Holy last week!
I had to make notes to even know what to say, so much has happened!
Let us first begin with the bus ride journey.
So last Tuesday after getting the ok to start training I was headed to Mwaya.
I got my stuff all packed and waited on the porch waiting for my taxi.
A random driver came and asked if I was going to the bus station.
So I just got in.
Another girl was also going to the bus station, it turned out she was a previous RIPPLE volunteer.
I have never been so lucky!
Because I had no idea what the hell I was doing.
And Lauren was also getting on the same bus I was!
So off we went together.
We went to wait for the bus, I was so worried I would be late (I was a rookie to Africa still at this point).
No bus.
We waited for about an hour and a half.
During this time many buses came and went.
At one point Lauren went to go get some breakfast, as soon as she left I was sure a bus was going to run the bags over.
I started yelling for people to help me, they tried but obviously did not know what I was so distressed about.
Oh of course the bus was going to miss the bags by two inches.
I should have known this, it missed my ass by two inches just minutes earlier.
Well finally after waiting and many more people came, the bus had arrived.
Lauren and I had a plan.
I would get on the bus and get a seat while she would deal with the bags.
The funny things I have learned about the culture here is,
no they are never on time but when they get there, they will push and shove their way to get to where they are going.
Well I fought the best I could.
Of course some men had already grabbed our bags and got us a seat.
Bruised shins and a few hundred kwacha (for the helpers) we were off.
Or so I hoped.
The bus stalled four times just in the parking lot after we finally left at 10:30 (I arrived at the bus station at 7).
I almost cried, all I wanted to do was start moving.
Finally we did.
The bus had every seat full, plus all the standing people that could fit, some chickens, dead fish, and much more.
It smelled great!
At least it was not too hot, I would have died.
Finally around 7pm I had made it to Mwaya.
I was greeted at the roadblock by an employee of RIPPLE.
The poor guy struggled with my one bag.
We walked a mile and a half with the luggage, I had to keep reminding myself I would only do this once.
Then I was finally there!
I ate dinner, had a couple of drinks, and then headed off to bed.
The next day I woke up around 6:15 and went for a run on the beach with Mike another volunteer.
It was so windy and not easy since I have not been running.
Also running barefoot in the sand gave me huge blisters.
I think my feet need some time to get tougher.
I'm looking forward to more morning runs though.
Then I headed off with Jimmy the preschool director.
He showed me around the many places that RIPPLE is involved in.
To get everywhere we cycle, I am learning to cycle in a skirt.
I keep hoping it does not get caught in the chain and leaves me half naked.
One of the places we went to was a preschool.
The kids of course were adorable, I was also very impressed with their English and counting skills.
I taught them, "I'm a Little Teapot."
They loved it!
Jimmy told me that I need to be a preschool teacher, I will definitely consider it!
 |
| I know this one is blurry, but I love the expression. What a sassy little thing. |
I also went to primary and secondary schools and introduced myself to lots of students.
I guess there is some singer in Malawi who is also named Kendall.
So they all remember my name, I hear shouting every time I cycle past the schools now.
I went to health clinics, one which I was taken to on a motorcycle.
And also to the tree nursery where I was quizzed about every plant.
All along the way I met so many people!
I am definitely trying my best to learn names, as you can imagine it is not going super well.
I spent one morning in the Kande health clinic.
I did a little bit of wound care and then a lot of parachecks, this is the test they do for malaria.
Everyone I tested was positive.
I'm hoping my doxycycline does it's job!
I was overwhelmed by the lack of supplies.
There is no tape, no alcohol swabs, no paper towels, and I was told to only change my gloves after every five patients if they did not look dirty.
I spent another morning in the under five clinic.
We had to make quite the trek to get there.
I definitely should have worked on my mountain biking skills before I came.
I thought many times I was going to be flying over the handle bars.
The clinic was awesome.
The women all come with their little kids.
While they are waiting to be seen they sing.
The singing is so beautiful.
The women all holding their babies were just singing songs as powerfully as I have ever heard anyone sing.
I was given the job of weighing the babies.
