Day 25 - Work, Sleep & Dinner Out

Well, not much to report today either. I woke up this morning with a sore throat and not feeling the best but I was still excited to go to work because I was rostered to work in labour and delivery. Aynsley and Sarita are joining us for the day again.

We worked with an older midwife by the name of Sister Steria Swai. She took well to sharing her knowledge and was a great teacher. She had a empathetic approach to the patients,which is somewhat unusual here, and took their privacy and dignity into consideration, which can also be unusual here.

Unfortunately no babies were delivered today however I did get to admit a patient who had attended the clinic with labour pains. I am guessing she will deliver some time through out the night. Unfortunately, the delivery is too far off for me to wait around for.

This afternoon I came home and had a sleep and then tonight I went out for dinner at 10 2 10 with Bellinda, Jenny, Ally, Henriikka and Sandy. I ordered the same Indian potato meal that I ordered from there last time as it was so good. Luckily I had heaps left over so now I have a doggy bag for lunch tomorrow.

After dinner I phoned a taxi to take us home. I told him we were at the restraunt called 10 2 10 and we needed him to take us home. We waited and he didn't come so I called again and he assured me he was coming. Again, he didn't show up. I called him a third time and he said he was waiting for us and I explained that we were waiting for him too but we could not see him. Eventually the waitress came out to see if we needed help and she spoke to the taxi driver for us. It turns out he thought we wanted to be picked up at 9:50 (10 to 10)! He arrived at the restraunt not long after that and we made it home safely :-)

Tomorrow Ally and Jenny will be visiting Pasua and I will be working in family planning.

Only one week until I am home now. I can't wait to see you boys! I love you <3

Day 24 - Just another work day...

Not much to report today.  Bellinda, Aynsley, Sarita and I headed off to Pasua. Aynsley and Sarita were hoping to witness a birth but unfortunately no babies were born today.

After work Aynsley, Sarita and I we went into town to Union Coffee for lunch. Sarita and I were a little shocked when we walked in and Aynsley pointed out a fellow mzungu and said "I know that guy. Hi Jake". Turns out he is a family friend and she knew he was in Tanzania but not that he was in Moshi. The chances of running into someone you know from home in Tanzania are pretty low!

The girls then did a little shopping and we went home and I washed laundry. I will definitely appreciate my washing machine when I get home...it takes me about an hour to wash a small hamper of laundry by hand!

I am excited to be working in labour and delivery tomorrow!

Talk to you later. Love you. Miss you <3

Day 23 - Rau Day Care and Chemka Hot Springs

This morning we dropped by the Rau Day Care Centre on the way to the Chemka Hot Springs. We met with the children and their teacher and gave them a donation of story books, toys, pens, crayons and puzzles. The watoto (children) stood up one at a time and introduced themselves. They were very cute! We blew up balloons for them which they loved. The children at the Rau Day Care Centre are from poor homes and many are affected by HIV. The children can be sponsered for 15€ ($18.62 AUD) per month. Most of that money goes towards the child's food and education and the rest goes towards the general running cost of the centre so those children who do not have a sponser do not miss out. Then, when the child goes to school the sponsership money goes directly towards school fees.

After visiting the day care centre we went to the Chemka Hot Springs. We drove through small villages over a very bumpy dirt road. We saw many local people including a lot of Maasai women walking donkeys along the way. All of a sudden we stopped and in the middle of this dry, dusty area was a beautiful spring surrounded by lush green trees. It was unexpected. The spring was so clear that we could see the bottom even though it was deep. There were quite a few local men and boys around which made us all feel a little awkward and uncomfortable at first but they weren't going anywhere so we stripped off to our togs and jumped in. Turns out we had nothing to worry about...they pretty much ignored us! The water was not exactly hot despite being called hot springs. It wasn't cold but it wasn't warm either although every so often I could feel warm water rush by. There was a strong current so we found an underwater tree branch to rest on. When I was trying to climb out of the spring some little black fish where nibbling on my legs and feet. Unfortunately I am very ticklish so this made it hard for me to climb out on the slippery rocks! I eventually made it out and we all sat on sun chairs and hammocks under a big tree and had a picnic lunch. Some of the girls went back in for another swim after lunch but I had a nap.

In the afternoon we jumped into the van to head home. This is when we realised Beatrice (our house mother) was drunk. Turns out she had drank 3 large sachets of Konyagi. Konyagi is popular in Tanzania and is 35% alcohol! For the first part of the trip she was singing loudly (and badly), then she had the driver pull over at a local store so she could buy more Konyagi, then she had the driver pull over at a road side stall so she could buy potatoes. She also had him pull over two other times so she could pee behind a bush. She definately made the trip home interesting!

Tomorrow I am back to work again. Sarita and Aynsley are coming with us to visit Pasua Health Clinic for the day.

I miss you guys. Nakupenda (I love you) <3

Day 22 - Church and Shopping

Habari,

Taz, Tash, Bellinda, Henriikka and I decided to attend a local church service today. We were told that the service started at 9am so we arranged for a taxi to pick us up at 8:30. The taxi arrived at about 8:45 (Tanzanian time - pole pole). He took us to the local Assembly of God church in Moshi. When we arrived we walked in and found some seats. There was a parade of people walking down the isle and around to the front of the of the church. We soon realized that the parade of people were then heading back to find their seats and we were sitting in some of them! They didn't say anything and the service resumed so we decided it was best not to move now! Looking back, I assume they were receiving communion. There was one Pastor speaking to the congrigation in Swahili and everything he said was repeated by another man in English. They asked that anyone attending the church for the first time stand up. We stood up and were welcomed to the church. The pastor then invited us to come down to the front of the church and we were welcomed again. After being welcomed again and again we were then taken to the front row of seats and our information, such as name, address, occupation etc. was collected. Then the service ended. This is when we realized that we had arrived at the end of the service! When we asked about it we were told that the English service was held from 7-9am. A Swahili service would then be held from 9-11am. We decided not to stay for the Swahili service. As we were leaving we ran into Anna, one of the nurses from Pasua, and had a chat with her. She was very excited to see us there! Even though we turned up late and sat in other peoples seats they were all very accommodating and happy to have us there. The people in Tanzania are generally very friendly. We are often told 'karibu' which means welcome.

