Snapshots from the eyes and heart of the senior sister:

Fay with a future Zambian nurse/doctor (Tinky)

I have meant to write for some time, but organizing this experience has a way of taking time and patience. So...I begin with snapshots experienced throughout the last two weeks.

1. Thump of landing, doors open, and yes...the smell of rain, grass, some unidentified, exotic flower, added hints of decay, and warm air caresses us. We are here, Zambia welcomes with the unmistakable, smell of Africa.

2. Wide eyes, white faces, peering from behind carts filled with huge bags; the students arrive through immigration. One by one they see me as I wave and yell: welcome to Zambia, you made it! Smiles, relief, as we reunite and load the massive luggage on our friend Benji's flat bed truck.

Benji, Jessica and Fay on the way to pick up all the students from the airport

3. The bus depot in Lusaka: guys yelling, bags stacking up, music at top volume ( is that Kenny Rodgers?), smell of sweat, heat, cooking, garbage and diesel. And it is only 0730! Looking back on 24 students on the bus with ipods in, snacks out, yes we are on the way to Mongu. As we go through the park I hear: I think that is a wart hog? Wow, was that a monkey? Yes my dear ones, we are not in Kansas anymore!

4. The hospital tour: big eyes, tearful eyes, shock and some what am I doing here eyes. To me it feels like old home week...old friends and colleagues, smiles, hugs and handshakes. My eyes see trying and improvement; their eyes see where is my place, what can I do, how can this be?

5. Flashing smiles, wide eyed stares from small babies, crowding on the mini bus...handing children around like baggage as we crowd closer, the smell of perfume, powder and sweat as we stick to each other and bounce our way to work. Women with babes on their back, tomatoes, a chicken and some muffins accompany us on our way to work. No one complains and all have time to wish us good day.

6. Your loved ones, our students, interacting, comforting, showing strength, advocating, crying and coming back for more. Teaching, sharing knowledge, struggling to understand, gracious, loving to each other, supporting! All of you who had apart of their growing up should be so proud...they are wonderful nurses and ambassadors for our profession and our country.

7. Laughter, Mosi ( LOCAL BEER), talk of bugs, where they are, who has seen the biggest, and how we react to them...some intrepid ones are the protectors, some of us the scurriers and the screamers!

AND SO IT GOES, Africa takes us to her earth and teaches us. I thank my young colleagues, Jess Barker, Jess L. and Alex for being my support and strength, and I send love to all my friends, special kisses for Ally and Aasha and Jo.

Happy Trails, Fay Karp

Snaps from Mongu

Cramming into the Lewanika General Hospital bus upon arrival in Mongu

The TEAM! (at our house in Mongu)

The Zambezi floodplains right outside our front door

Makuwa!

At Oasis, the only restaurant in town...

