Just got back from a weekend in Cape Town late last night. It is located on the Southern Coast of South Africa. So much fun. We got there Friday morning and after getting situated in our hostel we went straight to Table Mountain. Table Mountain is a famous land mark of South Africa. We took a cable car up to mountain and hiked around. The plan was to do the 2 hour hike down the mountain ourselves, but us girls decided we would rather make go to the beach for the rest of the day. The boys, Chris and Garret however, decided to make their own hike down the mountain. After creating their own path down and getting stuck on a cliff and using their belts to get back up, they survived and decided to hike back up and take the cable care down too.
That night, we had dinner at Dina's cousin's house, who lives in Cape Town. Amazing house, great food and company! After dinner we went out on the town. Out hostel was situated on Long Street which is basically the main party, restaurant, and bar strip in town.
The next day, we did a tour of several winery. So beautiful and so much fun! That night we had a huge all you can eat sushi dinner and went out on the town. There was a lot of dancing and drinking in between, but then we got home around 4 in the morning. We all were hurting.
Sunday was our day of relaxation on the beach before our flight at 9pm. The beaches are beautiful, but the water is freezing. The beach we went to called Clifton beach had a lot of young people and of course a few topless gals too. Interesting.
Today, I started my Obstetrics rotation at the other hospital called Chris Hani Baragwanath. It is one of the biggest hospitals in the world. It used to be an old army barrack, so all the wards are spread out and you have to go outside to get from one place to another. It is very strange to see patients getting carted around outside.
It was a great day with lots of patients, starting IVs, drawing blood, delivering babies, doing cervical checks. The morning flew by. The nursing students, Alex and Dina, got to deliver babies and be first assist in a c-section. I made sure that they got to do that because they may never get a chance in the States. It is crazy here because every other patient I see is HIV positive. IT is a huge problem here and does not seem to be getting any better. It is sad that these young women will probably not live to see their kids grow up. People can not get on anti-viral therapy until their CD4 count is a certain level, unlike in the US when anyone that is HIV positive gets medication.
Speaking of HIV prevention...I met Bono from U2. U2 played a concert in Jo'burg last night and he wanted to come to the Labor Ward at Bara to promote his charity and his involvement in helping stop the AID/HIV epidemic. I guess it was good timing to be starting in Labor Ward today! He was very nice and down to earth and introduced himself to all of us individually and shook our hands.
That is all for now. I think I will have more exciting stories these next two weeks since I get to do and see more at Bara. I wish I could post some pics, but we have been chewing through internet gigs pretty fast and you pay for internet by the gig here.
We leave Thursday afternoon for Kruger National Park for our Safari. It is a 5-6 hour drive there and we are staying the weekend. Hopefully, I will get to ride a lion or rhino!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Tourist weekend
We all decided to stay in Jo'burg this weekend and do all the touristy things everyone says you HAVE to do while here.
I can't put up a lot of pics anymore because we only have 2 gigs of internet and apparently that takes up a lot. But, I will put up some important ones and less of my bathroom, as my brother pointed out was a little too much. I am going to bring my camera to the hospital this week so I can prove we are actually doing some work and good in the world.
So this weekend we....
1) Did a bike tour of Soweto, which is basically this historic shanty town, where Nelson Mandela lived and another Nobel Peace winner Desmond Tutu lived. Good time and nice little work out as well. Oh, and we sat in a shebeen (small tin house for beer drinking) and tried this home brewed stuff with the locals. Not too tasty and I am pretty sure we all have tuberculosis after we got coughed on by one of the elders and this crazy man named King Shaka.
King Shaka forcing us to take a picture with him and simultaneously strangling me. He also tried to slap my butt as I rode away. I said, "Don't you even think about it Shaka!"
2) Did a night call on the trauma service at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital or Bara. It is the largest hospital on the continent, but also the craziest. It used to be old army barracks so it is spread out in sections all over. It has a very popular trauma center that is run so completely different than in the States, but they do the best they can with the high volume of patients that come in with critical conditions.
The second we walked in there was a 7 years old boy who was shot twice in the head by his friends while playing around. He was not sent to the hospital until 4 hours after the incidence. Very fishy story. Anyways he was in bad shape and they had to try and resuscitate him, which was hard to watch chest compressions on a child. He didn't make it, which didn't hit me until I was going to bed when I felt pretty upset. Lots of car accidents and stab wounds filled up the majority of the rest of the night.