We left the church and walked into the centre of town. Sundays are much quieter in town so it makes shopping much easier. The tourist shops are always open on Sundays whereas most of the local shops close. We did some shopping and then went to Union Coffee for lunch. I bought two scafes for 5000 shillings each ($3 AUD) and a fridge magnet for 7000 shillings ($4.20 AUD).

Tomorrow we have been given the day off work so we can visit the Rau Day Care Centre and the Hot Springs.

I am having fun but missing you guys heaps. I hope you are having fun too! Love you<3

Day 21 - Tanzanite and Maasai Markets

Hi Guys,

It's Saturday so no work today!

Leonie, Sandy, Tania, Aynsley, Jenny Sv and I went to TanzaniteOne in Arusha. TanzaniteOne is a company that owns mining rights to part of the Tanzanite mining area. Hanna had a hair appointment in Arusha so Louis drove us all there.

We went to the store and were taken on a tour and watched a video that explained the history of Tanzanite. Tanzanite was originally discovered by a Maasai man in 1967 and was named by the Tiffany jewellry company in 1968. Tanzanite is only mined in Tanzania and can only be found in a 16 square km area at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. This means that it is relatively rare. It is said to be 1000 times rarer than diamonds and is estimated to be mined out within the next 25 years. We were then shown through to the shop. The stones come in many different colours. The most common colours are violetish/blue and blueish/violet but it also comes in clear, yellow, pink and green. I purchased a small violetish/blue stone for 395 000 shillings ($237 AUD). I got a certificate with it stating it's weight, grading and authenticity.

After buying Tanzanite, Louis took us to a Chinese restraunt for lunch. Lunch was really good the service was the quickest we have experienced since being in Tanzania. We shouted Louis lunch for driving us to Arusha and it cost us about 10 000 shillings each ($6 AUD). I still can't get over how cheap it is to eat a nice meal out here. I am also suprised at how good the food is at the restraunts!

We then went to the Maasai markets in Arusha. There were a heap of shops all bunched together and all selling the same stock in the middle of the city. I got each of you boys (including you, Steve) a Tanzanian soccer shirt. I paid 17 000 shillings ($10.22 AUD) each. I also got a little tiny salt dish with a spoon for 10 000 shillings ($6 AUD) from a different store. I am pretty sure I paid way to much for it but it was one of those situations where I was stuck in a store by myself with the store owner pressuring me into buying something. It is hard not to feel bad for them sometimes so you just give in. I like it and I will probably use it so it doesn't really matter in the end.

I am having a quite night in tonight. I will probably watch a couple of shows on the Xoom (provided I can remember how to get them to play) and work out my budget for the next week.

Tomorrow morning I am planning on attending an Assembly of God church service with a couple of the other girls. I will be leaving here at 8:30am so I will try to give you guys a call before that (about 1:30 -2:30pm your time).

I love you all and I hope you are enjoying the school holidays <3

Day 20 - This time it was a baby boy!

I got up this morning and got ready for work and waited for the taxi to take us to Pasua. We waited and waited and eventually decided to call him to come get us. He arrived one hour late!

We arrived at Pasua and signed in and I got to the labour room just in time to see a women birthing her baby. The baby was breech so I could just see the soles of the baby's tiny feet emerging. The midwife tickled the baby's toes and they wriggled! I quickly went to put my bag down on the table and grab some gloves out and about 2-3 seconds after I had walked passed the Mama her water burst and sprayed about 4 meters in front of her. I was so glad I wasn't 2 seconds earlier! That could have been messy! I grabbed my gloves and returned to the Mama's side. She pushed the baby out to his shoulders over a few contractions and I held him as he came. Once his legs were out I became aware of how little he was. I asked the midwife and was told he was premature. The Mama was only 28 weeks pregnant. The birth took a little while and I was becoming concerned that the baby wouldn't survive the birth or had already passed in the past few minutes. The doctor then arrived and I stood aside. The baby's head was stuck and it took some effort for the doctor to pry (for want of a better word!) his head out. The baby didn't make a noise at first but he eventially started to weep and I felt relieved. He was still alive! The doctor and nurses worked to suction secretions from the baby's mouth so he didn't choke and to prevent the secretions from getting into he lungs and creating an infection. They also wrapped him in multiple kangas to keep him warm. While the doctor and nurses were with the baby a midwife injected the Mama with the oxytocin. She then waited for it to work and after a while encouraged the Mama to push the placenta out while she gently pulled. The placenta came out easily and in one piece. The delivery of this Mama's placenta was so much better than the last one I experienced. I really feel that Melania, the previous midwife I worked with, needs extra education on birthing the placenta.

As the baby was 12 weeks premature the Mama and baby were referred to KCMC, the largest hospital in Moshi, for continued care. KCMC has much better facilities and equipment to care for the baby. Later I asked the midwife if the baby has a very good chance of survival and she said yes as he was a good birth weight for his gestation (1.3kg) and he was alert. He had an apgar score of 8/10 which is acceptable for a baby born at full term. An ambulance arrived to transport the Mama and baby to the next hospital.