In Difficult Times, you find your Inner Strength

                I’m not usually the type of person who publically shows their emotions, but there are times when something difficult happens and through journaling, blogging and talking with my fellow nursing students here in Zambia, am I able to help understand it and get through these difficult times.
                Yesterday was easily the hardest day of my entire nursing career and probably my own life. I have been working on post-partum with new mothers and babies these last few days and I have loved every minute of it. However yesterday was one of those difficult days in Africa, where no amount of lecturing, practice or education can emotionally prepare you for. When I came onto my shift in the morning there was a mom who delivered a new set of twins the night before. I immediately knew something was wrong just by looking at her. She was unresponsive to verbal and physical stimuli, grunting heavily while breathing and her eyes were fixed and dilated. She was actively convulsing and had been several times through the night. She must have bit her tongue during the seizure as she was bleeding from her mouth. The nurses said the Doctor was aware of her condition last night and did not appear to believe this to be urgent. However she was awake and talking last night and her blood pressure was now extremely dangerously high. I knew we had to get the Doctor ASAP so I did a quick assessment on her to give something to report to him. After running outside and grabbing my instructor we both went and found the Doctor. He came in and gave several IV medications and solutions and finally the convulsions stopped and her Blood Pressure decreased. I took on this patient one to one so the other nurse could look after the rest of the ward. They were short staffed so there was only another nurse and I working that morning.
                Several hours had past and the patient seemed to be doing better. She was still unresponsive and bleeding from the mouth, but her vitals were stable and she was breathing okay. My nurse went to go drop something off on another ward when my whole world turned upside down in a matter of minutes. I was sitting at the nursing station when I heard the patient having difficulty breathing. I went to check on her and her breathing was shallow and very slow. Since she had a pulse and was still breathing, I knew I had a little time to spare so I ran and searched the entire ward for an ambu bag so I could give her oxygen. There was nothing. I went back to her and bed and saw her take her last breath, no pulse could be found. I distinctively remember hearing only my own heartbeat at this time, it was pounding in my throat. I have to call a code and I am completely alone, in the middle of Africa. I jump on the bed and start compressions. Thankfully family was at the bedside so I yelled at them to get help. I don’t think they really understood what was happening. 5 minutes past, still no one. I yell for someone else to go get help. Another 5 minutes past. I remember being absolutely exhausted, drenched in sweat from doing compressions, but I couldn’t stop. I kept begging the mom, “come on, breath, you can do this.” But nothing. Finally after 15 agonizing minutes help arrives. I tell the nurses I need oxygen and ambu bag NOW. They come back with a tank of oxygen but there is no tubing, and the only ambu bag they have is for infants. My frustration is evident at this point, how on earth was this going to help me? But the infant bag is all we have so we have to work with it. The doctor runs in and I tell him everything that happened. He starts bagging her as I am doing compressions. He then tells me to stop as he listens for heart sounds. I remember hearing my own heart beat again as we wait. Longest 30 seconds of my life. Nothing. We start again. Then the Doctor tells me to stop, it is too late. My heart sinks into my stomach and I have to lean on the wall for support as I feel my knees begin to buckle underneath me. I am drenched in sweat, and trying not to choke on my own tears. I didn’t have it in me to tell the family she was gone. Now focus has shifted to the twins, how will they survive? Formula is hard to come by here and I wonder what there like will now be like. She was 22 with 3 other children at home. She was only a year older than me and her life is now over.
             After a restless night of replaying the situation in my head over and over again, and talking to my amazing peers and instructors, I am able to get through this difficult time. This was actually my first patient death in my whole nursing career. I had seen patients die before, but never my own patient, and never like this. Even in the most hear breaking experience, I have learned a lot about myself. I called my own code, by myself with no supplies in the middle of Africa. Although the outcome wasn’t successful I have to try to imagine what could have happened if I was not there, at least I fought with every inch of my being for her life, for those twins. Even on the most difficult day of my life, I still am so grateful I am here in Mongu.  I actually surprised myself yesterday; I didn’t know I had it in me. Like I said, in difficult times, you find your inner strength.
-Sam

Week 1 at the Hospital

We have just finished our third day at Lewanika General Hospital in Mongu. It has been a very eye-opening week so far. The male ward that we are on currently has 42 patients, and today there were only 2 nurses. The hospital is in very poor condition in comparison with those in Canada. We were surprised to find that due to the high volume of patients, many are lying on mattresses on the floor.
We have learned a lot from doing rounds with the Doctors and have had the opporunity to teach many Zambian nursing students some nursing skills. The students are very lively, always smiling, and reading to help when they can. They are always asking questions and are a huge help to nurses on the busy wards. Today the student were in class so the patients were under the care of 2 nurses and us. We had a busy day of dressing wounds, collecting blood, and doing assessments on many patients. We are definitely improving our skills in advocating for our patients, and helping doctors and nurses to provide care for their patients. We have realized just how different our healthcare system is, and how blessed we are to have it available.

It has been very hot here and we will never take air-conditioning for granted again. We will be happy to come home and not be constantly wet with perspiration, and bug spray. Also, we are trying to invent our new cologne: "ode to a mosquito".  Showers are cold here, no matter when you take them. 

