Etosha! (Friday, July 13 – Sunday, July 15)

By mid-morning on Friday, July 13th were on the road yet again. We had loaded up our two cars (one driven by Dan and carrying the northerners, the other driven by Erin and carrying the Hoekers) and left Ongwediva en route to Etosha. We reached the park entrance by mid-afternoon, but still had another 150km on dirt roads to drive to arrive at our campsite.

We hadn’t even been in the park 10min when we saw our first animals: a herd of wildebeest! We haven’t confirmed whether or not this was due to the blasting Lion King soundtrack we were playing for the safari. It was really exciting and the wildebeests were really close to the car. We took more photos than necessary, but little did we know that by the end of the trip, and after all the other super cool animals, we’d all see wildebeest and say to ourselves: “Oh, just another wildebeest. Boring.”

Wildebeest:

We continued down the park roads to the epic sounds of The Circle of Life. One of Abi’s comments was really well placed: “If only animals could talk, they’d probably be saying ‘Oh man’ , here comes another group of tourists playing the Lion King again…’” while rolling her eyes. So true! By the time we had reached our campsite, we had seen GIRAFFES (Lizz’s favourite by far), ELEPHANTS (Erin’s favourite), ZEBRAS (Amber-lee’s favorite), oryx/gemsbok, tons of springbok, kudu (also Amber-lee’s favorite. Only children can’t seem to just pick ONE), and impala.

We just couldn’t get over how undisturbed the animals seemed by us. Some of them got SO close to our car! Note that the pictures we have posted here aren’t really zoomed much at all – the animals were THAT close to us! At one point, we stopped to observe in awe and photograph 2 adult elephants and a baby that were at the side of the road. One of the elephants came onto the road right beside our car and turned his head to see what we were up to. Just as we thought he was going to stick his trunk right in the open car window, he turned his head, took a step, lifted his tail, and … farted. LITERALLY 1.5m away from our open car window and Abi’s face. Not wanting to stay downwind, we rushed forward and onwards toward Okaukuejo, our campsite for the next 2 nights.

Elephant with gas:

Giraffes on the road:

Zebra at sunset:

Giraffes at sunset:

Okaukuejo is one of 3 campsites within Etosha. The reason why we choose to stay there is because it is right next to the biggest waterhole in the park. Being the dry season right now, the waterhole draws out all sorts of animals and is a guaranteed spot for animal-sightings. There is a little fence that lines about a quarter of the waterhole. The animal side of the fence opens up to Etosha’s park land, and the human side is made comfortable with benches and tables so you can relax and watch different animals come and go. The fence isn’t tall enough to make you feel as though you are watching from the other side of a zoo cage or anything like that. You actually feel SO close to the animals.

The waterhole is also lit up at night, so you can spend long hours just sitting and watching the animals. It was so peaceful and nothing like anything any of us had experienced before. At one point, there were over 30 elephants at the waterhole, drinking and splashing water on themselves under the starry sky. Although this is a popular tourist attraction, everyone seemed to be in the same mindset and was very quiet as they watched in wonder.

For dinner that evening, we cooked up some sausages, veggie sausages and vegetables in foil packets over the fire and enjoyed them with some wine and, of course, Windhoek Lager. At this point, it pretty much goes without saying that our dessert consisted of s’mores, as we’ve made them for dessert every night that we’d been camping. Amber hasn’t come to terms with marshmallows yet, but Erin loved the weird and wonderful Namibian marshmallows! The varieties that were most loved at the s’more cookout were toasted coconut, strawberry, and banana.

A couple of friendly German guys that were camping nearby introduced themselves and hung out with us for the evening at our campsite and the waterhole viewing. We decided as a group to set out in a pursuit of lions at sunrise the next morning.

Lions we wanted, lions we received! On Saturday morning at 6:30AM we drove out to Okondeka, which is known for lion sightings. We saw about 7 female lions and at least 3 baby cubs!! They certainly weren’t as close to us as the zebras, elephants, and giraffes, but the view of the lion silhouettes with the rising sun in the background was spectacular! There were some jackals and ostriches hovering around near the lions, and we were kind of hoping we’d witness an early morning snack, but the closest we got to lion-instigated carnage was when couple of baby cubs play-wrestled. Still, we were far from disappointed!

We drove around a bit more within the park and spotted some more game and zebras before heading back to our campsite for breakfast and relaxation by the waterhole. We headed out for another quest to spot some more animals that afternoon and lucked out big time: we saw a cheetah in the distance and more lions! Much like the animals, our group met up again for dinner, then lazed by the waterhole, and then went to bed.

