My first few days at Eshowe have certainly been exciting! To explain everything would take forever, but here's some highlights:
-I got to see my first delivery on Friday! Two girls came in at the same time around 9 in the morning, so I got to see the whole process from admission to delivery. It was pretty exciting, and the nurses were great at answering questions for me and explaining how charting works. Yes, the baby was pretty adorable, and no, I wasn't grossed out at all! I guess my career choice of being an obstetric & gynecology PA won't have to change :)
-Saturday was my 21st birthday! Not quite as exciting as many 21sts are in the states, but we had a good day including seeing some zebras, taking a walk on the beach (I've officially spent more time at the Indian Ocean than the Atlantic...), and having a braai (South African's bbq... delicious).
-Today we checked out the Dlinza forest, a 20 minute walk from the B&B. There's a cool aerial boardwalk, a viewing tower, and some trails that wind through the forest. It was beautiful, and our tour guide/security guy took pictures of us and let us climb some 600 year old trees in the forest (according to him, all the trees were "too old")
Tomorrow starts our first full week at the hospital. I'll be spending the majority of the time on the labor ward, but we're planning on helping out in the pharmacy for a day as well. This unlimited wi-fi is definitely a luxury, which means lots more posts in the next few weeks :)
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Last week of pre-ISP and first few days of Eshowe!
Sawubona from Eshowe!!
Sorry for the lack of updates in the past week or so… the combination of having a HUGE paper due plus long days of lectures in Durban wasn’t too exciting! Some highlights from the past week and half:
Our classes are basically split into two (besides Zulu)… CHS and our ISP. Our final CHS (community health seminar) paper was due on Tuesday, and none of us had really work done on it, so most of our past week was spent researching and writing the 25 page paper. We did have some time for fun though :)
Saturday we had the whole day free so some of my penthouse-mates and I decided to head to Gateway- ACTUALLY the largest mall in the southern hemisphere (apparently Pavilion, the mall we go to all the time that I thought was the largest is just a really huge mall…). We decided to be brave and take a minibus taxi there, and we definitely got some strange looks as white people never take them. A metered taxi would have cost us around R300 (about $40) each way, while the minibus only cost R8 (a little over $1!) so it definitely fit our limited budgets.
The ride there was pretty uneventful (luckily) and we got to Gateway without incident. It’s located in the neighbourhood of Umhlanga Rocks, a very wealthy suburb of Durban. KwaZulu-Natal license plates all start with the letter N followed by a one or two letter code for which city the car is registered in. The way our van driver, S’du, taught us to find the “rich people” was look for NUR… as in Natal-Umhlanga Rocks or Now U R Rich! There was definitely no shortage of BMWs and mansions around the mall…
The mall was definitely gigantic, and even though we didn’t do any shopping we had a great time. We got some lunch, checked out the world’s largest indoor climbing wall, and went right outside to the “Wave House”, basically a water park deal where they recreate surfing waves for surfers and body boarders to practice on (it was essentially a super-sized version of the ones you see on cruise ships). We ended up spending an hour or so just watching all the guys on the waves… some were REALLY good, others not so much.
The ride home was a little more eventful, as our minibus taxi broke down on the side of the highway and we had to transfer to another one, but we made it back safe just fine. That night, we headed out to the AmaZulu-Kaiser Chiefs game at Moses Mabhida Stadium. The Chiefs are one of the most popular teams in South Africa, so there were tons of people there and seeing a game under the lights was awesome. We decided that AmaZulu was kinda boring and not very good, so our allegiances switched over to the Chiefs pretty fast. Good thing too, because they won 2-0!