The people in Mongu never cease to amaze us with their kindness. Whether its a hello on the street, or a smile from a hurting patient, the Zambians have made us feel more than welcome.

We are looking forward to a weekend at the safari lodge and hope to see many wild animals. The ones we are used to, spiders, beetles, mosquitos, cockroaches, crickets, and earwigs, are getting annoying. We have tried to get in touch with our bug-side, but so far we have been unsuccessful.

Rachel & Susie

Africa at First Glance

     It’s been just over one week since I’ve hit African soil. We spent two nights in Lusaka at the Cheshire Homes, then made our way to Mongu on the 18^th where our accommodations are beautiful. The sun is out shinning everyday which may make some of you back home a little jealous as I hear it’s been well below zero and lots of snow! Everyone (literally every person we pass by) is so welcoming and friendly and you are always greeted. I go to sleep hearing “Makuwa, how are you?!” because a minute does not go by when we aren’t hearing children say this as they’re running down the street after us. The sense of community and family is vibrant.
    I’m currently in the middle of my first week at the hospital. I am placed on maternity at present and happy that I am in my area of comfort for the first week. Although it’s only been a few days I’ve had many great experiences. I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of multiple deliveries each day, learn from the midwives and doctors, and experience the variation in healthcare. Although there are areas here that lack resources and technology that we have become so accustom to in Canada, the staff does incredible work with what they do have available. The patients I have worked with are gracious, appreciative and resilient.

   This Friday we leave for a two night Safari which I am very excited for! It’s about a 4 hour commute each way, but we will each have our own seat on the bus which will be nice for a change! Upon arrival to Zambia, we quickly learned that we don’t put as many people in a car as there are seatbelts, but rather as many as you can possible stack on top of each other. Good thing none of us have personal bubble issues!

    That’s all for now, hope all is going well back home! Sending all my love from Mongu to my friends and family:)

Natalie 

xo

Beginning of our journey!

Matozi to our friends and family back home! For those of you who dont know what that means it means Good Afternoon in Lozi! we started working at the hospital this week and if it didnt seem real before it sure does now!! Its been a longgg three days working on peds/physio (Kiran) and OPD/ER (Sonam) in the heat an with moments of no electricity. If you think it is hot back home in the summer try being here during the raining season, which apparently is suppose to be cooler... let me tell you it is definitely not cooler. The past few nights have been boiling hot where we have woken up in a sweat, and I dont think we will ever get used to it. On that note there are also alot of bugs here some of which we dont have back home which makes it even creepier. Although we miss everyone back home we will have to say were still not home sick yet, probably because we have already been living on our own for awhile now. Another reason why we might not feel home sick yet is because Africa reminds us alot of India, the dirt roads, mini grocery staals on the sides of the road, friendly people, and dont forget the very distinguished smell. Looking forward to our Safari this weekend and the next few weeks in the hospital or outreach clinics. We will blog as soon as we can again. See you in March :)

-Kiran and Sonam :) (Diaries from Zambia)

"Lozi Women Walk Tall"

During one of our first days here in Mongu, Sister Christina made the comment “When you travel Africa, and you see the way a certain woman walks, you know she is from Mongu. Losi women stand tall”. When I heard this, it didn’t entirely make sense, but it stuck with me. Yesterday, during my second day in the HIV clinic, it clicked, and I knew exactly what she meant with those words. The women here really do stand tall with an unbreakable pride and poise. I first noticed this with a little girl who came through my line up to get her vitals and weight taken. She was just 9 years old, with a clean card. All of the patient history cards I saw that day were folded and tattered, with numbers and dates written all over, but hers was new. I started writing the date on her clean, unfolded sheet when it hit me that the only probable cause of this young girl suddenly becoming infected with HIV was rape.  She seized up when I came at her with a thermometer, and it took her a while for her heart rate to calm down while I held her hand taking her pulse. She was timid, unsure and scared of my touch, but she held her head high and her gaze straight. When we were finished, the little girl stood up and walked away with an incredible posture. This is when I first understood Sister Christina’s words.  There was this tiny, frail and sick child who had been through more than any child ever should, walking away tall with unbroken spirit.  I started paying attention after this, to every woman who sat on my bench then walked away.  Some of them had bruises on their faces, crippled limbs, and dried blood around their mouth, 3 sick kids hanging off their exhausted bodies; all of them had advanced HIV or AIDS, and most have probably lived a life full of hardship and pain that I will never understand, yet ALL of them stood tall with the most incredible posture and gait I have ever seen. Losi women stand tall!