Erin taking a break from driving (the car was in park, we promise!) while zebra crossed the road:

Amber-lee by the waterhole during the day:

Oryx/gemsbok (same thing), courtesy of Lizz:

Three giraffes and a springbok at the Okaukuejo waterhole at sunset (also courtesy of Lizz):

The planes of Etosha on our way home:

-Erin and Amber

 

The North: Ondangwa, Ongwediva, Okatana, Oshakati! (Wednesday, July 11 – Friday, July 13)

The title of this post is not full of swear words in some foreign language, it contains instead just a few of the communities we spent time in during our trip to northern Namibia. Our 4 other U of T colleagues (Rachel, Monica, Shahbaz, and Hana) are stationed in the north (living in Ongwediva and working in Oshakati) and they invited us to experience life in the north and check out their placements before we all left for our second of two scheduled travel weekends (destination: Etosha National Park).

Due to work commitments, Jordan was unfortunately unable to join us on the Etosha trip. However, this meant we were able to rent just a small car, which was appreciated from a budgeting point of view but not so much appreciated from a comfort point of view. I had it made: leg room is an automatic perk that comes along with being in the driver’s seat. Everyone else, unfortunately, wasn’t so lucky. We really still don’t know how we managed to squeeze 6 days’ worth of food, camping gear, clothing and toiletries for 5 people and all 5 of us into our tiny little Picanto. Lizz is an expert packer, and so somehow we all managed to squeeze in.

Although it was advised to leave no later than 9am for the north, logistics of picking up the rental car and loading it up (which really was an art in itself that couldn’t be rushed!) put us on the road not before 10:30. This meant we didn’t have much time for rest breaks, and so we drove straight north (only stopping for fuel and more biltong) to Ongwediva. The drive was fortunately along paved highway the whole time, and was uneventful save for some warthog crossings and wandering cattle and goats blocking our path.  Due to the danger of springbok and warthogs and cattle on the roads, it is inadvisable to drive on the roads here at night, so we were really pushing to get to Ongwediva before sunset. We were close: we arrived just about 15min after sunset.

Once in Ongwediva, we were greeted warmly by our northern colleagues, who we refer to as ‘the northerners’. Monica even had some freshly baked vegan cookies waiting for us! They were sooo delicious! The living accommodations for the U of T interns in the north are slightly… nicer, shall we say, than the Windhoek accommodations. Each person has their own room AND own bathroom! That undoubtedly beats 1 shower for 6 people in Windhoek! Also, the coolest part of their home is the outdoor common area and kitchen: there is a little roof over the kitchen but the rest of the space is open, which is so nice! Remember that this is dry season, and so for the whole time we’ve been here in Namibia, it’s rained for about half an hour.

After we had replenished our energy stores with Monica’s cookies, we all headed out to a dance lesson instructed by Sisi Doris, a South African woman who is the founder of the Omaleshe Dance Project. “Omaleshe”, an Oshiwambo word meaning “young and vibrant” is an excellent description of both Sisi and her organization: it is a program for children of the northern region to come to and develop confidence and life skills through dance and drumming, soccer, and HIV awareness initiatives. The dancing was SO MUCH FUN: we all just let loose and danced free of judgement for 2 hours, following Sisi’s lead and learning the traditional dances of both Namibia and South Africa. I really appreciated how Sisi would tell us the stories of the dances – what each move meant and from where the dances were derived from. My favourite was the Nelson Mandela dance, which of course had to be danced ‘nice nice’ for Mandela.

On Thursday, the northerners were still scheduled for work, and so us ‘Windhoekers’ divided up and headed out to check out the northerners’ placements. Amber, Lizz and I went to Oshakati Hospital Communicable Disease Clinic with Hana and Rachel, where they are involved with dispensing ARVs and similar duties that Amber and I have at the Katutura Health Centre. Amber and I also got to travel with Hana and her supervisor to an outreach clinic in Okatana to dispense ARVs. We were really grateful to have been given the opportunity to check out this placement: while there were certainly a lot of similarities between the work that is done in Oshakati compared to that done in Katutura, we were able to observe some different ways of work flow and management that we can take back to Katutura and hopefully help implement there.

Below: Hana and Amber with colleagues at Oshakati Hospital.

Below: Hana and I at work at the Okatana outreach clinic.

