Only two more days in Cape Town! The time here flew by so fast I can hardly believe it. Towards the end of our trip my mind has naturally drifted toward thinking a lot about the things that I miss about home and the things I won’t miss about here, but now that our departure date is so near I’ve been trying to identify the things that I will really miss about Cape Town. The obvious things that came into my head first were food items, like piping hot supersize cocoa cookies, amazingly juicy fresh fruit from woolworths, ridiculously tender calamari, milk tarts, Nando’s chicken burgers and pitas among other things. Thinking about these things also made me realize how food-centric my thoughts are in general, so I’ve been trying to force myself to think a little more deeply about the things I will genuinely miss that are not food-related.

I will miss the people we’ve met here, the nurses who’ve taken us under their wing and been sometimes befuddled by our accents and American ways. I’ll miss Reverend Rose and Dr. Guma who’ve taken so much of their time to show us their South Africa and make sure we’re getting the most of our time here. I’ll miss Ben and his random popping-in and out of the house, his little excited kicks and frequent Apple computer sales pitches.

I’ll miss the gorgeous weather, seeing the sun every morning and having the option to swim in the pool or go to the beach.

I’ll miss the scenery. I’ll miss the view of the city and the bay that uncovers itself slowly as you drive around the mountain. I’ll miss Table Mountain being the backdrop for everything we do, whether it’s just a walk in the commons, classes at UCT, concerts in Kirstenbosch gardens or hanging out in the city, looking up and seeing the mountain is always a reminder of what an amazing place this is.

I’ll miss having so many incredible things to do right within a 10 minute drive. You can hike Table Mountain, go to the museums, haggle in the market, lay on the beach, explore Kirstenbosch gardens and so many other things without getting more than 10 miles from home.

South Africa has been a place that has really made me think. I’ve had to examine my own values and beliefs about poverty, racism and forgiveness, the problems that plague this country every day and our so obvious on the streets of the city where you see little children begging and the monuments to the old white imperialist regime marked with graffiti. It’s made me realize the things I’m grateful for about our country and the things that I don’t agree with about our society, like the attention we give to celebrity gossip and the value we place on insignificant material things when there are so many bigger news stories and better places we could be putting our money. Here, all of the divides of race and money are still pretty clearly delineated. There are places in South Africa designed for tourists and the upper class where you can forget for a moment all of the needy people just outside the gate. A person could easily live in South Africa driving from one gated area to the other and ignoring the people begging at city intersections, or standing outside your fence and asking for clothing or food for their families. You can’t live here without doing some sort of introspection and I feel like I find a reason to do it almost every day.

I think what I’ll really miss when I get home though is the other girls. I know we’re going home together, but I think I might feel incredibly lonely now in my quiet house with my own bathroom and as much fridge space as I need. I’ve made so many great friends here, and now we’ve all shared an experience that as much as we try to explain it to people, no one will ever fully understand except for the 14 of us.

All things considered though, I am very excited to come home and celebrate Christmas with my family. I came to the sad realization yesterday that when I get there I won’t be able to wear flip flops anymore, but I think I’ll survive somehow. I’ll never forget the time I had here and I would love to come back someday, but right now it’s time to get my winter clothing out and head for Connecticut!
-Kari