Sunday and Monday were spent paper writing, so Tuesday after we turned it in we decided to go out and celebrate our last night in the penthouse. We went to the harbor for the first time (the busiest port in Africa) and had some dinner right on the water. It was an awesome last night :)
We woke up really early on Wednesday to pack up, head to the house to drop off our extra baggage, and me, Sally and Shuang headed off to Eshowe! It was a pretty short drive, and we got to our B&B around 11. The woman who owns it is super nice, and she makes all of our meals for us. Theres two younger guys who live here year round, and they were both really welcoming and friendly. After we dropped our things off we headed to the hospital, about a 20 minute walk from our B&B. We didn’t mind though, because Eshowe is beautiful! It’s a little strange, because we haven’t been anywhere like this in South Africa yet. Durban is a large city, and all of our rural stays were out in the middle of nowhere, but Eshowe is somewhere in between. I love it though, and it’s kind of like a South Africa version of Hebron.
We met the Medical Manager, who was really nice, and gave us a tour of the hospital. It’s definitely different than American hospitals, but pretty similar to the hospitals we’ve visited so far here. We headed back around 4 and spent the evening relaxing.
This morning we got to the hospital in time for the 7:30 doctors meeting, and then I went up to the labour ward and essentially walked into a delivery! Unfortunately the chaos was a little confusing for everyone and I didn’t get to go in, but I will be seeing plenty in the next few weeks.
The rest of the day was spent talking to nurses and roaming around the hospital- we’re still trying to get a feel of where we should be going and what we should be doing. We headed home around 2:30 in a torrential downpour so now we’re just hanging out warming up and drying out. I’m definitely excited for the next few weeks!
This is the first time I’ll have super reliable internet since I’ve been here- which means lots of blog posts!
Sorry for the lack of updates in the past week or so… the combination of having a HUGE paper due plus long days of lectures in Durban wasn’t too exciting! Some highlights from the past week and half:
Our classes are basically split into two (besides Zulu)… CHS and our ISP. Our final CHS (community health seminar) paper was due on Tuesday, and none of us had really work done on it, so most of our past week was spent researching and writing the 25 page paper. We did have some time for fun though :)
Saturday we had the whole day free so some of my penthouse-mates and I decided to head to Gateway- ACTUALLY the largest mall in the southern hemisphere (apparently Pavilion, the mall we go to all the time that I thought was the largest is just a really huge mall…). We decided to be brave and take a minibus taxi there, and we definitely got some strange looks as white people never take them. A metered taxi would have cost us around R300 (about $40) each way, while the minibus only cost R8 (a little over $1!) so it definitely fit our limited budgets.
The ride there was pretty uneventful (luckily) and we got to Gateway without incident. It’s located in the neighbourhood of Umhlanga Rocks, a very wealthy suburb of Durban. KwaZulu-Natal license plates all start with the letter N followed by a one or two letter code for which city the car is registered in. The way our van driver, S’du, taught us to find the “rich people” was look for NUR… as in Natal-Umhlanga Rocks or Now U R Rich! There was definitely no shortage of BMWs and mansions around the mall…
The mall was definitely gigantic, and even though we didn’t do any shopping we had a great time. We got some lunch, checked out the world’s largest indoor climbing wall, and went right outside to the “Wave House”, basically a water park deal where they recreate surfing waves for surfers and body boarders to practice on (it was essentially a super-sized version of the ones you see on cruise ships). We ended up spending an hour or so just watching all the guys on the waves… some were REALLY good, others not so much.
The ride home was a little more eventful, as our minibus taxi broke down on the side of the highway and we had to transfer to another one, but we made it back safe just fine. That night, we headed out to the AmaZulu-Kaiser Chiefs game at Moses Mabhida Stadium. The Chiefs are one of the most popular teams in South Africa, so there were tons of people there and seeing a game under the lights was awesome. We decided that AmaZulu was kinda boring and not very good, so our allegiances switched over to the Chiefs pretty fast. Good thing too, because they won 2-0!