The midwife and I then cleaned up the delivery room and prepared and sterilised some delivery packs. The delivery packs included a kidney dish, two drapes, two pairs of scissors and two clamp forcseps. Each set is wrapped in a piece of fabric and then tied with string before being sterilised.

After that there was not much going on in L&D so I went to the antinatal clinic for a little while. I then retuned to L&D with one of the new students, Shezra, and while we were chatting we saw three men arrive outside the clinic on a motorbike. One of the men was unconscious. His friends carried him around the back and into the women/children ward. Within the minute they had come back out with him and took him to the mens ward. I was curious so as a cover I told Shezra I needed to go find my friends as the taxi would be there soon to pick us up. We walked through the women/children ward and there was a doctor reviewing a patient with a group of visiting student doctors. We then walked into the mens ward and there was the man laying on the bed. There were no doctors or nurses to be seen anywhere! I was surprised to see that he was not receiving any treatment at all. I didn't know what to do and no one else seemed even slightly concerned, not even the student nurse I was with. I didn't know what to do...what was culterally appropriate. Looking back on the situation I wish I had put him in the recovery position and taken his obs but it is too late now.

I had a quite afternoon of reading and napping and then I went out for dinner. I went back to Green Bamboo BBQ with Sarita, Aynsley, Debra, Daisy and Henrika. Henrika is a Finnish volunteer who arrived at TV House a few days ago. I took some photos of the bbq this time but they are not that great because I forgot my camera and had to use my phone and the bbq wasn't as full as the restaurant wasn't as busy.

We returned home and had a few drinks before going to bed. Tomorrow I am going to Arusha to visit the Tanzanite store and possibly the Maasai Museum. That should be interesting.

Lala salaama (sleep well). I love you <3

Day 19 - Pasua and a Quiet Afternoon

I slept in a little this morning. I am still feeling very tired from the safari and probably the lack of coffee too.

We went to work this morning and I went to the women/childrens ward where I was supposed to be working. I sat down and started reading the patients notebooks to get an idea on why each one of them was there while I waited for a nurse to show up. The nurse had still not arrived by the time I had finished reading. I must have been waiting for at least an hour! I am not sure who is supposed to look after the patients when the nurses disappear! I went for a walk to find out who was supposed to be working in the women/children ward but I couldn't find any nurses at all. I eventually found one and asked him where everyone was and he didn't seem to know. It was a bit strange. Sandy and I eventually settled into the antinatal clinic where we conducted physical assessments on the pregnant ladies.

I didn't do much this afternoon. I went into town for lunch because the Dadas were cooking maize for lunch and I hate it. Ally, Jenny, Leonie and I went to Deli Chez and I had an Indian meal. Indian food is particularly good in Moshi!

Tomorrow I am working in Labour and Delivery again. With any luck I may be able to assist in the delivery of another baby!

I am off to bed now. It is 9pm already and I really wanted to get an early night tonight as I have been so tired.

Love you all <3

Day 18 - Back to work

It was back to work today after having the long weekend off.  I spent the first part of the morning working in the lab where all the tests are conducted and then went to a ceremony that was being held at the clinic.

The way it works here is that the patient visits the doctor and the doctor writes any tests that need to be done in the patient's notebook (patient records are very different here to at home!). The patient then takes their notebook to the lab where the lab technician reads the notes and carries out the testing and then writes in the results.

Today I was testing patients for malaria. I had to prick the patients finger with the lancet (the same horrible one they use for testing HIV). As the lancet is so big it hurts the patients a lot and they would jump and then I would jump. At first I was trying to be gentle by not inserting the lancet to far but I quickly learned that it is best to just do it because if you are to careful it doesn't go in far enough and you have to do it again. I figure it is better to do it once properly than have to do it twice. I would then scoop up their blood and put it on the test strip and add some liquid. The blood would then seep down the strip and show either one line for negative or two lines for positive.

Next, I went to the ceremony. The ceremony was held because Pasua was opening a new building and there is also two new vaccines being rolled out in Tanzania. One protects against pneumococcal which causes pneumonia and the other protects against rotavirus which causes diarrhoea. It is a pretty big deal because those two issues are the cause of many death of Tanzanian children. Our night guard here at TV house, Babu, buried his two week old grandson on the 1st of January as he had died from pneumonia. The Tanzanian health ministers came and gave speeches (not that we could understand them!) and there were TV cameras and photographers there. At the end of the ceremony Leonie presented Tabatha with some medical equipment and we met the government officials. I am pretty sure we were on the news tonight!

After lunch I attempted washing my laundry by hand for the second time. I definitely did a better job this time!

Tonight I went out to the Green Bamboo BBQ restaurant for dinner with Aynsley, Sarita, Ally, Jenny, Leonie and Leonie's friend Karen. The restaurant was pretty awesome. It has an open air setting and when you walk in there is a big round bbq with all different types of meat cooking in a circle. It looked amazing. The food was really good too. I ordered a 1/4kg mixed grill with a side of fries and a side of salad as well as a soda (they don't know what you are talking about if you say soft drink here!) and a milkshake and it cost 13 000 shillings ($7.80AUD). So cheap!

Tomorrow, I will be working in inpatients. I haven't worked there yet so it should be interesting.

I am off to bed now. Good night. I love you <3

Day 17 - Ngorogoro Crater and back to Moshi

Today was the forth and final day of safari.

We drove down into and around the crater. Again, we saw many of the same animals as seen previously. Just before we headed to lunch a lone black rhino was spotted! It was quite a distance away but we could see it well with binoculars.  We have now seen the big 5!

We stopped by a lake for lunch. We had to eat our lunch in the truck as the birds will steal your food. There was one couple there who had obviously not been told this by their guide as they set up a picnic blanket in a nice open grassy area but it wasn't long before they were being swooped by a heap of large birds! Also, as we ate our lunch a hippo popped up in the water in front of us. Adam assured us it was a well trained hippo and it wouldn't come out of the water to eat us.