I cannot believe that everyone will be flying home in two days! We have done so much here, seen so much, felt so much and experienced so much, that it will be very, very difficult to say goodbye to it all. On Monday evening we had our last dinner together as a group. It was both a thank you and farewell dinner. The nurses and staff from all of the hospitals and clinics that we had worked with throughout the semester joined us. It was a beautiful dinner, filled with many hugs and much laughter. Although it was just a few days away from our departure, everyone was so happy and grateful that evening in particular. All of our guests introduced themselves one-by-one and each took the opportunity to point out how we nursing students contributed to their organizations and facilities. We were all close to tears many times throughout the night as we recalled many fond memories from our clinical internship site work. We really enjoyed ourselves, talking about our semester. It was so nice to hear how much of an impact and difference we made in these peoples’ lives, as they had made such a humongous one in all of ours. Mr. Shooter, from Gatesville Hospital in Athlone, was especially grateful for all of us; he could not stop taking photos and was coming up to each and every nursing student and asking us to smile into his small cell phone camera.
Sister Oliver from Mitchell’s Plain Hospital hugged any and all of the girls that came near her and could not stop smiling and thanking us for our time spent on her ward. She said that when next Monday comes around, at 8am, she will be looking down the hallway of the pediatric ward from her spot at the nurse’s station, almost expecting us to be walking down it. She said that she has really become attached to us and that she almost expects us to be there next Monday, as we are like a part of her staff!
Although the dinner was meant to be a goodbye dinner, many of the nurses could not quite say goodbye just yet. Many of them promised to join us nursing students at the airport on Saturday evening to say their final goodbyes there. That promise meant a lot to us girls. It really showed us how much they appreciate us and how much we have become a part of their lives, even outside of our clinical internships.
As much as we are all looking forward to going home and reuniting with our families and loved ones, we are also in a way dreading Saturday evening. It will be very difficult to say goodbye to all of our new and very dear friends that we have made here in South Africa. All of us are anticipating many tears that evening, as there will be many emotions going around. Most of us girls have agreed on the word bitter-sweet to describe our leaving. We realize, however, that this chapter of our lives will have ended, and when one chapter ends, another always begins.
I have actually decided to extend my stay until January. So I will be on the side of the sisters and all of the new and wonderful friends that we have made, waving goodbye to the 13 nursing students and professor that will be heading home. What I have planned here in South Africa for the extra month that I will be here is lots, and lots of traveling around the country. I will be visiting some of the sites that we have already travelled to as a group, such as the city of Durban; however, I will also be visiting many new places that we have not had the opportunity to explore, such as Johannesberg.

Hi everyone!
Wow I cannot believe we are in our last week here in Cape Town! The time has certainly gone by fast. I cannot believe that I almost did not come on this trip. The things I have learned, seen, and done are life changing and so memorable that I would have regretted not coming to Cape Town for the rest of my life. I am so excited to come home, but I will definitely miss this city and the time I have spent here.

The first thing I am going to do in Detroit airport on Sunday is buy a Starbucks coffee or a Dunkin Donuts coffee, whichever I see first; along with a bagel and cream cheese. Carolynn Z., Jess and I will never enjoy a coffee from those places as much as we will on Sunday.

Anyway, I feel I must fill you all in on the things we’ve been doing our last week here. On Friday we took a tour of the pediatric intensive care unit at the Red Cross. We also went to Groote Schuur and toured the neonatal intensive care unit which consisted of 74 babies! It was wonderful, but also sad to walk around that NICU, which looked and operated similar to home. At this same hospital, the first heart transplant in the world was done 41 years ago. We took a tour of the heart transplant museum there. The operating room in which it took place was set up just like it was 41 years ago and the actual hearts from the transplant were there as well. This was a very informative experience and something we had all been wishing to do all semester.

On Friday night Art, Ben, all the girls and I went to an Ethiopian restaurant called Addis in Cape in downtown Cape Town. This was the first time most of us have tried Ethiopian food and it was quite the experience. We sat in low wooden chairs which were surrounding four small tables made out of wicker. The waitress came around with a bowl and a kettle of water and we each washed our hands right there at our seats before we ate since you are only eating with your hands. The food was in family style portions so we all shared. The dinner platter consisted of a large flat piece of bread, which to us nursing majors looked and felt like burn gauze (sounds appetizing I know), and the main courses came in small bowls that were poured onto the bread. There was fish, lamb, chicken, lentils, a mushroom sauce, meat, and vegetables, and you take the rolled up bread, eating with only your right hand, and use the bread to pick up the various foods. The food was excellent and the dessert was even better.

