different sides. For another thing, almost every song was introduced by a driving drumbeat that made you want to get up and dance, which is exactly what some kids did. It made me think of I Corinthians and Paul's description of orderly worship because, unlike other services I've been to where people dance in the aisles (granted I haven't been to many), this dancing wasn't distracting. It was just some kids, and a couple choir members, who seemed like they were simply dancing for joy, not to call anyone's attention to them. Plus, it wasn't like everyone was expected to join in, which I appreciated. I call enough attention to myself here just being white. Who knows what would've happened if I'd tried to dance? ;)

Swahili Phrases of the Post:

Kunja ngumi -make a fist

Nina mpenzi -I have a boyfriend

Patients and Patience

Scrub-in area and the door to Operation Room 1

     In the last week, nine people have left Migori to return home. Apparently this means more surgeries for the few of us who are left! We have no problem with that either. :) On Monday alone I got to assist with three surgeries. The first was a "surgical toilet." Basically some guy's foot was clipped by a car and our job was to scrape out all the dead skin and then stitch it up as best we could. When I first saw the foot, I was sure chunks were missing and the guy was going to have gaping holes. Somehow Dr. Agullo was able to work some magic and sew the foot back together again. The surgery wasn't a full scrub because it wasn't too invasive, and I wasn't too happy about blood that sprayed out at one point, but it was quite interesting to see the foot with all the muscles and tendons. 

Dr. Agullo trying to drain a boy's lung

     Later that day I came back to hospital like usual, but unlike most days, I decided to drop by the wards. The next thing I knew, Dr. Agullo popped out of no where, pointed to a wheelchair and told me to wheel an older man down to the surgical theater. I did and soon I was in the operating room helping Dr. Agullo insert a catheter directly into this man's bladder. Not exactly the most glamorous surgery, but they're all interesting, and any experience helps. Plus, while we finishing up with the catheter, the nurses were preparing another surgery in the other operating room. This one was a girl with an umbilical hernia and was quite interesting. At first it just looked like her belly button was huge, but it moved whenever her intestines did, which was kind of freaky. It was cool to actually see her intestines moving around though when we opened her up. The surgery went when and soon she was closed up, good as new. 

     In other news, I'm making progress with "my" patient. Her wound is slowly, ever so slowly, getting smaller. The biggest problem really has been the language barrier. I usually greet my patient in Swahili, and for the first couple days she was convinced that I spoke Swahili fluently, despite all the times I had to bring nurses in to translate. She understands now, but since she doesn't speak English, she and her mother still keep trying to speak to me in Swahili. It's interesting. It's certainly been a lesson in patience and humility. At least now though my patient seems to understand that I'm not trying to hurt her when I clean out her wound, and she and her mother greet me with smiles. 

Swahili Words of the Post:

Mgonjwa -patient

Daktari -doctor 

Daily Life in Migori

The main hall of the hospital

     Every weekday morning we get up, put on our scrubs, eat breakfast, and then walk down the road to St. Joseph’s Mission Hospital. We first go to the morning meeting where the doctors and nurses discuss what happened during the night (deaths, admissions, etc.) and any troubling cases. Then it’s off to rounds. Where we go on rounds depends on which doctors decided to show up that day. Dr. Agullo does maternity and surgery, Dr. Atonga does pediatrics, and Dr. Migowe does the medical wards. Sometimes all the doctors are there, sometimes none of them are. It keeps life interesting. Each ward has it’s own advantage. Peds rounds are the shortest and the kids are cute but Dr. Atonga rarely explains what the case is or what he is doing to treat the patient. Surgery and maternity can be quite exciting if there’s a delivery or surgery, but not too thrilling if there’s not, though the babies are adorable. The medical wards are long, but they provide the greatest variety and number of cases and the Dr. Migowe is a great teacher. He usually outlines a patient's case to us and then starts asking our opinions of what the patient has, what questions to ask to clarify the condition, and what treatments would be best.

Food from the Goat Roast

     After rounds, there are a few more options of things to do. Some people just go straight back to the house. I'm here to get medical experience so I can apply to PA schools though, so I usually stick around until lunch. There’s the pharmacy where you can fill prescriptions and explain the medications to patients while joking around with Emmanuel (a.k.a. Bobby) the pharmacist. There’s the mobile clinic where you drive for an hour to help out at a clinic in some more remote areas. There’s the HIV & TB counseling clinic and a physiotherapy clinic, but I haven’t been to either of them yet. If there’s a surgery you can observe or scrub in. I usually end up in the lab, at least until lunch. There I get to draw blood or run tests (CD4 counts, blood groups, typhoid tests, etc.). I even got to stain a blood smear and determine whether or not the patient had malaria. 

