I am one that enjoys being busy so sitting around and not
putting my time to good use can be difficult. That is why I am so glad that I
have found good work to do. With the next school semester starting on Monday,
September 7th I have been starting to plan out my lessons. There will be 38
lessons in all. It's quite a lot (at least I think so) but I enjoy planning
them because I learn and refresh my biology knowledge when doing so. I have
planned my lessons on homeostasis and will be working on the health/disease and
nervous system sections this next week. I tend to plan a few lessons each day
in the morning hours.
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| Helping test for malaria. |
After lunch, I head to the medical clinic with Chiara and
Francesca to see members of the village. Even though we are no doctors we are
able to help the villagers and give Violet, the women in charge of the clinic,
a lot of helpful advice. We work at the clinic until dinner. After dinner we
all get together and hangout.
I have also been learning a lot from helping out at the
clinic. I have learned how to check blood pressure, the thorax, the pulse and
the different sounds the heart makes, blood sugar, when to use antibiotics, and
how to check a patient for malaria. I thoroughly enjoy learning medical
techniques. On Monday I was able to test a small boy for malaria. He came in
with symptoms that pointed to malaria, but after taking a sample of his blood
and combining it with a malaria antigen I found out that it was not malaria. A
major problem with working at a clinic in a village is that there isn't much we
can do to help people. One of the ways they treat a snake bite is by placing a
certain rock on the wound and having it draw out the venom (If that is
confusing to you then you know how I feel. I am not quite sure how it works/if
it works either). Furthermore, they do not have many kinds of medication or
knowledge on how to administer or help the people. When someone comes in with a
serious problem (broken bone, possible disease, etc.) we have to refer them to
the hospital that is 45 km away and even that may not have what they need to
get better. It is a super sad thing to witness and have to tell people.
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| A negative malaria test. |
We do have antibiotics in storage (amoxicillin and
penicillin as well as ibuprofen, cough syrup, and anti-malaria drugs) but some
of our patients have viruses rather than infections do to bacteria. Therefore,
the medications do nothing. This is a major problem that we are trying to fix
right now. The women who runs the clinic gives out antibiotics like they are
candy. This has many drawbacks. Three of them are:
1. Antibiotics are supposed to only be used for infections
that are caused by bacteria. A virus will not be affected by antibiotics.
2. If used too frequently, the bacteria can build up
resistance to the drugs and render them useless when they are really needed.
3. They need to be prescribed for at least a week to be
effective. Many times the clinic manager only prescribes them for three days.
Teaching when to use certain medications, the symptoms of
certain illnesses, as well as some medical techniques (checking the heart beat
with a stethoscope, checking blood pressure, etc.) are some things the women
and I focus on doing. Of course, the best part is when we are able to help a
patient, but the other stuff is great as well because we know each day the
clinic is getting a little better.
On August 10th there was a meteor shower that we
went and watched. The Italians told me that it is a tradition in Italy to watch
for shooting stars on the 10th of August. It was a beautiful night
and because we hiked up the hill behind the monastery we were able to see the
stars and Milky Way very well. We spent some time looking for the North Star
before realizing our stupidity. Being that we are in the southern hemisphere we
do not see the same part of the sky that we would in Minnesota. Nonetheless, it
was nice to take time to admire something we all take for granted far too
often.
As for some other things...
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| The book in the clinic. |
Zack and I seem to be getting use to the three simple meals
a day. We find ourselves getting fairly hungry right before meal, but it isn't
anything too terrible. I am sure we are starting to lose weight, though. Zack
brought a pair of pants that he said were tight fitting before coming to Africa
and when he put them on yesterday they seemed to be a bit loose. I am beginning
to take a multivitamin to counter the lack of nutrition.
The monks enjoy asking for help with computers. They do not
have many and the one's they do have are fairly old, but I try my best to help
anyways. Sometimes I am able to fix the issue and other times it is just too
difficult.
Miraculously, my skin has not burnt yet. I am sure you all
were wondering what an extremely white redheaded kid was doing in a country
directly below the equator, but I have been good so far (knock on wood).
Wearing a hat with a neck flap, sunglasses, sometimes a bandanna, and sunscreen
definitely help when in Africa.
When studying abroad in South Africa I became familiar with
Africa time. I can safely say it is in Zambia as well. For example, dinner is
set to be at 6:45pm, however some nights it is as early as 6:15pm and as late
at 7:00pm. The timing of things fluctuates regularly.
As for sleep, I receive plenty. I have never been so rested
in all my life. I actually find myself waking around 5:45am fully rested. I
usually read until it is time for breakfast. The two things that affect my
sleep here are the cold nights and the loud dogs that love to bark. The weather
here seems to mimic the desert a little. In the desert, there are cold nights
and very hot days. The sun makes all the difference. I am sure it will be hot
all around when summertime comes, but for now the nights actually can get
fairly chilly and the days very warm. Good thing Zack and I took the blanket they gave us on the plane. KLM is coming in clutch.
Many women in Zambia place their infants on their backs. You
can see many women carrying their children every day. Secondly, breastfeeding
is very common here. When speaking with a patient in the clinic she took her
child off her back and began breastfeeding while I was talking with her. I do
not find this rude or weird, just interesting. It is something I have not seen
much of back in the states.
Zack, Chiara, Francesca and I were able to find ourselves
some sugar cane to enjoy. Sugar cane looks like a big branch from a tree, but
once you break it into small chunks it becomes a nice snack. It takes just like
candy, obviously, and you just suck on it to draw out the juices/sugar. Then
you spit out the rest. It is very good.
Well, that's all for now. We are still trying to plan our
trip to Victoria Falls. Prior Inzota has been away from the monastery for about
a week. He is at a meeting in Tanzania. We want to ask him if it would be
alright if a monk were to accompany us on our trip. So once that is all cleared
we should be able to set some dates. I am thinking it will be the first week in
September. It will be right before school starts up and will give me ample time
to complete my lesson planning for the semester.
All is well here in Zambia. I hope the same is for you back
home. Thanks for reading!
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| Cool picture of Br. Paul teaching kids. |
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