As we left the crater to head back home we spotted a pride of lions walking along a hill in the distance. It was a nice way to finish our safari!

On the way home we stopped at a Maasai village. First they danced for us and then we danced with them. After that they showed us inside one of their huts. Unfortunately it was so dark inside the hut that we could not see a thing. The huts are very small and only have two rooms; one side for the boys to sleep and one side for the girls to sleep. Maasai men marry multiple women and one village is made up of one family. You can tell how many wives a Maasai man has by counting the huts in the village because a hut is built for each wife. An interesting fact we learned was that the Maasai only eat meat, milk and blood (apart from when we give young boys food!). They make their money through cattle/goats and jewellery so the family had jewellery on display for sale. I got each of you boys a necklace from their store. Zane, yours has a turtle on it!

We got home to Moshi at 7:30pm and had dinner. I am going to bed now as I have work in the morning and it is getting late.

Love you all <3

Day 16 - From Serengeti back to Ngorogoro Crater

Day three of safari!

Last night we could hear the hippos in the lake behind the lodge grunting as we went to sleep. They sound like pigs!

This morning as I walked to the restaurant for breakfast there were these giant mouse like creatures laying on the rocks. They were so cute!

Today was day two in the Serengeti. We saw lions, buffalo, a sivel cat and crocodiles along with many of the previous mentioned animals that we have seen over the last couple of days.

There is a list of five animals here known as 'the big 5'. They are elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard and rhino. If you see the big 5 it is considered that you have had a very successful safari. So far we have seen elephants, lions, leopards and buffalo so we are hoping to see rhinos tomorrow.

As we drove back to Ngorogoro Crater we stopped at 5pm to celebrate the Australian New Year with a count down and champagne. We danced and celebrated on the Serengeti with wildebeast and zebras in the background much to the amusement of safari trucks passing by who stopped to make sure we were not broken down.

By the time we reached Ngorogoro Crater it was raining heavily. I was very relieved to be lodging rather than camping as the tents had to be set up in the rain as it was getting dark quickly. The girls backpacks, sleeping mats and sleeping bags all got wet.

Adam then drove Leonie, Tania, Sandy, Emma and I along the crater to the Ngorogoro Wildlife Lodge. Emma is joining us for the night as she is really unwell at the moment and not up to sleeping out in the cold wet weather. The drive was pretty scary as it was very dark, the windscreen was fogged up, the road was narrow and extremely muddy/slippery and the bottom of the crater was a very long way down!

We didn't arrive at the Lodge until 8:30pm so we had dinner and are now going to bed. I am glad we celebrated the Australian New Years as there is no way I would be able to stay awake tonight.

Tomorrow we are heading down into the crater and then we will head home. If we have time we will be stopping at a Maasai village on the way home.

I am missing you guys heaps! Love you <3

Day 15 - Ngorogoro Crater and the Serengeti

Day 2 of safari and we saw the Ngorogoro Crater and visited the Serengeti. We saw a leopard, baboons, giraffes, zebras, wildebeast, hippos, hyenas, giselles, voltures, impalas (that is the one I couldn't remember the name of yesterday) and secretary birds.

During breakfast this morning we were able to watch the baboons playing outside. We left the Lake Manyara Wildlife Lodge at 8:30.

We drove up a long narrow windy road while playing chicken with the oncoming traffic and competeing with the other trucks in our group to see who could get to the check point first!

Along the way we stopped at the Ngorogoro Crater and had a quick look before it started raining heavily so we jumped back in the truck and headed for the Serengeti. It was a long drive but we saw lots of animals along the way. I am also travelling in what is known as the 'party bus' so the young girls keep me very entertained with music, singing, dancing and jokes!

Not long after we entered the Serengeti we stopped to have lunch under a tree. While there we were slowly and cautiously approached by a group of about 15 young Masai boys. These boys are currently going through a traditional initiation into manhood. This is an event that occurs every 7 years. During this initiation boys aged between 7 and 14 are circumsised and dressed in black with painted white faces. They are then sent out on their own to fend for themselves. I have no idea how long this goes on for and I am sure there is more to this initiation process then just that. So, these boys approached us wanting to sell jewellry and asking for money for photos that were taken of them. We were eating from very overstocked lunch boxes so we gathered all our excess food together and gave it to them. They collected the food and went away to eat it before returning the rubbish to us. I had heard of this initiation process before and found it quite frightening that boys that young are sent out to fend for themselves but it was interesting to see these boys today and see how they were looking after each other and they were happy. They actually seemed to be really enjoying themselves and you could sense their comradery.

After lunch we headed off for more animal spotting. The animals are usually not to concerned about all the safari trucks and just live their lives around them. At times they come really close to the trucks.

The leopard we saw crossed the road right in front of us. I tried to take photos of it but it was going dark and I don't think they will turn out.

At one stage we were checking out the baboons when they suddenly decided to attack. They were jumping up at the windows and trying to grab at us. One of the larger baboons tried to attack Adam (our driver) and the attack was so sudden that he screamed and almost jumped out of his seat. That was amusing and the young girls are not going to let him forget about it in a hurry!

Tonight Lionie, Tania, Sandy and I are staying at the Serengeti Wildlife Lodge. This place is not as nice as the one yesterday but it is still a whole lot better than camping. It is cold and rainy out here and the camping matresses the other girls are sleeping on are very thin!

I miss you guys heaps and wish you could be here with me. I hope you have a good night on New Years Eve and don't go to bed to early! Love you <3

Day 14 - Lake Manyara National Park and Lake Manyara Wildlife Lodge

Happy birthday Mum and Sachin!