Observing a surgery

     In the afternoon, we head back to the house for lunch. Our cook, Helen, always makes something good. It's fairly easy to guess what we'll be having though. It's almost always rice, a cabbage dish, and some form of meat. My personal favorite would be the fish. After lunch you can go back to the hospital (the lab and pharmacy are sometimes the only options of places to work at that point) or you can stay at the house. 

     The weekends and our free time are usually spent the same way. The internet is quite slow here, and there's only one computer (unless someone brought a laptop), so we don't spend much time with that. Instead we'll most often be found reading, laying in the sun, or watching a movie. There's also a ton of neighborhood kids who hang about all the time whom we sometimes play with. They can get a bit crazy though (especially if they think we have candy), so it can get tiring. They also make quiet outdoor activities a bit difficult. There are quite a few churches around if we want to go on Saturday or Sunday, but the problem is finding one that speaks English. There's at least one though.

Fabric store near Tanzania

     Every couple days or so we have to head into town. How often you go depends mostly on how much water you drink and how much you feel like lugging up the dirt road. There are lots of things in town besides water though. There are stands and shops everywhere with everything from fresh fruit to very cheap movies (hence our tendency to watch a lot of them) to cell phones to clothing. If we feel like leaving Migori, there are a few excursions we can go on. Through the program there’s the chance to go on a safari in Maasai Mara (I’m hopefully going next weekend!) and/or Mombasa, but there are shorter excursions too. If you want fabric, the border of Tanzania (about 13 miles away) is the place to go, but a hilltop in Kisii is the place for souvenirs. There’s also Lake Victoria and Kisumu, but I haven’t gone to either of those places yet. All in all, life here is quite different, but I'm really enjoying it and trying to take advantage of every minute.

     By the way, for people who are interested in becoming a PA, this can be a great program for getting medical experience. Pretty much everything I do is hands on direct patient care. You can get a lot of hours too, but it really depends on how motivated you are. Most of the people in the program just go to the hospital for 3 or 4 hours in the morning (or not at all if they stayed out late at the clubs), so if you want to put in a full days work, or even go in on the weekends as well, you may be at the hospital by yourself. Also, due to the limited internet, filling out applications, lining up experience for when you get home, or communicating with schools is rather difficult, so just be prepared for that and try not to have many things to take care of while you're here.

Swahili Words of the Post:

soma -to read

lala -to sleep

This is Your Patient

     Thursdays seem to be the crazy days for me here in Kenya. Yesterday morning on rounds in the maternity/gynecology ward. Dr. Agullo examined a patient, described her condition (C-section turned septic), then turned to me and said, "this is your patient." I'm fairly certain my mouth must having been hanging wide open as he explained how I would need to dress her wound each day and give him a report. So, while Agullo rushed off to do an emergency C-section (which was successful and resulted in one of the cutest newborns I've ever seen), I followed a nurse named Jane and learned how to dress the wound. This morning was my first go at doing it by myself. Agullo had said that he thought a person learns a lot from one-on-one care with a patient, and that was certainly true. I managed to clean the wound alright, but it wasn't easy. The patient, Elizabeth, doesn't speak any English and I don't know enough Swahili to say "this is going to hurt, but I need to get your wound cleaned out or you will not get better" so it was a bit rough trying to do everything I had to without seeming sadistic. Hopefully tomorrow will go a bit better now that the nurses have taught me a few more words.


Swahili Words of the Post:
uchungu -pain
pole -I'm sorry

The Great Goat Roast

Market in Migori

     I’m not sure how this whole thing got started, or whose idea it was, but on Saturday we slaughtered a goat for dinner. Apparently some of the students had requested to eat goat or something, so our weekend cook brought over one of his goats in the morning and we spent the day preparing for the feast. First some of the girls headed into Migori to hit up the markets. We’d been given a list of all the vegetables, fruits, and herbs we needed. One of our items was listed only by its Swahili name, so it became a scavenger hunt to figure out what exactly it was we needed to buy (it turned out to be cilantro). After a stop to the supermarket to pick up more water, we went to get our last few items: maandazi (a dessert that’s sort of like a triangular donut) and one live chicken. When one of the girls had to return to the market to get pineapple, it became my job to carry said chicken. I’d thought that being a Mzungu in Kenya brought me enough stares and funny looks, but I got so many more carrying that stupid chicken ½ mile back to the house. One guy almost came to a complete stop on his bike just staring at me. The chicken wasn’t even acting up either. She was actually pretty chill.