 When you see a woman walking along the side of the road in an incredible heat with a baby strapped to her back, a bucket of water balancing on her head, her hands full with the weight of bagged coal, and she’s still walking tall and proud through her pain and hunger, your own struggles suddenly fall into perspective.

I’ve gained many new perspectives since being here, and I’m thinking that Zambia has a lot more in store for me.

Fallon  

Our Adventure thus far!

Hey All!

Hope all is well at home. Gina and I apologize EMENSLY for not writing sooner! Thanks to all our roommates for keeping our friends and family up to date. We don’t want to repeat what everyone else has said so we have decided just to touch on each part, giving a brief description of our experience, memories, and at times terrors (mostly from the bugs)

The flight to Lusaka was long! However the 9 hours on the flight was plenty of time for myself (Brittany) to read all of book one of the Hunger Games- a very popular series among our group. Gina didn’t get much sleep, but enjoyed her gummy bears lol. Once in Lusaka we all were a little overwhelmed by the heat, but hearing about the -20 weather at home made us appreciate it a little more.

            It was in Lusaka at our house that Gina got her nickname Flying cockroach after her comment “when you kill a cockroach it starts to fly” Wisdom she got from her cousin when she was little. As you can probably assume, bugs have been very happy to see us. From spiders to ants they all seemed to make us scream originally… Now only a select few have that honor.

            The bus ride to mongu felt much longer then the flight. Sitting on a cramped bus, with no AC, No bathroom and minimal pit stops, 9 hours felt like 30. Side note: These pit stops consisted of bathrooms with trough (hole in the ground), or some contained toilets however no seats or paper. However with the bus ride we had some perks, we saw zebras, monkeys, warthogs and even the jumping things at the start of the lion king (cannot think of the name). When we finally got to Mongu, we both were grateful to be at our new “home”.

            Since then we have learnt the powers of the sun and how quick even Gina can get burnt. We have learnt some Losi terms, and been familiarized with the village. Monday was our first day in the hospital. Gina was on the childrens ward this week and has already begun to see how much we take for granted in Canada. Many of the illness the children experience such as malnutrition, dehydration and diarrhea could be easily prevented at home. However there was a lot to be learnt working with these conditions and not to mention the kids were SO cute and brave!

            My experience these past couple of days has been on the HIV ward and at a clinic in the community. Both have been busy, and both I have been so impressed by how much work the nurses do. Seeing over 150 patients on the HIV ward per day, we assessed vitals, medication adherence, lab work and follow up appointments. The next day was spent in a clinic outside the hospital where myself, Sylvia and one of the nurses would see patients, diagnose, and prescribe medications. It was a rather interesting experience as it is not something we would have the opportunity to do in Canada, and we were very hesitant to do here. However we offered some of our clinical knowledge and the nurses seemed very appreciative. Tomorrow we are off to another day of clinical, and then Friday we are off to Safari! What a hard work week ;)

            We miss you all, hope to have pictures soon!