Sunday and Monday were spent paper writing, so Tuesday after we turned it in we decided to go out and celebrate our last night in the penthouse. We went to the harbor for the first time (the busiest port in Africa) and had some dinner right on the water. It was an awesome last night :)
We woke up really early on Wednesday to pack up, head to the house to drop off our extra baggage, and me, Sally and Shuang headed off to Eshowe! It was a pretty short drive, and we got to our B&B around 11. The woman who owns it is super nice, and she makes all of our meals for us. Theres two younger guys who live here year round, and they were both really welcoming and friendly. After we dropped our things off we headed to the hospital, about a 20 minute walk from our B&B. We didn’t mind though, because Eshowe is beautiful! It’s a little strange, because we haven’t been anywhere like this in South Africa yet. Durban is a large city, and all of our rural stays were out in the middle of nowhere, but Eshowe is somewhere in between. I love it though, and it’s kind of like a South Africa version of Hebron.
We met the Medical Manager, who was really nice, and gave us a tour of the hospital. It’s definitely different than American hospitals, but pretty similar to the hospitals we’ve visited so far here. We headed back around 4 and spent the evening relaxing.
This morning we got to the hospital in time for the 7:30 doctors meeting, and then I went up to the labour ward and essentially walked into a delivery! Unfortunately the chaos was a little confusing for everyone and I didn’t get to go in, but I will be seeing plenty in the next few weeks.
The rest of the day was spent talking to nurses and roaming around the hospital- we’re still trying to get a feel of where we should be going and what we should be doing. We headed home around 2:30 in a torrential downpour so now we’re just hanging out warming up and drying out. I’m definitely excited for the next few weeks!
This is the first time I’ll have super reliable internet since I’ve been here- which means lots of blog posts!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Pre-ISP
Sorry for the lack of posting- not too much to report! I've been keeping busy with classes and assignments- both our huge Community Health paper and our proposals for our Independent Study Project are due soon. We've been having lectures everyday from 8-4 which can get a little tedious at times but definitely a nice break after a few weeks of craziness.
I just confirmed yesterday where I'm going for my project- Eshowe Hospital! I'll be looking at the steps the hospital is taking to prevent maternal mortality through labor and delivery practices. I'll be on the maternity floor every day, and I'm very excited!
Outside of school, we've been thoroughly enjoying our penthouse apartment. It's incredible, and I love waking up to sunrises over the Indian Ocean!
I'll be leaving for the hospital next Thursday, and in the meantime it's just class and assignments, but I'll keep you updated on any new and exciting things :)
I just confirmed yesterday where I'm going for my project- Eshowe Hospital! I'll be looking at the steps the hospital is taking to prevent maternal mortality through labor and delivery practices. I'll be on the maternity floor every day, and I'm very excited!
Outside of school, we've been thoroughly enjoying our penthouse apartment. It's incredible, and I love waking up to sunrises over the Indian Ocean!
I'll be leaving for the hospital next Thursday, and in the meantime it's just class and assignments, but I'll keep you updated on any new and exciting things :)
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Rural week and Drakensberg!
Hello everyone!
I made it through our rural adventure! It was definitely an amazing week, and got better every day. Here’s a little summary of what happened:
Monday
We moved out of Cato early Monday morning- it was a little sad but I was ready to move out. It gets pretty tiring being a guest in someone’s house for over a month. We drove about an hour and a half north to Amatikulu/Wangu and spent the morning listening about Community Health Workers. We then had a quick lunch at Steers (SA’s McDonald’s equivalent) and then drove all over Wangu to our homestays. My friend Alexa and I were the last ones to be dropped off, so we spent 2 hours in the van while everyone else got to their homestays- all of the houses were about 20 minutes apart. Our home was definitely the most rural of all the ones I’ve been in- it had just 3 tiny rooms with 7 people living in it! Our mama lived there with her two sons, Mthoko (11), and Bongani (7), and her two nieces, Noxolo (12), and Anele (6). Noxolo and Anele’s parents had both died five years ago, and lived permanently with our mama. There were also 3 other kids that spent the night with us, Banele (3), Nonto (3), and Wandile (4). Needless to say, it was pretty crowded! That night, we all packed into the bedroom that had three beds, and we ended up sharing one with Anele (and quickly found out that she punches in her sleep….). Here's a picture of our house:
Tuesday
We woke up around 5:30 on Tuesday morning; everyone else was getting up and since we were all in the same room, that means we got up too. After the kids headed off to school, we went with mama to visit some houses in the community. We visited all kinds of people with all kids of ailments- from arthritis to TB to diabetes. The last woman had to have her leg amputated from diabetes and had a large necrotic patch on her other foot. Unfortunately, there weren’t too many people to see that day, so we ended up heading back to the house around 11. Since it was pretty rainy and gross out, me and Alexa ended up spending the rest of the day in the house and got bored pretty quickly. Although we had electricity and a TV, we didn’t want to waste it so we spent most of the day reading in bed. I’ve already made it though 5 books since I’ve been here- we’ll see how many I get through by December! After the kids got home it was a little bit more entertaining, but we were both ready for the day to be over.