On Sunday evening eight of us went to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens for the FreshlyGround concert. They are a very popular band here. We took blankets, a picnic, and wine and laid out in the grass with the thousands of other people to listen to the band. It was a very relaxing and fun night.

Monday evening we had our farewell dinner at the Lady Paramount hotel. Vernon Rose hosted the dinner and we invited all the Sisters, and people we worked with at the various clinics and hospitals. We took a lot of pictures to remember all these wonderful people. Dr. Guma, Ben, Art, and Parks (our driver) were also there. Dana gave a beautiful speech about our experiences at the clinics and hospitals and gave special thank you’s to Vernon, Ben, Art, Dr. Guma, and Parks. Art handed out certificates with a group picture of us on it to the different clinic and hospital hosts, as well as gifts for Ben and Vernon. It was a great night and it definitely set in for me that we are leaving.

Today, Jessica, Dana, Jordan (Dana’s boyfriend), and I went to Muizenberg beach. It was really windy but we were able to see the colored beach houses that line the shore. We also watched Jordan surf since Muizenberg is known for its surfing. Since the weather didn’t turn out to be the best for a beach day, Jess and I headed to the Waterfront for lunch and some last minute shopping, while Dana stayed with Jordan at the beach so he could continue his surfing.

The rest of this week I plan to finish up our nursing work, soak up as much sun as I can, and really take in my last few days here in South Africa. This trip has been the best and most rewarding experience of my life and I will forever remember my experiences with all these wonderful girls and people I have met here.

I am so excited to come home to everyone, even though it is going to be freezing!
See you all this weekend!
-Kristen

I cannot believe I’m finally at the end of my incredible journey. If someone had told me before I left to South Africa what my experience would be like, I would have laughed right in their face. My life has changed and will never be the same.

For example, I had many plans before I left for South Africa of how I want my life to be when I graduate school. Before this trip, I never would have considered leaving CT and venturing anywhere else in America or even the world. Now that has changed significantly as I want to go places and see the world.

My relationship with my family has also changed significantly. I was planning on crying and missing them everyday throughout my whole trip. I miss them, but I realize now how independent I am, and can survive without talking to them every day. I learned to be self reliant and also relying on people who are not family too. Each and every one of the girls in my group has helped me grow significantly. I could not imagine the trip being as great as it was without them. I can’t say we got along all the time and I can’t say that we will all stay in touch once we graduate college. But I will always carry each of the girls’ memory in my heart wherever the future may bring me. I also know that wherever they are in the future, that community will have an exceptional nurse!

One of the most unreal experiences that I encountered on my trip was meeting people from Egypt. Never in a million years would guess that I would cross paths with them. I learned about their culture, customs, and values. I also learned they do not live in pyramids, ride camels everywhere, and write only on papyrus. I know I’m being “tongue and cheek” in my previous sentence, but if someone were to mention they had traveled to Egypt, I feel those images would pop up in my mind. It is the same when I mentioned to my family I was going to South Africa. A lot of my relatives thought I would be living in a hut and have to fight off lions every day! Hanging out with them was like hanging out with any peer my age in the states. It seems that having fun knows no boundaries.

But one of the most significant things I learned from them was their faith in God. Most of them are Muslim. I was never around Muslim people before meeting them. Their unwavering devotion in God was probably one of the most beautiful things I ever witnessed and experienced in my life. Even though they call God “Allah”, it is the same God Jewish people and Christian people worship. The media in America, as I mentioned, skewed my view on Muslims. One example was that I felt that women were oppressed because they had to wear clothing that covered their beauty, such as their hair. The reason why women cover their beauty is that men won’t focus on their external beauty but actually get to know the woman’s true beauty which is inside them. If anything, I feel that American society oppresses woman because we focus on the outer beauty more than the inner beauty of a woman.

Even though the previous experiences I mentioned were not part of any classes, I feel that these experiences will make me a better nurse. I am now more confident in myself, I am more determined, and I am more understanding. I now cannot imagine myself being a nurse without these traits now. It will be a very bittersweet day on Saturday. I say goodbye to my friends that I made here and my experiences too. Even though I may close this chapter on South Africa, I open a new chapter of my life. I’m ready for this new chapter because life is a joy worth living.