                        BritBrit and GG 

Pineapple pickers

Hello everybody! We have made it into mongu on a very long bus ride from Lusaka. We were fortunate enough to see some wild life on the way. We were all very excited to see zebras, warthogs and monkeys. Our place in mongu is very nice. The cold showers take a few times to get use to. So far we have met some really nice people here. Everyone from mongu is extremely nice and friendly. No one hesitates to ask how the makuwa's are several times as we walk through town. It is interesting to go to the store and only have a select few fruits and vegtables available to us. We have to put a little more thought into what we are eating and be a bit more creative with our meals. We ate nshima for he first time today, its a traditional african food and it was delicious. We are now spending time at mutoya camp on the other side of town. They run a program called the Village of Hope. At their camp there are fresh pineapples to pick.. Yum! Here we are helping at a clinic and also teaching a class on community health development. Its going well so far. Even better when we have a translator with us. We are seeing patients and diagnosing their illness and giving them the appropriate medications. We go to a safari this weekend in Kafue National Park which we are all looking forward to! Missing everyone back home! love Randi, Steph, Michelle and Cara

Here we are!

While we have arrived to our destination. Our accommodation is great, and we have began to tour to town. The days are hot and some of us have to skin to show it. today was our first day in the hospital on the female ward and it went well. We jumped right in with the Zambian nursing students who were more than eager to show us there way. We had to clean first though.... They had many question for us which kept us on our toes, good refresher though! We started to learn about some of the tropical diseases, and we will definitely remember to bring the tropical medicine book tomorrow.
As for the country and the people what we have seen so far has been beautiful, the food on the other hand has been hit or miss, but we are willing to try whatever hits our plates.
Goodbye for now
Toni & Melissa

January 22^nd, 2012:

We have been here for 4 days in Mongu at the Sister Presentation House. We were pleasantly surprised at the accommodations here. We are the first people to live in the new private huts which house 2 people each. There is running water, comfy beds and spacious kitchen and living room. We are lucky here to have our laundry done for us as well as having a van to take us around if Jessica can drive us, because they drive on the opposite side of the road here.

We toured the hospital and it was much bigger than we expected. We were surprised at how hot it was, how the whole thing was solid concrete and how the only air conditioning is in the Operating Theatre (known at home as the Operating Room).

The people here are very friendly, very welcoming and they love it when we try to practice our Lozi. We are learning so much from them. The weather is extremely hot here with massive thunderstorms which wake us up at night and cause the power to go out very often. We have been very careful with putting on sunscreen and bug spray often. Although we have not been sunburned like many other students, we have not had such luck with the bugs. Amy and Julet have been bitten by misquitos and are anticipating malaria in one week. Please stay tuned. Julet and Amy seem to be a popular bug attraction. One night, I (Amanda and Denee) were eating supper in our house when we receive a frantic “help” text message. We run over, worried they are in grave danger, only to discover Amy safely tucked under her misquito net and Julet having a mini stroke. A massive ugly looking beetle the size of a large fat thumb had flown into the room and was chasing Julet around the house. There was so much screaming and Denee, the brave woman that she is, took it outside. We were anticipating Julet to be departing home to Canada that night. After closing all the windows and much encouragement, she decided to abandon her plan.

Words cannot describe how happy we are that we can purchase 48 bottles of beer here for $25.00 Canadian. We spent K625,000 on groceries at the ShopRite and felt like we should be going to Mexico for that price! We are getting used to the money conversion now, though. The Green Market and Black Market are wonderful and much cheaper than ShopRite. You can get your vegetables (tomatoes, avocado, lettuce, eggs, bread, etc) and other foods here. At the Black Market you can buy clothing and such. We purchased a few shatangas which are used as skirts and to carry babies on mother`s backs. When I wore mine, one local Zambian turned to me and said ``now you are truly Zambian!``

 We decided to try the local night club and had so much fun. Everyone was so friendly and made a big circle where they laughed when we got in the middle and showed off our Canadian moves. We watched the soccer game with the local people and told everyone there that in Canada, we were as excited as they were for hockey.

Electronics are interesting here. We are so thankful for the cell phones that the nursing faculty has provided us.  While we are very appreciative of them, we must laugh at how old they are. It will be strange going back to our iphones and blackberries! On scheduled days there are planned power outages which cause us to be creative in making meals and planning meals that no require no power to cook. Sometimes, the power goes out unplanned which is always entertaining. We are using our headlamps often and are thankful that we brought them.

