Wow, what an AMAZING past 12 days.
The Saturday before my trip we went to Boulder’s Beach and to Cape Point. Boulder’s Beach had the penguins and they were so precious! You had to pay to get closer and we were just stopping through so unfortunately we did not get closer, however, I was still within a foot of a penguin so I was happy. Cape Point was also gorgeous. We went on an hour hike out to the most southwestern point of Africa and literally got to see the Indian Ocean & the Atlantic Ocean crashing together. The trip was breathtaking and even though it was pouring rain, we all really enjoyed ourselves.
Saturday night I don’t think I realized what I was getting myself into. They told me the bus ride was 16 hours, but it was actually a 21-HOUR BUS RIDE! It makes me sick to think I spent a total of 42 of my South African hours in a smelly bus, but I’m over it. On the ride there I got talking with the younger guy sitting next to me who was originally from Port Elizabeth. He took a 10-hour bus every Friday night and Saturday night to attend a class Saturday morning at UCT-, which I found fascinating and very dedicated. He started explaining more about the rural areas and he mentioned a statistic that young girls are more likely to be raped than to be educated. This must have been where he was from because the community I stayed in was very friendly and safe but that is still unbelievable to me if it is true. 21 hours later, we arrived in Mththa then had a 2-hour car ride out to Zithulele. The roads were nothing like I have ever seen, so bad that we had to wait at the hospital while the other vehicle dropped people off since our little car would not have made it. I was so tired at the time and frustrated because I didn’t believe what they were saying but once on the road- it made a bit more sense. We had three 4x2’s and one 4x4 and the 4x4 was the one pulling out the 4x2 every other hill. They roads would have massive rocks in the road and potholes 6 feet long all made of clay. In the rain, no one was making it up the hills. Oh and then you would have to come to an immediate stop because a goat, cow, horse, pig, or donkey was passing. The animals are everywhere and are not afraid of the cars. It was funny the first few times but annoying thereafter.
Once we finally got to our accommodation, I found out I was staying in a hut with eleven others girls. Not a problem until I heard there was ONE bathroom. The room was actually very nice but the overall stay was a little too rural for my liking. You could not drink the tap water, only rainwater that drained from the gutters into a giant jug outside. Electricity was only on from 5pm-5am to conserve. Showers… yea we boiled water and took bucket baths. The shower was a trickle of water that was ICE cold, so cold it would literally give you brain freeze if you tilted far enough back. Needless to say it was not my most hygienic week, but we were directly on the ocean, which was GORGEOUS. The sunset and sunrise were so beautiful each day and it made for washing a bit easier. Also got to see dolphins every other day- very cool. The stars at night were also beautiful- got to see the Southern Cross along with the Scorpio constellation, not something you can see everyday from Beecher or Champaign.
Monday morning came around and we had to push the car more than ride in it, forcing us to walk to the hospital. I got to spend all week with the Occupational Therapist which was SOOOOO exciting for me! Work starts at 8 for them, then from 10:30-11 is teatime, then lunch from 1-2, and you’re home by 5. Not exactly the American working lifestyle, but it worked for me. In the afternoon we got to see an autistic patient, did arts and crafts with the chronic tuberculosis patients, and playtime with the peds. I was excited to play with the little kids but when we walked into their ward, 2/6 of the children instantly starting crying and were carried out of the room by their mothers. Apparently, being white is associated with the Doctor, which is not a good thing to a little kid, so the children were actually scared of us. There were two little boys who were excited we brought them toys so we played trucks and soccer for over an hour. After that, we got to see a child who we thought had slow development, but actually had a disorder with her leg. The 2 year old had one leg that was almost 3cm shorter than the other, causing her not able to walk yet, which for a 2 year old is not normal. After the day was over, we eventually got home and it was my turn to cook. The 22 students were broken into 5 groups, each with a specific night to cook dinner and I was glad to get it out of the way. We made some delicious chicken and couscous? Cooking for 22 people is so much harder than it seems, it took us 2 full hours to cook- not fun but glad it was out of the way.
Tuesday we started the day with playtime again with peds and the same children were the only ones excited to see us. Later in the day I got to see 2 stroke patients, a diabetic women with an amputated leg, and a woman with three mysterious dermatological holes in her leg. Lastly, I saw a woman (about 70 years old??) who had gotten into a fight and was actually bitten by another woman, she waited three weeks to come to the hospital and it was grossly infected and you could still see the tendons. If it didn’t improve in three days they were going to have to amputate it. Day 2 was pouring rain again, more rain than they have had in years. Winter is their dry season and it was a record for the amount of rain they received- that would happen.
Wednesday we were given a project to create a standing probe for a cerebral palsy child- 1 year old. Resources given: cardboard, flour, water, and a broken electric blade as a cutter. This ended up being an engineering project since the calculations were not as simple as we thought it would be. We also had to glue 4 pieces of cardboard to each piece to ensure sturdiness. Sounds simple but this took ALL DAY. Very, very frustrating. After we got back we went for a nice swim at the beach and it was the boys turn to cook which was so good, and since they attempted to out-do the girls at cooking, they had appetizers, dessert, the whole nine yards. We then had a nice fire with marshmallows and bed early.
Thursday it finally stopped raining!!! We finished the standing probe and spent the afternoon with patients. We saw a 2 year old child with spina bifida who was just starting to walk and a depressed woman with somatic manifest (?). Once we got home one of the Doctors bought some oysters from the neighbor and they were delicious- fresh from the ocean. Again early bed after dinner.
Friday we said our goodbyes to the OT’s and went with the medical students on house calls. We literally walked up and down hills all day and went house-to-house educating families and taking blood pressures. We mainly taught them sexual education and introduced them to a condom- which none of them have ever seen before. If you stepped back and observed you couldn’t help but laugh when 10+ people are holding up a condom learning how to use it but on the other hand it was an incredible thing to see, a young population learning to protect themselves from HIV which majority of their population has and is dying from- which is incredible to think about. We also had a translator with us everywhere we went since all of the patients can only speak Xhosa. It was a beautiful day and it was such an experience to see inside the houses of the community. The scenery was also gorgeous along the way so it ended up being a great day.
Saturday morning we finally got to sleep in. We went to the beach for the day playing soccer, cricket, and swimming in the ocean. Afterwards we took a trip to hole in the wall, which is a giant hill along the coast with a huge tunnel carved out of it, due to erosion. Beautiful sight. We had a brie (South African BBQ) in the evening then again went to bed early.
Sunday we packed our bags and were gone by 10am. Of course, we got a flat tire on the way to the bus, which pushed time a bit but had no problems. 21 hours later I arrived back in Cape Town at my favorite Bollihope resident and took the longest, hottest, shower I’ve ever taken. I got the day off since I had been in a car the whole day before so I went to Green Market Square and got gifts for everyone. Very successful trip! Now I have to strategically calculate how in the world these presents are fitting in my suitcase, but I’ll worry about that in 2 weeks. Then I wrote my paper for the week and now it’s already time for bed. I’m getting persuaded to go out but I think I need to postpone until tomorrow. It’s been an exhausting week and need to start my week off on the right track.
Overall I had an amazing experience and got to see so much more than I could have ever asked for. I also got 30 OT hours in which is huge! And again I was presented with situations that make me more and more thankful for all I have and I must admit- it’s a beautiful thing.
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