Can you see the skull fractures from the bullets?
3) Saturday we went to the Apartheid museum. Very eye-opening and educational. I think it is a requirement to go if you ever visit here.
4) Later Saturday we went on the World of Beers Tour. It is another must, if you are here. It was really fun and interesting and well it involved beer...enough said.
5) We went out to this area of bars and restaurants called Greenville where a lot of the young people go. Some of our friends from California also doing a medical rotation came over for dinner before going out and decided to bring Absinthe. Nasty stuff.
6) Market Day! This morning we shopped this huge local shopping and food market. Found some good finds and gifts for the nieces and nephews.
7) The Lion Park. Drove around in our 9 seater rental van through a reserve with Lions, wild dogs, hyenas, cheetahs, zebras etc. Then got to hang out and pet and play with lion cubs. Awesome....oh except for the fact we were hanging out the car doors and a lioness started coming right at us. We got the doors closed and window rolled up in barely enough time as she put her mouth to the window. Ok...that was awesome too.
The lioness that got too close for comfort. My camera is not on zoom by the way.
Cat Whisperer?
Back to the grind tomorrow. Hopefully I can deliver some babies. The hospital I am at is called Johannesburg General Hospital. It is pretty run down and they run things so differently there. I think I will get to see the real exciting stuff when I work at Bara for my last two weeks.
Cheers!
I can't put up a lot of pics anymore because we only have 2 gigs of internet and apparently that takes up a lot. But, I will put up some important ones and less of my bathroom, as my brother pointed out was a little too much. I am going to bring my camera to the hospital this week so I can prove we are actually doing some work and good in the world.
So this weekend we....
1) Did a bike tour of Soweto, which is basically this historic shanty town, where Nelson Mandela lived and another Nobel Peace winner Desmond Tutu lived. Good time and nice little work out as well. Oh, and we sat in a shebeen (small tin house for beer drinking) and tried this home brewed stuff with the locals. Not too tasty and I am pretty sure we all have tuberculosis after we got coughed on by one of the elders and this crazy man named King Shaka.
King Shaka forcing us to take a picture with him and simultaneously strangling me. He also tried to slap my butt as I rode away. I said, "Don't you even think about it Shaka!"
2) Did a night call on the trauma service at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital or Bara. It is the largest hospital on the continent, but also the craziest. It used to be old army barracks so it is spread out in sections all over. It has a very popular trauma center that is run so completely different than in the States, but they do the best they can with the high volume of patients that come in with critical conditions.
The second we walked in there was a 7 years old boy who was shot twice in the head by his friends while playing around. He was not sent to the hospital until 4 hours after the incidence. Very fishy story. Anyways he was in bad shape and they had to try and resuscitate him, which was hard to watch chest compressions on a child. He didn't make it, which didn't hit me until I was going to bed when I felt pretty upset. Lots of car accidents and stab wounds filled up the majority of the rest of the night.
Can you see the skull fractures from the bullets?
3) Saturday we went to the Apartheid museum. Very eye-opening and educational. I think it is a requirement to go if you ever visit here.
4) Later Saturday we went on the World of Beers Tour. It is another must, if you are here. It was really fun and interesting and well it involved beer...enough said.
5) We went out to this area of bars and restaurants called Greenville where a lot of the young people go. Some of our friends from California also doing a medical rotation came over for dinner before going out and decided to bring Absinthe. Nasty stuff.
6) Market Day! This morning we shopped this huge local shopping and food market. Found some good finds and gifts for the nieces and nephews.
7) The Lion Park. Drove around in our 9 seater rental van through a reserve with Lions, wild dogs, hyenas, cheetahs, zebras etc. Then got to hang out and pet and play with lion cubs. Awesome....oh except for the fact we were hanging out the car doors and a lioness started coming right at us. We got the doors closed and window rolled up in barely enough time as she put her mouth to the window. Ok...that was awesome too.
The lioness that got too close for comfort. My camera is not on zoom by the way.
Cat Whisperer?