Last, I want to thank everyone from the School of Nursing and my professors for everything that have done to make this trip possible. Without their support, efforts, and confidence in this program, I wouldn’t be the person I am now. Thank you for giving me this opportunity!

With much love,
Katie

Hi everyone!! Well here we are…10 days from the end and it’s completely unbelieveable to me that we’re almost done!! It is a bittersweet feeling for me because I have absolutely loved my experiences here, the friendships I’ve developed with the girls and the wonderful South African people and culture we’ve gotten used to and I will truly miss a lot about Cape Town, BUT on the other hand, I am very excited to return home to the life I’ve known for 21 years with a new appreciation for it! Let me tell you..I will not appreciate a bagel with creamcheese and a dunkin donuts iced coffee as much in my lifetime as I will the morning of Monday, December 15th (not to mention my family and friends of course)!!  

This week has been pretty laid back with beautiful weather (another thing I will seriously miss about Cape Town). 

Let’s see…Monday I finished up clinical at Tafelsig Clinic, which I believe I wrote back in my last posting on here.  It was sad to say goodbye to the sisters there but I got some pictures to bring home with me!  They were truly wonderful there, always welcoming and eager to know more about our country every week during our tea break and lunch breaks!  It’s amazing how nice people are here, not saying people aren’t nice at home, but it’s a very different feeling here.  Everyone is so warm to us from the second they meet us.  There is never an awkward feeling, and as much as we stick out like sore thumbs wherever we go, especially being white Americans and in our clinical uniforms at the clinic which is about as opposite looking from the patients as we can get, I have never truly felt uncomfortable which is amazing to me! 

Tuesday I had my last day at Gatesville Hospital and said goodbye to the sisters and staff nurses there too.  Hopefully, a bunch of these people will be able to attend our farewell dinner next Monday, the 8th, because we have extended invitations to all of them.  It will be a really nice dinner with everyone and will be a good chance to sincerely thank everyone for making our experience here so fantastic!  I think Dana and Carolynn Z. will be speaking on behalf of our group and I think they will do a really good job.  I will probably be crying and am glad I won’t have to speak because those two things don’t ever really go well together.

Wednesday is my day off so I decided I needed some R&R and spent my day laying by the pool.  I felt the need to take full advantage of 1. the weather 2. having a pool because I never had one growing up and 3. for all the nurses, synthesizing a little Vitamin D while I’m at it haha It was so nice!!  Luckily, a lot of people were done with their clinical hours as well, so there were 11 of us out there all day!! It was SO much fun!! We put on Christmas music, which was very weird considering we were singing about snow and a fireplace half the time, but it still got us in the Christmas spirit!  Also, I am currently reading Barack Obama’s book, The Audacity of Hope, which is really good so I read a couple chapters while laying on the pool raft! For anyone interested, the book is a very worthwhile read!! I am really enjoying it!  Then, we had post conference last night to discuss our week of clinical and to finalize plans for donations to ThembaCare and other things like that.  All 16 of us ordered take out food and sat around talking.  It’s a very relaxing way to end a stressful week of clinical.  We all also talked about wanting to do a day or two of clinical on a pediatric unit at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in January right before we start the spring semester because we feel it’s really important to get the experience at home in addition to our experiences here.  Hopefully the people at the school of nursing can make that happen for us!!  Then we received a bunch of work that is due Monday and right after we return home which leads me to what I am going to do right after I post this…work on all of those assignments! It’s 10:45am here so I have a whole day ahead of me to get a lot of it done which is nice…unfortunately though, it’s gorgeous outside as usual! I might have to take a break this afternoon and soak up a little sun but we’ll see if I deserve it or not! haha

Tomorrow we have some hospital visits scheduled in addition to a visit to the heart transplant museum, because the first heart transplant was done here in Cape Town 41 years ago yesterday actually! It will be a packed day, but will be really cool I think.  I’m very excited!!