Wednesday
We got picked up in the morning and headed straight to Umthwalume, about 45 minutes south of Durban right on the coast. We first visited a school, which was absolutely amazing. They were very focused on teaching life skills, and incorporated gardening and recycling projects into their lessons. They were all so welcoming and we all wanted to go back! In the afternoon, we visited a Love Life center. Love Life was started in 1999, and was South Africa’s largest HIV/AIDS prevention program in the country. It targets teenagers, and has a range of programs and centers focused on improving their lives and keeping them from contracting HIV/AIDS. Apparently a few years back, Love Life was a huge presence in SA, but due to lack of funding, their impact has dropped a little bit. We were all a little unimpressed at the current state of this center, but could tell the impact it must have had in the past ten years. We then were dropped off at our homestays, and it was by far my favourite one yet. Our family was super welcoming and fun, and spoke great English which made communication a whole lot easier. My friend Sally and I spent the evening hanging out with the family (which included 4 aunts, an uncle, a gogo, and 5 kids) and watching Rhythm City and Generations (the soapies of choice for most Zulu families).
Kids in front of Bongibizo school:
Thursday
Our first stop of the day was visiting another traditional healer, which was pretty much the same as the other ones we’ve seen. We were all a little anxious for the rest of the day- it was definitely the most fun rural day we’ve had. For lunch, we went to a restaurant right on the beach, and got to spend a few hours taking pictures and hanging out. Even though it was super windy, we were all so happy that it wasn’t raining for once! We then went to an arts center, and learned how to do Zulu beading! Zulu beads are HUGE here, every Zulu woman has lots of necklaces, bracelets, belts, and skirts worn for traditional events, and we’ve all been stocking up at the little markets around Durban. At the center, we were taught how to make AIDS ribbon pins, and even though they were pretty small, it took us about 3 hours to make. Everyone was teasing me about my camp counselor arts and crafts skills, and challenged me to finish first. I’m proud to say that I upheld my title . We headed back that afternoon and had another fun and relaxing evening and got ready to head to the Drakensberg the next day!
Me and Sally's family in Umthwalume:
Friday
Before heading north, we stopped by at a TB hospital- I’m not too interested in TB, but it was interesting to see. We then had a 4 hour drive inland to Underberg, and then another short drive to Cobham, where our campsite was. Because it was pretty rainy, most of us chose to sleep in the hut that was right next to our site, it had tons of bunk beds and even a flushing toilet (but no electricity…). There was still a little sun when we first got there, so we got to see our beautiful surroundings. I’ve seen lots of mountains in my life, but these were by far the coolest and most epic ones. We spent the rest of the day hanging out, making some dinner, and got to bed early for our big hike the next day.