     In the afternoon it was time to kill the goat. All the kids in the neighborhood who are always hanging around the house joined us out back for the big event. I won’t go into details, but here are a couple thoughts: 1) we all wished the cook had had a slightly sharper knife and 2) it was a bit shocking just how long the goat kept moving. We’d just watched Braveheart a few days before and we couldn’t help comparing the goat, whose name was Wilfred, to William Wallace. We decided that Wilfred had died well, like Wallace, and that he “took it like a goat.” Once he stopped moving, Wilfred was hung up in the tree and the cook began the process of skinning him. Some of the students even took a turn. Meanwhile, the kids were clearly not too disturbed by what just happened because they were still climbing all over us, taking pictures, and using our water tank as a jungle gym.

     That night we had a regular feast. We decided to eat all together, family-style, rather than a few people at a time. We jokingly called it a Kenyan Thanksgiving. Everything was delicious, from the goat and sauce, to the sukuma wiki (sort of a cross between cabbage and spinach), to the fresh mango and pineapple, to the maandazi. After dinner we declared a ban on movies and books (our most common downtime activities since the internet is slow and there’s not too much else to do around here), and played a few games of “Celebrity” instead. It was always funny to watch someone try to explain or act out a celebrity they had never heard of, which happened quite a bit since we all have fairly different interests. Plus two of the students are from the UK so they didn’t know some American celebrities, and we certainly didn’t know some of the British ones, so it was a night of learning (turns out Where’s Waldo is Where’s Wally in the UK). All in all it was a pretty good night.

Is This Really Happening???

Thursday was a pretty surreal day. 

Andrew helping me get into my apron.

     It all began when I decided to stop in the delivery room after rounds in the pediatric ward to see if anyone was about to pop. There was a women there who needed a C-section, so my friend Elise and I asked Dr. Agullo (the only surgeon here) if we could watch. On the way to the operating room I was asked if I wanted to scrub in since I hadn't done that yet. I said "sure" because it sounded fun and I was planning on doing that at least once while I'm here. I'm not quite sure I realized then that the person who scrubs in assists with the surgery. Once I realized that, I kept thinking that I probably shouldn't have scrubbed in on my first surgery. I did though! I needed quite a bit of help scrubbing in because there's a lot to do (scrubbing for 5 minutes with your hands a certain way, putting on your gown just so, holding your arms up, etc.) and if you mess up (like I did) you have to start over. Anyhow, eventually I was all ready and was just standing in the operating room, not even daring to move, holding my hands clasped and at my chest like I was told to. An anesthesiologist named Alice, who is starting med school next year and did most of the C-section, was super friendly and helpful, and kept giving me pointers together with James from our program.

Waiting for Dr. Agullo to arrive with Alice

My friend Elise from Gordon, who took all the pictures,
all ready for surgery

     I'd sort of thought that I would pretty much just be observing the surgery, albeit from a bit closer than the other students, but once Alice had cut down to the uterus, Dr. Agullo handed me the edge of the retractor and had me hold the skin back. Once  they started trying to get the baby out I kept thinking that the hole was too small, and sure enough, it was. They had to cut it a few more times before they could finally fit that kid out, and it seemed to take quite a bit of pushing and pulling (I don't recommend a C-section if you can avoid it). When the baby was out, most of the other students left, and I thought maybe I was supposed to be done too but it turned out that my job was just beginning.

The new baby!

     As Alice reached in and grabbed out the placenta, Dr. Agullo handed me a suction hose and said simply "suction." I wanted to say, "are you kidding me?" but I found some pools of blood and started sucking them up, just praying that I wouldn’t suck up something important (an unlikely, but highly unnerving possibility). When Alice started stitching the mother back up, I was given scissors and instructed to cut sutures when she finished. At one point I had the retractor in one hand and the suction hose in the next, sucking up blood and holding back the skin as Alice stitched away. Dr. Agullo left to do another surgery, so for a while it just the scrub nurse, Alice and I. Alice actually apologized at the end for not letting me suture and promised to let me do it next time. I just sort of stared at her and then insisted I would need lots of help. Apparently she was fine with that, so we'll see what happens next time.