Back to the grind tomorrow. Hopefully I can deliver some babies. The hospital I am at is called Johannesburg General Hospital. It is pretty run down and they run things so differently there. I think I will get to see the real exciting stuff when I work at Bara for my last two weeks.
Cheers!
Friday, February 4, 2011
End of week 1
So I am dragging a little this morning. After work yesterday, we all had a little impromptu pub crawl and then decided to go to a club. The club was packed on a Thursday night, which is student night. I felt like we were in LA. Wall to wall people with private tables and a huge packed dance floor. We had so much fun minus people dropping their glass cups all over the dance floor so we were basically dancing/walking on broken glass. Alex sliced her foot open, but good thing we are all soon to be doctors or nurses...we bandaged that right up and she continued on.
Yesterday, was a long day in the labor ward. It was realyl frustrating because I help labor three patients that ended up all going to cesear (South African term for a c-section) for the the most riduculous things...different from the States, but that is a whole other discussion. On the bright side I got to do a lot of cervical checks, which means checking to see how far dilated a patient is. It is takes a lot of practice, but I think I am starting to get the hang of it. I called a patient 6 cm, while the doctor said 10 cm or completely dilated. We sent her back to the labor ward and all the sisters (S.A. term for nurses) got her at a 6 too. So, I felt good about that! I do have red marks and bruises all up y arms from a patient almost breaking my arm while I was trying to soothe her during contractions. Now I can't wait to have kids after seeing her (sarcastic tone)!
Today we are all moving pretty slow and decided not to go to work. No one will even notice. I think we are going to lay out for a while and then do some tours around Jo'burg such as the World Beer Tour, Bike Tour of a shanty town called Soweto, the Apartheid museum, and maybe a trip to the Lion Park to hold baby lions. I will take lots of pictures!
Hope you are all surviving Snowmageddon 2011!
Here are some more house pictures. We are really roughing it here.
Back of the house. Note the nice balcony porch surrounded in ivy right out outside one of our rooms.
My room and bathroom included all the windows on the far right second story. In this picture you can also see the outline of the pool that was filled for some reason. We lay out on that and pretend we are floating on a pool.
Another view of part of the bedroom. My chair has accumulated my clothes already per usual.
My quaint little bathroom.
Sort of a view of the big shower. It is actually the biggest shower I have ever had and stretched back to the right side even more.
And one more view. I really like my bathroom if you can't tell. A nice bathroom is one luxury I did not expect, but always enjoy while I travel.
View of the backyard from my room.
Main staircase from my room.
One view of part of the kitchen.
Out living/family dinner room. So far we have had curry chicken and vegetables courtesy Chris and spaghetti with squash courtesy Alicia.
Finally I had to add one of my nephew Connor. He turned 12 on Feb 2nd! Holy Cow I cannot believe he is almost a teenager. For his birthday, Gwen and Ryan surprised him that he would be the ball boy at the K-State Men versus Nebraska basketball game. Here is him sinking a basket from the three point line.
Yesterday, was a long day in the labor ward. It was realyl frustrating because I help labor three patients that ended up all going to cesear (South African term for a c-section) for the the most riduculous things...different from the States, but that is a whole other discussion. On the bright side I got to do a lot of cervical checks, which means checking to see how far dilated a patient is. It is takes a lot of practice, but I think I am starting to get the hang of it. I called a patient 6 cm, while the doctor said 10 cm or completely dilated. We sent her back to the labor ward and all the sisters (S.A. term for nurses) got her at a 6 too. So, I felt good about that! I do have red marks and bruises all up y arms from a patient almost breaking my arm while I was trying to soothe her during contractions. Now I can't wait to have kids after seeing her (sarcastic tone)!
Today we are all moving pretty slow and decided not to go to work. No one will even notice. I think we are going to lay out for a while and then do some tours around Jo'burg such as the World Beer Tour, Bike Tour of a shanty town called Soweto, the Apartheid museum, and maybe a trip to the Lion Park to hold baby lions. I will take lots of pictures!
Hope you are all surviving Snowmageddon 2011!
Here are some more house pictures. We are really roughing it here.
Back of the house. Note the nice balcony porch surrounded in ivy right out outside one of our rooms.
