Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Day 40: Night

The girls had left to climb Mt Mulange and the guys for Victoria Falls. I opted for a weekend in Blantyre to experience the local culture, since I will be traveling all next weekend. I went out to "Mustang Sally's" with my Scottish/Irish med student friends. Wales was playing England in Rugby and the game was being shown. I was taught the general rules of Rugby (still not sure I quite understand). We also talked to some of the Malawian locals about the private vs state run hospitals.

One guy told us the story of his grandmother's health care. When she had a heart attack at home, he drove her to the private hospital. He had to pay $5000 up front just so they would see her. If he had gone to the state-run hospital, her care would have been free, but they would not have seen her right away and she might not have made it. The state hospitals here are overrun with patients. That is why in A&E they have a triage room so that the severe patients get seen earlier in one room. Unfortunately, still some patients wait forever to be seen. And yet, Malawians seem to have more patience for waiting than people do in the States.


Day 41: Relax

Had a nice relaxing day at the house. Was able to go to the wood market and into town to get last minute souvenirs, etc. I was able to sketch, read and sleep. It was also quiet at the house so I could play music and re-energize. For dinner, I met with the med students again, this time at a place called the Blue Elephant. We ran into some of the registrars and it turned into a big party. A DJ showed up and we were able to dance under the stars. They played some familiar American songs and it was interesting to watch how similar everyone danced even though we were all from different countries.



Day 42: Word

A couple of us wanted to go to church and experience the local music and service. They found a place called "Word Alive!" which had everyone up clapping, singing and dancing for the first hour. Another difference between services in the States and the one at this church is that people pray aloud. It reminded me of the service where the gospel is read aloud in different languages. Definitely interesting to be a part of. The second hour was a sermon about being a house of God.

Afterward, we went to the nearby fruit/vegetable market and then I made the walk home. When the girls got back from Mt Mulange and we went and got pedicures. A nice end to the weekend.




Day 42: A day of Happiness

Next posting will be about my experience in A&E with 2 girls named "Happiness."

It is now 1 week until I find out if I matched at a residency program (ironically on Valentine's day).

Less than a week until I'm back in the States

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