This weekend I think we have plans to do some last minute Christmas shopping Sunday and possibly the beach or something like that for Saturday! It’s so weird to think it’s our last weekend here!! I can’t believe how fast it went by!!

Well, I hope all is well back at home!! We will see everyone so soon! And thank you to everyone for staying in touch and supporting us all semester!

Yesterday was nothing short of, well, fantastic! (It seems we use that word a lot here, doesn’t it?)

We started the day by traveling to Khaylitsha, the third-largest township in South Africa. We visited Fikelela Children’s Centre, a home for abandoned and orphaned children. It’s a great setting for these children and the staff’s explicit goal is to arrange foster care for them so they aren’t institutionalized for a long period. It’s run by the Anglican Church of South Africa. The children sang Christmas carols for us, including Jingle Bells. I found myself wondering just what images were going through their minds as they sang, “Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh”!

Following our visit there, we toured the Intensive Care Unit at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town. Sister Marleen Peterson and Dr. Shamiel Salie did the honors and provided excellent information and hospitality to our large and fascinated group. They’re a referral hospital for the entire country and do wonderful work on relatively limited resources. One of the sobering and saddening discussions was regarding allocation of those scarce resources. For example, how can one justify spending huge amounts of money on high-tech procedures (e.g., ECMO) and complicated cardiothoracic surgeries when so many more children who might die of such common illnesses as gastroenteritis and dehydration could be saved? They do a heroic job and we thank them for their very warm in their reception of us.

Following lunch from Woolworth’s, eaten in the van, we arrived at Groote Schuur Hospital. This is the location of one of the Western Cape’s largest neonatal ICUs, with over 80 beds for very tiny newborns. Again, the sister and physician in charge gave us the typical warm South African welcome and spent some of their valuable time telling us about and showing us their very busy unit. We were all able to walk around the various rooms and talk with sisters and physicians about their patients and their work. One of the highlights for me was being able to talk with parents who were visitng their babies. I spoke with one father who was visiting his 2-lb, 1-month-old son. As we spoke the father was very tenderly stroking his son to comfort and nurture him. It’s obvious that the staff make the effort to engage parents and involve them in not just the physical care of their babies, but in the developmental and emotional care as well. I also spoke briefly with a mother of a baby about the same size and age who was providing Kangaroo Care. If you’re not familiar with KC, it involves skin-to-skin, chest-to-chest contact between a caregiver and a baby. It’s wonderful for both parties and the provincial government enthusiastically supports and promotes the practice.

Our last stop of the day was at the Heart of Cape Town Museum, in the old Main Building of Groote Schuur Hospital. The museum opened last year, which marked the 40th anniversary of the first successful heart transplant in the world. This was one of the best museums I’ve ever visited. One doesn’t just wander around looking at displays by any means. We had a 2-hr guided tour that started with the retelling of the tragic account of the death of Denise Darvall, the donor of the first heart. We then proceeded to see a 23-minute video about Dr. Christiaan Barnard, which was made by the developer of the museum, whom we met on the tour. It was amazingly and touchingly well done.

The tour continued with visiting phenomenal exhibits in the actual operating theatres where Denise Darvall’s healthy heart was removed and where Louis Washkansky’s diseased heart was removed. These rooms are set up exactly as they were on the night of December 3, 1967, with lifelike mannequins, etc. It was incredible. I was really impressed with how sensitively and respectfully details about the donor and the recipient were handled, especially considering relatives of these people are alive and living in Cape Town.All in all, this museum should be on everyone’s list of things to do in Cape Town.

Our day finished with a delicious and unique dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant called “Addis in Cape, owned and operated by a lovely woman named Senait Mekonnen.