My room and bathroom included all the windows on the far right second story. In this picture you can also see the outline of the pool that was filled for some reason. We lay out on that and pretend we are floating on a pool.
Another view of part of the bedroom. My chair has accumulated my clothes already per usual.
My quaint little bathroom.
Sort of a view of the big shower. It is actually the biggest shower I have ever had and stretched back to the right side even more.
And one more view. I really like my bathroom if you can't tell. A nice bathroom is one luxury I did not expect, but always enjoy while I travel.
View of the backyard from my room.
Main staircase from my room.
One view of part of the kitchen.
Out living/family dinner room. So far we have had curry chicken and vegetables courtesy Chris and spaghetti with squash courtesy Alicia.
Finally I had to add one of my nephew Connor. He turned 12 on Feb 2nd! Holy Cow I cannot believe he is almost a teenager. For his birthday, Gwen and Ryan surprised him that he would be the ball boy at the K-State Men versus Nebraska basketball game. Here is him sinking a basket from the three point line.
Monday, January 31, 2011
South Africa Week 1
So I made it after 17 hour flight from the states. It is warm and beautiful. 5 med students and 2 nursing students live in this amazing house and with our own rooms and bathrooms, large back porch, balcony, and large back yard (that used to have a swimming pool but is filled in...the only thing that could make it that much better). I laid out for only an hour and am fried. I guess my transparent skin was not ready for the sun. The owner of the house, Sandra, had us over to her giant house for dinner last night and we had a bri which means BBQ. It was a fantastic evening.
Today we went to the hospital and got acquainted with everything. I must say I am nervous to work with the nurses or sisters as they are called. They are pretty intimidating women.
Today we rented a car/van and got wireless internet internet for the house, so now we are set. As soon as I get a chance I am going to take more pictures and post them up. That is all for now.
Here are a couple pics.
Outside is nothing too special, but it is pretty nice on the inside. I have to get a pic of the back, which is a lot prettier.
More pics to come!
Today we went to the hospital and got acquainted with everything. I must say I am nervous to work with the nurses or sisters as they are called. They are pretty intimidating women.
Today we rented a car/van and got wireless internet internet for the house, so now we are set. As soon as I get a chance I am going to take more pictures and post them up. That is all for now.
Here are a couple pics.
Outside is nothing too special, but it is pretty nice on the inside. I have to get a pic of the back, which is a lot prettier.
Alex in front of our gated fence. If you look closely at the top you can see the electric fence.
My quaint room, which is actually pretty decent size. I will try and get a better view.
My quaint room, which is actually pretty decent size. I will try and get a better view.
More pics to come!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
South Africa
Just had a dream last night that I went on a safari. Then I woke up and thought, hey this is really going to come true!
Maybe I will get an awesome pic like this:
I leave tomorrow morning for Johanneburg, South Africa. It is 80 degrees and sunny there right now, by the way. I a kind of freaking out. How do you pack for a whole month of unknown adventure? I know I am a) working in a hospital doing Ob/Gyn b) living in a house with 4 other med students and 4 PT and nursing students somewhere and b) that it is not really that safe there and you should not go out after dark. But there are a lot of unknowns such as a) How are we getting anywhere transportation wise (we are all working at different hospitals) b) HIV is very common there and do I need to bring my own gloves and eye wear as well as a tuberculosis mask? c) Will I have connection to home (ie internet, phone, etc).
I guess we will see...
Hopefully I will have internet access and be able to keep you all updated over the month. Don't worry I will try and take tones of pictures! See you all soon.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Assaulted!
This morning as I was walking into the hospital entrance for work I was approached by this black man in a panic. He talked exactly like Antoine Dobson by the way. Anyways he asked me to help his sister get a job at the hospital. He called everyone there "bitches". I said, "I am sorry sir" as he grabbed my arm, but I am just a med student, so I have no idea. He is like please and repeats everything again and puts his arm around my shoulders and proceeds to lead me into the building. I look at him and say, "please do not touch me. I am sorry I cannot help you right now I am JUST a medical student." Next thing I know he is say "F*** You....B*tch!" Over and over again in my face. Ahhhh!
Freaky. I a pretty sure he was on "something" or having a manic bipolar episode.