 As we are writing this blog, Julet has been patiently sitting for 7 hours while a very nice local Lozi lady has been braiding her hair.  We are sad that we cannot post many pictures as internet here is hard to come by and very slow. We will update as soon as possible!

Amanda, Amy, Julet, Denee 

We made it to Mongu last Wednesday and have been settling into our houses! This weekend gave us plenty of time to explore the village of Mongu and noticed how welcoming and friendly the people are! A common phrase to hear as we walk down the street is "hello, how are you", "fine, how are you". We spent the weekends wandering through the village getting to know the green market (where we can buy fresh food), the black market (where we can buy shetangas, and souviners), and were directed to the best restaurants in town.

Today we completed our first day of clinical. Students were placed in wards through out Lewanika Hospital, including, medical, surgical, maternity, pediatrics, and a number of clinics through out the area. After our first day of clinical we are already noticing there are less resources and supplies readily avaliable, which can create some difficult tasks. However, there is a great amount of knowledge that the nurses, clinicains and doctors bring that will be helpful throughout the rest of our placements.

We look forward to the rest of our placements!

Sylvia and Sam

Greetings from Mongu!

We have been in Zambia for just over a week now and in  Mongu for 5 nights. I think I am finally over my jet leg and sleeping through the night! It is so beautiful here. I don't know what the image in my mind was but this is 10x better. The thing I notice most is how quiet and peaceful it can be. Everyone is so friendly and willing to greet and welcome eachother on the street whether they have known them for years or have never seen eachother before. I learned my leason quick that the correct response to how are you is not good but fine after a group of children continually laughed at me for my mistake. Our accomadations are wonderful, Fay and Jess say we are spoiled and I most definitely agree. I won't lie, I miss my iphone and ease of technology at home. The first day I kept reaching in my pocket for my phone and each time I was disappointed. We started clinical today which was extremely exciting but  also very nerve racking. The culture, rituals and healthcare is so abstact to what I know that I feared I would not be able to make an impact. The day was great though, three babies were born on the maternity ward and all were happy and healthy! I look forward to seeing how everything works out and I have great confidence it will be an adventure of a life time! I can't wait to see how the rest of the trip unfolds and I will try to keep you all updated!

Miss you all at home! I hear it has been snowing.... I guess telling you that its been hot and sunny almost everyday doesn't help. Sending you sunshine and happy thoughts!

Jackie

Cream Soda

The other day we all eagerly hopped onto a minibus to go to “Shoprite”; Mongu’s grocery store (looked a lot like a warehouse, or an MTF store).  In our cooking groups we strolled our shopping carts up and down each isle, enthusiastically reading labels and throwing things into our carts. This was an exciting experience for me, as my fear of having to live off of granola bars and fruit leather for the next 6 weeks was elated by the isles of familiar produce, canned and boxed goods.  This feeling of relief was short lived, however, and quickly replaced by feelings of guilt and shame. Here we were, two “Makuahs” giggling and grabbing whatever our hearts desired off of the carefully stocked shelves, and tossing them into our cart without the thought of money even crossing our minds; we both had our wallets full of Kwacha bills, and the security of a few stocked bank cards and visas as backup. Our “Need list” with only a few items written on it, lead quickly to a cart heaping with luxury treats, comfort foods, and non-necessary items. It did not even occur to me (as excited as I was), how our ignorance might have perceived by the locals, until we made it to the checkout. As we eagerly placed our future meals and indulgences on the cashier’s table, I noticed for the first time the meager baskets of the other customers. The man behind us in line had a basket with only a bag of rice. The mother down the aisle behind him, was choosing between a bag of rice in one hand, and a bag of beans in the other. We noticed a few teenage girls beside us who had been following us around and ogling at our cart. I looked back down at the cashier ringing our cold cream soda cans through the till, and suddenly felt sick with embarrassment and shame. This is probably the first time I have ever experienced feeling ashamed of my culture. I think being here for two months will alter my views on food.  I’m truly hoping this attitude does carry forward to life at home after this trip as dining in restaurants, indulging in treats, over-eating and wasting food are common occurrences in my life in Canada. 