Senait Mekonnen

The restaurant is on the upper stories of a historic Dutch building in the City Bowl off Long St. It features traditional seating and has live music on Fridays. We were having such a great time, we were there nearly 4 hours! The restaurant also has a small collection of jewelry for sale and I was able to buy a few Christmas presents while there!

Hello everyone!

It’s been quite some time since I have posted. Since I last wrote, we have enjoyed some interesting experiences. Perhaps my most memorable one, which I’m sure you have already heard a lot about was Thanksgiving here in Capetown. Instead of reiterating the menu we whipped up – I made the stuffed mushrooms by the way- and explaining how we attempted to create an American atmosphere, I thought I would share my most memorable South African Thanksgiving experience.

While I was at clinical at Mitchell’s Plain on Wednesday, one of the sisters was asking me about our plans for Thanksgiving. Although Thanksgiving is not a federal holiday here in South Africa, it is apparently quite popular and celebrated by some of the population. I told Sister Oliver about our plans for creating the most delicious apple pie yet, a heaping bowl of buttered mashed potatoes and butternut squash with cinnamon.

Sister Oliver heard this and offered to take me into the marketplace outside our hospital during our lunch break to go “shopping”. I went into the marketplace where just about anything and everything is sold… anything from fresh fish and soap to vegetables and DVDs. We were walking through the marketplace and the Sister took me over to the butcher’s table. Immediately, I hesitated a bit because although I am not a vegatarian, I like to skip imagining the step between the farm and the dinner table, if you catch my drift. As we came closer to the table I realized that this butcher was not planing to waste a single scrap of the animals he sold. I began to squeeze my water bottle tighter and tighter.

The sister came right over to the table and picked up the plastic bag containing a South African delicacy ….a pig’s head. She held it up and offered it to me. I declined as gracefully as I could. She even offered to cook it for us and bring it over. Again, I gracefully declined and told her we would be sticking to poultry on Thanksgiving. By the way, pig’s heads only go for 35 rand here, thats $3.50 at home. Pretty great bargain huh? Anyway, I thankfully talked the Sister out of this meal option and returned to the unit with a rather diminished appetite. Back on the unit Sister Oliver explained to all the other sisters that I had declined on the pig’s head option and how she thought I was missing out. I asked the Sister if her children were ever scared to find a pig’s head staring back at them from inside the oven, she laughed and said “Of course not!” The sister asked me if I was American, to which I replied, yes. She then asked me why I wasn’t as brave as all the other Americans on Fear Factor. I explained to her that the Americans on Fear Factor are not exactly an accurate portrayal of all Americans. I think the Sister was even more disappointed to hear this from me!

I informed the other girls at the house that I had turned down the opportunity to dine on swine for Thanksgiving and they didn’t seem too disappointed. I wish I could be a little more daring, like my fellow Americans on Fear Factor but I just am not.

Thankfully, we did enjoy our Thanksgiving meal and had the opportunity to share it with a few of the gardeners. They had appetizers with us and we sent a tray of food home with them. All in all, we had a pretty good holiday considering we were overseas. I know everyone is excited to come home in time for Christmas and spend it with their loved ones. We will be home in 14 days! Until then enjoy the snow and we will see you soon!

Week of November 23,

 

Boy! So much has happened since I have last written. I am assuming the other girls have been blogging to update you all, So I will mainly focus on my week.

           

 

 (Sunday) This morning Ashley, Kari, and I sat in the kitchen drinking coffee, making breakfast, and listening to Christmas music – you could say we are a little excited! After breakfast we headed over to the City Bowl to the Green Point Market. The Green Point Market is a huge market that has “African” souvenirs. Bargaining becomes a huge game, at one point I realized I was bargaining over 10R, $1, I stopped and thought about who needed it more. Needless to say, I paid 70R for my bag instead of 60R. Ashley walked out of the market about 1000R later and Kari and I walked out about 600-700R later. Oh boy!

            After the market we headed over the Waterfront. We strolled through the mall and then went over to the craft market which is more upscale than Green Point. We all picked up a couple of things but soon realized we couldn’t hold another thing so we headed home. 

