first report from two jet legged mzumgus (well, maybe 1 mzumgu and 1 mzumgu by association)

hello hello hello from Dar es Salaam!!

we made it!  we arrived (as Sue's post said, on sunday night at around 1AM...after an eventful hour at customs and being greeted by a kind cabdriver and a whole lot of humidity). 

i feel like we've been here a week already - because the equivalent of a week's worth of events happened in the last two days.  and, it's hard to put it all into words.  but, i'll try...(well, i will type for a while - until i can't keep my eyelids open any more). 

first, it's hot.  and humid.  and green.  and colorful.  and, full of people with beautiful smiles and kind greetings (well, i assume they are kind greetings because they are said with a smile but really, i have no idea what they are saying - i just smile back). 

the apartment is wonderful.  it's huge!  and, there's warm showers and a wonderful woman named hilda who prepares food for us.  it's nice to be able to come back here after a busy day and reflect (aka almost fall asleep on the couch because of Dee's soothing voice) (Dee works for the non-profit that supports the oncology ward at the hospital.  she's irish and has a great accent.  and great stories). 

so, the hospital.  it's busy.  there are so many children and their families.  the kids are adorable and greet us with smiles and high-fives.  they think we are silly, i think.  i am still not sure exactly how many children are on the ward.  and, i still don't totally get how it all works.  but, they stay in the hospital for a long time, and their parents are so great and take such good care of them.  there are children with leukemia, Burkitt's, hodgkins (and interestingly, young children with hodgkins), wilms tumor, rhabdomyosarcoma, and other yet to be identified things.  They go to school each day.  Some speak english, and some try to teach us swahili. 

there are residents and interns, kind of like home.  and, there are several visiting students - mostly from England.  so, we start each day with a ride to the hospital.  and, then we round on the one ward with the sicker patients as a big team- Sue, Nameeta, me, the residents and interns and students and nurses and nursing students and whoever else happens to be around.  It's very crowded as the rooms are multi-patient rooms.  much like at home, we go through the plan for the day, make sure to follow labs (although unlike at home, we get labs every 2 or 3 days), and schedule procedures and exams.  then, we split up and go round on the other ward or go to clinic (there's air conditioning in clinic...very nice).  we make a trip to the coke canteen (there's a whole place just to buy a coke!!  amazing!), and then go back to the ward to follow up on things.

tomorrow, Nameeta and I will lead a lecture no leukemia... we'll see how it goes...

on our way home today, we walked by a school bus full of little children... and they just kept yelling mzumgu mzumgu mzumgu... they thought we were quite the site! 

i'm not sure how to get pictures from the camera uploaded... that might have to wait.  but, i wish all of you could see these little ones.  they are just the best.  and, they are so well-behaved.  and, silly.  today two little girls were running around in their mom's high heels.  and, one little boy hit sue on the bottom!  and, another little boy recited all of his animal noises. 

we are having fun, trying to figure things out, and determining how we can best help.  and, high-fiving little kids left and right!!