We have a hanging scale and use the mother's wraps to hang the babies from it, or the older ones hold one.
Of course as many children would be, they were scared shitless of the white girl putting them on a hook.
It is a good thing screaming and flailing kids do not phase me.
We got done fast, I believe I weighed about 100 kids.
Some of the mothers at the end were being super pushy and grabbing the hook out of my hands and trying to put their sling on.
After holding so many kids covered in old pee (they do not usually have diapers) I was not having it.
I said in the voice all of my coworkers have heard, "hold on a minute."
They did not know what I said, but they laughed and knew what I meant, and it did the trick.
Friday night came, and we were all drinking and playing cards.
Mike and I decided to walk to Kande Beach.
He had told me about Kande many times.
So I agreed to go.
After the four mile walk we were finally there.
We played some foosball and drank.
Around two in the morning we sat on the beach deciding what we should do.
Four miles to walk back seemed like a very long way.
But I was cold so we started the journey back.
A couple of dogs that live at Kande started to follow us.
We thought no way will they come the whole way.
Mike thought when we cross the river they will turn back.
We crossed the river and I hear a loud splash and turned around, they had crossed with us.
They came all the way back to camp and apparently stayed there over night.
Susie, the volunteer manager is not a fan of dogs, and these dogs are very large.
Well they woke Mike up and made him walk them back.
He texted me to tell me he was going to just kill them so he did not have to walk all the way back again.
Yeah he lied and walked all the way back, apparently he picked up a couple of following children on the way.
Later that day the whole group went to Kande.
We watched rugby, ate, drank, ate, read poetry and a hilarious letter, drank, danced, and took lots of shots.
It was quite the night.
The next day some of us went to Mukuzi where we ate massive amounts of food and took naps on the beach.
That night we were all in bed by 7.
Monday morning Mike and I headed up to Mzuzu.
He needed to use the internet this week and I was starting training.
I got very lucky and met Hessen at Kande, he is a guy who has been living in Mzuzu for two years.
He has met a lot of the group before and he agreed to let me stay with him for free for the month.
I do not think I could get any luckier!
We headed off to the hospital, Mike very kindly dragged my bag and went with me everywhere.
The woman said that I could start as soon as I got a uniform.
I said, "Great! Where do I buy one?"
She replied, "You go to a tailor."
Me, "What?"
She showed me a photo of what Mike said were googled images of nurses and that is how they came to the conclusion of the uniform.
I needed a white top with navy pants and black leather shoes.
Luckily I have one pair of navy scrub pants.
So we set off with the badly colored photo copy of the uniform (which I was told to return!!!!!) and went searching.
Turns out white fabric is not easy to find.
I was ready to give up, but Mike would not let me.
We finally walked in a shop and they had a roll of white fabric, it pretty much felt like flag or banner material.
I said I did not care, we were getting it.
I also bought the blue fabric for the details, I knew it was not navy but I was over it.
So then we went to the tailor.
He took my measurements and told me to come back in three hours.
We went off to find shoes, I kept saying I did not care and just wanted a drink but Mike made me do it.
I broke the rules and bought little black tennis shoes, I did not want to wear leather.
Then we went off to A1 the Indian restaurant for some "snacks".
Well after we ordered four appetizers we waddled our way out of there and went to the tailor.
The material we gave him looked like a uniform!
I was impressed (I am no longer impressed though because I have worn the top for two days and my armpit has a massive hole and the bottom button popped off, I think he forgot to account for the fact that my ass is much larger than my middle).
We finally headed to where we were staying and I introduced Mike to "Girls."
After he demanded we watch the whole season, which equals six hours of tv, we went to bed.
I got in bed and Mike comes in and asks if I am going to get out my sleeping bag (there are no blankets).
I laughed and said I did not have one.
Well I froze half to death.
During the middle of the night I got in my bag and put on more clothes.
The next night I was more prepared.
I made Mike sleep in the bed while I took the mattress on the floor, to avoid the draft from the window.
I also layered all of my clothes and found sheets to put over me.
Oh that one is just a pillow case?
Well it went on my feet.