Day one of safari...OMG, what an awesome day!

Adam, Louis (a different one to the one I usually mention) and Doc arrived at the house to pick us up in the safari trucks. The trucks have six seats in the back (three rows) and a front passanger seat so everyone gets a window seat. The roof also pops up so you can stand on the seat and look out through the top! I travelled in a car with Aynsley, Sarita, Daisy, Debra, Tash and Taz. I got the front passenger seat and Adam was our driver and guide.

We headed off and our first stop was a supermarket in Arusha. We needed to stop for snacks and alcohol! We will be away for New Years Eve so a few of the girls are planning to have a couple of drinks.

We then headed for Lake Manyara National Park. I think the trip may have taken about 3 1/2 hours excluding the snack stop but I don't know because I wasn't paying any attention to the time. I slept for some of the trip but for the rest of it I just looked out the window and tried to take it all in. I enjoyed the drive. The scenery was similar to Australia...at times it reminded me of the drive to Dalby but it was also very different. There were Masai all along the way with their cattle and goats. The Masai are a Tanzanian tribe who are quite distinct therefore easy to recognise. They wear colourful 'robes' and lots of beaded jewellery and they often carry a stick. They graze their animals along the side of the road. Their homes are also easy to spot. The live in cute little round straw huts!

When we arrived at Lake Manyara we stopped for a packed lunch before heading off further into the park.

The first animal we saw were monkeys...lots of monkeys! As we drove around we also saw elephants, giraffes, wilderbeasts, flamingos, one zebra, baboons and little deer like things but I can't remember their name.

The experience was amazing. At times the animals were only metres away from the truck!

After we left the park we went to a souvenier shop. Mum, I was able to get you an African doll like you had asked for. I was pretty impressed with my bartering skills too! I asked how much and was told $20USD (the shops are more expensive here because it is a touristy area and for some reason they like to work in US dollars!) but in the end I worked them down to $9.50USD. $9.50USD is equal to 15 000 shillings. I could have got a similar doll cheaper in Moshi but the ones in Moshi are a bit smaller and not as well made so I figured it was worth paying a bit extra.

I went to the campsite with the girls to drop them off and then Adam drove me to the 'lodging accomodation'. Well, the lodging turned out to be a beautiful hotel! There are four of us, Leonie, Sandy, Tania and myself, who chose the lodging accomodation while the rest opted to camp. We were giddy with excitment when we saw where we were staying and that continued for the whole night! We wandered the grounds and took some photos and then went to the pool bar for a drink. The view is absolutely amazing. We are on top of a cliff overlooking the national park we just drove through. We then went to the restraunt where a buffet dinner was served. Dinner was great and it was nice to have something different for a change as we have been eating pretty much the same thing everyday for the past two weeks. After (way too much) dinner we returned to our rooms (I am sharing with Leonie) and I had the best shower I have had since leaving Australia!

I am now tucked up into bed and am about to go to sleep. I have no idea where we are going tomorrow but I am looking forward to it!

Love you all <3

Day 13 - Morning Tea and a Birthday Dinner

Hi,

We went by taxi to placement this morning. We were supposed to go by daladala but some of the girls complained and said they would rather wait until next week. I think they are being wusses! Although I will probably do it once and never want to do it again ;o).

I spent my morning in the antenatal clinic with Sister Karen and three of the student nurses. Nazmin kept me up to date with what was being said and I got to listen to fetal heartbeats, palpate the Mamas bellies to feel the position of the baby and measure fundal heights. I wasn't very good at feeling the position of the baby as I was to gentle and you need to push deeply to be able to feel anything. I am gentle because I remember how much it hurt when the midwives at home did it to me but if I am ever going to feel anything I will need to get over that.

Today was the local student nurses last day of placement at Pasua so Bellinda, Chioma, Sandy and I had taken biscuits and cake to share for a late morning tea before we left. The student nurses were very excited and really enjoyed the food.

I don't know why but I was feeling particularly tired today so after placement I went home and layed on the lounge and read my book.

At 6:30pm we went out to a restaurant down the road called 10 2 10 for Jenny's 50th birthday. The service was very slow and we did not start getting our meals until 8:30pm. There were a few different types of cuisine offered and I ordered from the Indian menu. I can't remember the name of the dish but it was potato stuffed with cheese and cashews. I also ordered steamed rice, naan bread and yogurt to go with it. The meal was delicious however the yoghurt didn't even arrive until I had finished eating! I was lucky though because I did receive all the dishes I had ordered...a lot of people didn't. When it came time for us to leave the bill added up to 80 000 shillings ($48.90 AUD) more than we had ordered and received! Louis spent 1 1/2 hours arguing over the bill without success so in the end we all had to put in extra money to cover it. It was a bit disappointing as all the meals were very good and we would have liked to return to the restaurant but it is not nice to feel you have been taken advantage of. Louis will return to the restaurant tomorrow to discuss the matter further with them.

Tomorrow I am going on safari for three nights. We leave here at 8am and I have not yet packed my bag so I will be up early in the morning to do that.

Good night, love you <3

Day 12 - A Baby Girl and More Shopping

Habari,

Bellinda, Chioma and I headed off to Pasua this morning in the taxi - still no daladala experience however I have heard rumours that that may happen tomorrow. Sandy stayed home today as she was not feeling well.

I was really looking forward to placement as today was my turn in Labour and Delivery. When we arrived we went to the morning hand over meeting. There had been two births during the night but one inparticular had the Sisters' attention. An 18 year old girl had attended the clinic in labour claiming to be about 5 months pregnant however she had given birth to a full term baby. The Sisters were amused as the girl had only been married for about 5 months so they believed she was fibbing about the babies due date. They were all chuckling about it!

