Oh No

I forgot to update this!!

This week I explored Cape Town and ate a lot of grapefruit!

I'Khaya La Whatta?

Hey oh. It's been a while. I can only update on weekends, and last weekend I was a bit too preoccupied for ye, olde blogosphere.
But now ye has many, many updates. Settle in.

I started doing a LOT more at the hospital. My responsibilities really went from zero to sixty. I now spend my days running between one of the following seven things. In no particular order:

1. Tracheostomy Handbook
   I am simplifying sentence structure, developing format, and finalizing content in this 19-page handbook.
2. Series of Documentary Photographs
   For the tracheostomy ward. I have to take pictures of every piece of equpiment, every step of the process, and... just... everything. Tracheostomies are pretty complicated (at least to me, a newbie to them), and I basically need to document everything visually.
3. Occasional Seminars and Odd Jobs
   I am the unofficial assistant to the ward sister. Therefore, I do various oddjobs and whatnot mumbojumbo thingamalings. For example, I attended rounds. Ten specialists discussed four patients for about an hour in very complicated medical jargon as I tried determinatedly to understand and keep up. Halfway through, I started to worry someone would ask me for my opinion, in which case I was fully prepared to look that person in the eyes and say, "I concur" with force. Other random things I've done was to attend a seminar for parents whose children died, and this week I organized thousands of pieces of trach tubes.
4. Data Entry on a Burn Database
   I start Monday. Basically, they want to put all the information about locations of burn victims on a huge map so they can figure out demographics and where burn wards are located, should be located, etc. The first step? Getting me to type in thousands of entries.
5. Attending Occasional Surgeries
   One of the perks! I haven't started yet, I really hope it doesn't fall through, but with all luck this upcoming week I'll pretend to be a med student and observe a surgery.
6. Play Therapy
   When I say "play therapy", I mean I just go to a ward and pretend to fall over so children laugh. It's entertainment, it's a way to cheer up these really sick kids, and it's what a lot of people spend all day doing. This was what I was doing the first couple weeks I was here, and whenever none of my six other jobs need me this is what I do. It's good experiences, you still see a LOT of hilarious, interesting, devastating, [insert other adjective] things.
7. Housing Records
   This is my biggest job by far. The Red Cross is pretty much the only specialist children's hospital in Sub-Saharan Africa, so people come from very, very far away. Mothers are offered to stay in housing, which is just a small building next to the hospital (I'Khaya La Rotary). Many of them do, but very few of them sign out when their child is discharged from the hospital. Therefore, their fees continue, so mothers can end up being charged as if they stayed there for months and months on end, instead of just a few days or weeks. This is where I come in. I'm the person who figures out when a mother arrives, when she leaves, if she goes away for weekends, etc. And all the paperwork involved. On any given day, there are 35-80 mothers staying in housing. It's not so bad, but I will say that trying to understand Xhosa names is NOT EASY. (Xhosa is one of those clicky languages.)

SO, it's been a pretty busy week. The cons are that I have so much to do I can't do any of it very efficiently, plus the housing job means I have to work through my lunch break. And imagine how guilty I feel if I miss a day! I have four bosses!
Pros? I feel very important.

I sat down to watch my first-ever rugby match between the two best teams in the world (South Africa and New Zealand), and fifteen minutes in I fell asleep. Ha, the entire country was anticipating this game, as South Africa currently holds the world title. Sadly, we lost.

I have indeed been watching the Olympics. South Africa got one medal. And I feel so bad for their Olympian bicyclist, who crashed and took out two others with him. He has to come home to newspaper headlines that say "BICYCLE HORROR SHOW". Ouch!

I lost full feeling in my thumb after fetching scalding-hot coffee for a world-class neurosurgeon. Worth it? I think not. And speaking of coffee, I had a mochachocacchino. And now I'm addicted!

We went on a braai, which is the South African tradition of barbeque-ing. It was pretty cool, on a lake, and families all choose a spot among the hills and rocks to braai for the day. I felt a bit like a hobbit, eating sausages in the foliage. Click here to see a hobbit in its natural enviornment.

South Africa's currently having a competition for the next cast of South Africa's own High School Musical movie. And the camera crew came to the hospital!! Apparently there was someone who wanted to try out, though I'm not sure who it would have been, since most of our patients are under the age of ten. ANYWAY, I'm really excited to see our hospital on TV! Three of us were also interviewed by the Daily Mail, which is a big newspaper in the UK, about volunteering at the Red Cross. Look out world - this is my big break!

We also drove out to Darling, which is about an hour away from Cape Town. Very, very small Afrikaans town. Countryside is really pretty, it was all wine farm territory. Tomorrow I'm going to Durbanville, about half an hour away, which I hear is much more... populated. This week I was also able to go up Signal Hill and then back to Camps Bay (that beautiful beach I keep posting pictures of). That day, we went to a seafood restaurant and I had my first oyster ever. I'm told they're "REALLY GOOD" in comparison, not to mention ridiculously cheap in comparison to oysters in the States.

WELL, people who have access to CNN, I bid you adieu, until next weekend.
Love as always,
Erin

P.S. I want you all to know that filling up a tank here is the equivalent of EIGHTY+ DOLLARS. Quit your complaining!

I Wish I Was Michael Corleone & Buster Keaton Combined

Today I had Thanksgiving Dinner. Yes, in August. Yes, in Africa. YES, with lamb! And it was a fabulous Thanksgiving; lamb, squash, green beans, caulflower & cheesy thing, the works. I asked what the occasion was and the response was, "none, we just have a huge leg of lamb sitting in the freezer!"