            I ate some lunch, although it was 4:30P and went for a run. I hope some the girls mentioned that the Rotavirus, what we call, “Rota-Rooter” is slowly making its way through the house. Cardinal symptoms are vomiting and some serious diarrhea, totally not fun. Anyway, I had it on Saturday, but clearly it hadn’t quite cleared my system by Sunday because after my run I barfed. Sounds fun huh? I decided to call it a day and spent the rest of night watching Harry Potter.

           

I woke up today (Monday) at about 5:15A and got ready to head out with Jess and Ashley to Themba Care. I have been reluctant to go to Themba Care throughout my time here because of tuberculosis. The HIV isn’t a really big deal because it’s so easy to prevent but I have barely come to terms with TB – unfortunately there isn’t much you can do about it. I am glad I went though, it was a good experience. There isn’t much nursing care that goes on at Themba. It is more occupational therapy I would say – and babysitting! 

 

Today, Tuesday, I was at Mitchell’s Plain hospital. Sister Oliver started us up with the usual rounds of a brief synopsis of each patient. Halfway through the rounds, Sister Oliver had Iris and I take two children down to physiotherapy. She shoved the charts and children into our hands and asked if we knew where it was and said “go, go”! I walked only a couple of feet down the hallway before I realized, I had no idea who this child was. Iris had one baby and I had the other – which was which? What was this child’s name? What was her diagnosis? There was no identification band which is completely ridiculous.

            Physiotherapy is absolutely torturous to watch. In general, suctioning is an extremely difficult to perform on children, and I understand that. I want to compare it to how we do it in the United States. Do we hyper-oxygenate the child before and after? How long do they suction for?

            Sister Oliver had a “risk management” meeting for the staff. She brought up the incident that occurred this morning with the identification band. It was interesting to listen to the meeting; even I could tell them numerous things that are representative of risks on the unit. I only chimed in when I felt it was appropriate. Even after all this time being here I get so frustrated on the way things are done. Medicine in South Africa is so far behind America. Nurses always do the consent forms; the absence of hand washing; isolation rooms barely existent. Even the nursing role is vague in regards to vital signs, assessments etc. Sister Oliver noted that vitals didn’t need to be done at any certain time, but just when they felt something was wrong. That is so ridiculous! There are just so many loose ends – it makes me cringe! It’s going to be years and years before this country gets onto its feet. PS they don’t have one computer on the pediatric floor – can you imagine?

            After clinical I relaxed and made some dinner. Then Ash and I took a walk around The Commons and I did some work.

 

Today (Wednesday) at Gatesville was a really interesting day because there were so many children on the floor. I spent a good portion of my time with a 4 year old girl who had spina bifida. The mother was so really open to teaching us about her daughter’s impairment and answered all the questions we had.

            After clinical Kari, Jess, and I went into town to get ingredients for our big feast tomorrow! YAY! Jess helped me make my mom’s famous peanut butter balls but other than that we are saving the cooking for tomorrow.

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! (Thursday) I started off the morning with my traditional 5 mile Pie Run. It is a race sponsored by the YMCA (in America) that my Dad and I do every Thanksgiving morning. It wasn’t the same, but better than nothing!

Although we are not in America we did our best to make a Thanksgiving feast – and it was an absolute success! There were 10 of us, which included Jordan (Dana’s boyfriend) and Julianna (Carrie Ellen’s sister). Our menu was stuffed mushrooms and cheese and crackers for appetizers. Chicken, mashed potatoes, squash, stuffing, green bean casserole, cranberry, rolls, peas, and corn for the main dishes. Milk tart, apple pie (“home”made – yes), peanut butter balls, ice cream, and chocolate cake for dessert!

            Today, we were all thankful to have each other and to be American! Everyone contributed and it was absolutely fabulous. Not to mention it was 75 degrees, sunny, and some of us were even in sun dresses. Wahoo! After cleaning up the kitchen we all headed upstairs to the rec room to watch Elf – I’m not a huge fan of the movie and I might be guilty of falling asleep halfway through it, but it was still a good end to the day.