On a happier note, I ended the night kicking a soccer ball around with the neighbourhood kids under a beautiful African sunset! Life is good!

Fallon

Hello all from Mongu!

So we have finally arrived at our home for the next 5 weeks. Arriving by bus into Mongu, the scenery was breathtaking. We saw monkeys, warthogs, gazelles, and antelope, seeing them in their natural habitat was a great experience. We also passed by Kafue National Park where we will be heading in a week for our first ever safari. We are excited to go back and see more animals!

We also saw floodplains, beautiful trees, and general African beauty. It must have also been a sight to witness 6 nursing students standing side-by-side on the side of the road peeing into a trough. If this is any indication for the rest of the trip, we are all going to be very comfortable with each other by the end of the trip.

Cheshire home guesthouse, where we are staying, is very beautiful, much more than we had expected. There is one large building, that we call the big house, where 13 students are staying. Then there are 4 other houses of varying size around the complex. We were all grateful to unpack and settle in.

Mongu is mainly made up of one winding road with many different shops and markets. We ventured into town by foot, and while we were passing the basic school, the kids congregated around us and followed us for 20 minutes. There were many of them, all saying "hello, how are you?" and "I am fine". What a truly unforgettable experience that was. We went shopping in the black (goods) and green (veggies) markets today, and so far everyone has been very welcoming to us. We traveled the local way via minibus. A minibus, is a very small van that should carry 8 people, but apparently regularly will carry over 15, with chickens included. 

We are looking forward to our hospital tour tomorrow and getting started in practice next monday.

Good-bye for now!

Rachel, Susie, Joel

We made it to Lusaka!!!

It was a very long flight. People here are very nice and taxi drivers drive pretty darn quick.  We are stay at an orphanage called Cheshire House.  There are children with disabilities here, a school, gym and physiotherapist. It is located on a beautiful compound.  It has already rained a lot but it is nice because of how hot and humid it is.  We spent our morning playing with the kids and they really liked bubbles. So far we feel exited and a little overwhelmed with the culture shock, although it will be a lot different in Mongu than Lusaka.  We will be leaving tomorrow (wed) for Mongu on an 11 hour bus ride and cannot wait for what it is to come!
Julet, Amanda, Amy, Denee

As I say goodbye to England and hello to Zambia I am so excited to see what these next 7 weeks will bring. I still find it difficult to grasp that we are on the otherside of the world. I myself have never travelled outside of North America so this is all a new experience for me. I often think of what I might be doing if I was back home in Canada , but nothing can even come close to compare to what I am doing right now! These last 5 days in England have been amazing, full of beautiful buildings and historical monuments, however I am ready to get to Zambia and start this journey. After months of planning, it is finally here, we will soon be in Zambia.
See you in seven weeks Canada!

-Sam

Mind the Gap- Love from London

We have spent the last 5 days seeing the sights in London. It is such a cool city with lots to see and lots of opportunities to get lost (like trying to find Abbey Road- after a 45 minute tube ride we were on the wrong side of town). We did find Abbey Road..... just not THE Abbey Road. We are such tourists. Hopefully we make it to the airport on the first try- don't worry, we will give ourselves plenty of time. It still has not sunk in that we are leaving for Zambia tomorrow. We have been so busy the last few weeks leading up to our adventure that we have not had much time to get nervous. We think this will change the second we check out of our hostel in London.

We feel so lucky to have this opportunity and are humbled that you are all following the blog. We will be sure to keep you updated!

Can't wait to see what Zambia has in store for us.