Thursday afternoon was spent at Shahbaz’s placement with Sisi (the Omaleshe Dance Project), where we were treated to entertainment by the children in the form of dance and drumming: the COOLEST dance EVER was the can dance. Every child had two empty pop cans that they used to make their own music and beat while doing a high-paced dance in-sync. They were AMAZING!! Some of us also tried out the drumming and others joined in for some of the dances that we had learned the night before. That night, Dan was ever so generous and took us all out for a lovely dinner on him. Thank you so much, Dan!

Below: the Omaleshe youth dancing the can dance for us!

On Friday morning, I went out for a run before we all left for Etosha. While running, I passed a man who was walking to work. To my surprise, he started jogging along with me. While I was sweating away in my shorts and T-shirt, he was cruising along in a sweater (it IS winter here, after all…), shorts, and sandals. He introduced himself as 20 year old Ismail, and he told me that running was his favourite sport: he ran every morning before the sun rose. He ran with me for about 20min before he had to turn back around and continue his trek to work. It was such an enjoyable conversation we had – there were no marriage proposals or overtly flirtatious comments – he and I were just equally keen on getting to talk to someone from a different continent who merely shared a passion for something as simple as running. We talked about school: he is finishing his high school and wants to become a teacher of geography and history. We talked about the Oshiwambo language: he taught me how to say some more phrases and words in Oshiwambo. And, we talked about some cultural differences between Canada and Namibia. It’s too bad I wasn’t living in the north – he would have been a great running partner!

Before I conclude this post, I’m just going to leave you with some key differences I noticed about the north compared to Windhoek:

–          It is MUCH warmer (I didn’t need to wear my jacket once)

–          There is more wildlife… aka…. CRITTERS (I was not too impressed to wake up to a giant spider staring at me from the bedroom wall)

–          It is FLAT (Windhoek is a city located within mountainous terrain)

Anyways, stay tuned for our combined blog post about Etosha!

-Erin

 

Running

I was so lucky in South Africa that I met running partners and that I was able to keep up with my running. This worked out in my favour, as running in South Africa was out-of-this-world-beautiful. I thought I was kissing running outdoors goodbye as I boarded the bus to Namibia, but I’m very happy to say that this turned out to be so untrue!

With a little bit of Google research, I came across a list of road races occurring in Windhoek this winter (it’s still so weird saying winter in June). On our very first Saturday here, Amber joined me at the crack of dawn and we travelled by taxi across town to an area of Windhoek called Olympia, where the Windhoek Harriers 5km and 10km Races were taking place. For N$30 each, Amber registered in the 5km and I in the 10km. Compared to most road races in Canada, this event was very small, with approximately 50 entries total. Regardless, it was still lots of fun and very well organized! At about 1700m above sea level, Windhoek is at slightly higher altitude than Mile-High City, aka Denver, Colorado. I had never run at altitude before and at first didn’t notice a difference at all. I was so naïve. Let me tell you, there IS a difference. For the most part I notice I fatigue a little bit earlier than I’d anticipate based on my perceived level of fitness but I also at times notice I have to ‘suck’ the oxygen out of the air more. It sounds weird, but this is the best way I think I can describe it. I tied for first place with a man in his 30s named Braam and was at the finish line in time to cheer Amber across the finish of her first 5km since high school! I’m very proud of her, but I won’t go into it here b/c she’s got an even bigger accomplishment that I will tell you about later in this post.

In the 10km race, there were 2 water (and Coca Cola?!?!) stations along the route and when we finished we were treated to juice and mini Bar One chocolate bars. Let’s not get confused here: Bar Ones are essentially the exact same thing as Mars bars back home. All the runners were entered in a door prize draw at the end, and Amber and I both won Windhoek Harriers T-shirts!

After the race, I chatted with Braam and his friend Danger and was invited to join the two of them on a Sunday long run the next day. Very early the next morning I was picked up by Braam and we then drove to meet Danger at his house and the starting point of our run. Before heading out, we took a bit of time to pause in front of Danger’s TV, which was set to the channel that was broadcasting the Comrades Ultra Marathon in South Africa. The Comrades is an 89km race from Durban, SA to Pietermaritzberg, SA. That’s the equivalent of over 2 full marathons!!!!! The race is rich in history as it is an annual event that has been running (pun intended) since the early 1920s. This year, there was a lot of media coverage on Zola Budd, as she was running her first Comrades. Zola Budd is a South African SUPERSTAR known for running barefoot and breaking world records in the 5000m (which she did as a TEENAGER!!!). I found it really special to watch Zola Budd run as I know that she is one of my mother’s favourite female athletes. I remember during one Olympics when I was a little girl, I was watching some track on TV with my mom and she told me how vividly she remembered watching the broadcast coverage of the heartbreaking 3000m race between Zola Budd and American Mary Decker at the 1984 Olympics (Budd and Decker, who happened to be Budd’s long-time idol, collided and Decker fell and did not finish the race). Anyways, enough track talk! Bottom line: mom, had you been here watching the Comrades on TV with me, I think we’d both be pencilling in the Comrades (and Two Oceans Marathon!) on our bucket lists. Shall we talk when I get home?