I drove for the first time! Opposite side of the road, opposite side of the car, everything opposite! It's not too difficult, I just constantly feel like I'm about to crash into another car, a pole, or a human being. I also found my first real BUG. It was BIG. Just picked up a pillow, and KAPOW! The largest cockroach I've ever seen in my whole life. It had two-inch feelers and the whole bit. *shudders*


Wednesday was really, really nice weather-wise. A bunch of people from the hospital went to Long Street (the shopping/dining/drinking area) and then to Camps Bay beach. Camps Bay is gorgeously amazinggingly gagorgeous. Mountains, ocean, sand, and a book. We also found two starfish! It was much much too cold to swim (unless you're Canadian), but it was the most beautiful day since I've been here. Looooved it!

World Cancer Day was this week. "Spiderman" was there. He ate popcorn and was more interested in the magic show than the kids. It made me laugh. And as for work, although I'm bummed to have my assignments switched, I'm really anxious to get to work on the tracheostomy handbook. I looked through the current one, and it's rubbish. It actually bothers me how bad it is, so I can't wait to fix it up.
There was another excitement at work this week when a kid infected tons of people with a stomach bug. We were walking down the stairs and a doctor comes running up them and says to us, "Did you get the message?? Are you sick yet?" Yeah - pretty intense. They're calling it the African Yip.

A collection of facts, for the interested

I think Cape Town smells like salt, wind, gasoline, and a faint twinge of cigarettes. It's GOOD.

The hospital smells like tile (though there is none), disinfectant spray, and bodily fluids.

I live in an apartment where you lay your head down to sleep and you hear sirens and feet from the upstairs apartment. Which is also quite nice in its own way.

My favorite time of day is about six AM. Because the sun has just started to pour in through the shades and I know I have another hour to sleep.

You cannot turn on red lights.
Prince Harry, Richard Gere, and Hilary Swank are in town. And me too.
High School Musical is JUST as big here as it is at home.
In South Africa, your 18th is for every privilege: driving, drinking, smoking, etc.
You pre-pay EVERYTHING: internet, cell phone, electricity.
I realized that come December in South Africa, the sun will set at about 9, maybe later. Then I'll go home to Michigan, where the sun will be setting before 5.
Movie theaters have assigned seating.
I love hand sanitizer.
Get Skype!

The food section of facts (I could go on for ages)

Cupcakes and cake are eaten cold (this makes more sense, because nothing crumbles that way).
I'm single-handedly going to introduce the country to eggnog and s'mores.
At the movie theater, popcorn is not buttered. There is just many flavored salts.
Does anyone in the States eat condensed milk like ice cream? 'Cause here they do!






I think if I were Michael Corleone, I'd be able to handle the intimidation of South Africa. If I were Buster Keaton, I could make sick children laugh much easier. If I were the two combined... I'd be the greatest hero known to man.


The news from home has been rough this week. I'm thinking of you all.
Love!,
Erin

wish you were here

Two Comments? Really?

It was a very low-key week for Erin this week. Not much to report.

Work has been pretty all over the place. I was put in a different ward each day and then on Friday got the news that I'll be switching assignments BIGTIME in a week or so. I'll be going from mere entertainment to finishing a tracheotomy handbook. More on THAT later; by the time this is over I'm sure we'll all know much more about tracheotomies than we ever wanted to. But this announcement is bittersweet, since I've actually been enjoying my current work. I've picked up a few tricks, thank you all for your suggestions.
#1. That 'Baby Shark' song. You know, 'doo-doo, do-do-do-do'?
#2. Wearing lots of hairties on my wrist. The occasional kid is fascinated.
#3. Instead of tracing a kid's HAND with crayons and paper, trace their WHOLE HEAD.
#4. The 'Momma's Gonna Buy You a Mockingbird' song will quiet crying toddlers. However, when I couldn't remember anything beyond mockingbird, and then diamond ring for a whole week I went a bit mad. Then we googled it, and now I can't remember what comes after looking glass. But at least three verses is enough before I have to start making up new words.
#5. You know that thing where you put your lips together and blow and your lips buzz? They go 'pttthhbbbbb'? I am doing that NONSTOP. Also, you can get a really good workout playing soccer with a balloon.

The other plus about work is this week was a big bonding week for all the new volunteers. I had my first experience at Nino's, a cafe across the street, and pretty much plan to go there for lunch everyday for the next couple months. You can get a ton of eggs & toast CHEAP! Mmmm so good!
Roommate & co. decided to make pizzas from scratch a few nights ago. It was "fun" using two ovens, one on the 11th floor and one on the 5th. But really the best part was having HOT HOT food.

Okay, I really need to not update late at night when I'm sleepy. (I will always definitely definitely choose sleep over this blog. You should know this now... while you can still get out.)

To sum things up extremely quickly, I spent the weekend in Rondebosch (part of Cape Town) again. Went to a choir concert, a food fair, and a 3-D movie. The coolest thing about this entire week was probably getting cut at work and then seeing these SWEET bandages they have. I didn't want to take them off, they were like Shrink Wrap. It was cool.

I'm choosing sleep. When I have things to report, I will do so.
Maybe I can prompt some comments this week by asking for a news headline from each of you. I desperately miss having the time to read every single story on CNN International. (Speaking of news, South African politics is crazy! History is TAKING PLACE RIGHT NOW!! It's epic! Google Zuma!)

Nope, I'm definitely choosing sleep riiiightnow.