When I went back to the hospital the nursing officer was so shocked that I had a uniform made so quickly.
I asked if I looked ok.
She said, "The blues do not match." while laughing.
I texted Mike to tell him of our success, he said the blues not matching was the least of my problems.
Now I have finished my second day of ER orientation.
I am going to do another post on life in the ER, I do not think everyone wants to hear all of the gruesome stuff!
Sorry for the long and rambling post!
So much has happened!
I will be going back to Mwaya on Friday for the weekend.
If nothing else just to get a pillow and blanket!
I also think I can really repack my bags and enjoy the warmer weather.
I will be back to Mzuzu and be here for the next three weeks to finish up my orientation.
From what I have seen already it is going to be an interesting few weeks!
If anyone so wishes to send packages or letters I would be so happy!
My address is:
Ripple Africa
c/o Mwaya Beach
P.O Box 75
Chintheche
Nkhata Bay District
Malawi
My wish list for the clinics are:
tape,
alcohol swabs,
any dressing supplies,
bottles of sterile water or fluids (this may be too heavy),
children's medicine,
pretty much anything that can be sent would be used!
My wish list for myself is;
Girls Season 2 for my bday (Mike said this needed to be at the top of the list)
beef jerky,
tuna,
macaroni and cheese,
any magazines or books,
any snack items.
I do not really feel that I am lacking much yet,
being in Mzuzu we are eating out all the time and I am getting meat and cheese.
I know that this will change.
I do really miss Rosie and my bed.
My dad told me Rosie lies on the driveway a lot and he thinks she is waiting for me to come home.
This makes me very sad!
There are some challenges here but so many moments that outweigh all of the challenges.
I'm ready to feel like I have learned enough to start trying to make a difference.
I think that is the biggest challenge here.
There are so many ways I can help temporarily but how can I make things change for good?
It will be interesting to see how these two years turn out!
I spent another morning in the under five clinic.
We had to make quite the trek to get there.
I definitely should have worked on my mountain biking skills before I came.
I thought many times I was going to be flying over the handle bars.
The clinic was awesome.
The women all come with their little kids.
While they are waiting to be seen they sing.
The singing is so beautiful.
The women all holding their babies were just singing songs as powerfully as I have ever heard anyone sing.
I was given the job of weighing the babies.
We have a hanging scale and use the mother's wraps to hang the babies from it, or the older ones hold one.
Of course as many children would be, they were scared shitless of the white girl putting them on a hook.
It is a good thing screaming and flailing kids do not phase me.
We got done fast, I believe I weighed about 100 kids.
Some of the mothers at the end were being super pushy and grabbing the hook out of my hands and trying to put their sling on.
After holding so many kids covered in old pee (they do not usually have diapers) I was not having it.
I said in the voice all of my coworkers have heard, "hold on a minute."
They did not know what I said, but they laughed and knew what I meant, and it did the trick.
Friday night came, and we were all drinking and playing cards.
Mike and I decided to walk to Kande Beach.
He had told me about Kande many times.
So I agreed to go.
After the four mile walk we were finally there.
We played some foosball and drank.
Around two in the morning we sat on the beach deciding what we should do.
Four miles to walk back seemed like a very long way.
But I was cold so we started the journey back.
A couple of dogs that live at Kande started to follow us.
We thought no way will they come the whole way.
Mike thought when we cross the river they will turn back.
We crossed the river and I hear a loud splash and turned around, they had crossed with us.
They came all the way back to camp and apparently stayed there over night.
Susie, the volunteer manager is not a fan of dogs, and these dogs are very large.
Well they woke Mike up and made him walk them back.
He texted me to tell me he was going to just kill them so he did not have to walk all the way back again.
Yeah he lied and walked all the way back, apparently he picked up a couple of following children on the way.
Later that day the whole group went to Kande.
We watched rugby, ate, drank, ate, read poetry and a hilarious letter, drank, danced, and took lots of shots.
It was quite the night.
The next day some of us went to Mukuzi where we ate massive amounts of food and took naps on the beach.
That night we were all in bed by 7.
Monday morning Mike and I headed up to Mzuzu.