On Saturday, June23, Amber and I once again got up at the crack of dawn to attend another race put on by the Windhoek Harriers. Amber ran in the 5k and I in the 15k (the longest distance I had ever raced). I tied for 2nd in 1:01.27 and was really happy with how I felt. However, in my opinion, the biggest success of the day had Amber’s name written all over it: she knocked over FOUR MINUTES off of her 5k time, finishing in 25:32! So proud of you, Amber!

Below, top: Me with the 1st place finisher in the 15k, Tobias (centre) and the runner I tied for 2nd place with, James (left).

Below, bottom: Amber and I post-race at the Windhoek Harriers headquarters.

Before I got distracted by the Comrades, I was getting at the topic of long runs. It’s been so great being able to join Braam and Danger or another one of my running buddies, Attie, for some Sunday long runs. We normally go running just outside the city, and my favourite place so far has been around Avis Dam. It’s really refreshing to see a body of water around Windhoek! We have also gone running along trails in the mountains surrounding Windhoek. Here are some pictures of the scenery from one of those runs:

Above: check out the cow in our path!

All in all, I’m so happy to have met people who share a common interest as I and I’ve really enjoyed my time running here and getting to know the Windhoek Harriers. A few more things in the running world that I have to look forward to before coming home include the Old Mutual Victory Half Marathon in Windhoek on August 4 and a long run out to Heja Lodge with the club followed by a group breakfast.

– Erin

 

Speaking of soccer…

Here are photos from the FIFA qualifying match we watched between Namibia and Kenya at Independence Stadium. The final score was 1-0 and Namibia brought home the WIN!

Jordan decidedly unimpressed with Kate’s face paint job.

From left to right: Robert, Faith, myself (Amber-lee), and Lizz

With 16 minutes left in the game Namibia scored the only goal of the game!

 

Kate

If you’re still hyped up about Spain’s Eurocup win, you’ll love chatting with our favorite historian!

Kate is so sweet that it’s difficult to imagine that this lovely woman has a fiercely competitive streak. That is, until you watch a soccer game with her!

All jokes aside, Kate is a definite asset to our house. Her constant positive and upbeat attitude make her fun to chill and workout with!

Kate just finished her undergrad in African Studies at U of T and will be heading to Oxford this year for her Masters! We know that she has a very close relationship with her parents and rapping/soccer playing brother, but everyone in the house feels just as proud of this girl’s accomplishments! She’s a fantastic runner and writer. I’ve included one of the reflections that she’s allowed me to post.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as Erin and I did!

 

Negotiating Difference

 

“It is a great irony of history and geography that Africa, whose land mass is closer than any other to the mainland of Europe, should come to occupy in the European psychological disposition, the farthest point of otherness, should indeed become Europe’s very antithesis.” – Chinua Achebe

 

My first experience on the African continent was when I was sixteen years old. I remember the concurrent feelings of excitement and nervousness as I said goodbye to my parents at the Vancouver Airport en route to Nairobi. “Africa” was no more than an idea in my mind, a construct of mythic proportions that was neither tangible nor accessible. My knowledge of the continent was a collage of snippets and soundbytes – World Vision infomercials, red shapes in Geography class, the occasional school fundraiser. At the time, going to Kenya seemed like entering into an entirely new world, or at least a place steeped in difference. As a sixteen year old, Chinua Achebe’s remarks about Africa as “the farthest point of otherness” – at least in the sense of otherness as alterity, rather than inequality – held true.

When I got there, this expectation of difference was quickly eroded. While there were obviously many aspects – cultural, social, economic and political – of divergence between Canada and Kenya, the points of commonality were far more prominent. Despite being in the rural reaches of the Masai Mara, far away from the pervasive access to electricity or the towering skyscrapers of Nairobi, I felt comfortable, welcomed and deeply connected to those around me. In the classrooms, on the soccer fields, and in people’s homes, we united on many levels, forging a strong human connection. Thoughts of “otherness” were cast aside, as labels such as “Kenyan” and “Canadian” were usurped by those such as “student,” “teammate” or “friend.”

