Sunday, March 17, 2013

Hakuna Matata!

What a wonderful day! The weekend has been a welcoming treat for us nursing students here in Zambia, and the weather is fantastic. We have had a very interesting week to say the least at the Lewanika general hospital. It is so hard to imagine that on the other side of the world things can be so different from home! The initial shock of the hospital and surroundings have started to wear off, and we are becoming more familiar and more comfortable with everything. I have learned so many things about the people in Mongu and the diseases and health issues that are common here such as malaria, HIV, TB, and many others. My passion is in the operating room, or the operating theatre as they call it here and I have had the opportunity to watch a surgery in my first week at Lewanika general. It has been an amazing experience so far regardless of whether it has been overwhelming, sad, exhausting, unbelievable, beautiful, fantastic, unique, and inspiring. A mix of emotions every day, but it keeps us on our toes and makes for a wonderful trip!

We have had the pleasure of meeting many wonderful people and have made new friends amongst the Zambians. We have had some unexpected visits at our guest home from a couple different Zambians girl, but they are all so kind and welcoming. This weekend we enjoyed exploring the town through the black market and the shops where we bought shetanges, it was tons of fun and then we wore our shetange wraps out to Club Extreme and Viva Africa for some dancing and entertainment. What a unique lifestyle they have here!

This week I will be working on the children's ward which I am very excited about. Another experience to learn from and another week of learning and understanding what it is like here in Mongu. Many more opportunities and experiences to come and lots of stories to tell!

-SB

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