After hand over I went to the delivery room with Melanie (one of the midwives) and was very excited to see a Mama on one of the two delivery room beds. She was in labour and was waiting for a pelvic examination to assess the progress of her labour. This helps the midwife to know how far into the labour the Mama is and how much further she needs to go. Melanie examined the Mama and found that her cervix was 7cm dilated. This was good news to me as I knew she only had another 3cm to go which meant I would probably be able to be there for the birth!

I helped Melanie clean the labour and delivery and postnatal rooms with a cold water and bleach solution and a rag and then I spent time with the Mama.

It is different here than at home. The Mamas birth alone with no family members at all...not even the baby's father. Even the midwives ignore them! This Mama's name was Happiness (that is not unusual here!) and she was in a lot of pain but she kept as quiet as possible. She was definitely a lot quieter than I was (for those who don't know, I was very loud through each of my deliveries!). She was trying to rub her own back unsuccessfully and the midwife continued to ignore her so I rubbed and massaged her back for her. I couldn't understand her and she couldn't understand me but she appeared to appreciate it. There is no pain relief offered to labouring women so natural methods are the only option. Also, unlike home, the Mama brings all the equipment needed with them to the clinic when they come in. This includes kitenge (similar to a sarong and is used as the bed sheet), sterile gloves, cord clamp, a large roll of cotton swab, oxytocin, syringe and needle. When Happiness was standing I tried to encourage her to lean on the bed and sway her hips but she either didn't understand or wasn't interested!

Happiness's contractions had started at 5am this morning and she was 7cm dilated at 8:30am. This was the first stage of labour. At about 11am to 11:30am she had reached 10cm dilated and was entering the second stage of labour. During the second stage the contractions slowed down a bit and this stage was delayed. Second stage would usually last about 30 minutes but it took longer. Happiness gave birth to a baby girl at 12:25pm. I was luck enough to help Melanie guide the baby out and hand her to her Mama!

The third stage is to deliver the placenta. Unfortunately, that was done very differently here than at home. The baby was wrapped and taken away to be weighed and then placed on the next bed alone. Happiness was given the injection of oxytocin and the midwife then started to pull on the umbilical cord straight away. The placenta wasn't ready to come out so I collected the baby and tried to encourage the Mama to breastfeed her as this releases natural hormones in the body which causes contractions and helps the placenta to come away from the wall of the uterus more easily however I was told she was not to breastfeed the baby until the placenta had been birthed. As the pulling of the umbilical cord was not sucessful the midwife proceeded to push her whole hand in and dig the placenta out. I was horrified! Again, I offered to let the Mama breastfeed but again I was told no. Not only was this method the last thing she needs after giving birth but it is dangerous for the Mama. It introduces bacteria which cause infection and increases the risk of bleeding and pieces of the placenta being left behind which also causes infection. The infection caused by doing what this midwife did is very serious and has the potential to kill the Mama if not picked up and treated early enough, which is very possible in a third world country like Tanzania. The birthing of the placenta should be relatively simple and easy. It does not usually require the intervention that was used today!

I am still trying to work out how to deal with this situation however I am considering printing out some journal articles regarding best practice for placenta delivery and talking about it with Tabatha (the director of nursing).

So, while the delivery of the baby was amazing, the delivery of the placenta was horrifying! However, I now know with 100% confidence that I want to be a midwife and next year I will enroll in the Master of Midwifery starting part-time in 2014 (sorry Steve!).

After work Bellinda and I went into town for lunch and to do some shopping. We tried a different restaurant called Deli Chez or Chez Deli that some of the girls had recommended but the meals took about an hour to come out and they were not very good! Grandad, while shopping I got you a green 'hippy shirt' (you know the style!) with a picture of Africa on it.

Anyway, it is time for bed now. Tomorrow I will be working in Family Planning and Antenatal which I am also looking forward to because they are my other favourite areas to work in. I will give you boys a call some time tomorrow as I am going on safari on Saturday and I probably won't have access to an internet connection again until Wednesday so I won't be able to contact you.

I love you and I hope you are enjoying your holidays <3

Day 11 - A sleep In and a Bike Ride

Happy Boxing Day!

Today has been very quiet. It started out with a sleep in after a late night last night and then I chatted with you boys before getting up. You boys have been so spoilt this year that I would not be surprised if you are now hoping I go away every Christmas!!!

I got up and had breakfast then went back to bed for a while. I hopped up again just before 12pm and had a shower before lunch.

After lunch Sandy and I went for a bike ride down the road to the small local grocery store. I had a little bit of trouble at first because the bike seat was way to high for me but I was okay once I got going. I will probably pay for it tomorrow because it was 1km each way and there was a hill involved!

The rest of the day consisted of doing not much at all. It was quite boring actually.

I am working in Labour and Delivery tomorrow so I am really excited about that. I am praying that there will be a delivery that I can assist with. My chances aren't great as Pasua is only a small clinic but you never know your luck :o)

Have a great day. Love you <3

Day 10 - Orphanage, Juvenile Detention Centre and a BBQ

Merry Christmas everyone!

Today started with video chatting with you boys at midnight while you opened your gifts. That was a good idea Kaleb as I still felt part of your Christmas morning and got to see your reactions when you opened gifts. I love my new nursing watch! Steve, you chose very well.

At 8am our Secret Santa gifts were handed out. I received a scarf similar to the one I got for Daphne as well as a note book and pen. My Secret Santa person was Tash and I got her an ampuole opener. I watched her open her gift and at first she did not know what it was but once someone told her she was excited and really liked it. The funny thing was that only a couple of days ago she was saying how hard the ampuoles are to open at her hospital placement so hopefully it will come in handy for her already.

