Last Thursday, we went to Ntemburi for outreach. We took a matatu, a taxi, sort of. Most of them are 15-passenger vans. On the way to Ntemburi, there were around 22 people inside. There is the driver, of course, but there is also a guy that kind signals to the driver by whistling or banging on the roof of the van. This guy sits by the door in the back seat and collects money. He hangs out the door sometimes while the vehicle is moving- and vehicles move very fast over very bumpy and populated roads!!! Vehicles are always swerving to avoid other vehicles, people, or cows. It’s a wonder that I haven’t had a heart attack yet- the way people behave in (or ON TOP OF!!!) moving vehicles. Safety is definitely not the #1 priority! So, on the way home from Ntemburi, we all pile into another matatu. I was the last one in, and it seemed to be taking a while for everyone to get settled. I was wondering what was going on and why no one was moving to the back seats where there seemed to be a lot of room. Well, I soon realized that it was because there were 6 live goats shoved under the back seats. How they got in there, I have no idea! I know if I was a goat being shoved under the seat of a van, I would not go willingly! I saw them and may have cursed a little bit. Everyone laughed. Allison was sitting beside Dennis (and above one of the smaller goats). Dennis reached down and squeezed Allison’s leg, making her think that one of the goats bit her. Pretty hilarious!
Last Sunday, Josephine took us to Meru, to the market. People followed us around and asked for money and asked if we’d take them home to Germany or wherever it was that they thought we were from. We went to a restaurant where Kiki, Josephine’s daughter, got her face painted. The clown that did it asked her where her friends were from and so he wrote CANADA across her nose.
On Monday and Tuesday, we worked at the hospital. Monday was not very busy and we were a little bored. Not Tuesday, however. That may have been one of the most exciting days ever! I decided that I wanted to work in the theatre (operating room) for a few days. Luckily for me, there was a private surgeon coming in to do a bowel resection surgery on one of his patients. In a bowel re-section, part of the bowel is cut out because it is not working properly, and then the bowel is sewed back together. I scrubbed in, which is a huge deal for a nursing student. I held her skin taught while he cut her open. I held parts of her insides in place while the doctor was working on them. I touched her stomach, uterus and ovaries. I actually had both of my hands inside her abdomen, holding the skin up and open, so that he could replace all of her insides when the surgery was over. Yes, I understand that it sounds disgusting, but it was really incredible! And the day only got more exciting!
I was out in the hallway talking to Josephine. Dr. Erick, our friend that lives in the same compound as us, came down asking Josephine if he knew the status of the woman that was in labour. Another nurse had just done an assessment a few minutes before and said that the woman was 6 cm dilated and was not yet ready to push. Guess again! Amy and Stephanie came running out of the labour room to get help, leaving Allison to attend to the mom. They both had looks of terror on their faces and yelled “She’s crowning!!!” Then Steph heard Allison telling the mother to push, so Steph yelled “The baby is coming!!!” We all rushed to the room, which took all of 10 seconds. By the time we got there, the baby was out! Allison was the only one in the room with the mom. She didn’t even have time to put gloves on. She grabbed the blanket that was on the bed and helped pull the baby out with that. One of the nurses rushed over and clamped the cord with forceps and cut it, and took the baby over to the warmer. I put the little plastic cord clamp on and trimmed the cord. Cutting through human tissue is a strange sensation, by the way. Mom and baby were great.
The next day, we went to another school. It was really fun. After the presentations, the kids asked us a million questions about Canada and our lives in Canada. Where do you live? What church do you go to? What is your grandmother’s name? What is your favorite food? There was some hilarious little boys that thought it would be clever to rub white dust all over their faces and yell “Mzungo!!!” Mzungo is a white person, and everywhere we go, people point at us and call us mzungos. So that was quite entertaining.
We received sad news from our friend, Pasquelina. She found out on Tuesday that she is being sent to school in Tanzania, to learn to be a nurse anesthetist. While we are very proud of her and happy for her, we will miss her a lot. We took her out to supper in Meru- which was another crazy experience. We waited for our driver, Cletus, to pick him up. People pronounce his name like Crittass. So for a while, we though his name was Critters. Anyway… we stood at the end of the road waiting for him. When he got there, him and Josephine were talking about prices for driving us, and this woman walked up to me. She held out her hands, asking for money. When I didn’t give her any, she shook my hands. Then she gave me a hug. Then, she came in for a kiss. I tried to turn my head, but I was not quick enough. She licked my face. It was really a special moment. I got in the car and washed my face with hand sanitizer. So, we went to the Nakumatt for supper. Pasquelina and I shared a “chili first” pizza. I took one bite and seriously, thought for a minute that I was going to die. It was the spiciest thing that I have ever eaten. All around my mouth turned red and was burning. My eyes filled with tears, and I felt my whole body go tingly and numb. I thought for a few minutes that I was going into anaphylactic shock or something. We picked the rest of the peppers off of the pizza.
Pasquelina left on Friday morning at 4 AM. We were really sad to see her go. She called us on Friday night to let us know that she arrived safely, and we have been exchanging text messages. She is a very special person, and we are really going to miss her. Before she left, I have her one of the necklaces that Troy and I made from shells that we found on the beach on PEI before I left.
We bought a chicken. His name is Charles. Our friend Big Dennis got it for us.
On Friday, as usual, we went to the Children's Home. This is my friend, Little Dennis.
Friday night, we drank wine and beer and had Leonard and Erick over. Leonard got called into work, which was unfortunate. We played cards, and some of the girls played a homemade version of Twister, that Christina cleverly made earlier in the day. The next morning, our friend Martin took us to the museum in Meru. His wife and son joined us. They live in another town where she is a teacher. Then we went to a “restaurant” called the Rocky Hill. We waited several hours for them to cook some “nyoma choma,” which is roasted meat.
That brings you all up to speed on my life. Hoping the weather gets better here soon. It’s pretty chilly.
The other day, a woman arrived from Italy. Her name is Manuella. We were driving to Machaka, the children’s home, and I could tell that she was nervous that we were going to run over some cows in the road. I told her that they always move out of the way, and that not to worry, she would get used to it. I said that every day is an adventure in Kenya. She said, in a very thick Italian accent: “Yes! Like a box of chocolates!” I thought it was rather funny.
A driver named "Critters"! Hahahaha! Great post. Absolutely crazy surgery stuff. I would have passed out and/or puked. Cuz...I'm cool that way.
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