Saturday
We were all a little nervous for our big hike… we were told that it was rare the whole group made it to the top! The first hour of the hike was completely flat and followed along a stream- and because there were very few trees, we had amazing views the whole way. After the first hour, we started heading up. I’m not exaggerating when I say that this was the hardest hike that most of us had ever been on. It was incredibly steep, but luckily the view was incredible. A few of us (including me) were feeling the altitude, and had to take a pretty long break before we didn’t feel so dizzy. Luckily, it was easy to continue at our own pace so we ended up splitting up. After what seemed like an endless climb, we finally reached the bushman paintings almost at the top. Even though they were only a few hundred years old, they were still pretty cool! After that, the trail seemed to end, and we couldn’t see the rest of the group, so we kind of had to figure out our own way to the top. My friend Kelsey and I thought we found a relatively easy way, until we were trying to traverse a near vertical drop to get to the top. It was pretty scary, and made me realize that I actually do have a fear of heights…. We finally reached the top, but had to scale a rock face (and almost died again) to reach the rest of the group. It was definitely worth it when we got to the top! All of us made it up, and Zed, our director, was pretty impressed. Clouds looked to be rolling in, so we started heading down pretty quick, but luckily we got tons of pictures. By the time we got to the base our feet were killing and we were exhausted, but Zed pointed out a pool in the stream that we could swim in! It was pretty cold but super refreshing after our long hike, and we had an amazing time cooling off. We then had to walk the hour back to the site- a 6 hour hike in all! We were all sooo tired by the time we got back, and spent the afternoon relaxing and eating.
View from the top of the mountain!
Sunday
Today we packed up early and began the trip back to Durban. After stopping at the house quick to pick up our extra luggage, we got to move into our penthouse at Windemere! This definitely one of the nicest places I’ve ever lived- our apartment is HUGE and we even have DSTV (which means Sportscenter every morning!!). Right now, we’re all enjoying the view and laying in our own beds for the first time in a week.
This week was definitely an adventure, but I’m happy to be settled again. I’ll be here for another two and a half weeks before we start our project!
Also, I just added a TON of pictures to facebook, here's the link to the album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2070757&id=1084770080&l=efa4e94fe3
I made it through our rural adventure! It was definitely an amazing week, and got better every day. Here’s a little summary of what happened:
Monday
We moved out of Cato early Monday morning- it was a little sad but I was ready to move out. It gets pretty tiring being a guest in someone’s house for over a month. We drove about an hour and a half north to Amatikulu/Wangu and spent the morning listening about Community Health Workers. We then had a quick lunch at Steers (SA’s McDonald’s equivalent) and then drove all over Wangu to our homestays. My friend Alexa and I were the last ones to be dropped off, so we spent 2 hours in the van while everyone else got to their homestays- all of the houses were about 20 minutes apart. Our home was definitely the most rural of all the ones I’ve been in- it had just 3 tiny rooms with 7 people living in it! Our mama lived there with her two sons, Mthoko (11), and Bongani (7), and her two nieces, Noxolo (12), and Anele (6). Noxolo and Anele’s parents had both died five years ago, and lived permanently with our mama. There were also 3 other kids that spent the night with us, Banele (3), Nonto (3), and Wandile (4). Needless to say, it was pretty crowded! That night, we all packed into the bedroom that had three beds, and we ended up sharing one with Anele (and quickly found out that she punches in her sleep….). Here's a picture of our house:
Tuesday
We woke up around 5:30 on Tuesday morning; everyone else was getting up and since we were all in the same room, that means we got up too. After the kids headed off to school, we went with mama to visit some houses in the community. We visited all kinds of people with all kids of ailments- from arthritis to TB to diabetes. The last woman had to have her leg amputated from diabetes and had a large necrotic patch on her other foot. Unfortunately, there weren’t too many people to see that day, so we ended up heading back to the house around 11. Since it was pretty rainy and gross out, me and Alexa ended up spending the rest of the day in the house and got bored pretty quickly. Although we had electricity and a TV, we didn’t want to waste it so we spent most of the day reading in bed. I’ve already made it though 5 books since I’ve been here- we’ll see how many I get through by December! After the kids got home it was a little bit more entertaining, but we were both ready for the day to be over.