Luckily there was a man that works for the staning by the front desk on the phone and I say, "are you calling security?" Uh yeah please get them there ASAP so the next unsuspecting victim is not assaulted.
Good Sunday morning!
On a better note, I am DONE with interviews. I finished my last interview yesterday at Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.
I ran into another girl interviewing for Ob/gyn there from Iowa. Her name is Mandy and I was in South America for over a month with her and several other Iowa people a couple years ago. Our flights didn't leave until late last night, so her, another Ob/Gyn applicant from California, and I sat and drank at the airport bar for a couple hours celebrating being done with interviews. It was actually a really good time.
Next step? Ranking all the programs and waiting to hear where we will be going on March 17th- St. Patty's Day! Then leave for South Africa this Friday. I am freaking out.
Freaky. I a pretty sure he was on "something" or having a manic bipolar episode.
Luckily there was a man that works for the staning by the front desk on the phone and I say, "are you calling security?" Uh yeah please get them there ASAP so the next unsuspecting victim is not assaulted.
Good Sunday morning!
On a better note, I am DONE with interviews. I finished my last interview yesterday at Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.
I ran into another girl interviewing for Ob/gyn there from Iowa. Her name is Mandy and I was in South America for over a month with her and several other Iowa people a couple years ago. Our flights didn't leave until late last night, so her, another Ob/Gyn applicant from California, and I sat and drank at the airport bar for a couple hours celebrating being done with interviews. It was actually a really good time.
Next step? Ranking all the programs and waiting to hear where we will be going on March 17th- St. Patty's Day! Then leave for South Africa this Friday. I am freaking out.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Holiday Road! (with the Seacats)
Lucky there were no great aunt deaths, car accidents, or arrests at Wally World this trip, but it was still a great adventure.
After renting a lovely white minivan, Brian and I drove to Dodge City a couple days before Christmas to start our Christmas vacation. Brian's brother, Garret, made it home on Christmas Eve and then early Christmas morning we were off!
Day #1: We started the drive from snow to Flagstaff, Arizona where we ran into even more snow unfortunately. Movie after movie and constantly eating snacks made up the majority of the ride. I also read Water for Elephants. Great book by the way.
Day #2: Off the Grand Canyon for the first time for all of us. It was a little cloudy and snowy, but the scenery was still breath taking (maybe because it was cold too). Sheila and I both agreed that seeing it on a sunny day would be even better so you could see all the colors.
Pretty awesome!
(left to right): Garret, me, Brian, Sheila, and Derek
Engagement pic
Derek holding on to Sheila for dear life near the edge
The "penis" rock picture
Little bits of sun peaked through the clouds
Next we drove to Vegas, where we met up with the littlest, yet tallest Seacat, Matt. That night we opened our Christmas gifts and then the brothers and I headed out for a night on the town. A little gambling and a little drinking made for a fun night. Garret came across the Wizard of Oz penny slot machine, and of course had to play. It was more like a video game then a slot machine, but I highly recommend playing it. Maybe you will get a chance to go tripping (must play the game to know what I am talking about).
Pre-going out
A little sake shot to start off the night
VIP
The Seacat brother finally all back together after a couple years.
(Brian, Matt, Garret)
A little beer pong at O'Shea's
We are soo cool
I won!
I lost!
What Brian and I came back to the room to...
Day #3: Still in Vegas. We got Brian's parents Blue Man Group tickets for Christmas and Brian also surprised me with some. We had awesome seats in the 5th row! Funny, strange, amusing, very entertaining, and awesome! The Seacats minus Courtney (I was taking a looonnggg, much needed nap) also went to the Pawn Stars store. I have not really watched the show before, but apparently it is pretty entertaining. It follows this famous Pawn store in Vegas. They liked it, not sure how much I would have given up my precious nap for it though.
Sitting in the 5th row requires ponchos due to the potential to get splashed with paint and other items.
How close we were to the stage
The required picture after the show
Pawn stars
Day #4: Finally off to San Diego. Stopped by Matt's Marine base in 29 Palms briefly. The drive out there looked something like this.
Lots of desert and these Joshua trees , which were like cactus trees. Pretty depressing area with a lot of empty deserted homes.