He needed to use the internet this week and I was starting training.
I got very lucky and met Hessen at Kande, he is a guy who has been living in Mzuzu for two years.
He has met a lot of the group before and he agreed to let me stay with him for free for the month.
I do not think I could get any luckier!
We headed off to the hospital, Mike very kindly dragged my bag and went with me everywhere.
The woman said that I could start as soon as I got a uniform.
I said, "Great! Where do I buy one?"
She replied, "You go to a tailor."
Me, "What?"
She showed me a photo of what Mike said were googled images of nurses and that is how they came to the conclusion of the uniform.
I needed a white top with navy pants and black leather shoes.
Luckily I have one pair of navy scrub pants.
So we set off with the badly colored photo copy of the uniform (which I was told to return!!!!!) and went searching.
Turns out white fabric is not easy to find.
I was ready to give up, but Mike would not let me.
We finally walked in a shop and they had a roll of white fabric, it pretty much felt like flag or banner material.
I said I did not care, we were getting it.
I also bought the blue fabric for the details, I knew it was not navy but I was over it.
So then we went to the tailor.
He took my measurements and told me to come back in three hours.
We went off to find shoes, I kept saying I did not care and just wanted a drink but Mike made me do it.
I broke the rules and bought little black tennis shoes, I did not want to wear leather.
Then we went off to A1 the Indian restaurant for some "snacks".
Well after we ordered four appetizers we waddled our way out of there and went to the tailor.
The material we gave him looked like a uniform!
I was impressed (I am no longer impressed though because I have worn the top for two days and my armpit has a massive hole and the bottom button popped off, I think he forgot to account for the fact that my ass is much larger than my middle).
We finally headed to where we were staying and I introduced Mike to "Girls."
After he demanded we watch the whole season, which equals six hours of tv, we went to bed.
I got in bed and Mike comes in and asks if I am going to get out my sleeping bag (there are no blankets).
I laughed and said I did not have one.
Well I froze half to death.
During the middle of the night I got in my bag and put on more clothes.
The next night I was more prepared.
I made Mike sleep in the bed while I took the mattress on the floor, to avoid the draft from the window.
I also layered all of my clothes and found sheets to put over me.
Oh that one is just a pillow case?
Well it went on my feet.
When I went back to the hospital the nursing officer was so shocked that I had a uniform made so quickly.
I asked if I looked ok.
She said, "The blues do not match." while laughing.
I texted Mike to tell him of our success, he said the blues not matching was the least of my problems.
Now I have finished my second day of ER orientation.
I am going to do another post on life in the ER, I do not think everyone wants to hear all of the gruesome stuff!
Sorry for the long and rambling post!
So much has happened!
I will be going back to Mwaya on Friday for the weekend.
If nothing else just to get a pillow and blanket!
I also think I can really repack my bags and enjoy the warmer weather.
I will be back to Mzuzu and be here for the next three weeks to finish up my orientation.
From what I have seen already it is going to be an interesting few weeks!
If anyone so wishes to send packages or letters I would be so happy!
My address is:
Ripple Africa
c/o Mwaya Beach
P.O Box 75
Chintheche
Nkhata Bay District
Malawi
My wish list for the clinics are:
tape,
alcohol swabs,
any dressing supplies,
bottles of sterile water or fluids (this may be too heavy),
children's medicine,
pretty much anything that can be sent would be used!
My wish list for myself is;
Girls Season 2 for my bday (Mike said this needed to be at the top of the list)
beef jerky,
tuna,
macaroni and cheese,
any magazines or books,
any snack items.
I do not really feel that I am lacking much yet,
being in Mzuzu we are eating out all the time and I am getting meat and cheese.
I know that this will change.
I do really miss Rosie and my bed.
My dad told me Rosie lies on the driveway a lot and he thinks she is waiting for me to come home.
This makes me very sad!
There are some challenges here but so many moments that outweigh all of the challenges.
I'm ready to feel like I have learned enough to start trying to make a difference.
I think that is the biggest challenge here.
There are so many ways I can help temporarily but how can I make things change for good?
It will be interesting to see how these two years turn out!
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