Wednesday
We got picked up in the morning and headed straight to Umthwalume, about 45 minutes south of Durban right on the coast. We first visited a school, which was absolutely amazing. They were very focused on teaching life skills, and incorporated gardening and recycling projects into their lessons. They were all so welcoming and we all wanted to go back! In the afternoon, we visited a Love Life center. Love Life was started in 1999, and was South Africa’s largest HIV/AIDS prevention program in the country. It targets teenagers, and has a range of programs and centers focused on improving their lives and keeping them from contracting HIV/AIDS. Apparently a few years back, Love Life was a huge presence in SA, but due to lack of funding, their impact has dropped a little bit. We were all a little unimpressed at the current state of this center, but could tell the impact it must have had in the past ten years. We then were dropped off at our homestays, and it was by far my favourite one yet. Our family was super welcoming and fun, and spoke great English which made communication a whole lot easier. My friend Sally and I spent the evening hanging out with the family (which included 4 aunts, an uncle, a gogo, and 5 kids) and watching Rhythm City and Generations (the soapies of choice for most Zulu families).
Kids in front of Bongibizo school:
Thursday
Our first stop of the day was visiting another traditional healer, which was pretty much the same as the other ones we’ve seen. We were all a little anxious for the rest of the day- it was definitely the most fun rural day we’ve had. For lunch, we went to a restaurant right on the beach, and got to spend a few hours taking pictures and hanging out. Even though it was super windy, we were all so happy that it wasn’t raining for once! We then went to an arts center, and learned how to do Zulu beading! Zulu beads are HUGE here, every Zulu woman has lots of necklaces, bracelets, belts, and skirts worn for traditional events, and we’ve all been stocking up at the little markets around Durban. At the center, we were taught how to make AIDS ribbon pins, and even though they were pretty small, it took us about 3 hours to make. Everyone was teasing me about my camp counselor arts and crafts skills, and challenged me to finish first. I’m proud to say that I upheld my title . We headed back that afternoon and had another fun and relaxing evening and got ready to head to the Drakensberg the next day!
Me and Sally's family in Umthwalume:
Friday
Before heading north, we stopped by at a TB hospital- I’m not too interested in TB, but it was interesting to see. We then had a 4 hour drive inland to Underberg, and then another short drive to Cobham, where our campsite was. Because it was pretty rainy, most of us chose to sleep in the hut that was right next to our site, it had tons of bunk beds and even a flushing toilet (but no electricity…). There was still a little sun when we first got there, so we got to see our beautiful surroundings. I’ve seen lots of mountains in my life, but these were by far the coolest and most epic ones. We spent the rest of the day hanging out, making some dinner, and got to bed early for our big hike the next day.
Saturday
We were all a little nervous for our big hike… we were told that it was rare the whole group made it to the top! The first hour of the hike was completely flat and followed along a stream- and because there were very few trees, we had amazing views the whole way. After the first hour, we started heading up. I’m not exaggerating when I say that this was the hardest hike that most of us had ever been on. It was incredibly steep, but luckily the view was incredible. A few of us (including me) were feeling the altitude, and had to take a pretty long break before we didn’t feel so dizzy. Luckily, it was easy to continue at our own pace so we ended up splitting up. After what seemed like an endless climb, we finally reached the bushman paintings almost at the top. Even though they were only a few hundred years old, they were still pretty cool! After that, the trail seemed to end, and we couldn’t see the rest of the group, so we kind of had to figure out our own way to the top. My friend Kelsey and I thought we found a relatively easy way, until we were trying to traverse a near vertical drop to get to the top. It was pretty scary, and made me realize that I actually do have a fear of heights…. We finally reached the top, but had to scale a rock face (and almost died again) to reach the rest of the group. It was definitely worth it when we got to the top! All of us made it up, and Zed, our director, was pretty impressed. Clouds looked to be rolling in, so we started heading down pretty quick, but luckily we got tons of pictures. By the time we got to the base our feet were killing and we were exhausted, but Zed pointed out a pool in the stream that we could swim in! It was pretty cold but super refreshing after our long hike, and we had an amazing time cooling off. We then had to walk the hour back to the site- a 6 hour hike in all! We were all sooo tired by the time we got back, and spent the afternoon relaxing and eating.
View from the top of the mountain!
Sunday
Today we packed up early and began the trip back to Durban. After stopping at the house quick to pick up our extra luggage, we got to move into our penthouse at Windemere! This definitely one of the nicest places I’ve ever lived- our apartment is HUGE and we even have DSTV (which means Sportscenter every morning!!). Right now, we’re all enjoying the view and laying in our own beds for the first time in a week.