After breakfast we headed to the Upendo Orphanage where we met with the children and handed out Christmas gifts. The orphanage is run by Catholic nuns and the facilities were in good condition. The children were obviously well cared for and had decent clothing and disposable nappies. Disposable nappies are unusual here - most babies just have a rag tied around their bottoms but some do have flat cloth nappies like Zane's blankies. Disposables are very rare! The children loved the attention and the gifts. We quickly learned not to let go of our cameras or phones as the kids will take anything they can get their hands on. One even unzipped my bag as it was on my back while I was sitting down!

After we left the orphanage we went to the Juvenile Detention Centre. Some of our group had already delivered the goat and other donations in the morning. When we arrived we were welcomed in by the boys and shown to a dining room. Some of the boys introduced themselves and all were extremely polite. In the end we were unable to stay for lunch, much to the relief of some of the girls who weren't keen on eating an animal they had seen alive, as the meal was going to take at least another four hours to cook. It was decided that we would go to Union Cafe for lunch instead.

After lunch we headed home. I was feeling exhausted by this stage and fell asleep for two hours. By the time I woke up it was almost time to get dinner started. We cooked out own dinner tonight so the Dadas could have the day off to be with their families.

We had a BBQ for Christmas dinner. Louis cooked chicken, sausages and pork on the BBQ and some of the girls had made potato bake, pasta salad and a garden salad to go with it. Leonie made trifle for dessert and Hanna made coffee cheesecake. Dinner was good and we had a great time together. After dinner Louis got out his fire twirling equipment and we all had a go. That was fun!

It is late now and I am about to go to sleep. I am going to sleep in tomorrow so I will give you guys a call later in the day. We get Boxing Day off so we do not have to go to placement tomorrow.

Love you and Merry Christmas <3

Day 9 - Pasua and Christmas Eve Dinner

Merry Christmas Eve!

Today started with breakfast and a hot shower (I am getting good at this!). 

We eventually headed off to Pasua; the taxi was late because Louis forgot to book it! The trip to work was a little more difficult than usual as the roads were very busy with people doing the last of their Christmas shopping - very similar but very different to home. It was a slow start at the clinic today. We thought it might be quiet considering it was Christmas Eve but we were wrong. It was actually busier than usual. We took some lollipops and small gifts to share amoungst the children while we were there today. The kids were really excited and I think the Mamas were just as excited! I got the impression that the nurse I was working with today didn't really want me to be there so I stayed as low key as possible while still trying to be helpful. I must say though that it is hard to stay low key when you are one of very few mzungu in the area...everyone notices you!

After work Aynsley, Sarita and I had lunch at Union Cafe and had a walk around town. The girls still had a couple of Christmas gifts to buy but I didn't get anything.

I had some spare time when we got home from shopping so I washed my laundry. There are no washing machines here so I had to wash them by hand. That is a lot harder than it sounds and I am worried that my clothes will be stiff and I will smell like Sunlight soap for the next week or so!

We all went out for dinner tonight as the three Finnish girls who are also staying at the TV house celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. We went to a restaurant about 200m down the road called International Steakhouse. We were all very excited about having steak for dinner but once we got there we realised they were serving a buffet rather than the al a carte menu we had requested. We were also the only people in the whole restaurant! Unfortunately the meal was nothing special and pretty much what we have served for free in the house but it cost us 20 000 shillings ($12 AUD) each. The service was also extremely bad. Despite that, we had a good night together and sang Christmas carols after dinner.

I am now waiting up for you boys to wake up so I can be on Google video chat when you open your presents. I also have my present from Dad here ready to open with you!

Love you all and Merry Christmas <3

Day 8 - Kilimanjaro Coffee Tour and a Trip to Town

Hi,

This morning the majority of the group headed off to do a one day climb on Mt. Kilimanjaro, so those of us who did not feel that our fitness level was up to the climb (Sandy, Taz, Tash, Jenny and I) went on the Kilimanjaro Coffee Tour.

We arrived at the coffee farm and were greated by Peter. We sat down and had a cup of coffee. Peter explained how there is a co-op involving three local villages and how the production and sales of the coffee helps the villages. So far, money earned by the group has been used to improve the main road up to the coffee farm and build schools. The project they are currently working on is to provide school lunch for the local children. The Union Cafe that we frequent is also accociated with this co-op.

After our coffee, which was very good, we were introduced to our tour guide, Josephus. We walked down a dirt road/track to a small house. When we got there Josephus explained how they grow the coffee plants and each stage from harvest to cup. We were then able to pick our own beans and put them through the machine that seperates the green bean from the outer berry. The green beans then need to be washed and dried for 24 hours. Due to lack of time Josephus provided us with some dried beans that we beat in a morta and pessel to remove the second skin then roasted in a clay pot over an open fire. When the beans were roasted we then pounded them into a powder using the morta and pessel. Josephus then boiled some water over the fire and brewed us a pot of coffee using the beans we had just roasted. The coffee was very, very strong and we didn't have milk so I couldn't drink it! After the coffee tour we returned to the starting point where we were served a traditional Chugga lunch. The Chugga are one of  the local tribes from this area and is the tribe that Lious comes from. The lunch was delicious. We started with a banana soup which sounds disgusting but it is really nice. It actually tasted like chicken soup. Then we had a meal of rice, beef in sauce, stewed bananas, green beans and mango. Again, the stewed bananas sounds disgusting but was really good. It tasted like and had the same texture as potato.

After returning from the tour we decided to head into town. We started at the Union Cafe where we each had a milkshake and shared four pieces of cake; passionfruit cheesecake, carrot cake, baked berry cheesecake and chocolate cake. The cakes were okay but they were much dryer than we are used to at home.