Then, we made it to San Diego. We went to Old Town and had a Mexican dinner. It is great area with lots of Mexican restaurants and home made tortillas made fresh on the streets. It was a great time though, even though it rained the next day we were there. The last night I was there, Sheila, Matt and I went and did a tour of the famous Whaley Haunted House in Old Town. Everyone else was too scared. Ehh hemm, Brian... Anyways, the tour was great and it was really cool to see this old home with a lot of history. No personal ghost encounters, but in one room where a little girl ghost was said to be often, Matt got this little purple light in all his pictures that would move around the room. I will have to get those from him and put them up. You all know me and ghost stories...it was pretty awesome. Here are some pics of the house. We did the tour at night, so it was even a little freakier.
Ghost or lens dust? You decide.
I left the next day for KC for the VanZandt wedding and the Seacats continued there trip and even visited SeaWorld. They drove home the next day and made it all in one piece. I had a great time and have lots of great memories. So happy to be part of this family!
After renting a lovely white minivan, Brian and I drove to Dodge City a couple days before Christmas to start our Christmas vacation. Brian's brother, Garret, made it home on Christmas Eve and then early Christmas morning we were off!
Day #1: We started the drive from snow to Flagstaff, Arizona where we ran into even more snow unfortunately. Movie after movie and constantly eating snacks made up the majority of the ride. I also read Water for Elephants. Great book by the way.
Day #2: Off the Grand Canyon for the first time for all of us. It was a little cloudy and snowy, but the scenery was still breath taking (maybe because it was cold too). Sheila and I both agreed that seeing it on a sunny day would be even better so you could see all the colors.
Pretty awesome!
(left to right): Garret, me, Brian, Sheila, and Derek
Engagement pic
Derek holding on to Sheila for dear life near the edge
The "penis" rock picture
Little bits of sun peaked through the clouds
Next we drove to Vegas, where we met up with the littlest, yet tallest Seacat, Matt. That night we opened our Christmas gifts and then the brothers and I headed out for a night on the town. A little gambling and a little drinking made for a fun night. Garret came across the Wizard of Oz penny slot machine, and of course had to play. It was more like a video game then a slot machine, but I highly recommend playing it. Maybe you will get a chance to go tripping (must play the game to know what I am talking about).
Pre-going out
A little sake shot to start off the night
VIP
The Seacat brother finally all back together after a couple years.
(Brian, Matt, Garret)
A little beer pong at O'Shea's
We are soo cool
I won!
I lost!
What Brian and I came back to the room to...
Day #3: Still in Vegas. We got Brian's parents Blue Man Group tickets for Christmas and Brian also surprised me with some. We had awesome seats in the 5th row! Funny, strange, amusing, very entertaining, and awesome! The Seacats minus Courtney (I was taking a looonnggg, much needed nap) also went to the Pawn Stars store. I have not really watched the show before, but apparently it is pretty entertaining. It follows this famous Pawn store in Vegas. They liked it, not sure how much I would have given up my precious nap for it though.
Sitting in the 5th row requires ponchos due to the potential to get splashed with paint and other items.
How close we were to the stage
The required picture after the show
Pawn stars
Day #4: Finally off to San Diego. Stopped by Matt's Marine base in 29 Palms briefly. The drive out there looked something like this.
Lots of desert and these Joshua trees , which were like cactus trees. Pretty depressing area with a lot of empty deserted homes.
Then, we made it to San Diego. We went to Old Town and had a Mexican dinner. It is great area with lots of Mexican restaurants and home made tortillas made fresh on the streets. It was a great time though, even though it rained the next day we were there. The last night I was there, Sheila, Matt and I went and did a tour of the famous Whaley Haunted House in Old Town. Everyone else was too scared. Ehh hemm, Brian... Anyways, the tour was great and it was really cool to see this old home with a lot of history. No personal ghost encounters, but in one room where a little girl ghost was said to be often, Matt got this little purple light in all his pictures that would move around the room. I will have to get those from him and put them up. You all know me and ghost stories...it was pretty awesome. Here are some pics of the house. We did the tour at night, so it was even a little freakier.
Ghost or lens dust? You decide.
I left the next day for KC for the VanZandt wedding and the Seacats continued there trip and even visited SeaWorld. They drove home the next day and made it all in one piece. I had a great time and have lots of great memories. So happy to be part of this family!
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