Michelle, Randi, Steph

Well, our journey has begun! It didn't really feel real until we arrived in London. As others have posted, many of us have been waiting for this time to come for the last 4 years, and now that it is here it almost seems unbelievable. But we are currently touring London awaiting our flight to Lusaka. Even though we just arrived I am already anticipating and anxious for planting my feet on Zambian soil. I am nervous, excited, jittery, and, freaked out all at once. Nervous because we are going somewhere unknown to most of us.  But excited to learn and experience new things, experiences that will last in our memories and transform the way that we think, do, and practice back home. Almost there....
Rachel

Tick- Tock

Well the date is nearly here, a long awaited one at that. From the momment I entered nursing I could not wait for this time to arrive. The excitment and thrill of knowing that we will be practicing what we have been learning for the last 4 years of our lives is amazing. Nerve racking of course, terrifing forsure, but are time in school is nearly up and I feel that this could possibly be one of the best oppurtuinties to grow as nurse and as individual.
Toni Bartman

Diaries from Zambia: A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

When we were first asked to blog about our experience in Zambia I thought it would be easy. I mean how hard is it to blog about what we are doing and how we are feeling. It was only when I sat down in front of my computer did I realize how hard this would actually be. When we write papers and essays for school it is never this personal or real. So here I am, blogging for the first time with no idea what to write, say or not to say.

We feel blessed and lucky to get this the amazing opportunity to not only go to Zambia but practice nursing, something we are all so passionate about. It’s weird, the people around us keep telling us how proud they are of us and what an amazing thing we are doing, but the fact is, nothing has really clicked in yet. Even after the classes, the shots and what seems to be endless packing I still don’t feel like I am leaving Canada for 7 weeks, let alone going to Africa.

I think it is safe to say that we are all feeling anxious, overwhelmed, excited, scared, scared and did I mention scared!!! Personally I haven’t traveled much outside of North America. In fact I haven’t travelled much at all! That’s probably the main reason I am sitting here with a big pile of stuff and no idea how to pack it

                                                                                                               <3 Kiran, Fallon, Sam, Sonam, Pavan

                                     P.S As a Group we decided to Title our blogs Dairies from Zambia

Well today as I am two days from departure on my life changing adventure I am wondering, will I fit everything that I need for two months in my bacpack...does not seem likely.  This feelinf of being unsure what the next two months of my life holds for me is something that causes me excitmennt and nervouseness all the same.  For me this trip to africa is 4 years in the making and as I am writing this i cannot believe that the day is fast approaching.  reality has set in and my heart and mind are ready for this incredible journey with many incredible faculty and students.  We hope that you will check back often as we promise to keep you updated on our many adventures of this Zambian Nursing practicum.  To friends family and fellow students and faculty Musiyale hande which means stay safe.
Susie

UBCO Nursing Group Zambia 2012- Packing Day

T-5 days until I officially depart from Canada to start what might be one of my biggest adventures! We had our packing day a couple days ago, and as I was lugging fifty pounds of medical supplies, gifts, and more into my house the whole trip became real. I am excited for the experiences that lay ahead, although feeling a little anxious to leave the comforts of home. I am thrilled that I am going on this trip with many wonderful student nurses, some who I know well, and others who I anticipate becoming closer with. I look forward to the stories I will have to share throughout my practicum and can not wait to see what the world holds for me!
Sylvia :)

Only a few more sleeps until we will all be flying into Lusaka to start our adventure in Zambia.  I feel that time is going so fast and that the few days left in Canada are not enough, but at the same time excitement is growing and I’m anxious to start!  Today was packing day and that is when reality really hit me;   we will soon be leaving our friends and family behind and it will just be us and our suitcases in Zambia. I know that the excitement will make the next seven weeks fly by, but I can’t help but reflect back that seven weeks ago from today we were all in classes working on projects and papers.  That seems like a while ago! Panic, excitement, happiness and sadness seem to be the emotions that I switch between and I am sure I’m not the only one. I wish a safe trip for everyone to Zambia as we reunite in just over a week!

-Denée