This week was definitely an adventure, but I’m happy to be settled again. I’ll be here for another two and a half weeks before we start our project!
Also, I just added a TON of pictures to facebook, here's the link to the album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2070757&id=1084770080&l=efa4e94fe3
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Rest of Red Cross
I’m writing to you from my bedroom in Cato Manor for the last time! Sadly, I’m moving out tomorrow morning, and while I’m excited to start the rest of the semester, I’m definitely sad to be leaving my homestay family.
The rest of the week was relatively uneventful, we spent every day at the Red Cross and we all passed our First Aid test on Friday morning. The class was definitely an experience, and I’m not sure I’ll take a ton away from it (considering they told us that under no circumstances were we to feel for a pulse, which pretty much goes against everything I’ve ever been told in the States), but it was a lot of fun and now I’m level 2 certified!
We finished up early on Friday, and decided to go to the beach for a few hours before heading back to the house. Durban installed a new bus system before the World Cup, which is clean, relatively reliable, and much safer than minibus taxis, and only costs R10 for a day pass (about $1.50). I’m definitely getting used to spending lots of time on the beach- I’ve been more in the past 6 weeks than I have in the past 6 years! I also just found out that I’ll be living in the penthouse apartment of Windemere (where we stayed a few weeks back) for my pre-project time, and I’m incredibly excited. It’ll only be about $18 a night- definitely a deal!
Yesterday I spent a little time at the mall buying some goodbye gifts and getting stuff to make dinner that night. Having grocery stores in the mall is super convenient- something I’m going to miss when I get back to the States. Without a working oven I was a little limited in what I could cook, but I made some delicious pasta and garlic bread for my family, which they loved.
Today I’ve been busy packing and writing essays in preparation to move out tomorrow morning. Next week is going to be pretty crazy- we’ll be rural all week finishing with camping and hiking in the Drakensberg! I’ll be in the village of Amatikulu on the North Coast until Wednesday morning, then the village of Umthwalume south of Durban on the coast until Friday, before heading to the Drakensberg. I’ll probably be going a solid week or so with no running water- we’ll see how it goes!
I won’t have any internet access for a while- but expect a long update when I get back!
The rest of the week was relatively uneventful, we spent every day at the Red Cross and we all passed our First Aid test on Friday morning. The class was definitely an experience, and I’m not sure I’ll take a ton away from it (considering they told us that under no circumstances were we to feel for a pulse, which pretty much goes against everything I’ve ever been told in the States), but it was a lot of fun and now I’m level 2 certified!
We finished up early on Friday, and decided to go to the beach for a few hours before heading back to the house. Durban installed a new bus system before the World Cup, which is clean, relatively reliable, and much safer than minibus taxis, and only costs R10 for a day pass (about $1.50). I’m definitely getting used to spending lots of time on the beach- I’ve been more in the past 6 weeks than I have in the past 6 years! I also just found out that I’ll be living in the penthouse apartment of Windemere (where we stayed a few weeks back) for my pre-project time, and I’m incredibly excited. It’ll only be about $18 a night- definitely a deal!
Yesterday I spent a little time at the mall buying some goodbye gifts and getting stuff to make dinner that night. Having grocery stores in the mall is super convenient- something I’m going to miss when I get back to the States. Without a working oven I was a little limited in what I could cook, but I made some delicious pasta and garlic bread for my family, which they loved.
Today I’ve been busy packing and writing essays in preparation to move out tomorrow morning. Next week is going to be pretty crazy- we’ll be rural all week finishing with camping and hiking in the Drakensberg! I’ll be in the village of Amatikulu on the North Coast until Wednesday morning, then the village of Umthwalume south of Durban on the coast until Friday, before heading to the Drakensberg. I’ll probably be going a solid week or so with no running water- we’ll see how it goes!
I won’t have any internet access for a while- but expect a long update when I get back!
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