 

            (Friday) Ash and I went to Themba Care again this morning. It totally exhausted me. I took a nap and had some left over turkey for a late lunch. I laid around the pool for an hour, headed out for a quick run, and then had some dinner and called it a night.

            (Saturday) Today I started the morning of with some coffee and read by the pool for about an hour. I am going to head over to Canal Walk with Ashley. There are 440 stores in the mall – wowzo! Anyway, we might head out for some drinks later tonight, but that is still up in the air.

Only 2 weeks left in Cape Town! Can you believe it?!

 

Ps I am going to try and link up our Thanksgiving pictures for you! Stay tuned..

 

It’s hard to believe there are only 2 weeks remaining here in Cape Town! I’m glad to say Jordan & Julianna arrived safely, and were able to enjoy some classic South African experiences. The weather here has been sunny & warm, in the high 80s – if I had to guess. Our pool has been well taken advantage of, as well as trips to nearby beaches. Camps Bay was the most recent beach visited – gorgeous scenery but ice cold water. I find it amazing how locals will urge you to buy anything & everything they are selling, and will go to great lengths to find a customer. While sitting on the beach, there had to be several vendors walking by each minute, offering cold drinks, sunglasses, or even – miniature chess tables! Even while waiting on the minibus, vendors poked their heads inside the door, offering last-minute sales of toothpicks, or whatever they could gather to sell. Cape Town never ceases to amaze me. Green Point and Green Square Market are two common  festivities downtown, where locals sell anything from beaded items and painted bowls to tee-shirts and animal skins. Bartering is the key to the game. I have learned to stand my ground and not be fooled when vendors tell you they will give you “a special deal.” It seems everyone is getting special deals.

A group of us climbed Table Mountain! After 2+ hours of hiking and reaching the point where the trees cleared out, we thought we were near to the top. To our surprise, we soon reached a sign informing us that we had 3 hours left of hiking until we reached the cable cars, for the descent down! The view was nothing short of breathtaking, however. We started from Kirstenbosch Gardens, and hiked all the way to the top of Table Mountain, overlooking the entire city of Cape Town. It definitely had us checking our pulses as we felt our cardiovascular system go into overdrive! It gives a whole new perspective when looking back at that mountain across from 10 Loch Road. I can now appreciate its immensity!

This past week was also Thanksgiving in Cape Town! Despite the chicken instead of turkey, we managed to create a delicious Thanksgiving feast – consisting of mashed potatoes, butternut squash, homemade stuffing, peas, corn, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, stuffed mushrooms, and fluffy rolls. We went all out, and even had a full course of dessert – including peanut butter chocolate balls and apple pie. It was the first Thanksgiving eating outside, alongside a swimming pool, in sundresses and sunscreen. After Skype-ing family back home, I realized we had better enjoy the warm weather here in South Africa while it lasts!

Friday Jordan & I visited the V & A Waterfront – a more Americanized shopping spot, but it overlooks the harbor with incoming ships, so it’s a must to see if in the area. There were a couple groups of street performers, playing drums, marimba, and other rhythmic instruments. For dinner I had oxtail and Jordan had a braai meat kabob – both delicious dishes. The calamari here is also spectacular – so we had that as a starter. We couldn’t help but stop in the nearby mall afterwards and pick up some souvenirs for friends back home. Cape Town always seems so festive and alive – truly a remarkable place to spend 3 1/2 months!

-Dana Lehner

This past week or so has been filled with wildlife adventures for me. All told, I’ve ridden and fed an elephant… 

Harry, a 4-ton African Elephant

 Draped a 6-foot snake around my neck (the students MADE me do this!)… 

Albino Rock Python

 Petted a 7-month-old cheetah cub…

Cheetah Cub Cheetah Cubs

And visited some penguins…

African Penguin

Not bad for only a week!

Art