Going to Namibia six years later, with a degree in African Studies behind me, I had vastly different expectations. Concepts such as “charity versus social justice,” and “social constructivism” resonated beyond the classroom, informing my approach to my placement in Namibia. Thus, as I boarded the plane this time, I was filled with an eagerness to learn and connect, rather than trepidations about negotiating difference.

Despite this paradigm shift, I have still been surprised by the ease with which I have become at home in Windhoek. Though there are unquestionably major differences between Canada and Namibia, especially in terms of development challenges (and most specifically the HIV and AIDS epidemic in Namibia), the extent of commonality has been astounding. My co-workers and I chat about the latest international headlines, listen to North American music during aerobics class at the gym,  discuss exam stress and coffee habits with the University of Namibia students, use text messages and facebook as dominant forms of communication, and play familiar board games with my neighbours. Of course, the levels of cultural difference are circumscribed in the urban context – I am sure that a placement in Oshakati would result in more contact with different ideas and forms of socialization.

This aura of familiarity is, however, punctuated by moments of jarring difference. It is through my placement that I have been most closely able to discern the significant differences between Namibia and Canada. For one, we have done the majority of our field work in Katutura, the most impoverished region in Windhoek. Much of my time has been spent in the informal settlement of Havana, where there is limited access to schooling, basic amenities, or economic opportunity. Teaching a literacy classes in a tin-corrugated shack was certainly a stark contrast from a Canadian classroom, with babies rummaging around on the dirt floor and students crowded on to a few dilapidated benches. Or seeing families standing by in hopelessness and anger as the electricity is cut from their homes in Havana. Or reading a front page story about a baby being abandoned in a shebeen (a bar). These are all unsettling interjections into an otherwise comfortable atmosphere, intrusions that stimulate probing questions about policies, politics, racism, gender equity and the rampant income inequality that exists in Namibia.

 Other differences have been noticeable through my research at the Namibian Women’s Health Network.  For example, Namibia’s abortion policy is far more stringent that Canada’s, as women are only allowed to have an abortion if they are raped, if the pregnancy poses a threat to the mental or physical health of the mother, or as a result of pregnancy due to incest. Such a policy has dire consequences, resulting in an alarmingly high rate of unsafe abortions and maternal deaths associated with these abortions. Another example is the forced sterilization of women with HIV, an unconstitutional practice that is failing to gain adequate traction in the courts, leaving Namibian women to face the looming threat of sterilization on their own.

Thus, I am presented with a fascinating combination of day-to-day interactions that are universal in nature alongside placement-specific work that exposes me to the major development challenges Namibia is dealing with – differences that shape the contours of local life in profound ways. It is a paradox of the startlingly familiar in conjunction with the startlingly different. Overall, this has yielded many valuable lessons, the most important being that all humans are humans, regardless of their individual or collective socioeconomic experiences. Though one must be sensitive to and aware of difference when working in an unfamiliar country, it is crucial to remember the vitality and power of human to human connections –  connections that strip away otherness and allow for the forging of meaningful relationships.

 

A Post for Baba: A Day in the Life

Hello again, this is Erin! The other night, I was ECSTATIC when I glanced down at my vibrating phone and saw that I was receiving a phone call from Canada. My two younger sisters, Emily and Hana, were calling me from Kingston, Ontario, where Emily is attending Queen’s University and Hana was visiting her for the weekend. It was soooo great to hear their voices, and what made me even happier was how happy they both sounded. They filled me in on what was going on at home, gave me reports on how Molly (the Ready family dog) is doing, and passed along some messages from my Baba (Ukrainian grandmother). My mom has been printing off the pages of our blog and taking them with her whenever she visits Baba, who has very much been enjoying reading through them and following our journey. Baba has travelled to soooo many places in the world and has all sorts of great stories to tell, but she has never been to Namibia. Emily said that Baba was wondering what a day in the life here in Windhoek was like, especially now that we have settled into routine. Well, Baba – I am glad you asked! Here is your answer!

Amber-lee and I work Monday to Friday at the Katutura Health Centre (KHC). Every morning, we wake up around 6:30am and quickly throw on more layers of clothing, as the house is usually super cold at this time. Amber and I share a room and since Amber prefers to be warmer at night, I have the bed closest to the window. This is awesome for me. Amber thinks it’s totally weird, but I love waking up in the mornings and being so warm and cozy underneath my blankets but having the tip of my nose poking out and being a bit cold. This reminds me of waking up on chilly summer mornings under layers of quilts at the little cottage my grandfather built on Lake Kashwakamak (located about an hour and a half north of Kingston, Ontario). The Windhoek winter (the season we are in right now) is sort of like early or late summer at the cottage. The mornings are chilly, the nights cold, and the days sunny and warm. Here, instead of getting out of our bunks and warming up by the fireplace with Baba, I get out of bed and make myself some tea and oatmeal. David’s Tea (a Canadian company!) has helped me out so much in the mornings here (I am really glad I included some of those teas as luxury items in my suitcase). We eat breakfast, pack our lunches and bags for the day, text message Silas (our favourite taxi driver) and head out the door.