We then had a walk around town but a lot of the shops were closed because it was Sunday afternoon. I did buy a pair of pants for 20 000 shillings ($12.18 AUD) though. 20 000 shillings is on the higher end of the accepted price range for these pants but I really couldn't be bothered bartering to much this afternoon.

I am back to placement tomorrow but I have no idea what the plan is for the afternoon. I still haven't done any laundry so maybe that will be on the agenda but I am seriously considering paying one of the Dadas to do it.

Anyway, I am tired so I am going to bed early tonight and I will try to give you boys a call in the morning (12:30pm your time) if you are home by then otherwise I will have to catch you at another time.

Love you <3

Day 7 - Fabric Markets and Henna Tattoos

G'day,

This morning after a sleep in, breakfast and a hot shower (that is two in two days now!) some of us went off to Kiboriloni Fabric Market which is basicly a dirt street with shacks on either side that sell fabric in the suburb of Kiboriloni. I bought two lots of fabric. One lot cost 20 000 shillings ($12.18 AUD) which I intend to take to a dressmaker to have a pair of pants and a bag made. The other lot was smaller and cost 7 000 shillings ($4.26 AUD) and I also intend to have pants made from them. Daphne, I also picked up a blue and gold scarf for you at the market. It is beautiful and so soft!

After the markets we went and had lunch at the Union Cafe. Leonie had arranged to meet an American friend there who she had met last time she was here. I couldn't resist the Bacon and Avocado Pizza for lunch again and also had a Coffee Milkshake. The coffee milkshake was good but not as good as their cappacinos!

After lunch Taz, Tash and I went down the road to see the Henna lady. She is an Indian lady and her house is just off the main street. We went into her home and she was there with her two sisters. They were very friendly and accomodating. They are Muslim and talked to us about some of their traditions and beliefs while asking us about Australia. The people in Tanzania are very accepting of each others religions and live quite happily along side each other without any problem. As far as I can tell there are many Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Catholics. I got two black henna designs. One on my right hand and one on my left foot. They cost 8 000 shillings ($4.87 AUD) each and we were told that they should last about two weeks.

After that we had a look in a couple of art galleries and then headed home.

Tomorrow I am going on a Kilimanjaro Coffee Tour. The tour is on Mt Kilimanjaro so while I am not doing the climb I can at least say I have been on the mountain! Some of the girls are doing the one day climb tomorrow but I am no where near fit enough to do that! I think we head off at about 8am so I will get up early so I can phone you. Boys, I will call you at about 12:30pm your time and Steve, I will call you after I have talked to the boys.

After the coffee tour I will need to come home and wash some laundry. I have been so busy since I got here that I havent washed any of my clothes yet and I am about to run out of clean ones!

Love you all <3

Day 6 - Placement and Caught Napping on the Lounge

I had a hot shower today! Whoooooo!

I woke up at 5am this morning and recieved a call from you boys not long after. It sounds like you are having a great time with Nanny and being totally spoilt...lots of new clothes! I then spoke to Dad for a while. It sounds like he misses you guys but is getting lots of jobs done while you are away so you better make sure you don't mess up the house when you get home!

I then went for a lovely hot shower (first one since I left home last friday!), had breakfast and headed off to Pasua. We are still catching a taxi to and from placement.

We sat in on handover which was delivered in English however I still did not understand it! Tabitha, the director of nursing, explained that one of the patients had taken off during the night. Someone asked if the police had been notified but Tabitha said no, he is so sick he will be back.

Sandy and I went to the Womens/Childrens ward and help with the cleaning. We wiped down all the surfaces and unused beds with a bowl of cold soapy water and a rag. The rooms get very dusty but the surfaces are wiped down every day.  Then the local student nurses arrives and we divided up with our buddies. I went with the student nurse whose name I can't pronounce. We went to the Antenatal clinic and sat in on the assessments. Each time a Mama comes for their first appointment they are tested for the HIV virus. The test is a lot more simple than I had expected. The patient's finger is pricked and a blood sample is collected on a test strip. Two drops of liquid is then added to the blood and after three minutes either one or two lines come up. One line means negative and two lines means positive.

One Mama came in because she had not felt her baby move for two days. Both the Sisters (that is what they call the nurses here) tried for a long time to find the heartbeat with a fetoscope without luck. The Mama was then taken to the maternity ward where they tried to find the heart beat with a doppler but still without any luck. The Mama had to be transfered to a bigger hospital and was transported by ambulance however it is likely that her baby is still alive.

Another Mama came in who had previously tested positive to HIV however was denying that she had tested positive and was refusing to take the anti-retroviral medication which prevents the Mama from passing the virus to the mtoto (baby). She was also asking the sister to change the record to say she was not positive for HIV. The conversation got quite heated between the Mama and the Sister. The Sister was not happy with the situation and tried to talk the Mama into taking the medication for over an hour without success. The issue for the Mama is that if her husband finds out she has the HIV virus he will kick her out of the house and she will have no where to live. It is a very difficult situation for the Mama.  There was also a birth in the maternity ward today. Unfortunately I showed up a little late and only arrived in time to view the delivery of the placenta.

We returned home for lunch and after lunch I had a nap on the lounge  (I am noticing the effects of caffiene withdrawral!) as my room was too hot. Some of the girls thought this was a great opportunity to take a photo of me and post it on Facebook! Cheeky buggers!!!

Tomorrow is Saturday so we don't have to go to placement. We are going to sleep in a little and then head off to the fabric market and then have lunch at Union Cafe with a friend of Leonie's. After lunch a couple of us are going to get henna tattoos. I am going to get a foot tattoo.

Love you all <3