     The whole experience was just so crazy, even before I started helping. From the first incision, especially when the blood started, the whole idea of surgery just seemed so absurd. Obviously it works now and there are some pretty amazing things that surgeons do, but at first all I could think was "whose idea was this?" Seriously, the first few times people did surgeries they probably ended really badly, so who had the perseverance to keep trying until it worked? Once I was actually assisting, things just got weirder. I wanted to ask people if they realized that I had never been to a surgery, let alone assisted before. When Dr. Agullo handed me the suction hose I kept thinking I was back in my room at Gordon with my roommate because I wanted to just turn to someone and say "can we just talk about this for a second?" It just all seemed so absurd. It was an absolute blast though, and I cannot wait to do it again sometime. 

There's a First Time for Everything

Sunrise from the plane to Nairobi

Flower Market

     Wonder of wonders, and miracle of miracles, I have made it to Migori, Kenya! It's been a very interesting week and I sometimes can't believe it's only been a few days since I left home. There have been a lot of "firsts" these last few days, so I feel that's the best way to sum everything up.

Canal in Amsterdam

Great Rift Valley -we drove through it on our way to Migori

1. First time in the Netherlands -I had an 8 hour layover in Amsterdam, so I went out to the city and walked around for a few hours. That was after about 15 hours of traveling, so I was a bit tired, but I enjoyed it immensely. I missed out on some touristy things, so I'll have to go back one day, but it was still a great time and the weather was beautiful. Actually, my favorite thing in Amsterdam, the flower market, which made me want to buy all the flowers and have a massive garden, wasn't even listed on the tourist guide's I'd looked at. Also, the Dutch get the award (if it exists) for the friendliest passport control guys. They were just joking around with me the whole time. 
2. First time south of the equator
3. First time buying a visa in the airport -I didn't have time to get my visa before I left but I just flew in, filled out a form, paid some money, took a picture, and voila! One Kenyan tourist visa. 
4. First time someone apologized that 70F and cloudy was such cold weather -Kenya is in "winter" right now, but it's often the same weather I left behind in Oregon, so I'm good. The Kenyans, on the other hand, keep complaining that it is "so cold" and put on their warmer clothing. It's pretty funny. Our driver even apologized for the weather almost as soon as I got off the plane in Nairobi.
   
5. First time going to a club -Despite all the times I've had friends say that we would go to a club, I'd never actually been to one before Nairobi. Frankly, the idea of clubbing has never sounded super appealing to me anyway. Josh took the other two new girls and me to a club in Nairobi our first night as a "welcome to Kenya." I wasn't sure at first, especially when Josh informed us the place was called "The Madhouse," but it was quite fun. We were leaving early in the morning so we left the club before things got crazy and just had a good time dancing and making the DJ angry with our song requests (I think he was annoyed because we kept disturbing his Tetris game).
6. First time in scrubs -Three words: Scrubs are awesome! I feel so bad for all the people who don't get to wear them as part of their job because scrubs are seriously comfy. I get to wear them every time I go to the hospital and they make me feel both legit and happy.
7. First days in the hospital -I'm probably going to have to do an entire post just about the hospital, but my first two days have been interesting. The first day I pretty much just went on rounds, but today I spent most of my time in the lab. At one point the technician I was assisting, Geoffrey, said I was going to draw the next patient's blood, but it was a child and I really did not want that to be my first attempt, so I still haven't done a blood draw. Soon though, if I can stop flinching when I watch the needle go in. On the way back to the lab after lunch today I got called into the pharmacy and before I knew what was happening, I was filling prescriptions, calling up patients, and explaining to them how to take their meds. After that surreal experience I finally made it back to the lab and learned how to identify malaria and tuberculosis using blood and sputum smears. That felt pretty cool.
   