Silas picks us up almost every day and takes us to work and back home again at the end of the day. He is so nice to us and we have a good relationship going on: we help him with his English and he helps us with Oshiwambo!  We arrive at work at 9am on regular clinic days and 8am on days that one of us accompanies the pharmacist to one of the three outreach clinics that the KHC services. At the main clinic, we work in the pharmacy greeting patients, taking their health passports, searching for their prescriptions and checking them for validity, inputting their information in the computer system, and dispensing their antiretrovirals (ARVs). Even though there is a main clinic and pharmacy next door, we don’t just dispense antiretrovirals at the ARV pharmacy. We also dispense multivitamins, co-trimoxazole (to prevent against infection), and some medications used to treat opportunistic infections or common ailments. Such medications include amoxicillin and nalidixic acid (both are antibiotics), methylsalicylate ointment (this gets rubbed on the skin to soothe pain and itching), chlorpheniramine (an anti-histamine), ibuprofen (Advil), paracetamol (Tylenol), and oral rehydration salts (used by patients suffering from diarrhea). As Amber said, we also give out lots and lots of free Smiles condoms! There is a section of the clinic that dispenses medications for tuberculosis treatment, but where we work, we dispense pyridoxine and isoniazid. This is called IPT (isoniazid preventive therapy) and patients who meet the criteria laid out by the national guidelines go on this once daily treatment for 6 months to prevent against TB.

There are some days when we spend the majority of our time dispensing medications and interacting with patients, which is great because it gives us an opportunity to learn and practice our Oshiwambo and Afrikaans. We also help with stocking shelves and pre-packaging medicines into little re-sealable bags (which are used here instead of vials). These are mundane tasks but must be done if the pharmacy is to operate smoothly!

We also spend time shadowing physicians and adherence counsellors at the clinic, working on developing projects to improve pharmaceutical care (as Amber-lee has already alluded to), and learning a lot along the way!

After work, Silas picks us up and takes us either straight to the gym or first to Pick N Pay for grocery shopping. Following our workout, we shower, head home, each prepare ourselves dinner, and relax with our other roommates. While we all do our own thing in terms of food and cooking, on most nights we all eat at around the same time and so we all share stories about our days and reflect upon anything we had learned that day. After dinner comes time for dishes and settling down into getting any reading or work done that needs to be completed for the following day. Since most of us get up pretty early, we’re all ready for bed at around 10:30 or 11pm. Goeie nag! (That means goodnight in Afrikaans).

Hope you enjoyed this post! Love ya, Baba! xoxoxo

 

Role Reversal: Erin Becomes a Patient

On Monday, Amber and I started a one-week placement at Windhoek Central Hospital. The healthcare system in Namibia is a mix of state/public and private; Windhoek Central Hospital falls under the public tier. Our boss and pharmacist at the Katutura Health Centre, Ms. Kunda, suggested we write a letter to the medical superintendent at the hospital requesting permission to spend a week at the in-patient pharmacy so that we could gain a better understanding of pharmacy practice as a whole in Namibia. Amber and I are so glad we did this! The pharmacist who has taken us under his wing is very welcoming and very willing to accommodate us. Some of the opportunities he is setting up for us include attending ward rounds on the psychiatry and cardiology units, travelling to the prison to dispense ARVs to inmates, working with the physicians and pharmacists in the ARV unit, dispensing medication in the oncology unit, and inputting and analysing adverse drug reaction data for the WHO.

Monday morning before lunch, Amber and I were at a patient’s bedside with Mr. Kennedy, who was showing us an example of an adverse drug reaction manifested on the skin. While I didn’t feel ‘grossed out’ by the skin lesions at all, I did begin to feel a little unwell, and excused myself to go sit down. I took a couple steps away from the patient’s bedside and suddenly became very lightheaded. That was the last I remember. According to Amber and the pharmacist, I then collapsed into the pharmacist’s arms and then onto my knees on the ground. The two of them called for a nurse and together they all helped me up into a hospital bed (this was apparently easier said than done – I’m not a light girl, I was told!). I came to when I was back in the hospital bed and began sweating like crazy. I’ve been very close to fainting before, but never actually blacked out, and so this was a whole new experience for me. Fortunately, I did it with healthcare professionals all around me! They took my BP (128/67), my blood sugar (3.2), and my heart rate (57bpm) and as I began to feel better pretty soon after, concluded it had probably happened due to my low blood sugar. We all headed back to the pharmacist’s office and I ate some rusks and an orange. I was then sent home early with Amber, who was given strict instructions to watch over me. Not that she needed them – I gave her quite the scare, and she was not going to take an eye off me! Bless her heart, I couldn’t have asked for a more caring colleague here!

We arrived at home and I was feeling a bit better although still a bit shaky and weak. Just as I was getting into bed, a wave of nausea hit me and I ran to the bathroom and threw up the lunch I had eaten. I went back to bed and slept for the rest of the day. I developed a fever and took some paracetamol (a.k.a. acetaminophen) before going back to sleep for the night. At some point in the night, my fever broke and I woke up DRENCHED in sweat. The next morning, I was still very tired and weak but managed to get down a big breakfast that Lizz brought to me in bed. Lizz had graciously volunteered to take the day off to Erin-sit! Thank you SO much, Lizz! Dan, one of our program coordinators, came by later on to take me to a MediClinic in Windhoek. There, the doctor confirmed what my parents had said likely happened: the vasovagal syncope was likely attributed to a number of contributing factors, including an oncoming virus. I was sent home with ascorbic acid tablets and paracetamol. The bill? N$1060.00! The bulk of that was the facility fee, followed by the doctor’s fee, a fee for a prolonged consultation, patient co-pay fee, and the cost of my medicine. The cost of the two medicines together shocked me, totaling a measly N$9.00. That’s peanuts compared to the rest of the bill! Since I am currently without a credit card, Dan paid my bill and I will reimburse him once I get my credit card back. I also have health insurance, which I will be submitting the claim to. Thank you, Dan!!

Dan took me home and I slept a bit more before my roommates got home. I just want to describe to you all how amazing they all have been at taking care of me. Like I said, Lizz took the day off, Amber made me comfortable in bed with some water, a barf bag, and some food all within reach, the two of them brought me home pancakes from Mugg & Bean when I was tolerating food, Abi and Kate brought me buttermilk rusks and some apple cinnamon tea, and Jordan kept me company and kept me laughing and in good spirits with all his jokes. I also borrowed Kate’s South African edition of the latest Runner’s World magazine. You guys are all the BEST!

Here’s a picture of me eating my pancakes in my sick bed, surrounded by my drugs and hospital bills and all my gifts from my roommates:

The following day, I woke up feeling much better and got straight to cleaning my sheets and airing out the house. Once that was done and I had a good breakfast and lunch under my belt, I felt ready to go back to work the next day.

-ERIN

 

More Canada Day!

With the exception of one incident, my Canada Day weekend was AWESOME. Thomas, my friend from South Africa, flew to visit me and celebrate with us Canadians. On Friday, Thomas and I rented a car and drove a couple hours north to camp at Waterberg Plateau Park. It was gorgeous and I would really love to go back there someday. We braai’ed some chicken, roasted some vegetables and sweet potatoes in tin foil in the fire, and enjoyed it all with a bottle of white wine under the stars. Thomas showed me how to use the Southern Cross constellation to locate due south. Dad, I figure you probably already know how to do this, but looking at constellations always makes me think of you and the times we looked up at the stars together from the dock at the cottage and I made a mental note to tell you about it when I get home.  For dessert, we had (improvised) s’mores! I say improvised because graham crackers aren’t available here and instead of regular marshmallows, we bought toasted coconut marshmallows to roast! Mom – you SO would love them. Namibians can enjoy quite the selection of marshmallows in local grocery stores: they’ve got everything from chocolate marshmallows to ‘pink’-flavoured marshmallows (whatever that means) to mango and peach marshmallows!

We packed up early the next morning after a breakfast of peanut butter and jam sandwiches and fruit and headed back home for the Canada Day celebration. On our way out of the park, we spotted these strange spotted animals that kind of looked anteater-like. I still don’t know what they are, but they’re cute in a ‘so-ugly-they’re-cute’ kind of way. See below!