8. First Swahili lesson -After playing with the malaria and TB slides, Geoffrey gave me my first official Swahili lesson. He'd taught me a few words earlier and I'd already learned "no power" (hakuna stima) thanks to frequent power outages and our cook, Helen, but today I got to learn lots of things. They're sort of random things though. I can greet people and introduce myself, but I can also say I'm going to town (naenda town), or I'm going to eat ten bananas (naenda kukula ndizi kumi). My favorite word at the moment might be the word for motorbikes (which are all over and sometimes really obnoxious): pikipiki.
9. First time being called "Mzungu" -I was wondering how long it would take for this to happen. Not long. Mzungu means "white person" or, more generally, "foreigner." We have an African American student and a Scot whose parents are from Ghana, and they are both called Mzungu. You can hear it being said whenever you pass by, and when I helped out with the blood draws, mothers would point to me in order to distract their scared children. It's an odd feeling. 
10. First time feeling like a walking $ sign -This is one of the weirdest things about being here. Everyone just seems to assume that Mzungus have money out the wazoo. The kids who come to the compound everyday often expect "sweets" or shillings. Even friends, like the people at the hospital, think that we can just fly back and forth to Africa whenever we want and ask us to bring back presents. Some students here had an awkward weekend when they went to visit a friend in Nakuru and spent an entire day being taken from one house to the next where they were treated to meals and sob story after sob story. They'd also been told that they would get to see some of the famous sights of Nakuru, but then found out that they were each expected to pay for three orphans to join them. Needless to say, it was not the weekend they'd expected.
    

Well, there's much more to say, but right now I have to go into town. The tap water here's not safe to drink so every couple days we walk 1/2 mile into town to buy 5 liter jogs of water and then pack them back. Good times.

Bon Voyage!

 

      When I graduated from college, my aunt gave me the necklace in the picture above. I've liked the quote ever since, and it seems particularly fitting given what tomorrow holds. In just T-minus 14 hours, I will be on my first flight on my way to Kenya. If all goes well, I'll make all my connections, have a nice little 8-hour layover in Amsterdam, and after 30 hours I'll be arriving in Nairobi. Looking at the numbers it seems so simple, but it's still so unbelievable to think that it was just one week ago that I submitted my application to Medics to Africa.

Bon Voyage BBQ

     Now my bags are packed and sitting by the door, just waiting for a few last minute items. Everything I'll need for a month (and probably a couple more books than I really need) chillin' in two bags. Kind of crazy.

     Before I head out, I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been praying for me and supporting me in all this. I haven't even left for Kenya and it's already been quite the ride. I've felt incredibly blessed by everyone around me and a bit overwhelmed by all the love and generosity. Thank you all so much! It was great to see some of you today at my house, and I know there were others who wished they could come, but were unable. Please continue to keep me in your prayers and I'll try to keep you all updated on what's happening.

    

All Hail the Human Pincushion!

      I don't like shots. I know not many people do, but I sort of have a reputation in my family. I was never strapped down, but shots used to be my greatest fear in the world and I was not the easiest patient. Eventually I came up with some methods (like not looking or talking to someone else while they were doing the shots) that improved matters, and then becoming a blood donor helped a bunch. Still... I was not excited when I was informed that I needed four shots for this trip. Last time I needed shots was for my undergrad, and during that lovely experience I reacted to one vaccine and had a fever around 104 F which the info sheet said happened in only 0.1% of people. Yay for being special. :p It wasn't pleasant and I was not looking forward to a repeat of that. 

      All told though, it wasn't too bad. The nurse was quite friendly and nice and made the experience as pleasant as it could be. The only real problem is that I was forced to make a decision. Specifically, I had to decide whether I wanted the typhoid or pneumonia shot in my right arm. Both are known for causing soreness and discomfort. More people have reactions to the pneumonia shot than to the typhoid one, but when they do react to typhoid, it's more extreme than the pain from the pneumonia shot. Apparently I learned nothing from my previous experience of having more severe and rare reactions than other people and decided to take my chances. I had pneumonia in the left arm and typhoid in the right, hoping I wouldn't react to either. I didn't react to pneumonia, but I certainly reacted to typhoid. Oh well. It's not too bad any more, and as long as I don't have to reach anything high or move my arms a lot for the rest of today and tomorrow, I'll be fine. At the very least I get to practice being ambidextrous.

     On an unrelated note, I decided it would be a good idea to start learning some basic Swahili phrases, though most Kenyans speak English. I found a site with some good starting words and phrases, but I found their idea of "useful" phrases pretty entertaining, especially the second to last one (see below). 

T-Minus 2 1/2 days until I leave!