Here’s a photo from within Waterberg Plateau Park:

Thomas and I returned to Windhoek by 11:30 or so, just in time to return the rental car and change into our red and white clothes for Canada Day! The 6 Canadian ‘Windhoekers’ had decided to celebrate Canada Day in 2 parties: the first being an early afternoon party with pancakes and maple syrup, face paint and games for the neighbourhood kids and the second being an evening party for the ‘grown-ups’ (cue: flip cup!).  Before the first party started, Thomas and I had to whip to Pick N Pay (kind of like Wal-Mart) to pick up a few last-minute items. Remember how I referred to a certain ‘incident’ earlier on in the post? Well, this is the incident. The store was PACKED, and while waiting in line to pay, a woman tapped me on the shoulder and informed me that two men had just taken something from my purse, which I had on my shoulder but not across my chest, like it probably should have been. Unfortunately, that something was my wallet with my credit card, debit card, driver’s license, and the equivalent of several hundred dollars Canadian. Fortunately, I didn’t lose my passport, my health insurance, or my international driver’s license and I was able to text message my parents, who cancelled my credit cards literally seconds after they were stolen.

I am SO grateful for the friends I have here and for my amazing program coordinator, Dan. Everyone was a huge help to me and after a few tears on my end, a 1 hour Skype phone call to TD Canada Trust (a huge thank you to Dan for letting me use his Internet!), and some pancakes and maple syrup (really, what doesn’t maple syrup solve?), all was sorted out and I now have a debit card and VISA card on their way to me in Namibia. I have to be very careful with the limited cash I have left and the money that has been so generously loaned to me by Dan until I get my cards, but I have learned my lesson and I will do everything I can to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Now, back to the fun stuff: Canada Day! As you saw by Amber’s photos, the party was a definite success. Lizz is an AMAZING face painter – and so she was a huge hit among us all and among the kids. We also had sidewalk chalk, bubbles, hula hoops, and a soccer ball and served red and white food. The spread included red peppers, bananas, Ghost Pops (kind of like ketchup flavoured popcorn), KitKat bars, cupcakes, and more!

Here are a couple more photos showcasing Lizz’s artistic talent.

From left to right in the back row: Lizz, Erin, Amber, Jordan, Luxa. From left to right in the front row: Muchembele, Mortu.

Below: Thomas and I. I bet that was the first time this South African had a red maple leaf painted on his cheek!

-ERIN

 

Happy Canada Day!! (updated)

Have an amazing Canada Day, friends!!

 

About that Horse Rental…

One Sunday, Aaron took any of the ‘Windhoekers’ who wanted to join him to River Crossing, a beautiful lodge in the mountains surrounding Windhoek. Those interested included Kate (it was also Kate’s birthday, so it ended up being a really nice birthday present for her!), Jordan and I. At River Crossing, we enjoyed a nice lunch and an even nicer panoramic view before going horseback riding! Jordan stayed behind at the lodge to get some schoolwork done while Kate, Aaron and I went down to the stables to meet our horses. Kate had some experience horseback riding many years ago, I had never been on a horse before, and Aaron was, well… pretty much Eric Lamaze minus the cocaine. Maybe I’m exaggerating a bit. What I really mean to say is, the guy was decked out in gear. I’m talking jods and all (I had never heard of the term ‘jods’ before and so I preferred to call them ‘special pants’). I’m thinking he got up that morning and while getting dressed, braced himself for all the snickers he would presumably hear as people poked fun at the amateur kids in athletic apparel that this OBVIOUS professional was riding with. Poor guy, really. There certainly were snickers and giggles. There was also downright hysterical laughter (especially care of Amber-lee!). Unfortunately for Aaron, they were all directed at his special pants.

Now, I really should stop bashing the pants. I mean, I think they made him look professional. He was certainly walking around like he had spent a few too many hours on a horse. That being said, that could easily have just been due to the compression effect of the jods!

Horseback riding in this setting was exquisite, and I had a lot of fun with Kate, Aaron, our guide, and our horses. It took me a little bit of time to get used to the feeling of being on a horse, but everyone was patient with me and I managed to do some trotting interspersed with our walking. Before I learned how to properly control Henry (my horse), he led me into a tree with all sorts of thorns and I got a big scratch on my arm, but after that I’d say he and I became a good team.

Throughout our 2 hour ride, we saw some kudu, oryx, and lots of zebra! As my camera wasn’t quite as solid of a rider as I was, it fell off the horse partway through the ride and so I don’t have too many pictures.  Here are some of the photos that were taken before that incident, though!

Below:  the gorgeous view from the lodge where we ate lunch before horseback riding.

Below: Kate & Sand, me riding Henry, and Willie (our guide) riding his horse.

Below: Stallion, baby! Aaron and the jods, riding Luke.

 

Below: Kate riding Sand out of the stables.

-ERIN